Bulletin - United States National Museum - si-pddr - Smithsonian ...

BIEDS OF ARGENTINA, PARAGUAY, URUGUAY, AND CHILE 323
A series of three males and two females secured April 24, 26, and
27, 1921. near Concon, Chile, with five more in the United States
National Museum collection (Tome and other localities in Chile not
specified), serve to demonstrate the characters of the t3'^pical form.
From these it appears that true parulus is marked by grayish colora-
tion, somewhat limited streaking of the undersurface, and the reduc-
tion or absence of white wing bars. Hellmayr^ found this to be
true in 10 skins from Valparaiso and Valdivia. A. y. curatus Wetmore
and Peters, from Argentina, which is yellowish below like
parulus^ is somewhat more broadly streaked, on the average, is
lighter, more grayish above, and has two broad white Aving bars.
One of the females from Concon has the greater and middle coverts
faintly tipped with buffy. white and is somew^hat paler above than
four others (all in fresh fall plumage). It indicates a near approach
to curatus, and may possibh^ be a migrant from some higher
region where there is a tendency toward intergradation between the
two forms. Barros^ records the birds as resident at an altitude of
1,700 meters on the upper Rio Aconcagua. This one specimen was
the cause of some uncertainty as to the validit}^ of curatus from east
of the mountains; nine supposedly typical examples of patniJus, in
Avhich there was a mere trace at most of a pale edging to the coverts,
and Hellmayr's account of 10 more, in which the condition is similar,
seem to indicate that this one specimen represents an intergrade.
These tiny birds frequented the dense brush on the hill slopes
above the Rio Aconcagua, where they traveled actively about through
the bushes. In general appearance and actions they suggested king
lets, as they flitted the wings constantly, an appearance that w^as
belied by the jaunty black crest that came into view when the birds
were seen clearly. They were frequently aggressive and drove one
another about petulantly. At this season they were in full fall
plumage.
In a male the upper third of the iris was raisin black, the remainder
marguerite yellow. The dark and light areas w^ere sharply
defined and the unusual pattern with two distinct colors gave the
eye an appearance that was exceedingly strange.^"
SPIZITORNIS PARULUS CURATUS Wetmore and Peters
Spizltornis parulus curatus Wetmore and Peters, Auk, 1924, p. 145. (Rio
Colorado, Gobernacion de Rio Negro, Argentina.)
The present form is represented by a female shot at Potrerillos,
Mendoza, on March 15, 1921 (another seen but not taken March 17),
* Arch, fiir Naturg., vol. 85, November, 1920, p. 51.
»Rev. Chilena Hist. Nat., vol. 25, 1921, p. 185.
>" This condition has been figured accurately by Barros, Rev. Chilena Nat. Hist., vol,
•25, 1921, p. 185, fig. 26.