188 OBERHOLSER oz a@ New Marsh Wren. nea 
sometimes covers all but a narrow lateral stripe of normally black, 
occasionally clove brown, but is sometimes almost absent, being 
restricted to the central portion of the forehead, the remainder of 
the pileum being in such case solid black. That this variation is 
not due to sex may at once be seen by reference to the specimens ; 
and that it is not due to season is equally apparent, since among 
birds taken in the fall as well as in the spring both these extremes 
of coloration exist. ‘That a change from brown to black is not 
produced by the wearing away of the tips of the feathers, as 
suggested by Dr. Sharpe! in connection with C7stothorus p. palu- 
dicola, is conclusively proved by the fact that many of the birds 
with most black upon the head are those in freshly molted spring 
and fall plumages, while a July specimen in worn plumage has 
the central part of the pileum brown in marked contrast to the 
black of the lateral portions. These facts seem to indicate that 
the differences noted are, as mentioned by Dr. Coues,? not 
correlated with any age, sex, or season, but are the result of 
purely individual variation. 
It has for various reasons been deemed advisable to here include 
a reasonably complete synonymy of the two western forms; and 
the present writer is responsible for the correct citation of all 
references. 
The type of Professor Baird’s Crstothorus palustris var. paludicola 
came from Shoalwater Bay, Washington, and is still in the 
National Museum. Examination shows it to represent the dark 
Pacific Coast race, for which the name therefore becomes available. 
No other specific or subspecific designations appear to have been 
bestowed upon either of the western forms, and the bird from the 
interior being thus without a name, may be called 
Cistothorus palustris plesius, subsp. nov. 
Troglodytes palustris GAMBEL, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. III, 1846, 
113; NEWBERRY, U.S. P. R. R. Rep. VI, 1857, Zool. 80 (part); SwAIns. 
& Ricu. Fauna Bor.-Amer. II, 1831, 319 (part); HeNry, Proc. Acad. Nat. 
Sci. Phila. VII, 1855, 309. 
‘Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus., VI, 1881, 243. 
® Birds of Colorado Valley, 1878, 179. 
