Plectrophanes McCownii Lawrence

LeCroy, Mary, 2012, Type Specimens Of Birds In The American Museum Of Natural History Part 10. Passeriformes: Emberizidae: Emberizinae, Catamblyrhynchinae, Cardinalinae, Thraupinae, And Tersininae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2012 (368), pp. 1-125 : 10

Plectrophanes McCownii Lawrence

Plectrophanes McCownii Lawrence, 1851b: 122 (high prairies of Western Texas).

Now Calcarius mccownii (Lawrence, 1851) . See Hellmayr, 1938: 639, With, 1994, and Dickinson, 2003: 780.

SYNTYPES: AMNH 41711 and AMNH 41712, both unsexed, collected, according to Lawrence , on the high prairies of western Texas, undated, by J.P. McCown. From the George N. Lawrence Collection.

COMMENTS: In the original description, Lawrence said: ‘‘Two specimens were obtained by Capt. McCown on the high prairies of Western Texas. When killed, they were feeding in company with Shore Larks. Although procured late in the spring, they still appear to be in their winter dress….’’ No type was designated, although AMNH 41711 is labeled ‘‘Type’’ by Lawrence and annotat- ed ‘‘Presented by Capt. J.P. McCown, Brownsville, March.’’ AMNH 41712 is the second specimen mentioned by Lawrence .

Notes on birds he collected in Texas were published by McCown (1853: 14) but gave no further information on this species.