230 Brewster on Birds of jFort Walla If'alla, IV. T. 



about Fort Walla Walla, and Capt. Bendire secured no less than fourteen 

 specimens, of which twelve are now before me. In a general way these 

 are referable as follows : eight to sattiratus, two to subarcticiis, and two 

 to a form apparently about intermediate between these races. Five of the 

 representatives of saturatus are typical, while the remaining three grade 

 into the intermediate form which, in turn, approaches one of the light 

 specimens referred to subarcticus. The latter example is not typical, 

 but its companion difters from an Arizona skin only in having slightly 

 darker dorsal markings and a little stronger rufous cast about the face 

 and across the breast, the color and markings elsewhere being essentially 

 the same. 



The occurrence of these three forms together is not remarkable, for two 

 of them may reasonably be regarded as migrants from distant and prob- 

 ably widely separated regions. The third possiblj- represents a resident 

 type, but on this point I have no direct evidence. 



38. Falco colunibarius suckleyi ? Ridgiv. Black Merlin. — A 

 beautiful adult male Pigeon Hawk, taken at Fort Walla Walla Oct. iS, 

 18S1. presents such a puzzling combination of characters that, after care- 

 fully comparing it with all the material available, I am still at a loss for a 

 definite opinion regarding its precise identity or relationship. It most close- 

 ly resembles highly colored, autumnal adults of F. colunibarius, but the 

 under parts, excepting the throat and a small central space on the abdo- 

 men, are rich rusty-ochraceous — almost orange-chestnut on the breast and 

 tibiae, while the usual cinereous above is intensified on the back to a 

 nearly pure plumbeous; the markings of the under parts, also, are unusu- 

 ally coarse and numerous. In these respects it agrees with a bird in the 

 National Museum from Santa Clara, California, but it differs from this 

 specimen, as w^ell as from every other adult that I have seen, in having 

 the outer webs of all the primaries, excepting the first two, conspicuous- 

 ly marked with rounded spots of pale ochraceous. 



With F. richarihoni it cannot be consistently associated, for the adult, 

 as well as the young of that speciet, always has six distinct light bars on 

 the tail, while the example under consideration possesses but five. More- 

 over, the adult inale of richardsoni is very much lighter colored than the 

 adult of colunibarius, whereas the present bird is decidedly darker. The 

 adult of suckleyi is unknown, but we should expect to find it, like the 

 young, with sparse, inconspicuous spotting on the lining of the wings. 

 In the Walla Walla bird these markings are as numerous and well-defined 

 as in colunibarius. 



Taking all these considerations into account, and bearing in mind the 

 unstable character of so many of the types furnished by this locality, it 

 seems most reasonable to assume that Capt. Bendire's specimen repre- 

 sents the adult plumage of a form which, although referable to suckleyi, 

 is more or less intermediate between that race and true colnvibariiis. But 

 additional material must be forthcoming before the question can be defin- 

 itely settled. 



39. Falco richardsoni Ridgw. Richardson's Merlin. — Of this 

 well-marked species the collection contains two immature females, dated 



