526 N•c•o•sxm) Mrmr•c, Phozbetria. [AukLOci,

MEASUREMENTS IN MILLIMETERS (AVERAGE, MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM) OF SERIES OF PSALTRIPARUS

Wing Tail Culmen Tarsus

Psaltriparusminimus minimus 46.8 52.05 15.8 I0 malesfrom Los AngelesCo., California (46-48) (50-54) (15-16) Psaltriparusminimus californicu• 47.2 52.01 15.8 10males from the Sacramento Valleyl California (46.5-49) (50-54) (15-16.5) Psaltriparusminimus californicus 49.5 53.7 15.8 9 adults from the Warner Mrs., California (51-58.5) (15-16,5) Psaltriparusminimus californicus 52.3 .8) 16.3 5 adultsfrom the SierraNevada, California 51.5-54.5 (16-16.5) Psaltriparusplumbeus (47•5•.2)55.3 2) 16.3 8 adultsfrom Inyo County,California (50-52) (52-59.5) (16-16.5) Psaltriparusplumbeus 50.4 55.05 '5) 15.6 10 malesfrom the HuachucaMts., Arizona (53-57.5) (15-16) Psaltriparusplumbeus 55.5 5) 16.1 5 adults from Humboldt County, Nevada (50.5-52.5) (53.5-60) 5) (16-16.5)

A REVIEW OF THE GENUS PH(EBETRIA.

BY JOHN TREADWELL NICHOLS AND ROBERT CUSHMAN MURPHY.

Plate XLI.

THE possessionby the AmericanMuseum of Natural History and the Brooklyn Museran of a seriesof skins of Phozbetriapalpe- brata antarcticafrom South'Georgia Island in the Subantarctic Atlantic, and of two specimensof Pho•betriafusca from the temper- ate South Atlantic, has led us to assemble additional material for purposesof comparison.Our study bringsus to the conclusion that the eastPacific, or Americanwest coast, Sooty , which is the Diomedeafuscaof Audubonand the P. palpebrataof the latest A. O. U. Check-List,(1910), belongsto an undescribedrace of palpebrata. A review of the genusin the light of the material examinedmay aid future workers. The characteristics which differentiate the two welMnarked speciespalpebrata and fuscacan be cmnprehensivelystated in the form of a key :-- THE AUK, V'OL.XXXl. PLATE XLI.

1. ADULT MALE AND NESTLING, SOUTH GEORGIA SOOTYALBATROSS, Phvzbetria palpebrata . 2. (a). P. p. auduboni. (b). P. fusca fusca. Vol. 1914XXXI] J N•cnoLs•n MuRrnY,Genus Phtebetria. 527

A. Cuhnen concavein profile; sulcusof mandible narrow, and blue or purplish in life (dark in dried skins); feathers of back and lower parts decidedlypaler than remainder of plumage.. P. palpebrata. AA. Culmen nearly straight in profile; sulcus of mandible wide, and straw-color,yellow, or orange in life (and also in skins); feathers of back and lower parts dark like remainder of plumage.P. fusca. Mr. GregoryMathews in his ' of ,' Vol. II, 1912, p. 294, has publisheddiagnostic drawings of the bills of the two . P. palpebratais the specieshaving the more southerlybreeding range, but its normal wanderingrange overlapsthat of P. fusca in the southerntemperate zone. Mr. Murphy has seenboth to- gether in the South , and has found the specific differencesstriking in life. Curiously enough, the "common" (P. fusca),which is the 'P. fuliginosa'of most authors, now seemsto be a far rarer in collectionsthan are representativesof palpebrata. In naming three geographicalraces of the two speciesof Phtr- betria,Mr. Mathews (loc. c•t.) has failed to presentadequate de- scriptionsand measurements.Recently, however,Mr. Mathews has personallyexamined our own material, and has informed us that he studieda large seriesof topotypicalspecimens of Pheebetria palpebrata(Forster) before becoming sponsor for the subspecies huttoniand antarctica. We are therefore provisionallyrecognizing the followingfour racesof palpebrataand two racesof fusca, with the hopethat someinvestigator who hasseries of Pacificand Indian Oceanbirds at his disposalmay soonmake useof our measurements in fixing the status of the Old World forms.

Phcebetria palpebrata palpebrata (Forster). Dio•nedea palpebrata, Forster, MSm. pr•s. Acad. Boy. Sci. (Paris), Vol. X, p. 571, 1785. TYPE LOCALI•VY,lat. 64 ø S., long. 38 ø E. RANGE,I(erguelen Island (breeding), also presumablythe Prince Edward Islands, the Crozets, McDonald and Heard Islands, in the . Although the I(erguelen bird is the typical race of palpebratait seemsto be the intermediate between the two subspeciesnext considered,viz. antarcticaof Weddell Sea and huttovi of the New Zeala•n_dregi._o9. 528 NICHOLSAND MURPHY, Genus Ph•zbetria. [Auk[oct.

We have seenbut one specimen,a breedingfemale from Ker- guelen. MEASUREMENTS IN MM.

Tarsus Tail to nostril and claw

U.S. N. MUS. /• 68953 • Kerguelen I. 103 72 78 MiddletoeWing275 BillITip ofbill 118 ! 502 Phcebetria palpebrata huttoni Mathews.

.Pheebetriapalpebrata huttoni, Mathews, Birds of Australia, Vol. II, p. 297, 1912. TYPE LOCALITY, New Zealand seas. RANGE, Subantarctic islands of New Zealand (breeding), Australian and New Zealand seas (Mathews). Two specimensin the collectionof the •V[useumof Comparative Zo51ogy,Cambridge, Mass.• have been comparedwith a large series of antarcticafrom South Georgia. In coloration the two subspeciesbear closeresemblances, but the New Zealandbirds are perhapsslightly darker and notablysmaller in all their dimensions. Culmenmoderately concave in profile,angular (i.e. with a well marked ridge) at its base. Grooveof lower mandiblenarrow (cf. fig. Mathews, 1. c., p. 294). Head dark grayish-brown,darkest in loral region. Back and under surfaceashy, rump darker than back. MEASUREMENTS.

Middle toe Win• Tail to nostril and claw

Mus. Comp. Zool. /• 39880 oTM New Zealand ]95Billmm. Tip65ofbill 76 112 502 221

Mus. Comp. Zool. /• 39881 Q New Zealand 79 119 486 245 Vøli9X14XXI] NICttOLS AND MUR?ttY, Genus Phoebetria. 529

Phcebetria palpebrata antarctica Mathews.

Phoebetriapalpebrata a•arctica, Mathews, Birds of Australia,Vol. II, p. 302, 1912. TYPE LOCALITY,South Georgia (breeding). I{ANGE, Weddell Sea and South Atlantic Ocean, north at least to 33ø South (Murphy).

In this subspeciesthe bill is shapedmuch like that of the New Zealandand Kerguelenraces, but it is larger and heavier,and the culmen is less acutely ridged at its base. The following descrip- tion basedupon breeding specimens of antarct,icacontains, of course, many characteristicscommon to its congeners:--Bill black, man- dibular sulcuspearl blue; legs and feet pale flesh color with a vinaceousand buff wash over the scales; iris olive brown; skin of menturn blue under the feathers. Head dusky grayish-brown, nearly black on lores; a white ring, broken in front and on the anteriorhalf of the lowerlid, encirclingeye; backand undersin'face ashy gray, blendingwith the dark shadeof head, and lightestin centerof back; rump and scapulariesdark gray; wingsdark brown- ish-gray, changingto grayish-blackon primaries; tail grayish- black; shaftsof quills white or whitish. A nestling336 min. in lengthis coveredwith longlight graydo•n excepton the head, wherea cap of short,dark gray downis sepa- rated from the nearly bare throat by a mask-likearea of hairy, light gray down. The nineteenspecimens of this race,which we have had the pleas- ure of examining,were, with oneexception, taken at SouthGeorgia by Mr. Murphy or Mr. J. G. Correia. 530 Nxcaox,s A•D MrmraY, Genus Ph•ebetria. tOe•.[Auk

MEASUREMENTS.

Tip o•f bill to nostril Wing[ Tail

J. G. C. •45, • 75 125 267 Cumberland Bay R. C. M. •1745, • Bay of Isles 75 122 263 J.G.C. •61, • Cumberland Bay 80 131 274 J.G.C. •16, • Cumberland Bay 76 121 284 R.C.M. •1507, c? Cumberland Bay 80 128 264 J. G.C. •43, • Cumberland Bay 76 126 294 R. C. M. • 1506, c? CumberlandBay 76 122 279 J. G.C. •7, • Cumberland Bay 78 122 275 J. G. C. •42, • Cumberland Bay 77 128 270 R.C.M. •1528, c? Cumberland Bay 78 128 260 R. C. M. •1508, c? Cumberland Bay 75 120 249 J.G.C. •8, 9 Cumberland Bay 76 125 506 265 J.G.C. •41, 9 Cumberland Bay 114 73 125 525 276 J.G.C. •46, 9 Cumberland Bay 114 73 122 521 274 R.C.M. •1527, 9 Cumberland Bay 109 74 122 494 236 J.G.C. •39, 9 Cumberland Bay 102 72 78 120 490 249 J.G.C. •40, 9 Cumberland Bay 98 70 80 116 500 270 R. C. M. •1417, 9 116 75 80 122 526 251 Lat. 50 ø S., Long. 35ø W., R. C. M. •1744, o• 51 33 40 48 fledgling in down, (tot. length 336 min. Vol.1914 XXXI] J NICHOLS•-•) MURrH¾,Genus Pho•betria. 531

Below are averagedmeasurements of six maleswhich were actu- ally collectedon theh'nests at South Georgia. The figuresestab- lish a standardof size for adult •nalesof the subspeciesantarctica.

Average of 6 breeding males 11378 183I 125

Phmbetria palpebrata auduboni subsp.nov.

I)iomedeafusca,Audubon, Orn. Biogr.,V., p. 116, 1839. 'TYrr. LOCALITY,mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon. RAx'G•, west coastof America, north casuallyto Oregon; breedingrange unknown.

This is the most distinctiveof the races'of Phoebetriapalpebrata. The specimenwhich of necessitybecomes the type is No. 2718 of the United States National Museum collection, the type of Audubon'sDiomedeafusca (not of Hilsenberg). This specimenis in a very bad stateof preservation,with the headbroken off, and the featherssoiled with greasein additionto havingundergone the char- acteristicdim•ning of improperlyprepared, aged specimens. Frown the colorof its plmnageit might be assignedto the fusca (Hilsen- berg) group, where, indeed, Mathews (1. c.) and others have in- cludedit. The bill, however,shows that it not only belongsto the speciespalpebrata but to a race of that specieswhich is farthest removed from Phozbetriafusca. The name which Audubon used beingpreoccupied by fusca of Hilsenberg,we have proposedthe name Phozbetriapalpebrata auduboni. Sincethe typeis of suchlimited value for purposesof comparison, it is fortunate that we have found anotherspecimen in the Museum of ComparativeZoSlogy, No. 3903collection of E. A. and O. Bangs. The latter bird agreeswith the type in its dimensionsand approxi- mately in the shapeof the bill, and alsopresents what was doubt- lessthe originalcoloration of the type. 532 NicHo•,sA•D McRr•I¾,Genus Ph•ebetria. [oct.[Auk

Subspecificdistinctions: bill more slenderly built and more stronglyhooked than in other racesof palpebrata;culmen more decidedlyconcave or 'saddle-shaped,'the ridge at the base high and acute. Head fuscous-black,darkest between eye and bill; back and underpartsdark gray, rump still darker; wingsand tail brownish-black. The Bangsspecimen is reasonablyfresh, so that its plumageis. comparablewith our own material. The bird is much darker than any specimensof antarcticaor huttoni,though nearer in coloration to thesethan to fusca. Possiblyauduboni has a more northerly breed/ngarea than the other membersof palpebrata,in which case its darkerplumage would conform with a recognizedcolor principle amongsea birds of the southernhemisphere.

•¾[EASUREMENTS.

Bill Tip of bin •VIiddle toe to nostril Tarsus andclaw Wing Tail

Type of "D. fusca" Aud. 108 76 84 124 495 251 U.S. Nat. Mus. [Tim. •ucl •2718 (no sex) Ore- •orn gon Coll. of E. A. & O. 105 75 81 120 502 248 Bangs • 3903 (no sex) "Between Cape Horn & San Francisco."

Phcebetria fusca fusca (Hilsenberg).

Diomedeafusca, Hilsenberg, Froriep's Notizen, Vol. II1, No. 5 (49), p. 74,. 1822. TYP• LOCALITY,Mozambique Channel. R•G•, SouthAtlantic and western Indian Oceans, Tristan de Cunha and_ Gough Islands (breeding),Prh•ce Edward Islands (?) and the Crozets. (?). Vol.1914 XXXI] J NICHOLSAND MURrHY, GenusPh•ebetria. 533

This speciesis the P. fuliginosaof authorsand is differentiated from the palpebratagroup by the charactersgiven in ourkey, p. 527. In life its most conspicuousmark is the absenceof a gray mantle. Our only specimensare two collectedby Mr. Murphy on March 26, 1913, lat. 39ø S., long. 31ø W., Atlantic Ocean. Plumagein generalsooty black, slightly paler and grayerbelow, brownishon crown and middle of back. Bill deep and straight (seeMathews' Fig.), lessstrongly hooked than that of palpebrata; ridge at base of culmen slight; broad mandibular sulcusyellow; iris olive; white crescentbordering eye, and whitish quill shafts, as in othermembers of the genus.

MEASUREMENTS.

Tipto nostrilofbill Middleandclaw too Wing Tall

R. C. M. /•1953, g) Bill76 TarsusI 120 497481 '237

Phcebetria fusca campbelli Mathews.

Phozbetriafusca campbelli, Mathews, Birds of Australia, Vol. II., p. 304, 1912. TYPE LOCALITY, "Australian seas." RA•OE, Australian seas(Mathews); breedingrange unknown.

On its presentbasis this subspeciesis hardly worthy of recogni- tion for Mr. Mathews states simply that it is smaller in all its dimensionsthan the western,typical race. Comparingour meas- urementsof fuscafusca with those given by Mathews for fusca campbelli,we find notable differencesonly in the length of the tarsus. We have seenno specimensfrom the reputedrange of this subspecies. [Auk 534 NICHOLSAND MURrU¾,Genus Phozbetria. [oct.

CONCLUSIONS.

Summarizingour conclusionson the genusPhoebetria, upon the not wholly su•cicnt basisof the material studied,we find in the first place two well differentiatedspecies, palpebrata and fusca, of more southerlyand more northerly distributionrespectively, but of coincidentrange in an intermediatezone. The last generaliza- tion may not hold true in the easternPacific, where the only known representative,Phoebetria palpebrata auduboni, may have become part of the fauna of the northeruhemisphere in accordancewith the generaltendency of the Dinmedeid•eto rangenorthward in that ocean. The speciespalpebrata is in turn divided into two main sections, one of which includesonly auduboniwith a range west of America and Weddell Sea, the other comprisingthe three pale subspecies antarctica,palpebrata, and huttoni, ranging from west to east, respectively,across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,to the waters south of Australia, and forming in the same order a decreasing sequencein size. Thesethree subspecieshave a rangein latitude extendingfrom the vergeof the true Antarctic at least to the middle of the southerntemperate zone. It seemspossible that the ranges of huttoni and audubonimay be separatedby the vast stretch of the southern Pacific, where the little known Dougherty Island in latitude 59ø S., alone offers even an unlikely possibilityas a breedingground. The speclesfuscais representedby the typical racewhich inhabits the temperatesouthern Atlantic and Indian Oceans,over an area having its longitudinalcenter in the neighborhoodof the Cape of GoodHope; and by a geographicallyseparated race, campbelli, not yet properlyknown to science,with a rangein the Australian seas.

•[•XPLANATION OF PLATE.

Fig. 1. Ph•ebetriapalpebrata antarctica Mathews, adult c• and downy nestling, Bay of Isles, South Georgia, Jan 20, 1913. Photo by R. C. Murphy. Fig. 2. a, Phmbetriapalpebrata auduboni Nichols and Murphy, No. 3903 Coll. of E. A. and O. Bangs, sex unclerefrained,Eastern Pacific Ocean. b, Phmbetriafusca fusca Hilsenberg, No. 1952 o•, R. C. Murphy, South Atlantic Ocean.