Birds of Colorado Springe. 

 Alleju & Brewst*r, 



34. Helminthophila celata. Golden-crowned War- 

 bler. — First met with April 28. A few were seen almost daily 

 till late in May. 



Among a fairly extensive series of Orange-crowned Warblers I find two 

 well-characterized and readily separable races, one a dark greenish-olive 

 bird coming from Florida and Georgia, the other a bright yellowish form, 

 the extreme of which is represented by specimens from California. The 

 latter, it is perhaps needless to say, is variety lutesceiis, supposed to be re- 

 stricted to the Pacific Slope. 



Specimens from Texas and Minnesota are paler and less yellowish 

 than California ones, but on the whole more nearly like them than 

 they are like the Florida examples. Still closer to lutesceiis are my 

 Arizona and Colorado representatives, several of which are so nearly' 

 identical with even the brighter California birds that it is practically 

 impossible to distinguish them. The general evidence of this series 

 shows a barely appreciable paling of the yellow in the Colorado and 

 Arizona birds as compared with those from California, a still further and 

 rather more decided diminution of this color in the Texas and Minnesota 

 ones, and an abrupt and very wide gap between the latter and the dark 

 greenish-olive Florida specimens. 



If the geographical variation among the representatives of the region 

 at large west of the Mississippi is always as trifling as in the series before 

 me, little violence would be done by uniting lutescens and celata under 

 the latter and prior name. 



But whatever the disposition finally made with the western forms, 

 there seems to be no reason why the dark bird found in the South- 

 ern Atlantic States should not be recognized as a distinct variety, for it 

 ditiers more from celata than the latter does from lutescens. Mr. 

 Ridgway called attention to some of its peculiarities in "North Ameri- 

 can Birds" (Vol. I, p. 202), proposing to distinguish it under the 

 name obscura, but as he unfortunately claimed among its characteristics 

 the absence of certain markings {i.e., the -'orange" crown-patch and white 

 spots on the outer rectrices) which it has been since shown to normally 

 possess', the variety fell into disrepute, having been latterly ignored 

 even by Mr. Ridgway himself. Believing that it really deserves a distinct- 

 ive name I take the present opportunity to reinstate it under the following 



Helminthofhila celata obscura RlDGWfAY. SuBSP. CHAR. Differing 

 from true H. celata in being darker and dingier, especially beneath, where 

 the usual yellowish tinge is replaced by a greenish one. 



S adult (No. 1800, Coll. W. B., St. Mary's, Georgia, April 7, 1877). 

 Above dark greenish-plumbeous ; beneath dingy greenish-olive, darkest 

 on the sides, palest on the middle of the abdomen ; sides of head and neck 

 scarcely lighter than the back; eyelids and a short, ill-defined superciliary 

 stripe greenish-yellow; a concealed crown-patch of deep orange-rufous; 

 inner webs of outer tail feathers narrowly margined with white near their 

 terminal ends. 



? adult (No. 1801, Coll. W. B., Mellonville, Florida, March 14, 1877). 

 Lacking the rufous crown-patch ; otherwise similar to the male. 



Habitat. Georgia and Florida in winter and early spring, perhaps mi- 

 grating northward to breed. 



Audubon figured this race, and his plate even exaggerates its peculiar 

 dark coloring. It is probable that his specimens were taken in Florida, 

 although he does not state that such was the case. I have seen no examples 

 from the Mississippi Valley east of the Mississippi Rive but Mr. Ridgway 

 says (North American Birds, Vol. I, p. 202) that "specimens from Southern 

 Illinois .... and from Wisconsin are precisely like Rocky Mountain ex_ 

 amples." Two Massachusetts ones before me are doubtfully referable to 

 var. obscura. Both are somewhat lighter than Florida specimens although 

 darker and greener than Texas or Minnesota examples. As they are in 

 fresh autumnal plumage, in this respect differing from any others that I 

 have, I cannot decide upon their precise relationship. 



There seems to be some mystery, by the way, as to where these" south- 

 ern birds breed. They are not uncommon in Georgia and Florida during 

 the winter and early spring, but they apparently depart before the end of 

 April. To the northward of the Carolinas in the Atlantic States the 

 Orange-crown, of whatever race, is very rarely seen, while tlie migrants 

 that pass up the Mississippi Valley are said to belong to the typical {cel- 

 ata) form. Possibly obscura will be found to summer among the little- 

 known niftuntains of Georgia and the Carolinas. In such a case it will 

 probably turn out to be a very local form. 



Bull. N.O.O. 8, July, 1883, p, /^'^ '/i>1f- 



