'f^i-] Recent Lilctatui-c. 



93 



(if (>eirect iiiter^radation be insisted on in deterininiii;; the pO!?iti(>ii of a 

 bird as a subspecies) how island forms can be reduced to this rank. . . . 

 Some ishind forms, althougii they maj certainly dilVer slightly from 

 typical birds, have difterences so suggestive of climatic variation only 

 and not of specific value, that I take them upon their own merits and 

 assign them a position accordinglv." 



The case of Colaptes aiiratus. and C. mexicaniis [=^c(t/'cr] is discussed 

 at some length, with a decided leaning to the theory of hybridization as 

 an explanation of the mixed character of the specimens formerly recog- 

 nizeil Liiuicr the name Cola/'/cs /iy/>r/(f/ts. lie also makes some sugges- 

 tive allusions respecting tiie evolution of the North American forms of 

 Coia/>ies. 



In matters of nomenclature we regret to see that Mr. Hargitt is a purist, 

 and by no means a strict adherent of the law of priority. Generic names 

 fprmed so nearly in accordance with their etymology as to be readily sus- 

 ceptible of emendation are accepted in an emended form, while those of 

 barbarous or hybrid origin are rejected, without regard to the currency 

 they may have obtained. In respect to specific names, those not pleasing 

 to the author, through faulty significance or construction, are thrown 

 over, regardless of previous currency. 



While only one new sj^ecies is apparently named in the present vol- 

 ume {Sasia cverctii p. 559, pi. xv), we find the following new generic 

 names: i, Sapheopipo, type Picns noguchii Seeb. : 2, Cercomorplius, 

 type Picns fiavus Miill. ; 3, Mtcrosticttis,^ Lic/itenftcinipicna Bon., 

 rejected; 4, Nesoctiies, type Ptcumiins micromegas. Sundev. 



The following points will be of interest to readers of 'The Auk,' from 

 their bearing on North American birds, and as an indication of the 

 author's methods. In lespect to Colaptes^ the specific name iiic\icn>/us 

 of Swainson, 1S27, is of course adopted in phxce of cafer Gnielin, 17SS. 

 Untler mcxicunns are synonymized both ruficapileiis Ridgw. and satura- 

 tior Ridgw., the former recognized as a species and the latter as a sub- 

 species in the A. O. U. Check-List. Mr. Hargitt says : "The varied forms 

 of C. mexicdHus appear to be the result of climatic influence [!], as they 

 are not confined to a!iy particular geographical area [.s/c]. An examina- 

 tion of a large series of specimens convinces one that they cannot well be 

 separated." He cites birds from Vancouver and Nevada that lescmble 

 others from Mexico. Has it occuired to him that the North American 

 foims of Colaptes are migratoiy birds, that the paiticular examples men- 

 tioned from Mexico are either winter specimens or without record of caji- 

 ture, and that distribution in the breeding season is one of the most 

 imnortant elements of the problem.'' 



The mixed assemblage presenting all sorts of combinations of the char- 

 acters of C. aiiratus and C. cajer, which Baird proposed to call C. hvbri- 

 dus, is here treated as a species, under the name ''Colaptes ayresi" of 

 Audubon! His reasoning on this point is as follows: "The very exist- 

 ence of this race, occupying as it does a distinct region, seems to point to 

 the conclusion that the birds are fertile, otherwise it would cease to exist, 



