BIRDS 285 



Geospiza prosthemelas Rothschild and Hartert, Novit. Zool., vr, p. 169, 

 1899. 



Range. — Narboro, Albemarle, James, Duncan, Jervis, Indefatig- 

 able, Charles, Gardner (near Charles), Barrington and Cowley. 



Adult Male. — Cat. No. 4536, Leland Stanford Jr. University 

 Museum; James Island, April 21, 1899. Head and neck all around 

 and breast black. Back and upper surface of wings and tail dark 

 dusky brown. Rump and upper tail coverts paler brown. Belly and 

 under tail coverts white ; sides and flanks brownish ; lower part of 

 breast white, streaked with black. Lower surface of wings and tail 

 grayish-brown. Under wing coverts dusky-gray anteriorly, whitish 

 posteriorly. Bill black. Feet dark brown. Length 105 millimeters, 

 wing 63, tail 38, culmen 10.7, gonys 5.7, width of bill at base 6.3, depth 

 of bill at base 8, maxilla from nostril 7, tarsus 20.5. 



There is a considerable amount of variation amongst the fifteen 

 specimens of adult males in the collection, specially in the coloration 

 of the lower parts. Some have the back and upper surface of the wings 

 lighter than in the one described, contrasting more strongly with the 

 black of the head. The feathers of the throat and breast may have only 

 the central areas black, the marginal parts being white. In some not 

 only the belly but the lower part of the breast and the sides are white, 

 the sides being streaked with brown. Still others have almost no 

 dusky below, except on the throat, where the central areas of the 

 feathers are black, the general color of the under parts in such speci- 

 mens being yellowish-olive, shaded on the breast and sides with buff. 

 The top of the head may be black with narrow olive-yellowish edges to 

 the feathers, the back, wing- and tail-coverts olive-brownish, with the 

 central areas of the feathers darker, the wing and tail quills brown with 

 yellowish-olive edgings. The bill in such specimens is entirely black, 

 indicating that the birds are adults. Since comparatively few of the 

 males have purely black heads, we may assume that the acquisition of ' 

 this character is rather late in the life of the bird. 



Adult Female. — Cat. No. 4372, Leland Stanford Jr. University 

 Museum ; Tagus Cove, Albemarle, March 18, 1899. Feathers of the 

 upper parts dark brown centrally, with yellowish-olive borders nar- 

 rowest on the head and widest on the lower back and rump. Wings 

 and tail dusky-brown, the feathers edged with yellowish-olive. Lower 

 parts dirty buffy-gray, whitish on the belly. Obsolete streaks of brown 

 on the breast and sides. Bill black. Feet brownish-black. 



The streaking of the under parts and the proportion of olive and 

 brown on the back in adult females varies, but such differences are 



