28 



Allen, The Rio Grande Seedeater. 



[Auk 

 LJan. 



Nuevo Leon, (2) Tampico, (3) southern Vera Cruz and south to 

 Costa Rica. The Texas series of 16 males presents three phases of 

 plumage — 3 fully adult birds, 10 birds of the second year, and 3 

 yearling birds; of the 10 females all are adult except 2. Of the 

 10 breeding males and 1 female from Nuevo Leon, 9 of the males 

 are in immature plumage, probably of the second year. Of the 

 Tampico birds, 6 males and 2 females, 3 of the males and the 

 2 females are in mature plumage, the other 3 males in the transition 

 plumage of the second year, although evidently breeding birds. 

 These northern birds (37 are from the Rio Grande Valley), of 

 whatever age or sex, are very different from birds of corresponding 

 age and sex from southern Vera Cruz, Yucatan, Honduras, and 

 more southern localities, the northern and southern forms being dis- 

 tinguishable as follows: 



S. morelleti morelleti. 



cT ad. Sides and top of head, 

 nape, back, wings and tail intense 

 black; chin and throat, sides of 

 neck, rump, and whole lower sur- 

 face white, except a broad pectoral 

 band of black; also a white specu- 

 lum at base of primaries and tips 

 of lesser and greater coverts white. 



S. morelleti sharpei. 



c? ad. Sides and top of head 

 and nape dull brownish black; back 

 brownish gray, more or less mot- 

 tled with black, but generally the 

 black of the dorsal surface is mainly 

 concealed by the gray of the sur- 

 face; wings and tail dull black, 

 with white bars and speculum as 

 in morelleti; chin, throat, sides of 

 neck, rump, and whole ventral sur- 

 face dull white, the breast mottled 

 with black, mostly concealed, in 

 place of the broad pectoral band 

 in morelleti. 



c? juv. (second year). The areas 

 black in the adult are irregularly 

 mottled with deep black and 

 olivaceous brown; below yellowish 

 buff, with a patchy irregular pecto- 

 ral band of black; rump olivaceous 

 brown; wings and tail deep black. 



(J 1 juv. (second year). Head 

 grayish brown mottled with black, 

 or dull black with the feathers 

 broadly edged gray or brownish 

 gray; back gray brown, with or 

 without more or less concealed 

 or partly concealed blackish feath- 

 ers; throat, sides of neck, and 

 whole lower parts dull buffy white, 

 with or without concealed mot- 

 tling of black on the breast; wings 

 and tail brownish black. 



