( 334) 



34. Notes on Synallaxis elegans Less, and allies. 



Si/)inllaxis eleyaiis Lesson, Siiji/ili-iii. Ocurres Btiffun (ed. Leveque), Descr. ilammif. el Oin., 1847, 



p. 289, descr. orig. (J ad. (Guayaquil). 

 S. paucalensis Tatzanow.ski, Ornilli. PcroH ii. 1884. p. 131, descr. orig. (J ad. (Paucal, N. Peru). 

 S. subupeciom Salvadori & Festa, B<ill. Mus. Torino, xv. no. 3C"2 (1899) p. 21, descr. orig. (J jur. 



(Balzar, near Guayaquil). 



Lesson's excellfiit description, which has hoen overlooked by all recent writers, 

 refers without any donbt to the West-Ecuadorian rei)resentative of the gronp, 

 comprising 5. speciosa, S. subspeciosn , and S. paucalensis Tacz. Thus, S. subspeciosa 

 becomes a synonym of -S. elcgans. 



The bird described by Lesson was evidently a perfectly adalt male : cf. " nne 

 calotte d'un noir mat et profond recouvre le dessus de la tcte depuis le front jnsiiu'a 

 la niique," and " tout le devant da con, depuis le menton jusqn'au thorax, est 

 blanc lav^ de roussatre par places, ce qni forme nn large plastron de cette conlenr, 

 arrcte dans le bas, en travers du con, par nn cordon noir, bord^ Ini-meme par uuo 

 echarpe d'lrn roux-marron vif. Le ventre, le bas-ventre et les flancs, sont d'un 

 jaune-rouille tres pale et nniforme, le dos et le cronpion d'un cendre clair ; " while 

 the type of <S', subspeciosa was a young male : cfr. " pileo et cervice saturate 

 brnnneis, colore griseo dorsi qnoqne brunnescente," etc. 



In the British Mnseum there is a specimen from Balzar (collected by 

 Illingworth) which diflers from both these descriptions by lacking the chestnut 

 pectoral area, the whole nnder-parts below the black jugular band being uniform 

 fulvous. This is no doubt the female of S. elegans, as in the closely allied form 

 S. e. speciosa of Puna Island, and in a series of the so-called S. paucalensis of 

 Nortliern Peru the females differ e.xactly in the same way from the males. 



Judging from the material before me, there arc two distinct forms to be 

 recogni.sed — one confined to Puna Island, the other inhabiting S.W. Ecuador and 

 N.W. Peru. 



Five adult males, from various places in N.W. Pern (Tembladera, Trnjillo, 

 Otnsco, Platanar ; coll. 0. T. Baron), agree very well with the description of 

 .S'. paucalensis Tacz.*, all having below the black jngnlar collar a chestnut band 

 well defined against the fulvons colour of the abdomen. 



This tallies as well with what Lesson says about the coloration of the 

 nnder-parts (vide supra). Furthermore, two females from North Peru (Trnjillo 

 and Platanar) in the Tring Museum are certainly identical with a female from 

 Balzar in the British Museum. Therefore I have no hesitation in nniting 

 <S'. 2"'"calensis and S. elegans. 



The form from the Puna Island, described by Salvin as a Formicieora'\ (! 1 I), 

 however, seems sullicientiy distinct to lie separated snbsiiecifieally. The male type 

 (in London) and an adult male in Tring have the abdomen much darker, chestnut 

 rufons, only a shade lighter than the chest. The females,* like those from Balzar 

 and North Pern without any chestnut on the lower surface, differ from these by 

 having the nj)per wing-coverts much paler, isabelle instead of cinnamon rnfous. 

 These two forms have accordingly to stand as : 



• Orn. Virm ii. 1S84. p. 131 (type : ^ ad. ex Paucal, N, Peru), 

 f Firrmictvora ipectosa Salvin, lbi» 1H76. p. 491 (Puna Island). 



\ The statement by Sclater {^Cat. liii-ds xv. p. 251) : "Female similar, but without the black gorget," 

 is a mistake, it being present in the three females in the British Museum. 



