522 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



Haplospisa nivaria Bangs^ Proc, Biol. Soc. Washington, XIII, 1899, 102 (Par- 

 amo de Chiruqua; orig. descr. ; type now in coll. Mus. Comp. Z06I..; meas. ; 

 crit.). — Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1900, 121, 164 (Salvin and 

 Godman's and Bangs' references). — Dubois, Syn. Avium, I, 1901, 627 (ref. 

 orig. descr.; range). — Shaepe, Hand-List Birds, V, 1909, 329 (ref. orig. 

 descr.; range). 



Phrygilus nivarius Brabourne and Chubb, Birds S. Am., I, 1912, 382 (ref. 

 orig. descr. ; range) . 



Phrygilus unicolor nivarius Chapman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXIV, 

 191 5, 652 (Paramo de Chiruqua; diag. ; meas.; crit). 



Fifty-three specimens: Cerro de Caracas, Paramo de Mamarongo, 

 and Paramo de Chiruqua. 



Little variation is apparent in this fine series, except such as is due 

 to age and sex, young males being streaked like the adult females. 

 A young male dated April 4 is moulting from this streaked plumage 

 into that of the adult. The two adults shot on April 2 are much worn, 

 but those taken later in the month are in fresh dress. 



The first specimens of this bird, secured by Simons in 1878, were 

 referred by Salvin and Godman to Phrygilus unicolor (D'Orbigny 

 and Lafresnaye), a species which they admitted was variable accord- 

 ing to locality. When Mr. IBrown's series came to hand, however, 

 Mr. Bangs described the bird represented under the name Haplospisa 

 nivaria, comparing it with Haplospiza unicolor Cabanis, with which 

 it has clearly nothing whatever to do, being in fact much more closely 

 related to Phrygilus unicolor, an entirely different bird, as correctly 

 given by Salvin and Godman in the first place. This curious but not 

 entirely inexcusable mistake by Mr, Bangs has unfortunately been 

 followed by Sharpe in his Hand-List of the Genera and Species of 

 Birds', as well as by Mr. Riley in describing a supposed new form 

 (montosa) from the Andes of Merida, but which according to Dr. 

 Chapman is the same as the present bird. Dr. Chapman goes on to 

 point out that this and related forms are apparently not congeneric 

 with the type of Phrygilus (P. gayi) — a conclusion which the writer 

 had already reached independently — ^and suggests that eventually it 

 will be necessary to segregate them undei- Bonaparte's name Geospis- 

 opsis. 



This is one of the characteristic species of the Paramo or Alpine 

 Zone in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, its long, lax plumage fitting 

 it to withstand the cold of these high altitudes. Simons secured five 



