A new subspecies of the genus <I>Hylocichla</I>

(1)

2

70 Howe,

Neiv Subspecies ofHylocichla.

Lfuly

Subsfecific characters.

—

Mostcloselyrelated toH. c.occidentalisfrom which it

may

be distinguished byitsdarker colorsand smallersize.

Dimension^ oftype.

—

Wing, 105; tail, 115; culmen,29; tarsus, 36.

Generalftotes.

—

This is the darkestof allthe races of If. ciirvi- rostrisand has a heavy

wash

of brownish grayon the lower parts which

becomes

heaviest on the distinctly spotted breast.

The abdomen and

under tail-coverts are deep fvilvous buffy

washed

with gray.

A NEW SUBSPECIES OF THE GENUS HYLOCICHLA.

BY

REGINALD HEBER HOWE,

JR.

Since

I published

my

paper

on

'The

Ranges

of Hylocichlafusces- cens

and

Hylocichlafuscescenssalicicola^' in ^'

The Auk

^' forJanuary, 1900 (Vol.

XVII,

No. I,pp. 18-25),^Ihave

had

quite a

number

of additional specimens sent

me

for examination

and

identification.

These

haveforced

me

to recognize that a subspecific difference ex- ists between the Hylocichlafuscescenssalicicolaof the

West

and the bird inhabiting

Newfoundland,

whichin

my

former paperIreferred to this

same

race. I noticedatthattimethat a slight difference did exist,butdid not

deem

itworthyof separation ; notbeingin favor ofdescribing ^slightvariations. I

am

now, however,ofthe opinion that the

Newfoundland

bird is subspecifically distinct from the westernxd!//V/V(?/a, though nearer this race than to Hylocichla fuscescens. This difference,

now

apparent, proves the necessity of having, in describing species and subspecies, very large series with whichto work.

My

^former^paper

was

basedon the examination of far

more

specimens than agreat

many

of our recognized subspecies have been described from, and yet the additionto that series hasproved that if the western race salicicolais recognized the race inhabiting

Newfoundland

also

must

be, or in otherwords that theformer series of thirty-six specimens only barely suggest- ed

what

the addition of eleven

more

specimens proves.

(2)

Vol.xvir

1900

Howe,

Ne%<j Subspecies of Hylocichla.

2^1

Hylocichla fuscescens

fuliginosa, subsp. nov.

Type, from Codroj, Newfoundland, No. 46260, adult. Coll. of Wil- liam Brewster. Collected Maj'31, 1895,bjErnestDoane.

Geographical Range.

—

Newfoundland (also possibly Anticosti and Labrador).

Siibspecijic Characters.

—

^Size slightly larger. Upper parts, especially on the head,distinctly bro-wnish,

much

darker andnotofthetawnyshade of typical fuscescens,andlackittgthe greenish tingeof salicicola. Throat, lores,and upperbreast suffusedwith _buff,though perhaps ^less sothan in fuscescefis (in salicicola buff is practicallyabsent), the upper breastand usually also the throat spotted heavilywith broad arrow-shaped brown markings suggesting verystrongl}'the throat andbreastof H.u.sivain- sonii. Thebreast markingsof bothfuscescefis andsalicicola are narrow andmorepenciledand lighter in shade. Billdarkerandheavier.'

Remarks.

— The

two specimens already recorded from

Rhode

Island, and the ones from Ottawa, Ontario, are referable to this race, as is also a malekindly loaned

me

by Dr. Louis B. Bishop, taken at

New Haven,

Conn., on

September

23, 1895.

The

spec-

imen

recordedfrom Chester,South Carolina, isprobably referable to this

new

race, ratherthan to salicicola. Another specimen sent

me by

^Dr.Bishopfrom the

Magdelen

Islands,takenJune 13, 1887,

is intermediate betweenfuscescens

and

fuliginosa, although diffi- cultto determine on account ofbeing inworn, breedingplumage.

Dr. Bishop has also kindly sent

me

an adultmale

(No

41 16) taken

May

6, 1899, ⁱⁿ

New Haven

County, Conn.,

and

an adult female (No. 4950) taken

May

16, 1900,in the

same

locality,both referable to fuliginosa,

and

the first spring specimens from

New

England

Ihave seen.

'For measurements see Tableswith formerpaper. Auk,Vol.XVII, No.

I,pp.22,^3.