DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES AND SUB-SPECIES OF THE 

 GENUS DENDROICA. 



BY H. K. COALE. 



Dendroica sestiva morcomi subsp. nov. Western 



Yellow Warbler. 



Characters : Similar to Dendroica cestiva. Colors lighter. Bill 

 more slender. Habitat : The Western Province of North America. 

 Type: Adult $. (Coll. U.S. Nat'l. Mus. No. 10,975, Fort 

 Bridger, Utah, May 30th, 1S58; C. Drexler). Breast and 

 sides marked with rather narrow streaks of cinnamon-rufus — D. 

 (estiva has the breast and sides boldly streaked with broad chestnut 

 markings. 



Adult $: Below clear pale yellow — In D. cestiva the ? is 

 usually streaked faintly with chestnut on the sides of the breast. 



Toiing in the Fall : Below dusky yellow; above darker. Wing 

 and tail feathers edged with very pale yellowish-white — In D. 

 cestiva the fall birds of the year are pale yellow beneath, greenish- 

 yellow above, and the primaries and rectrices are edged with pure 

 pale yellow. 



Nestling : D. cestiva morcomi (No. 10,986 U. S. Nat'l. Mus. 

 Fort Bridger, Utah, July 13th, 1858; C. Drexler). Above pale 

 brownish. Below soiled white tinged with brown. 



Nestling: D. cestiva (No. 82,891 U. S. Nat'l. Mus. Halfday, 

 111., July 4th, 1879; H. K. Coale). Above slaty-gray. Below lighter, 

 fading into white on the belly. 



A careful comparison of twenty adult spring males and ten fe- 

 males from Eastern states, and an equal number from the Western 

 province proved the above characters to be constant. In fact the 

 race is so different that the Western form can readily be distin- 

 guished from the Eastern at sight. 



The National Museum is in possession of the nests and eggs 

 of both forms, but owing to the great variation in coloration and 

 markings of the eggs, it is impossible to describe any distinguish- 

 ing characteristics. 



It gives me pleasure to name this bird in honor of my es- 

 teemed friend, Mr. Geo. Frean Morcom, of Chicago, 111. 



