Vol l909^ VI ] Brewster, Something More about Black Ducks. 175 



SOMETHING MORE ABOUT BLACK DUCKS. 



BY WILLIAM BREWSTER. 



The 'Fourteenth Supplement to the American Ornithologists' 

 Union Check-List of North American Birds,' published in a recent 

 number of 'The Auk,' x contains the following announcement 

 (p. 361): — "The name Anas obscura Gmelin, 1788, proves to be 

 preoccupied by Anas obscura Pontoppidan, 1763, for an Old World 

 species, and no other name being available, rubripes of Brewster 

 is adopted as a substitute. (Richmond, MS.) There is some 

 question as to the validity of the form recognized as No. 133a [i. e., 

 Anas obscura rubripes] which, by the above action, is now can- 

 celled." 



I am told that the closing sentence of the passage just quoted has 

 been very generally understood to imply that, in the opinion of 

 the A. O. U. Committee, it is no longer desirable to recognize more 

 than one northern form of the Black Duck. Its wording would 

 certainly seem to justify such an interpretation, especially as " 133a, 

 Anas obscura rubripes Brewster" is mentioned elsewhere in this 

 same supplement (p. 352) in a list of "Eliminations," with the 

 remark that it is "equivalent to No. 133," i. e., to Anas obscura 

 of the Check-List. As a matter of fact, however, the status of 

 rubripes has not been passed on, nor even, I think, reconsidered, by 

 the Committee since the form was accepted as a valid subspecies 

 and given a place in our Check-List. I make this statement ad- 

 visedly, after confirming my personal recollection of the history 

 of the case by questioning the chairman of the Committee, Dr. 

 Allen, and the Secretary, Dr. Richmond, regarding it. Dr. Allen 

 writes me (under date of December 21, 1908) that "the Committee 

 simply took rubripes as the only available name for the Black Duck 

 group, without ruling on the status of rubripes as a subspecies of 

 obscura, leaving a name for the Green-legged Black Duck to be 

 provided for, presumably by you." I have heard from Dr. Rich- 

 mond, also, to the effect that no action has been taken at any recent 

 meeting of the Committee respecting the status of the form rubripes. 



1 Vol. XXV, No. 3, July, 1908, pp. 343-399. 



