Sept, 1914 
STATUS OF CERTAIN ISLAND FORMS OF SALPINCTES 
215 
CTilmen. No mainlaiid bird was found with length of culmen equal to the 
maximum of San Nicolas Island specimens. 
Twenty-two examples of pulverhis in juvenal plumage are quite indis- 
tinguishable from young birds from the mainland. There is not the slightest 
tendency toward the development of any differential features at this stage, 
such as are so conspicuous in the young Salpinctes giiadeloupensis. 
To sum up, it seems apparent that the only distinctive feature of the 
San Nicolas Island Rock Wren is the slightly greater average length of 
culmen. In neither adults nor young are there any characters of color or 
markings not included in the range of variation found in the mainland bird. 
It seems advisable to recognize the slight size difference shown in the island 
series by the use of a separate name, pulverhis, as has been done, but the 
name should be restricted to the birds from San Nicolas Island. Specimens 
at hand from others of the Santa Barbara Islands in every respect fall within 
the range of variation of 8. obsoletus ohsoletus. 
In the spring of 1912 Mr. G-eorge Willett made a small collection of birds 
on certain of the islands off the coast of northwestern Lower California. 
These form part of his collection now on deposit at the Los Angeles Museum 
of History, Science and Art. Among the specimens collected on this trip is 
a single adult Rock Wren from San Martin Island; and it is rather startling to 
find that this bird is radically different in appearance from the mainland 
Salpinctes ohsoletus, and but slightly distinguished from 8. guadeloupensis. 
This wren I propose to call : 
Salpinctes guadeloupensis proximus, new subspecies 
San Martin Island Rock Wren 
Type . — Adult male; San Martin Island, Lower California; April 10, 1912; collected 
by George Willett; original number 1150. 
Characters . — In coloration most nearly like S. guadeloupensis guadeloupensis. 
Dark brown, as in that race, and with the back rather heavily barred. The most appar- 
ent color difference between the forms is that in proximus the outer webs of the tertials, 
secondaries, and some of the primaries, are rather conspicuously barred, as in some ex- 
amples of ohsoletus, while in the five adults at hand from Guadalupe Island, they are 
almost or quite uniform. As regards measurements, proximus has the long, heavy bill 
of guadeloupensis. It has not the relatively short wing and tail of the latter race, but 
in these measurements is more nearly like the mainland form. 
Remarks. — It is not without reluctance that I have decided to attach a 
name to this supposed island race, for I am aware of the objections that might 
be made to such a course. San Martin is only about six miles from the main- 
land. It is of small size, its area comprising but a few square miles, and it is 
at a comparatively remote distance from Guadalupe. However, similar ap- 
parent anomalies in distribution are known among other animals of insular 
distribution on the Pacific coast of North America; and, conceding the pe- 
culiarities of range and the limited material available, this single specimen 
still hardly admits of any other treatment. Its characteristics are absolutely 
unlike 8. ohsoletus, and point as definitely toward guadeloupensis in affini- 
ties. This is the more striking in consideration of the uniformly ohsoletus- 
like character of the Rock Wrens of other islands, some near and some re- 
mote from San Martin. 
It may be urged that it is sufficient to point out the peculiarities of such 
a specimen, without attaching a new name to it, but it is doubtful if such 
procedure emphasizes the case sufficiently. In depending upon research and 
collecting in the future it is far more likely that a definite “type locality” 
