1(30 NOltTlI AMKKICAN IflHDS. 



rotliu'od to tlic niiik of i,'oi)m'ii]ilii('al raciv5. Amorica posspssos llircn .sjiL-cios, 

 two of wliich iiio vest lifted to tlio West India islands, \\liil(^ the otluT 

 extends over tlie entire continent. 



There is no reason whatever lor se])aratin,u; the American s]ieeics from 

 tliose of tlie Ohl Workl, and the sid>,i;enns J'liri/ornia, establislied ui»on these 

 by Kaii]i, is not tenable. 



Sine(! tlie publication of my first pajK-r upon tlie American forms of 

 'J' I nil mini /lis} a larye amount of additional material has fallen under my 

 observation; the total nuiuliei' of examjiles critically examined and comjiared 

 together amounting to over three humlred and iil'ty .skins of whicii I have 

 kc]>t a record, liesides many others whicli have come casually to my notice. 

 This aliundant material merely conlirms the views 1 first exj)ressed, in the 

 l)a]ier alluded to, regarding tiie nund)er and definition of tiie forms ; their 

 comparativt! ndation to each other being the only respect in which I have 

 rea.son to modify my arrangement. 



In my first ]ia])er on the American Tiiiiiinicnli, three distinct .species were 

 recogiuzed ; one {^ij^nri-criiin) belonging to the whole of ("ontinental America 

 and the ].,esser Antilles, one (Iritcophri/fi, JJidgway) to Cuba and Hayti, and 

 one (apay-rcroii/cHyXig.) peculiar to Cuba. The first is one modified in dif- 

 ferent climatic regions into several geogTa])liical races, as follows: Var. 

 sjKinrrii's, L., Xortli and Aliddlc America, exclusive of the gulf and Carib- 

 bean coast region); var. innhi'lliniDi, Swains., the eastern coast region of 

 Tropical America, from (iuiana to Florida; \ar. ihiiiiiincriisin, (Jiiicl. (Le.s.ser 

 Antilles) ; var. antifrafiii, IJidgw. (S,, 'h America in general) ; and var. 

 ciniiiimomiiim^, .Swains. (Cliile and Western I>razil). Tiiat each of these 

 nices is well characterized, the evidence of a series abundantly sullicient to 

 determine this point enables me to assert without reserve ; for I find in each 

 instance that the charac^ters diagnosed in my .synopsis hold good as well 

 with a large series as witii a few specimens. 



The following synojjsis, essentially the same as that before ])ubli^^lled, 

 may, to most persons, explain satisfactorily my reasons for recognizing so 

 many races of T. ^jiin-irriii:<, — a j)roceeding which, T am sorry to say, does not 

 meet with favor with all ornithologist.s.^ Though there are at the ])resent 

 time three well-characterized or ]iermanently dilferentiated species of 

 Tiniiininilit." on the American continent, yet it is, to my mind, certain that 

 these have all descended from a common ancestral stock, for evidence in 

 ]iroof of this is found in many specimens wiiicli I consider at least strongly 

 "suggestive" of this fact; some specimens of var. ii^i'lic/l in ns i'umx Florida 

 having blue feathers inter.s])ersed over tiie rump, tlierel)y showing an a])- 

 jiiMximation toward the uniformly blue up]ier surface of the adult male of 

 7'. sjiiirn riiii/r.'i of the neigh1)oriiig island of Cuba ; while in the latter bird 

 the embryonic plumage of the male is very similar to the permanent condi- 

 tion of the male of spKrirrins. 



' I'iiiicii!iiij;s I'hilaililiiliia Aciiilcniy ul' XaUiial Suioiiccs, Dei., 1870, jiji. 117 119. 

 - .Si'c l.diiiloli lliis. 



