398 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Perdix perspicillata Lichtenstein fide Gould, Monogr. Odontoph., pt. i, 1844, in 

 text to pi. 7. 



0[dontophonis'\ meleagris Wacs-er, Isis, 1832, 278 (Mexico; coll. Wurtemberg 

 Mus.). 



[Cyrtonyx] meleagris Nelson, Auk, xiv, 1897, 48, in text (crit.).— Sharpe, Hand- 

 list, i, 1899, 46. 



Cyrtonyx montezumae meleagris Peters, Check-list Birds World, ii, 1934, 57. 



Cyrtcmyx sallei (not of Verreaux) Hellmayr and Conover, Cat. Birds Amer., i, 

 No. 1, 1942, 287 part (Michoacan, Los Reyes). 



CYRTONYX MONTEZUMAE MEKRIAMI Nelson 



Merriam's Harlequin Quail 



Adult male. — Similar to that of the nominate form but with the crown 

 darker, the light shaft streaks of the back of the head bufly white, and 

 the black of the throat continuing posteriorly to the chestnut of the breast, 

 thereby eliminating any white pectoral band such as is found in the 

 other races of the species; sides of breast much lighter gray, more slaty, 

 with the white spots about half as large, the spots becoming golden buff 

 on the lower flanks and almost chestnut on the tips of the feathers ; chest- 

 nut of breast slightly paler; upper parts with the gray portions of the 

 feathers more slaty, the light shaft streaks buflfy on mantle, gradually 

 darkening until they are chestnut on the longer scapulars, innermost 

 secondaries, and upper tail coverts; the spots on the upper wing coverts 

 light golden. 



Inasmuch as this form is still known only from the type, we quote 

 here the original description in its entirety (Nelson, Auk, xiv, 1897, 48) : 

 "The general pattern of head markings of merriami is much as in monte- 

 zumae, except that the black chin and throat area extends down to the 

 chestnut on the lower neck and breast with no intervening white collar; 

 the white superciliary band which extends under the black throat patch 

 as a white collar in montezumae, ends on each side of the neck in mer- 

 riami. Bluish-black auricular patches extend forward on the sides of 

 neck and form a broad junction with the black of the throat. The crown 

 and crest are darker than in montezumae, the light shaft-streaks on the 

 back of the neck and shoulders are buffy whitish, becomitig more and 

 more intensely colored posteriorly, until on the longer scapulars and ter- 

 tiaries they are almost or quite chestnut; the webs of the tertiaries are 

 gray, becoming browner near the tips, and are crossed by several trans- 

 verse, oblong black spots which are much narrower and more like bars 

 than are the corresponding markings in montezumae ; the back and rump 

 are blackish with golden buffy shaft-lines, brown mottling and narrow 

 ashy edgings to the feathers ; the upper tail coverts are ashy with heavy 

 rusty shaft-lines and several transverse black bars on each web of the 

 feathers ; the chestnut area of the breast and belly is as in montezumae, 

 but is of a lighter shade; the sides of the breast and flanks are slaty 



