234 
Dwight on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow. 
[July 
stead of grayish. Wing, 54.1; tail, 44.7; tarsus, 19.8; middle toe and 
claw, 21.3; bill from nostril, 8.9. 
Adult $ and J in autumn (Nos. 1500, $, and 1502, J, same locality 
and collector, Sept. 30, 1886) : — Coloring everywhere richer, grayer, and 
greener than inbreeding dress, but streaking fainter and grayer. Above 
rich greenish-gray, the dorsal feathers and scapulars greenish-brown 
(instead of nearly black), decked with dusky, and edged with delicate 
pearl-gray (instead of whitish). Tertials, secondaries, and wing-coverts 
russet, edged like the female in breeding dress. Primaries nearly black, 
edged exteriorly with bright olive-green nearly to tips, except first prim- 
ary, which is edged with white. The brown of the head and the gray of 
the median line and neck are richer, and the cervical collar greener. 
Superciliary stripe intensified into a yellow spot on the eye-brow. A deep 
greenish wash above the eye extends backward and loses itself in the 
superciliary stripe. The buff of the breast and sides is brighter, and the 
streaking is pale lead gray in broader stripes. Edge of wing bright yel- 
low. Cesser wing-coverts and alulae edged with yellowish-green, the 
longest feather of the alula dusky, edged with white. 
Young of the year: — Identical in plumage with autumn adults, but with 
slightly smaller bill. 
Young, first plumage (No. 1240 $ . same locality and collector, July 
15, 1886): — General color chestnut-buff, darker above and variegated 
with black. Traces of two or three faint dusky streaks on sides. Dor- 
sal feathers, tertials, wing-coverts, and stripes on the head, black with 
chestnut-buff edging. Primaries and secondaries black, faintly edged 
with ashy. Traces of dusky auriculars and post-ocular streak. Tail 
similar to adult but edged with buff. This plumage is worn until the 
autumn dress of the adult is assumed.* 
Habitat. Marshes of southern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, 
and probably Nova Scotia, and southward in migration along the Atlan- 
tic coast. 
Measurements. Twenty-five $ and thirteen , all adults, show the 
following averages and extremes: Length,! J 142.5 (135.9-147.3) ; § 138.4 
( I 3 S- 9 - I 4 I 0 ; extent) 201.7 (193.-209.6) ; ? i 9 2 -3 (190.5-195.6); wing, 
c?58.2 (55.6-59.7) ; $54.6 (52.8-56.1): tail, 450.5 (47'2-53.3); ? 46-7 
(42.9-50.3): tarsus, 20.8 (19.8-21.6) : bill from feathers, 11.7 (10.4-12.5), 
from nostril, S.8 (8.1.91), depth at nostril, 5.3, width, 3.84 
* Compare first plumage of A. caudacutus (Brewster, Bull. N. O. C., III, 1878, 119). 
Seven specimens that I have examined all show more or less distinct streaking. 
t Fresh specimens — 11 males, 4 females. 
x The following measurements will prove useful for comparison : A. caudacutus, 34 
adults: Length, male, 149. 1 (144.8-157.5); female, 135.9 (129.5-142.2): extent, male, 
205.7(203.2-213.4) ; female, 191 (177.8-200.7) : wing, male, 58.7 (57.2-62.) ; female, 55.6 
(53.8-57.4) : tail i male, 48.5 (43.9-52.1) ; female, 47 (44.5-50.3) : tarsus, 20.6 (19.3-21.8) : 
bill from feathers, 12.2 (11.4-13.2), from nostril, 9.4 (8.9-10.2), depth at nostril, 5.3,: 
width, 4.1. 
A. c. nelsoni, 24 adults : Length, male, 140.2 (134.6-144.8) ; female, 135.9 (134.6-137.2) 
■887.] 
Dwight o?i a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow . 
This new form is not likely to be confounded with true cauda- 
cutus ■, for, so far as my material shows, the palest streaked 
caudacutus in any plumage may be recognized at a glance by 
being more distinctly streaked than any specimen of subvirga- 
tus. More material from suitable localities will no doubt show 
intermediates, but as yet I have seen no connecting links at this 
end of the chain. At the other end, however, subvirgatus 
passes gradually into nelsoni , as a series of fall specimens clearly 
shows. I have been unable to obtain any spring nelsoni for com- 
parison, but judging by tiie changes of plumage in the other two 
forms, nelsoni ought to be a much brighter and more richly 
colored bird than subvirgatus in like plumage. This is the 
case with fall specimens, and the points of difference are usually 
well defined. Compared witli the new form at this season, 
nelsoni is characterized by the rich brown of the back with white 
edging of the feathers, instead of greenish gray with pearl-gray 
edging ; by the deeper brown of the head ; by the richer russet 
of the wing-coverts and inner secondaries, and broader rusty edg- 
ing of the tertials as compared with whitish or buff; by the 
bl ighter orange-buft’ of the jugulum in sharp contrast to a whiter 
breast and abdomen than subvirgatus shows ; by distinct (some- 
times indistinct, however,) narrow streaks of black or dusky on 
jugulum and sides in place of broad indistinct gray stripes ; by 
smaller size ; by a bill not over 8.4 mm., and generally by a 
shorter wing. 
It is difficult to indicate by description differences that are 
obvious with specimens in hand, but a preponderance of the 
characters just given ought to determine without actual compar- 
ison all save a few perplexing intermediates. Measurements 
will often aid in determining these, but with a species like the 
Sharp-tailed Sparrow that soon wears its plumage ragged and 
disreputable among the coarse grasses it frequents, measurements, 
particularly of the tail, are not altogether reliable. The length of 
bill in nelsoni seems to be a pretty good character, as subvirga- 
tus (except in young of the year) seldom has as short a bill. To 
be sure, the differences are slight but quite noticeable to the eye, 
nevertheless. Although the largest bill of nelsoni never equals 
extent, male, 198.9 (193.-203.2) ; female, 193 (190.5-195.6): wing, male, 56.1(53.9 
57.7); female, 54.4 (52.1-56.4) : tail, male, 48.3(45.5-52.1); female, 47.5 (44.5-50.3): 
tarsus, 20.1 (19.1-20.8) : bill from feathers, 10.7 (10.2-11.2), from nostril, 8.1 (7.6-84) 
depth at nostril, 5.1, width, 3.8. 
