1912] Swarth : Birds and Mammals from Vancouvi r Island 39 



deal of dusky. We secured six specimens, four males and two 

 females (nos. 15fi75-15680). There is not available sufficient 

 material representative of typical abieticola to afford a basis for 

 comparison. 



Colaptes cafer saturatior Bidgway 

 Northwestern Flicker. 



A common species at nearly every point visited. Miss Alex- 

 ander reported them as abundant in the vicinity of Parksville in 

 April. At Beaver Creek, in June, they were numerous, and by 

 this time the young birds were out of the nests and scattered 

 through the woods. Very few were observed in the Golden Eagle 

 Basin, but on the summit of Mount Douglas, July 14—16, a 

 number were observed. A few were seen at Nootka Sound, both 

 on the Tahsis Canal and at Friendly Cove. At Errington, in 

 September, the species was abundant, much more so than at any 

 other point. 



Thirteen specimens were collected i nos. 15681-15693). All 

 show the dark coloration of saturatior to a marked degree, but 

 six of the thirteen exhibit markings similar to those encountered 

 in C. auratus. No. 1568:) has two yellow rectrices; nos. 15686, 

 15687 and 15689, all adult males, have more or less distinctly 

 marked red nuchal crescents. No. 15691, juvenal female, has a 

 well-defined nuchal crescent, and no. 15692, juvenal male, besides 

 having such a mark, has a great deal of red on the anterior 

 portion of the crown also. It is interesting that characters of 

 auratus should appear so often in specimens of cafer secured in 

 a region far distant from the point of junction of the two species. 



Chordeiles virginianus virginianus (Gmelin) 

 Nighthawk 



Seen in the vicinity of Alberni at different times from June 

 14 to August 27, and at Errington in September, but nowhere 

 else. Though the birds were observed every time I visited the 

 town of Alberni. they were not seen at all at our camp on Beaver 

 Creek, fifteen miles north of town. On one occasion one was heard 

 calling at a point some three miles south of camp. None was 

 seen in the mountains south of Alberni, nor at the head of 



