Carriker : List of the Birds of Costa Rica. 915 



alarm. The call is very similar to that of the common American Gold- 

 finch. 



"One of the September birds is a male just completing the postjuvenal 

 moult, and still showing greenish feathers on the throat, head, and back. 



" Cassin, in describing his Chrysomitris bryanti in 1865, was evidently 

 unaware of the publication of Chrysomitris xanthogaster by Du Bus ten 

 years earlier, and the former name has usually been relegated to synonymy. 

 Recently, however, Mr. Bangs has pointed out that subspecific differ- 

 ences exist between the birds of Colombia and Costa Rica, contrary to 

 Messrs. Salvin and Godman's opinion, and has proposed to revive the 

 name bryanti for the Costa Rican bird. Having examined the material 

 upon which Mr. Bangs' study was based, we are of the opinion that the 

 separation was perfectly justifiable, the differences being obvious at a 

 glance. Indeed, considering the fact that the comparatively low inter- 

 vening country in Panama seems to constitute an apparent gap in the 

 range of this alticoline species (indicated by the entire absence of records), 

 it is not strange that the virtual isolation of the northern birds has evolved 

 differential characters." (W. E. C. Todd.) 



Note. — Acknowledgments are due to Mr. W. EC. Todd for assistance in 

 revising the proof of this paper, especially as regards the orthography of 

 the scientific names. In certain instances, however, the Editor has seen 

 fit to alter the latter, in accordance with the rulings of the International 

 Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. — W. J. Holland. 



