On two Abnormally-colored Specimens of the Bluebird : <I>Sialia sialis</I>

282 ^General

^{Notes. [April}

A

^Partial

^Albino Hermit Thrush

^{Turdiisaonala^ckkcE fallasii').—^!

have

a

male

of this speciestakenin this vicinity

October

27, 1S85,

which

hasthetop of the

head and

the

back

light gray.

Below

white, the spots

on

the breast

being

fairlydistinct. Tail

and

the primaries

and

second- aries

fawn

color.

—

Jno.

H. Sage,

Portland, Conn.

On two Abnormally Colored Specimens

ofthe

Bluebird

{Siah'astall's).

— ^{The United}

^{States National}

^Museum

^has,

^through

^thegenerosity oftheir respectivecollectors,

come

intopossession of

two

adult

males

of the

com- mon

Bluebird

which

difterso

much from

the

normal plumage

ofthat spe- ciesas to be

worthy

ofspecial description.

No.

91,303,

$

^{ad., collected at}

^Escanaba,

^Mich..

^June

^{6, 18S3,}

^{by Mr.}

Wm. Palmer, Washington,

D.

C,

hasthecolorof the

upper

parts

agreeing

exactly with thatof

more

richlycolored

examples

inthe

normal plumage

(precisely as in

No.

63,366,

from

Massachusetts, for

example

*), tlie tint

approaching

very nearlytoa

pure

ultramarine.

The

colorationof the an- terior underparts,

however,

^isquite

abnormal,

allof the

cinnamon-colored

feathersof thebreast,etc.,

being

blue

beneath

the surface, the feathersof thesidesofthebreast

being

chieflyorentirely blue, thelattercolor largely prevailing, the

uniform cinnamon being

confined to the

middle

of the breast

and

lowercentralportion of the throat.

The

posterior lowerparts arewhite,

however,

as in true sial/s,

and

not bluish, as in jnexicaua,

and

thebillisstout as insi'alis,the

measurements being

quitenormal.

f

No.

107,218, collected in

Baltimore

Co.,

Maryland, March

31, 18S5,

by Mr.

A.

H.

Jennings, of Baltimore, ^is

abnormal

onlj' in the color of the

upper

parts,

which

areofa

very

rich

uniform

azureblue,

almost

precisely the

same

shade as in 5. arctlca,but

even

rather

more

greenish

than

in

many examples

ofthe latter species.

Viewed

in a particular light,

many

ofthe feathers, especiallythe rectrices

and

largerscapulars,

show

veryreg- ular

and

rather distinctdarkerbars, or 'water marks.'

The shade

ofblue

isquite identical withthatofthe 5.azurea, the color

being

ratherricher;

but

itisanotablefactthat the

cinnamon-color

of thebreast,etc., isas in- tenseas in

any specimen

of

normal

5. stalls,

and

not ofthat pale

ochrey

tint

always

characteristicof azurea. Th(?

measurements

of this

specimen

are asfollows^:

Wing,

3.95; ^tail,2.70:

culmen.

.65; tarsus, .So.

In order^to

show how

little variation thereisin this species accoi'ding to locality, I present herewith

measurements

of several Florida

specimens

(three of

them breeding

birds)

and examples from extreme

northernlocal- ities.

As

to color, it

may

be

remarked

that

none

of the Florida

exam-

*

Many

examplesof5.mexicaiiaarenot appreciablydifferentinshadeofbluefrom therichercolored specimensoft,.sialis.

t [There^is,andhasbeen for

many

years,a specimenof Sialiasialis(No.9105,^, Newtonville, Mass.,

March

10,1868,)ⁱⁿthe

Museum

ofComparative Zoologyat

Cam-

bridge,whichagrees veryclosely with the specimenhere describedbyMr.Ridgway, the whole throat being blue, and all the cinnamon-colored feathers of the breast blue beneath the surface, the blue showing prominentlyonthe slightest disarrange- mentof thefeathers.—J.A.ALLEN.]

1886-]

General

Notes.

283

pies in the National

Museum

^{collection exceed in} richness of coloration the average of

more

northern specimens,

No.

63,366,

from

Massachusetts, beino-, infact,

more

^{intenseincoloration}

^{than any}

^{of theFloridaseries.}

3