54 



GAkfE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



CALLIPEPLA SQUAMATA CASTANEIGASTRA. 



Geographical Distribution. — Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 

 Northeastern Mexico. 



Adult. — Head, brownish gray, darker than that of C. sqm- 

 mat a, and the throat is also a darker buff; the blue of the breast 

 and back is more of a decided tint, as is also the brown of the 

 wings and lower back ; lower parts, dark buff, ochraceous in some 

 specimens, with a more or less extensive patch of rusty chestnut 

 on the belly; upper tail-coverts and tail, bluish gray; there is 

 more white on the crest, in certain examples, the feathers being 

 nearly all white; in general appearance this is a darker bird than 

 the typical style, but the chestnut patch varies greatly in extent 

 among individuals, being reduced at times to barely a trace, and 

 the two styles grade into each other by imperceptible degrees, 

 until it is impossible to designate where one ends and the other 

 begins; in size the two forms are about equal, and there is no 

 difference in the color of plumage or style of markings between 

 the sexes. 



