The Name for the Wryneck Recorded from Alaska
The Name for the Wryneck Recorded from Alaska.-The first record of the Wryneck for the North American continent is that of A. M. Bailey (Birds of Arctic Alaska, Colorado MUS. Nat. Hist., pop. ser. no. 8, 1948:270) who reported one found dead on September 8, 1945, near the village of Wales at the end of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. The specimen was sent to the United States National Museum for determination, was identified as _rynr toquilla harterti (Poliakov, Mess. Orn., 6, 1915:135), and was so recorded.
Several geographic races in the species Jynz torquilla have been proposed recently, the form harterti being only one of half a dozen, and there has been uncertainty as to the number that merited recognition. In view of this we have taken opportunity to revise the fairly extensive series (65 specimens) in the National Museum with results of interest. It may be observed that our results, reached independently, coincide except in some details of range with those registered recently by J. L. Peters (Check-list of Birds of the World, 6, 1948:86-87). It must be noted that the forms that can be recognized at best are only slightly differentiated and that there is a considerable range of individual variation that obscures their characters.
Briefly, there are two main groups of populations, a pale colored, larger one in the west, extending from the western countries of Europe east to Lake Baikal, Tian Shan, and Pamir, including thus Poliikov’s supposed race hurterti. This name, therefore, is to be listed as a synonym of Iynx torqda torquilla as has been stated by Steinbacher (Viig. pal. Fauna, Erganzungsband, Heft 4, January, 1935: 377). To the east is a darker group of smaller size that divides into two races. One of these, japononica (Bonaparte), breeding on Hokkaido and found in migration to southern Japan, is of smaller size (wing 77.5-79-l mm.), and warmer brown color. The other, ctiaensis Hesse (Omith. Monatsb., 6, 1911: 181)) breeds over a wide area from northern Manchuria, Amur and Sakhalin south to Kashmir and western and central China, in migration reaching Siam and Indochina. This is somewhat duller than jupdnica and is larger (wing 79-Z-88.6 mm.). Parenthetically it is interesting to note that the resident race of Italy, tschusii, belongs also in the smaller, darker group, differing from the distant chi~tis, to which it is similar in size, only in slightly warmer brown color.
The specimen from Wales, Alaska, agrees both in color and size with chinerrsis, the wing measuring 83.5 mm., and is identified now as a vagrant of that race.-ALEXANDER WETMORE and HERBERT FRIEDMANN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., December 23, 1948..
