314 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



as a whispering warble usually much broken but not without sweetness 

 and sometimes continuing intermittently for many minutes. This is 

 evidently the song described by Florence Merriam as " low, sweet and as 

 unpretentious and cheery as the friendly bird himself." 



Junco hyemalis carolinensis Brewster 



Carolina Junco 



Junco hyemalis carolinensis Brewster. Auk. Jan. 1886. 3:108 



A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 267. 

 No. 567c 



Description. Very similar to the Slate-colored junco, but the slaty gray more uniform, 

 slightly lighter, the head not decidedly darker than the rest of the plumage; the bill light bluish 

 horn-colored instead of pinkish white as in the common Junco. The dimensions of this 

 subspecies very slightly exceed the average of the common Junco, especially the length 

 of the bill, but the difference is not sufficient to decide the identity of any individual 

 specimen. 



Distribution. This subspecies of the Junco breeds in the higher Alleghanies " from 

 Maryland to northern Georgia." According to the range published by the A. 0. U., 

 third edition, the winter range is in the adjacent lowlands. It is evident that New York 

 State lies outside the supposed range of this subspecies and many members of the American 

 Ornithologist Union who believe in the validity of the form would not credit the occur- 

 rence of this subspecies within the limits of New York State; but Dr Jonathan Dwight, jr, 

 who has made a special study of juncos, after examining a long series of skins taken on 

 Long Island and in other portions of central and southeastern New York, states that " if 

 there is any Junco hyemalis carolinensis, many individuals in this New 

 York series must be assigned to that subspecies." On authority of this statement I 

 have included this subspecies as occurring in New York State, and it is evident that 

 unless the identity of the subspecies is to be decided entirely by the locality where it was 

 taken, rather than from its evident characteristics, this subspecies must be admitted as 

 occurring in New York. 



