252 RiDGWAY on Astur atricapillus striatulus. [J"ly 



confined mainly to the outer webs, while in argentatus the 

 black involves much of the inner webs. 



Mr. Brewster appears to be somewhat in doubt as to the rela- 

 tion of Bruch's chalcopterus to his kumlieni^ and thinks they 

 may possibly be the same bird. My own opinion is that Bruch's 

 chalcoptertis is practically indeterminable, his diagnosis being 

 insufficient to be applied v\^ith certainty to any species of a family 

 like the Gulls, where the range of individual variation is so great, 

 and the resemblances so close, as they are between the large, 

 light primaried species of the Far North. Whatever may be the 

 relation of Brewster's kunilieni to the chalcopterus of Bruch, 

 the latter name cannot apply to the L. nelsoni. Bruch's state- 

 ment that the chalcopterus is ''wholly similar to the preceding 

 \_L. leucoptertis~\ except in the primaries," puts nelsoni out of 

 the question because of its large size. 



I dedicate the species to Mr. E. W. Nelson, as a slight recog- 

 nition of his valuable services to Alaskan ornithology. 



NOTE ON ASrUR ATRICAPILLUS STRIA- 



TUL US. 



BY ROBERT RIDGWAY. 



I AM sorr}^ to have to state that Astur atricapillus henshawi., 

 described by Mr. Nelson in the April number of 'The Auk,' is 

 essentially the same as my A. atricapilhts striatuhts (^A. atri- 

 capillus var. striatulus., Hist. N. Am, B., Ill, 1874, pp. 338, 

 239), and that according to the rules of zoological nomenclature 

 the later name becomes a synonym of the earlier. A. atrica- 

 pillus striatulus included both the dark western race, to which 

 the name henshawi was very properly restricted by Mr. Nelson, 

 and also a special plumage of true A. atricapilhts ; but refer- 

 ence to the original description (1. c.) shows that three of the 

 four specimens described, and therefore virtually the types, are of 

 the dark western race. It is true that the name striatzilus was 

 suggested by the veiy '^wq pencillings of the under parts which 



