A series of seven fine specimens sent in by Mr. J. H. Batty, the naturalist of Dr. Hayden’s expedition, confirm the validity of this form, and even so much as suggest to us the possibility of its eventually proving a distinct species, more nearly related to L. brunneinucha than to L. tephrocotis. They were collected on some one of the high peaks of Colorado, but as Mr. Batty’s notes have not come to hand we cannot tell which. The specimens are all males, and resemble Mr. Allen’s specimens, except that they are perhaps more highly colored. They all have the throat tinged with carmine, and in some the tinge is very deep,—on one extending over the whole breast and throat, up to the cheeks and bill. We hope to learn soon from Mr. Batty some interesting details regarding this series.
Centronyx bairdi (I, 531). The past year has been a remarkably fortunate one for our knowledge of this species, and, owing to the investigations of Mr. C. E. Aiken, Dr. Coues, and Mr. H. W. Henshaw, it cannot now be classed among the rare birds of our country; the total number of specimens collected by these gentlemen amounting to more than one hundred. The first example—the second one then known—was collected by Mr. Aiken in El Paso County, Colorado, October 9, 1872, and, being in the soft autumnal plumage, appeared to be so distinct from the type that, after a careful comparison of the two specimens, Mr. Ridgway wrote Mr. Aiken that it was in his opinion different, and accompanied his letter by a comparative diagnosis of the two supposed species. The Colorado specimen was then described in the American Naturalist (Vol. VII, April, 1873, p. 236) as Centronyx ochrocephalus, Aiken. On the 6th of May, 1873, Mr. Aiken obtained another specimen at the same locality; and this one, being forwarded to Mr. Ridgway for comparison, proved to be so decidedly intermediate between the types of C. bairdi and C. “ochrocephalus” that they immediately suggested the probability of their being seasonal stages of one species,—C. bairdi representing the very faded and much abraded midsummer dress; C. ochrocephalus being the autumnal dress, probably of a young bird, with the pattern of coloration distinct, and the colors soft and deep; and the May specimen the spring plumage, just intermediate between the two others.
During the past summer (1873) Dr. Coues collected about seventy specimens along the northern border of Dakota, from just west of the Pembina Mountains to the second crossing of the Mouse River. They frequented the open prairie exclusively, associating in vast numbers with Neocorys spraguei and Plectrophanes ornatus, these three being the most abundant and characteristic birds of the prairie. By the middle of July young birds were already observed; and, equally young ones being taken in the middle of August, it is presumed that two broods were raised. The splendid suite of specimens brought in by Dr. Coues comprises both adult and young birds. Of the former, many examples exactly match Audubon’s type, while others approach very closely Mr. Aiken’s specimen in the spring plumage. The young, however, are in a plumage entirely new. We give below descriptions of the several stages of plumage:—
Adult male in spring (No. 2,141, Mus. R. R., El Paso County, Colorado, May 6, 1873; C. E. Aiken). Ground-color of the head deep buff, growing paler toward the throat, which is white; crown sharply streaked with deep black, the streaks aggregated laterally so as to form two broken stripes; a cuneate speck of black at the post-superior corner of the auriculars; maxillary stripe deep buff, bounded above and below by continuous stripes of black,—one from the rictus along lower edge of cheeks, the other from side of chin down side of throat. Above pale hair-brown, the feathers paler, or brownish-white, externally, and brownish-black centrally. Beneath white, tinged with buff across the jugulum, where thickly marked with cuneate streaks of deep black; sides sparsely streaked, the streaks more brown. “Legs and lower mandible flesh-color; upper mandible horn-color; toes and claws dusky. Length, 5.62; extent, 9.04.” Wing, 2.80; tail, 2.15; culmen, .45; tarsus, .80; middle toe, .60.
Adult female in summer, exactly similar, but rather smaller, and the colors duller and paler.
Young, in first plumage. Similar in general appearance to the adult in fall plumage, but the markings more suffused. All the contour feathers of the dorsal surface sharply bordered terminally and laterally with white; streaks on the breast heavier and shorter.
Adult male in autumn (No. 1,113, Mus. C. E. A., El Paso County, Colorado, October 9, 1872).[118] Ground-color of the head deep ochraceous, deepest on the middle of the crown, and gradually fading to buffy-white on the throat; feathers of the crown with broad, deep black medial streaks, these narrower toward the middle, forming two lateral broadly black-streaked areas, with an intervening, badly defined, deep-ochraceous, narrowly streaked stripe. A distinct black spot behind the upper posterior corner of the auriculars; a smaller one at the middle of their posterior edge, and two black streaks bordering the light-ochraceous maxillary stripe,—a narrow one from the rictus along the lower edge of the deeply ochraceous ear-coverts and suborbital region, and a heavy “bridle” on each side of the throat. Lower parts buffy-white, fading into nearly pure white posteriorly; jugulum crossed by a series of heavy cuneate deep-black streaks, these continuing backward along the sides, but becoming reddish on the flanks; tibiæ brownish-gray. Neck, laterally and posteriorly, light ochraceous-yellow, each feather with a sharply defined medial streak of black. Dorsal feathers deep black centrally, then hair-brown (not reddish), and broadly bordered with white, both laterally and terminally. Rump and upper tail-coverts reddish hair-brown, each feather broadly bordered with buffy-white and with a black shaft-streak. General aspect of the wings grayish-pinkish ochraceous, the feathers all blackish centrally; outer web of outer primary pure white. Tail-feathers black, skirted with whitish ashy-ochraceous, this becoming pure white on the lateral pair of feathers, the exterior of which is pale gray centrally. Lining of wing immaculate pure white.
Wing, 3.00; tail, 2.40; culmen, .45; depth of bill, .23; tarsus, .85; middle toe, .63; lateral toes, .20 shorter; hind toe, .35. End of the wing formed by the four outer quills, of which the second and third are equal and longest, the first and fourth equal and just appreciably shorter; tertials considerably longer than the secondaries, and only .20 shorter than the longest primaries. Tail deeply emarginated (fork .20 deep), the lateral feathers longest.
The following measurements of about thirty fresh specimens, kindly furnished us by Dr. Coues, indicate the normal variation in size: “The males range from 5.10 to 5.85 in length, by 9.10 to 9.85 in extent, averaging about 5.65 by 9.50. The shortest-winged specimen was a female, expanding 8.85, though measuring 5.50 in length; the wing ordinarily ranged from 2.75 to 3.00.”
Dr. Coues also furnishes the following account of the habits of this species, which we print verbatim:—