oberholser: pycnonotine family of passeriformes 539 



Generic characters. — Tail rather long, about four-fifths of 

 wing; lower tail-coverts falling short of end of tail by more than 

 one and one-half times the length of tarsus; and upper tail- 

 coverts falling short of end of tail by two or more times the 

 length of tarsus. 



Type. — Coracias puella Latham. 



In the original diagnosis of Irena the only species that 

 Horsfield cites is " Coracias puella, Lath. Ind. Orn. 171," with 

 which he misidentifies Javan specimens of the species not until 

 long afterward described as Irena turcosa by Walden. The type 

 of this genus must, therefore, be the only species mentioned, 

 Coracias puella Latham; not, as Sharpe 3 states, Irena turcosa 

 Walden; particularly since the latter had no standing whatever 

 at the time of the institution of the generic name Irena. 



Of the forms now allotted to the restricted genus Irena, one, 

 Irena ellae Steere, is certainly but «a subspecies of Irena melano- 

 chlamys Sharpe, as individual variations in these two overlap 

 the differences. With this change, the species of this group will 

 be as follows: 



Irena melanochlamys melanochlamys Sharpe. 



Irena melanochlamys ellae Steere. 



Irena cyanogastris Vigors. 



Irena puella (Latham). 



Irena tweeddalii Sharpe. 



Glauconympha, gen. nov. 



Generic characters. — Similar to Irena Horsfield, but tail 

 shorter, only three-fourths of the length of wing; lower tail- 

 coverts much longer, falling short of end of tail by less than 

 length of tarsus, and sometimes reaching even beyond the end 

 of tail; and upper tail-coverts much longer, falling short of end 

 of tail by not more than the length of tarsus. 



Type. — Irena cyanea Begbie. 



The bird from Borneo and Sumatra, Irena crinigera Sharpe, 

 is by individual variation subspecifically connected with Irena 



3 Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., 6: 174. 1881. 



