502 COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. 
may be judged from the following summary of his views, as 
expressed in the first work to which he calls attention :— 
* CHRYSOMITRIS (PSEUDOMITRIS) psaltria (Say) Bon 
g CHRYSOMITRIS pod cotta tere om a MEXICANUS ows Bonap. 
. Var s Swains.] 
[Bay calaahiaas als ] 
[c. Var. aak ce es.] 
Dr. Coues’ reasons for keeping psaltria apart from Mexicanus and 
its varieties are explained by his own words, which we quote from 
p. 83 of the first paper cited:— . . . . “the typical psaltria is so 
very diverse from mexicanus proper, and the doubtful specimens” 
(meaning var. Arizone) ‘incline so very decidedly toward the 
latter, that, in the impossibility of uniting psaltria with mexi- 
canus” (1!!!) “we must consider them” (the doubtful specimens 
—var. Arizone) ‘as varieties of the latter, unless, indeed, they 
be hybrids between the two.” Thus it is very plain that C. psal- 
tria was not then formally brought into the connection in which 
I placed it. My arrangement of these forms was as follows: 
CHRYSOMITRIS PSALTRIA, Say. 
a. Var. (ooe Say. Rocky Mts. of th 
b. Var. arizone Coues. U.S. and Mexican boundary. 
c. Var. mexicana Swains. Mexi l America. 
d. Var. columbiana Lafr. Isthmus of Panama and adjacent localities. 
In discussing the relationship of these forms to one another, Dr. 
Coues does not even note the progressive increase of black from 
psaltria to Columbiana — much less does he appear to consider the 
manifestation of any climatic law affecting color as applicable in 
this case—but merely gives the comparative characters of the 
several races, and remarks, incidentally, that there is a gradual 
transition between the two extremes (Columbiana and Arizone— 
psaltria being positively separated from the series, as a distinct 
species, in the manner shown above). As regards “bringing it 
` into the connection” of a race along with mexicanus in the “Key,” 
Dr. Coues may, perhaps, remember the occasion upon which I 
explained the case to him, illustrated it by a series of specimens, 
and discussed the matter with him without hesitation. 
In the treatment of the races of Myiarchus Lawrencii, I cer- 
tainly cannot be justly charged with “ scientific plagiarism,” since 
* The current number of his catalogue. 
