( 353 ) 



NOTES ON A SECOND COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM THE 

 DISTRICT OF PARA, BRAZIL. 



By (J. K HELLMAYE. 



IN t|](' l;isl, volume of tlie Woritates Zoologicae I piililished an account of a small 

 collei'tion of Mrds made by Mons. A. Robert at a place called Igarape'-Assu, 

 east of the town of Para. Soon afterwards, Mr. W. Hoffmanns, who had been 

 collecting for some time in Pern, where he discovered the Leantifnl Pipia ei-(]U!sita 

 Hellm., came to Tring, and I suggested to him to continue the researches in the 

 Para district so successfully taken up by M. Uobert. 



Some time ago the Tring Museum received the first consignment from this able 

 collector, comprising the results of two months' work. It consists of 42i) specimens, 

 representing 12(J species, of which no less than 21 are new to the fauna of Para. 

 Besides four forms new to science, Mr. Hoffmanns was so fortunate as to get large 

 series of the newly described Compopliaya rohcrti and Hypocnemis vidua, each of 

 which was represented in Europe only by a single specimen ; and he likewise 

 succeeded in obtaining a good number of skins of two exceedingly rare Humming- 

 birds, viz. Agi/rtria nitklij'ron^ and Lopltornis gouldii. Several species, only known 

 from Upper Amazonia, were found in the district of Para, as well as a few 

 others supposed to be confined to the Guianas — f. i. Avoccttula recurvirostris. 



Mr. Hoffmanns being still at work on the Lower Amazons, I defer general 

 remarks about tlie ornithology of Paril to a later occasion, and proceed to give the 

 account of the various sjiecies contained in his collection. 



All specimens were collected near Prata, Igarape-Assu, at an elevation of 

 4.'3 metres above the sea-level. The notes on the colour of the iris and soft parts, 

 carefully indicated on the label of every specimen, are given with (| notation marks. 



We are under great obligations to Herr Hermann Schindler, director of the 

 railway comjiauy, and to Herr Schrader, Imperial German Consul of Para, for 

 many acts of kindness and assistance given to Mr. Hoffmanns. 



1. Turdus phaeopygus Cab. 



Turdus ph<ieoj)>jr/u.i Cabanis : in Schomljurgk, Ruise Brit. Gtiiana iii. (18-18) p. COS [Brit. Guiana] ; 

 Pclzclu, Zur Orn. Braul. ii. (18G8) p. 93 (Pani) ; Layard, IhU 1873. p. 376 (Para). 



2 c?c? ad. and 2 ? ? ad. : 2, 28. xi., 2, 6. xii. 05. "Iris brown." Nos. 01, 

 218, 246, 282. 



They agree perfectly in colour and size with specimens from British Guiana. 



2. Turdus fumigatus Licht. 



Turdus fitiiiiyaliis Lichtcnsteiu, Ver-^. Duhl. 1823. p. 38 ('■Brasilion") ; Sdater & Salviu, P. Z. S. 

 1867. p. 068 (Mexiaua Island) ; Layard, Ihis 1873. p. 376 (Para). 



A single c? ad. from Prata, 'i. xii. U5. No. 251. " Iris brown." 

 It dift'ers from an adult <? from Para, collected by Prof. Steere, in having 

 a distinct white jiatcli in the middle of the lower abdomen. Thereby h ajiproaches 

 '/'. Iiatuicelli of Upper Amazonia, but in other respects it is very dissimilar. The 

 specimens obtained by Natterer ou the npper branches of the Kio Madeira (near 

 Engeuho do Gama, S. Vicente, Rio Guapore) are also typical T. fumiyatus, showing 

 not the slightest transition towards T. hauxwelli. 



