1874.] 317 [Ridgway. 



As above noted, quails from the heavily-wooded portions in the 

 vicinity of the Wabash River exhibit the dark colors and thick bills 

 of the Florida specimens; on the other hand, those from the wide 

 prairies of the central and western portions of the State incline al- 

 most as decidedly toward var. texanus of the southwestern plains; 

 the latter is typical as far north as the Republican River, in Kansas. 

 The shrike (Collurio) is apparently much more like excubitoroides 

 than ludovicianus, since I have yet to see a specimen from Southern 

 Illinois — even from the immediate vicinity of the Wabash River — 

 which inclines at all toward the Gulf-coast form. 



The Cardinal (Cardinalis virginianus) has the size and exact pro- 

 portions throughout of the Florida bird ; but the colors are very much 

 purer though equally intense. In colors the resemblance is closer to 

 specimens from the Rio Grande, which, however, incline more toward 

 var. coccineus, of Eastern Mexico, in possessing a more robust bill 

 and narrower black frontlet. The difference from the Kansas form is 

 very remarkable considering the nearness to each other of the two 

 localities. I have examined Mr. Allen's specimens from Ft. Leaven- 

 worth, and they seem to be almost typical var. igneusl The Peuccea 

 aestivalis is precisely like that from Florida and Georgia. In Kan- 

 sas they have, apparently, only P. cassini, a very distinct species. 

 Among the chickadees I have never seen a specimen which inclined 

 toward P. atricapillus, much less toward var. septentrianalis] all are 

 P. carolinensis, a very distinct species. 



In regard to the meadow larks (Sturnella) some very curious facts 

 have been observed bearing directly upon the nature of the relation- 

 ship which the S. magna and S. neglecta bear to each other. 

 Throughout the wooded districts all these birds are pure magna, with 

 songs and other notes precisely like those of the same species found 

 along the Atlantic coast, and not approaching in the least degree, 

 either in habits, notes or plumage, the S. neglecta. In size they 

 are more like those from Florida than those from more nearly the 

 same latitude to the eastward, while their colors are slightly purer, 

 richer, and more sharply contrasted; but there is no tendency to 

 the peculiar features of S. neglecta. On the prairies, however, the 

 songs of meadow larks may be heard which I have been unable to 

 distinguish from those of the western birds, and they are very 

 probably of that species. These songs are in the proportion of about 

 one to half a dozen listened to in the course of an hour, the others 

 being the ordinary notes. Whether these birds with the song 

 of S. neglecta are really that species or merely denote the commence- 



