1926] Swarth: Birds and Mammals from the Attin Region 71 



settled at certain spots where they resented intrusion. Whatever 

 the reason, these birds all disappeared before the end of June, and we 

 had no evidence that any broods were hatched in that vicinity. The 

 first fall migrant appeared on upper Otter Creek, July 27, and during 

 the next ten days they were of daily occurrence. Last seen August 6. 



Two specimens were collected (nos. 44653-44654), an adult male at 

 Carcross, May 25, and an immature male on Otter Creek, July 27. 

 From outward appearances these birds might be referred to two 

 different subspecies, the first to the eastern form, Tringa salitaria 

 solitaria, the other to the western, T. s. dnnamomea, but I am not 

 satisfied that this division is justified. These two subspecies, at best, 

 are but poorly defined. The latest monographer of the group 

 (Ridg^^^ay, 1919, pp. 353, 358, 363) gives the distinguishing characters 

 of the two as follows: Tringa s. solitaria. Size smaller. "Summer 

 adults with upper parts much more distinctly spotted with white; 

 young with spotting on upper parts white or grayish white; white 

 bars on tail averaging wider; the middle pair of rectrices never 

 wholly grayish brown." 



T. s. dnnamomea. Size larger. ' ' Summer adults with upper parts 

 much less distinctly spotted with white ; young with spotting of upper 

 parts brownish buffy or cinnamomeus; white bars on tail averaging 

 narrower, the middle pair of rectrices often (usually?) wholly deep 

 grayish brown." 



An additional character cited by Brewster (1890, p. 377) in his 

 description of Tetanus soliiarius cinnamomeus, but not used by 

 Ridgway, is the presence in cinnamomeus of more or less ' ' freckling ' ' 

 at the inner base of the outermost primary. 



Examination in the present connection of some forty-odd specimens 

 of eastern and western birds revealed no more satisfactory mode of 

 dividing them than by regard to the points of capture. Some eastern 

 specimens (from Indiana and Pennsylvania) are smaller than any 

 western birds, but others are well within the size limits of dnnamomea. 

 Also, some western birds, taken in the fall and presumably immature, 

 are more cinnamomeous in color of upper parts. As regards distinct- 

 ness of spotting above, and character of tail markings, I found it 

 impossible to make division by these features. Most (but not all) 

 western birds show more or less of the "freckling" at the base of the 

 primary, and it is not present in anj' eastern specimens at hand. 



The several characters indicated are independently variable, so that 

 a given specimen may, on the basis of one certain feature, seem 



