1926] Swarth: Birds and Mammals from the Atlin Region 75 



I learned that the man who collected the type series of flemimgi (a 

 trapper, who sold specimens to the Canadian Geological Survey) had 

 had his headquarters at Nisuttlin Bay, on the east side of the lake, 

 and, from what I was told, in all probability his birds were shot on a 

 low mountain that rises some four or five miles north of that point. 



Flemdngi is unquestionably closely related to richardsonii and much 

 farther removed, genetically, from the coastal forms of Dendragapus 

 whose ranges it approaches so nearly on the westward. In the descrip- 



Fig. B. Tails of Dendragapus obscurus fiemingi, showing variation due to 

 sex and age; about % natural size, o, adult male, in second year or older 

 (M. v. Z. no. 46091) ; 6, immature male, during first year (M. V. Z. no. 46092) ; 

 c, adult female (M. V. Z. no. 42001) ; d, immature female (M. V. Z. no. 46093). 



tion of fiemingi, Taverner (Joe. cit.) properly makes most of his com- 

 parisons with richardsonii, as its closest relative, but he lays undue 

 stress upon certain features that are of no systematic import. In the 

 description of the tail he says: "Tail feathers not having the same 

 chopped off appearance. Middle and several lateral feathers slightly 

 to markedly double-rounded at end." This is a matter of age (see 

 figs. B and C) ; the shape of the tail is the same in both subspecies. 



