30 BTTLLETIIT 86, TTNITED STATES NATrOSTAL MXTSEUM. 



grayish, buffy or ochraceous; and of the width of the dark bars on 

 the abdomen. 



Geogra/pMcdl distribution. — Ks a species Ghordeiles mrginianus 

 ranges, during the breeding season, in the West Indies and North 

 America, form the northern edge of Mexico, the Gulf coast of the 

 United States, and the Greater Antilles, north to the edge of the 

 Barren Grounds in central Quebec, northern Ontario, southern 

 Mackenzie, and northern Yukon ; and from the Atlantic coast to the 

 Pacific. It migrates across Mexico, Central America, and through 

 the West Indies to southern South America, where the various sub- 

 species probably winter together. 



The summer ranges of two of the races, Ghordeiles virginiarms 

 aserriensis^ and Ghordeiles virgimamus vicirms, is somewhat re- 

 stricted geographically, but most of the others are considerably ex- 

 tended. . The northernmost form, Ghordeiles virginiarms virginiarms, 

 occupies an immense area stretching all the way across the continent, 

 and at least equal in extent to the combined ranges of all the other 

 subspecies. 



The breeding areas of all but two of the forms of Ghordeiles vir- 

 gimanus are continuous with some one or more of the others, al- 

 though, of course, the lines delimiting the ranges on the accompany- 

 ing map leave intermediate spaces due to lack of specimens from such 

 regions. The subspecies of the Greater Antilles, GhordeUes vir- 

 ginianus minpr, and that of the Bahama Islands, Ghordeiles vir- 

 ginianus vicinus, are, of course, separated from each other and from 

 the mainland forms by the surrounding water. The southeastern 

 bird, Ghordeiles virginianus chapmani, adjoins Ghordeiles virgim,iwnus 

 virginianus, GhordeUes virginianus howelli^ and Ghordeiles vir- 

 ginianus aserriensis.^ Also Ghordeiles virgima/nvs virginiaams west- 

 ward meets Ghordeiles virginianus howelU,^ GhordeUes virginianus 

 sennetti and Ghordeiles virginianus hesperis; and the last also reaches 

 Ghordeiles virginianus sennetti. The central form of the west, Ghor- 

 deiles virginianus howelU,^ lies surrounded by all of the six other 

 mainland races, every one of which it touches at some part of the 

 boundary of its range, as the distribution map shows. The far south- 

 western bird, Ghordeiles virginianus henryi, adjoins, in addition, 

 Ghordeiles virginianus aserriensis on the southeast, and probably also 

 Ghordeiles virgirdanus hesperis on the northwest. 



Zonal distribution. — In the West Indies dtiring summer this species 

 occupies the Upper Tropical Zone of the Neotropical Eegion; on 

 the North American Continent the Lower Austral, Upper Austral, 



1 See p. 71. 



2 See p. 57. 



