NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA. 107 



Fam. ICTERIDJE. 



Oassicus vitellinus. 



Cassicus icteronotus, Lawr. nee Vieill., Annals of Lye. of N. Hist., N. Y., Vol. 

 vii. p. 297. 



Male. Deep velvety black, with the lower part of the back, a broad mark 

 on the wing coverts next the back, upper and under tail coverts, basal half 

 of tail feathers and crissuin, deep yellow or yolk-of-egg color; the upper 

 middle tail coverts are tipped with black ; upper mandible yellowish white, 

 lower pale plumbeous white ; iris blue ; tarsi and toes black. 



Length 12 in. ; wing 7| -; tail 4|; bill 1 9-16 ; tarsi If. 



The female differs only in being smaller, and measures in length 9| in. ; 

 wiug 5 J ; tail 4 ; bill 1J; tarsi 1 1-16. 



Habitat. New Granada, Isthmus of Panama, where it is very abundant ; 

 I have also seen it from Nicaragua. 



This species, which f mistook for ft per situs, Linn., [icteronotus, Vieill.), at 

 first sight appears much like it, but differs in being larger, in the yellow 

 being much deeper in color, the upper mandible much stronger, with the 

 culmen more curved, and the base of the upper mandible in front much 

 broader ; but the most marked difference is in the extent of the yellow on 

 the tail feathers, on the central feathers reaching two inches from the base, 

 and decreasing a little on the outer ones, giving a rounding form to the mark 

 of this color on the tail ; but in ft persicus, the yellow, although reaching 

 about the same distance from the base on the central feathers, extends 

 rapidly towards the end of the tail on the outer ones, on the second and third 

 lateral feathers coming within one and a quarter inches of the end; in other 

 words, in looking towards the end of the tail, the yellow mark in my species 

 is rounding in form, whereas, in persicus, the mark of this color is very deeply 

 hollowed out. 



Fam. SCOLOPACIDJE. 



Erecnetes occidentalis. 



Adult in spring. Upper plumage varied with black, bright chestnut, ashy 

 brown and white, each feather having a black centre, with bright chestnut 

 margins and tipped with greyish white ; the central upper tail coverts 

 brownish black, the outer coverts white spotted with black near their ends, 

 central tail feathers blackish brown, the other tail feathers light ash ; pri- 

 maries and secondaries blackish brown on their outer webs and tips, 

 and dark ash on their inner webs ; outer tertials dark ash, the inner 

 black in the centre with bright chestnut margins ; scapulars bright chest- 

 nut in the centre, broadly black near the end, and terminating with 

 white ; wing coverts ashy brown with greyish edgings ; front sides of 

 the crown to eye and under plumage white ; a dusky line tinged with 

 rufous extends from the bill to the eye ; ear coverts rufous ; front, sides of 

 the head and throat marked with minute spots of ashy brown, breast and 

 sides conspicuously marked with much larger spots of dark brown ; under 

 tail coverts white, a. few with central dark brown spots ; iris brown ; bill and 

 feet jet black. 



Length (i\ in. ; wing 3| ; tail 1| ; bills from to 1 1-16 ; tarsi f . 



Habitat. Pacific coast ; California, Oregon. 



This species differs hoxa. pusillus in the greater amount and brightness of 

 the chestnut coloring of the upper plumage, but most conspicuously in the 

 more decided character of the spots on the breast and sides, these being 

 very much larger than those of pusilius ; the bills also appear to average longer, 

 and the tarsi and toes are jet black, which in the other are yellowish green. 



The tertials are very long, reaching nearly to the end of the longest pri- 

 mary ; the feet are semipalmated about the same as those of pusilius. 'Eleven 

 specimens from the Pacific coast are now before me, four of my own and the 



1864.] 



