( « ) 



lo. Cyauerpes caerulea trinitatis (Bii.) 



[Certhia aienihn Linnaeus, %</. Sm. Id. i. (17.')8) p. 11« (ex Edwards— Surinam).] 



Coereha Irimhills Bonaparte, Cnm/.t. lb ml. Ar. Sc. vol. 3'J. (1854) p. 258 (" e.\ Insula Saucla- 



Trinit;ui.'' — Mus. Verreau.'i) 

 ArhelwhiiM aieniha Chapman, Bull. Amer. Mux. vi. (18114) p. 25 (Trinidad). 



8 t? ad., C <S jr. or ? ? fioiii Vulcncia, March. Besides, we buvc two 

 adnlt males, collected by Dr. Percy Reiuliill in the Savannah Grande district, in 

 Febrnary INOT. 



The series dillers Irom ail the ulher subspecies in liavnig a much loiij;er, 

 and at the base considerably broader bill. In the males the anterior part of 

 the crown, too, is decidedly darker blue, there beini^ no trace of the distinct 

 liglit blue patch to be seen in the other forms. The females from Trinidad have 

 the upper parts of a darker, duller green, and the uchreous colour of the throat 

 distinctly darker. 



Birds of the so-called " Orinoco "-make agree jierfectly with those from 

 Trinidad, and raise once more the question whether some of these skins may not 

 really come from some part of that island. This sii[iposilion is strengthened by the 

 fact that specimens collected by Mr. Andre at Guauoco in the Orinoco-delta do 

 not belong to the hmg-billed island race, but agree in every way with typical 

 C. merulca from Surinam and Cayenne. 



The Trinidad form is apparently entitled to the name C. trinituti.'i of 

 Bonaparte, which is entirely omitted from the Cat. of Binis, vol. .\i. Ferhajis 

 A. longiio/s/iis ("ab.* is an earlier name for the same form, but then the locality 

 must be wrong, since specimens from S. Esteban and Cumana both represent 

 the short-billed typical <'. caernlca. 



With a series of 8U specimens before me, I can easily recognise the following 

 subspecies south of the isthmus of Panama : 



{a) C)/anerpes caerulea caerulea (Linn.) 



Typical locality : Siirin/i))/ (ex Edwards). 



6 ad. Bill slender at the base, 18— 2(1^ mm. long, .\nterior part of crown 

 slightly tinged with clear azure bluish. 



I cannot find any constant difference between tyjncal Surinam skins and 

 others from Puerto tJabello upon which the name Arhclorliiiia brerirostris (.'ab. has 

 been bestowed. The latter have not shorter bills, as claimed by Professor Caliauis : 

 on the contrary, one of my specimens from Puerto C'abello has the bill slightly 

 longer than those from Cayenne and Surinam. A series from Cumana also agrees 

 with those from the two latter localities. 



The following measurements of some adult males out of my series may be 

 useful to students of this dilHcnlt group: 



•Z from (Juanoeo, Orinoco-dell a: wing .3(j —57 ; tail 28 —20; bill 10 — 2U mm. 



„ 29 —31: „ 10 -211 „ 

 „ 20 -27; „ 10 -105 „ 



• Mus. llcinean. i. (ISTiU) y. '.IC— Caracas. 



