2^(5 Dwight'. on a New Race of Sharf-tailed Sparrow . 
t July 
the smallest bill of caudacutus, the bills of the three forms 
intergrade, and it is the short-billed specimens of the new form 
that are likely to give the most trouble. I notice that nearly all 
nelsom have lighter colored bills (especially the lower mandible, 
which is buff) than the majority of specimens of the new race, 
which generally has both mandibles slaty, but I fear no depen- 
dence can be placed upon this fact. 
A series of Sharp-tails obtained in the autumn at Sing Sing, 
N. Y., by Dr. Fisher, is of special interest. From typical nel- 
som, as rich in color as those obtained in Illinois, these birds 
show a gradual and complete gradation into subvirgatus , the 
brown of the head and back, and deep buff of the jugulum be- 
coming paler, the white edging of the dorsal feathers passing 
into gray, and the streaking of the jugulum fading into gray, 
until the imaginary line dividing all subspecies has been passed 
and the characters of subvirgatus are seen to predominate. 
It is to be regretted that the specimens from which I have 
selected my spring types are in worn and faded plumage, but 
comparing them with four specimens taken respectively at Point 
Judith, R. I., April 29 , N. Madison, Conn., June 9 , Cambridge, 
Mass., May 31 , and Hampton, N. B., June 21 , and with two 
labelled New Jersey, I find them almost identical in coloring and 
amount of wear. I notice that my summer males are generally 
paler above and less buffy beneath than the females, although a 
few of the latter are paler than the brightest males. Can it be 
that the males expose themselves more to the sun for the sake of 
singing to their mates, who assume the household car^s of a 
shady nest amid the long grass? 
The N. Madison and the Cambridge specimens just referred 
to have the shortest bills (only 8.1 mm.) of any subvirgatus in 
the series at hand, and the latter has been recorded as nelsoni. 
(Henshaw, Auk, III, 1886 , 486 .) It is labeled “ $ juv.,” 
which may, perhaps, account for the short bill, and the buff 
beneath is brighter than the average of the new race, but the 
pale coloring of the upper parts is identical with my New 
Brunswick birds. The N. Madison specimen, an adult female, 
is undoubtedly of the new race and a trifle paler than the Cam- 
bridge bird. These two, taken in connection with other short- 
billed specimens obtained at Cambridge and at Sing Sing in the 
fall, suggest the inquiry whether some inland marshes may not 
.8S7.] 
Dwight on a New Race of Sharp-tailed Sparrow. 
2 37 
furnish a regular supply of connecting links between nelsoni and 
the new race, which is certainly more closely related to nelsoni 
than to true caudacutus . It may not be out of place to say here 
that the latter in fall plumage is more heavily and broadly 
streaked than in the spring, the orange-buff about the head and 
on the jugulum and sides, much intensified, but otherwise very 
much like the spring bird. Its long bill alone (8.9-10.2111111.) 
will distinguish it from nelsoni , and the streaking from subvir- 
gatus. 
Strange to say, nelsoni was originally described by Mr. Allen 
(Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XVII, Mar. 1875), as having “a 
longer and slenderer bill” than caudacutus , an error that is re- 
peated in the latest edition of Dr. Coues’s ‘Key’. The bird 
described was in fall plumage and the description of this clearly 
indicates the character of nelsoni at that season. 
I discuss the subject of Sharp-tails at length because it has 
been one involved in some obscurity, and because several records 
have been made that will no doubt now require to be revised. 
It was not until 1877 that this species was recorded as far east 
as Maine, Mr. Brown having found it at Scarboro’ in October, 
1S76 (Bull. N. O. C., II, 1877, 27 and 98), while Mr. Brewster 
recorded it from Tignish, P. E. I., August 2 and 3, 1876 {Ibid. 
II, 1877, 28). I have seen some of the Tignish specimens, 
which are of course faded subvirgatus . It would be interest- 
ing to know what the Scarboro’ specimens were. One taken 
there October 13, 1879, and now before me, is subvirgatus. 
Some remarks by Dr. Brewer {Ibid., Ill, 1878, 48 and 147) are 
interesting, for A. caudacutus is spoken of as abundant on St. 
Andrew’s Bay. As this is partly in New Brunswick, the birds 
found there may prove to be subvirgatus. In 1880 Mr. Brown 
records caudacutus as breeding at Scarboro’ {Ibid., V, 1S80, 
52). Which race was it? I will also call attention to an article 
by Dr. Brewer in the ‘Oologist’* for 1879, where reference is 
made to the northern range of the Sharp-tails (Bull. N. O. C., 
*The ‘Oologist’ for April, 1879 (Bull. N. O. C., VI, 1881,47, Minor Ornithological Paper 
No. 59), is incorrect in stating that A. caudacutus was found breeding near Boston. It 
was a complicated case of misunderstanding and wrong identification which I will not 
discuss here, but as a matter of fact the birds breeding were nothing more nor less 
than A. s. savanna. The salt meadow referred to was on the ‘Back Bay’, and was fairly 
haunted with egg collectors. I visited it several 4 times, and the birds found breed- 
ing there were Savannah Sparrows and not Sharp-tails. 
