92 Zoological Society : — 



sed colore nigra ochracescente maculato et terminatione rufa nan 

 ague lata ; tribus autem utrinque ecrtimis ochracescentibus nigro 

 irrcgulariter iransvittatis : rostra longissimo, brunnescente, apice 

 nigra, basi pallidiare : pedihus nigra -fuscis. 

 Long, tota 11 "0, aloe 5*7, caudee 2*2, rostri a rictu 3*7, tarsi I'D. 

 There is an example of this fine large species of Snipe in the 

 British Museum, from Mr. S. Stevens's Bogota collection, and 

 MM.Verreaux have also lately transmitted a single specimen to me. 

 It is of about the same size as Temminck's Sco/opax gigantea^ but 

 that species appears to have the wings banded. In the present bird 

 the quills are uniform slaty black. The spurious wings and second- 

 aries are edged with bufFy white, and all the wing-coverts are termi- 

 nated with the same colour, forming irregular barrings. 



23. Rallus semiplumbeus, sp. nov. ? 



R. supra brunnescenti-alivaceus, nigro flammulatus ; alis caudaque 

 nigricanti-brunneis ; alarum tectricibus rufis : loris nigris : capi- 

 tis lateribus et corpore toto subtus plumbeis ; menta et gulari stria 

 albis : tectricibus subcaudalibus albis nigro mixtis : rostri cul- 

 mine et apice nigris ; mandibula autem inferiore ruberrima : pedi- 

 bus pallide brunneis. 

 Long, tota 8*5, al8e4*4, caudse TS, rostri 1*7. 

 This is a true Rallus — near R. virginianus of the U.S. — of which 

 MM. Verreaux have sent me a single specimen. I have tried in vain 

 to make it agree with any recognized species, and have therefore 

 provided it with a (temporary 1) name. 



March 1 1, 1856.— Dr. Gray, F.R.S., in the Chair. 



Note on Psaltria flaviceps, a third American Species 



OF the Parine Genus Psaltria. 



By Philip Ltjtley Sclater, M.A., F.Z.S. 



In describing a new Conirostrum in these ' Proceedings' for last 

 year (P.Z.S. 1855, p. 74), and giving a list of all the species of 

 that form with which I was acquainted, I took the opportunity of 

 noticing some birds which had been referred to the same genus, 

 which I had not then met with. Among these latter was the Coni- 

 rostrum ornatum of Lawrence, described and figured in the Annals 

 of the Lyceum of Nat. Hist, of New York for 1851. It is only lately 

 that I have been successful in meeting with a specimen of this, I 

 believe, rather rare species. As I had always supposed, I find it has 

 nothing to do with the genus Conirostrum, but has been much more 

 nearly rightly placed by Sundevall, who described it as ^yithalus 

 Jlaviceps the year before Mr. Lawrence's name appeared. In my 

 opinion, however, this latter position is not perfectly satisfactory for 

 it. This little bird in fact seems to me to form a very natural 

 member of the Parine genus Psaltria, of which some Asiatic species, 

 including the type, are figured in the seventh Number of Mr. Gould's 

 great work on the Birds of that continent. 



