Bangs on Birds from Colombia On Some Birds from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia Outram Bangs

Abstract

FRecentLiterature. one species of 7. bewickit spilurus and T. b. leucogaster of the Check-List are for the first time separated and named.The United States forms of the group are as follows: (1) 7. bewéckit bewickii (Aud.), of the eastern United States; (2) 7. b. cryptus, Texas, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas, and probably north to Kansas; (3) 7. 6. eremophilus, southern border for the United States, from western Texas and southern Colorado to southeastern California, south over the tablelands of Mexico; (4) 7. 0. chartenturus, coast region of southern California, from about Pasadena south into northern Lower California; (5) 7. 6. drymaecus, Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys west to the coast about San Simeon, California; (6) T. b. spilurus (Vigors), vicinity of San Francisco Bay, California; (7) T. b. calophonus, Pacific Coast, from Oregon north to southern Vancouver Island and the valley of the Frazer River, British Columbia; (8) T. b. nesophilus, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands, California; (9) T. b. leucophrys (Anthony), San Clemente Island, California; (10) DAO: cerroensts (Anthony), Cerros Island, Lower California.The other members of the group are (1) Z. 4. percuus, State of Jalisco, north to Central Zacatecas, south to Guerrero; (2) 7. 6. murinus (Uartl.),States of Hidalgo, Mexico, Tlaxcala, and northern Morelos, Mexico; (3) 7. 6. bairdi (Salv.& Godm.),Oaxaca, southern Puebla, and southwestern Vera Cruz, Mexico; (4) 7. zusularis (Lawr.),Socorro Island, Mexico;(5) Z. brevicaudus Ridgw., Guadalupe Island, Mexico.Thus five of the forms are insular.Mr. Oberholser is no doubt very keen at discriminating slight differences, not only in the present but in some other instances.The question is not so much whether the differences claimed exist, but the advisability of their recognition in nomenclature.The present group is apparently not exceptionally plastic, and the same methods carried out among North American birds in general would doubtless result in numberless similar minute subdivisions, which it would serve no good purpose to recognize as 'subspecies.'In the present case the rather startling results seem due rather to a new point of view as regards the value of slight differences than to the discovery of new characters.We observe that Mr. Oberholser rejects the name dexcogaster used by Baird for the Texan form, and renames it cryffus, on the ground that Baird did not give a new name in this instance but used the name Jezcogaster of Gould, through a misidentification of Gould's species; and that, therefore, '' according to the usual procedure in such cases," Baird's name is unavailable -a point apparently well taken.Incidentally Mr. Oberholser claims full generic rank for Thryomanes and Anorthura, and we believe with good reason.-J. A. A.