240 Mr. W. R. Oofilvie-Grant on American Gallinse. 
o 
We have a series of birds from the area indicated, and 
Mr. Godman and I are both satisfied that Mr. Nelson's name 
is a mere synonym of the subspecies C. texanus. 
2 a. Colinus godmani Nelson, Auk, xiv. p. 45 (1897) 
[Jaltipan, Minatitlan, Coatzacoalcos_, and shores of Lake 
Catemaco, Vera Cruz, Mexico] ; xv. p. 120, pi. ii. (1898). 
This species has nothing to do with C graysoni Lawr., with 
which Mr. Nelson compares it ; but is evidently nearly allied 
to C. cubanensis. The male appears to differ from that 
species chiefly iti having the crown blackish, with brown and 
greyish edgings to the feathers ; the sides, flanks, and belly 
chestnut, heavily margined with black and devoid of white 
snots; and the tertials spotted with white instead of buff. 
The figure is somewhat misleading, as it conveys the impres- 
sion that the entire belly is black ; but we find from the 
description that this is not the case. 
3. Ortyx pectoralis (Cat. B. xxii. p. 421). 
Colinus graysoni nigripectus Nelson, Auk, xiv. p. 47 (1897) 
[Plains of Puebla, Mexico]. 
Colinus mi7ior Nelson, Auk, xviii. p. 47 (1901) [Plains of 
Chiapas, near Palenque, and adjacent parts of Tabasco]. 
In the British Museum collection there are male examples 
of this species with the feathers of the under parts either uni- 
form chestnut or narrowly fringed with black. The latter 
plumage apparently denotes the fully adult bird [cf. remarks 
on G. salvini, infra] . 
In my opinion there can be no doubt that both these names 
of Mr. Nelson's are synonyms of C. pectoralis. By almost 
invariably contrasting his supposed new birds with the species 
to which they are least nearly allied, ^' old friends " are made 
to appear in the guise of very distinct species. We cannot 
imagine that so excellent a field-naturalist as Mr. Nelson 
does this wilfully, and must therefore infer that such errors 
are due to insufficient knowledge of the subject and want of 
material. By referring to the various " Keys to the Species "" 
given in the ^Catalogue of Birds,' xxii., Mr. Nelson would 
have escaped such absurdities as redescribing Cyrtonyx sall/ei 
