NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 49 



This is one of the most remarkable birds yet discovered by Mr. Duchaillu, 

 and is also one of the handsomest species of Flycatchers yet known to inhabit 

 Western Africa. In general characters, this bird resembles the well known 

 Asiatic Muscipeta paradisi, and, as in that species, the male is chestnut colored 

 on the upper parts of the body, and the female is white. The present bird has 

 also relations to M. mutala, and others of Southern and Eastern Africa, but is 

 quite different.* 



* The following species of Muscipeta are in the Museum of this Academy. 



Asiatic. 



1. Muscipeta paradisi, (Linnaeus) Le Vaill. Ois d'Afr. iii. pi. 144, 145. 



2. Muscipeta afiinis, (Hay.) 



3. Muscipeta rufa, (G. R. Gray,) Gray's Genera, i. pi. 64. 



4. Muscipeta leucogastra, Swainson, Flycatch. Nat. Lib., pi. 24. 



5. Muscipeta principalis, Temm., Faun. Jap. Birds, pi. 17. 



6. Muscipeta cyaniceps, Cassin, Voy. Vincennes, Birds, pi. 9, fig. 1. 



African. 



7. Muscipeta cristata" (Gmelin,) Le Vaill. Ois d'Afr., iii. pi. 142, 143. 

 Numerous specimens from the Cape of Good Hope, and one specimen from 



" Nova Redonda, Western Africa." The latter collected and presented by Dr. 

 A. A. Henderson, Surgeon, U. S. Navy. 



8 Muscipeta borbonica, (Gmelin.) 



9. Muscipeta melanogastra, Swainson. 



Specimens from Gambia and others from Equatorial Africa, received from 

 Mr. Duchaillu. The latter I assign to this species with some hesitation. 



10. Muscipeta rufiventris, Swainson, B. of W. Afr., ii. pi. 4. 



11. Muscipeta mutata, (Gmelin) Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr., iii. pi. 148. 



12. Muscipeta holosericea, (Temminck) Le Vaill. Ois. d'Afr. iii. pi. 147. 



13. " Muscipeta Gaimardi, Madagascar." Label in Rivoli Collection. 



The last three names I regard as possibly applicable to one species only, iu 

 stages of plumage analogous to those of M. paradisi, and of my M. Duchaillui, 

 but I advance this as an opinion only, at present. These three are all labelled 

 in the Acad. Coll. as from Madagascar. The last seems to be Tchilrea Gaimar- 

 di. Lesson, Traite, i. 386, which is stated to be from New Guinea, an error cor- 

 rected by M. Pucheran, in Arch, du Mus. Paris, vii. p. 372. 



14. Muscipeta Ferreti, (Guerin), Ferret et Galinier, Voy. Abyssinia, Ois. pi. 8. 

 Specimens of both sexes from Abyssinia. 



15. Muscipeta flaviventris, (Verreaux). 



16. Muscipeta melampyra, (Verreaux). 



17. Muscipeta Smithii, Fraser. 



18. Muscipeta nigriceps, (Hartlaub). 



19. Muscipeta speciosa, Cassin. 



20. Muscipeta Duchaillui, Cassin. 



Of these species there are several subgeneric groups, one of the most distinct 

 of which is composed of M, flaviventris, Smithii, and melampyra. In addition to 

 the species here given, there are various others in the Acad. Coll., nearly re- 

 lated, if not actually entitled to be included in the genus Muscipeta; for in- 

 stance, Muscicapa pyrrhoptera, Temm., which is placed by Bonaparte in the ge- 

 nus Philentoma, Eyton, but with doubtful propriety as a congener of P. velatum 

 and Muscicapa cyanomelas. For me, the first three species of Philentoma, as ar- 

 ranged by Bonaparte, (Consp. Av. i. p. 314,) belong to three different genera. 

 The fourth species I do not know. 



1859.] 



