BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

Vol. 31, pp. 33-34

May

16, 1918

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A NEW ^BULLFINCH FROM CHINA.

BY

^J.

H. RILEY.*

Mr. George D. Wilder,

^of

Peking, China, has presented

^tothe

U.S. National Museum a small

bullfinch

captured

ⁱⁿ

the wooded mountains

of Chili

Province, China.

^It

apparently

represents

an

isolated race of

Pyrrhula

erythaca,

which

^I

take

pleasure in

naming

^{after the}

^donor

^:

Pyrrhula erythaca

wilderi, subsp. nov.

Type, adult female,U.S. National

Museum,

^No.254,074,Eastern Hills about _sixtymiles east of Peking, China, February, ^{1917. Collected} by George D. Wilder (originalNo. 419).

Similar to Pyrrhula erythaca Blyth, but _smaller, with black facial

mask more

restricted, the_lighter borderof the facial

mask

almostobso- lete,the lighter tips tothe greater coverts narrower,

and

the dark

band

across thelowerbacklesspronounced

and

lighter in color.

Description.

— A narrow band

surrounding ^{the bill}

and

running back around _{the eye}

and

_slightlyfurtherasa postocularstreak, black; a nar-

row band

_borderingthe black

on

the forehead

and

belowthe_eye,

smoke

gray; top ^of head, cervix, sides of neck, auriculars,

and

_{upper back,} neutralgray^; back

and

_scapulars,

wood brown

; a

band

acrossthe lower back, deep^neutral gray^; rump, white^; upper^tailcoverts, tail,

and

_pri- maries, black with _steely blue reflections; alula, lesser, middle,

and

primary wing-coverts, deep neutral gray; greater wing-coverts, black, tipped rather broadly with drab

and

the outer feathers narrowly edged atthe_tipwith _white,forming^awing-bar; ^chestdrab;^flankscinnamon- drab; middle_{of belly,}undertail-coverts,

and

underwing-coverts, white.

Wing, ^73.5 (85); tail,53 (65.5); culmen,8.5 (10.5)

mm.

Remarks.

—

I have _{given the} measurements of a female specimen ^of Pyrrhula ^e. erythaca from Szechuan Province in parenthesis ^for

com-

parison.

*Published withthepermissionofthe SecretaryoftheSmithsonianInstitution.

9—

Proc.Biol. Soc.Wash.,^Vol.31, 1918. (33)

34

Proceedings of ^the Biological Society of

Washington.

PyrrhulaerythacaBlyth*

was

described fromthe

Himalayas

^ofSikhim,

whence

it ranges into western Szechuan

and Kansu

_Provinces, China.

The

race above described seemstobe widely separated, geographically, fromtheremainderofthe_species

and

additional material

may

^proveitto

be worthyof specificrank.

Mr. Wilder hassentthe following note

on

the habitatof this

new

form^:

"_{It isafine}

wooded

hillcountry^of

some

fourthousand_squaremiles,the only good ^forestcountry^{in this}province

and

itis being rapidly cut

and

burned. This forest is about sixty miles ^{east of} Peking, ⁱⁿmountains that are clothed with_pineatthe tops

and

withthingrowthsofoak, elm, wild pear, etc., on^thelowerhills.

The

hunter

[who

broughtthis speci-

men]

reported that the birds

come

everywinter but he has brought

none

thisyear."

•Ibis/1862, 389.