THE SONORAN REDWING. 453 



175. Agelaius phoeniceus sonoriensis Ridgway. 



SONORAN REDWING. 



Agelaius phceniceus sonorensis Ridgway, Manual North American Birds, 1887, 370. 

 (B 401, part; C 212, part; R 261, part; C 316, part; U 498. a ) 



Geographical range : Northern Mexico and contiguous borders of the United 

 States, from the lower Rio Grande Valley, in Texas, and Southern Arizona west to the 

 lower Colorado Valley, California. 



The Sonoran Redwing is distinguishable from the common Red-winged 

 Blackbird by the lighter colors of the female, its smaller bill, and its somewhat 

 larger size. Its breeding range in the United States is confined to our extreme 

 southern border. 



Five specimens, three males and two females, now in the United States 

 National Museum collection, taken by Dr. James C. Merrill, United States Army, 

 at Fort Brown, Texas, are referable to this subspecies. The last two were 

 taken on February 17 and March 19, 1877, but there are no dates on the labels 

 attached to the males. There are also several sets of eggs in the United States 

 National Museum collection, taken by the Doctor at the same place on May 1, 

 1877, which are presumably referable to this race. These are indistinguishable 

 from those of the Red- winged Blackbirds, but as they are not absolutely identified 

 I have not figured any of them; they average a trifle smaller. 



A colony of Red-winged Blackbirds (in all probability of this subspecies) 

 nested at the sink of the Santa Cruz River, among- the flags and cat-tail rushes 

 in the laguna, 9 miles northwest of Tucson, Arizona, in the spring of 1872, but 

 I did not take any of their eggs, supposing them to be the common eastern Red- 

 winged Blackbird, which they closely resemble in all their habits and actions. 

 They appear to be resident there, as I noticed some at all seasons of the 

 year around my camp on Rillito Creek, which they often visited, in company 

 with other birds, picking up scattered grain at the picket line to which my 

 horses were tied at night. 



There are no positively identified eggs of this subspecies in the United 

 States National Museum collection, but they undoubtedly resemble those of the 

 Red-winged Blackbird so closely as to be practically indistinguishable. 



176. Agelaius phoeniceus bryanti Ridgway. 



BAHAMAN REDWING. 



Agelaius phceniceus bryanti Ridgway, Manual North American Birds, 1887, 370. 

 (B 401, part; C 212, part; R 261, part; C 316, part; U 49S&.) 



Geographical range : The Bahama Islands, West Indies, the southern portions of 

 the Florida peninsula and the adjacent keys; west casually"? to the Gulf coast of Louisi- 

 ana (Lake Borgne) ; south to Yucatan and Nicaragua, Central America. 



The breeding range of the Bahaman Redwing in the United States extends 

 through the southern portions of the Florida peniDsula (the Everglades) and the 



