December 20, 1914 
Canada 
Geological Survey 
Museum Bulletin No. 7. 
BIOLOGICAL SERIES, No. 4. 
A New Species of Dendragapus ( Dendragapus Obscurus Flemingi ), 
from Southern Yukon Territory . 1 
By P. A. Taverner. 
In the examination of a collection of Dendragapus obscurus 
recently acquired by the Canadian Geological Survey from the 
Teslin Lake region, on the Yukon-British Columbia boundary, 
it became evident that a new form of the species was probably 
represented. Two subspecies have heretofore been recognized 
as ranging into Canadian territory, D. o. fuliginosus and richard- 
soni. Fuliginosus is a dark bird with a light tail band and 
richardsoni a lighter one without a terminal band on the tail. 
The birds under consideration are without the tail band but are 
even darker than fuliginosus. 
We had a fair series of both recognized forms from southern 
British Columbia, but all in spring and early summer plumage and 
hence hardly comparable with the new form which is represented 
entirely by late summer and autumn birds. The possibility 
existed that the darkness of the new birds but represented the 
new and unfaded plumage of the post-nuptial moult; therefore 
application was made to the U. S. Biological Survey and its chief, 
Dr. Henshaw, was courteous enough to place at our disposal what 
summer and autumn specimens there were in the collection of that 
institution. A comparison of the specimens, including these, 
confirms our first surmise as to the racial differentiation of the 
Republished from ‘The Auk,' Vol. XXXI, No. 3, July, 1914, pp. 385-388. 
LIBRARY 
NATIONAL 
OF CANADA 
