( ■•544 ) 



C. serva (ScL), as the sjieoies ought to be called, is certainly not a ri/i-if/h-iiii, 

 Ijiit finds its nearest allies in Cercomacra approximans and C. nigrencens, with 

 wliicli it exactly agrees in the shnpe of the bill nnd form of the tail. The species 

 of rijriglfiia, on the other hand, differ very markedly in the iollowing particulars : 

 the bill is decidedly narrower and more slender, also rather higher and not 

 ?o flattened; the tail-feathers are much wider; the forehead and the lores are 

 thickly covered with soft, erect feathers, while they are much loss densely set and 

 rather stiffer (more bristle-like) in Cfn'omarra. 



The female of C. .'icrfa is also very similar to that of C. (ippvoximnns and 

 ('. iiiqrrsri'iix, in having the whole lower surface and the sides of the head bright 

 fiM'rnginous ; it differs, however, from both in the forehead being dark olive grey 

 like the back (instead of ferrnginous as in the allied species). The Tring Museum 

 has lately received a male from Wiuchurras, near Pozuzo, province Ilnanneo, Peru. 



A"i. On Dysithamnus subplumbeus, Hypocnemis schistacea, Heterocnemis 

 leucostigma, and H. saturata. 



The careful examination of a large amount of material reveals the surprising 

 fact that the above four " species," placed by the latest authority ' in three different 

 genera, are very closely alHed and evidently but geographical representatives of the 

 same type. They agree perfectly with each other in all structural characters and 

 in style of coloration. The males differ only in the intensity of the colour of the 

 lower parts and in the amount of the white spotting on the upper wing-coverts, 

 while the females are hardly distinguishable. Altogether, they form a natural 

 group, and are certainly congeneric with Scdateria t argentata (Des Murs) ; but 

 whether these birds can be associated with <S'. vaevia, the type of the genus 

 Sddteria, is another question. Anyhow, they have nothing to do with Di/sitlininiius 

 and Ih/pocnemis. The species of the former genus have a much stronger, more 

 hooked bill, and a shorter tail ; those of the latter are distinguished by a much 

 broader and much more flattened bill, etc. 



The four recognisable forms have to stand as follows : 



1. Sclateria schistacea schistacea (Scl.). 

 Jhipneiiemis schintacca Sclater, P. Z. S. 18.'J8. p. 252 [''Rio J.avarri"], descr. orig. ^ ; ScLiter, Cut. 

 Birds XV. p. 287; Berlepsch & Stolzmann, P. Z. S. 18',)fi. p. ;i84 [La Merced, La flloiia, 

 Borgofia : Central Peru]. 



Wing. Tail. P.ill. 



1. Mus. Brit., 6 ad., Rio .Tavarri,ex Stevens, doll. P. L. 



Sclater. Type of sjiecics 03 49 17,; mm. 



2. Mns. Brit., S ad., La Gloria, (Jhanchamayo, C. Peru, 



January 23, 1891. Kalinowski coll CS r,l 19 „ 



3. Mus. Berlepsch, S ad., Borgofia, ( 'hanchamayo, C. Pern, 



May 19, 1891. Kalinowski coll. . ". . .08 5i 2U „ 



4. Mus. Tring, <S ad., Pozuzo, lIuAunco, ('. Pern, 



March 191)4. W. Hoffmanns coll 05^ :,n 17 „ 



.^. Mus. Berlepsch, ?, Marcapata, Cuzco, S.K. Peru, 



October lU, 1899. 0. (iarlcpp coll 09 .57 29 „ 



C. Mus. Berlepsch, ?, Marcapata, Cuzco, S.E. Peru, 



November 9, 1899. 0. Garlopp coll. ... 70 ^u 20 „ 



* Sclater, Cut. Birth xv. 



f Sclttleria (Iberliol.-^er, I'rni: Ariiil. Philad. ISySt. p. 209 [nom. emcml. for nrtrroniemh Scl. pre- 

 occupied]. 



