(27 ) 

 TO. Urogalba dea amazonum Scl. 



[Alcedo Dea Linnaeus, S//st. Xat. x. p. 116 (1758.— ex Edwards, Oni., tab. 10— Surinam).] 

 Urogalba amazonum Sclater, P.Z.S. 1855. p. 14 ("in Brasil. Boreali, Pari, et. fl. Amazonum") ; 



Sclater & Salvin, P.Z.S. 1867. p. 582 (Para). 

 Urogalba paradisea Sclater, P.Z.S. 1857. p. 262 (Ega). 



No. 525. c? fere ad., Itaitnba, 31. i. 06. " Iris brown."— Wing 91 ; bill 50 mm. 



Besides this, the Tring Museum possesses two adult birds from Magoary, Island 

 of, Marajo, collected by Prof. I. B. Steere. One of them (<?) agrees perfectly with 

 the type of U. amazonum, in having the forehead and broad superciliaries creamy 

 white, and the middle of the crown pale brown, but has rather shorter wings. A 

 specimen from Para, (coll. Wallace) and another from Ega (coll. Bates) are identical 

 with the typical example as regards coloration. The former is quite as large as 

 the type, while the latter agrees in size with Steere's skins. The second specimen 

 (?) from Magoary, and the S from Santarern, sent by Mr. Hoffmanns, differ from 

 all these birds in the following way : The crown is decidedly darker brown and 

 mixed with purplish blue feathers (as in typical U. dea dea), only the frontal edge 

 being pale brownish, and there is but a narrow whity-brown superciliary line. 



It is evident from the foregoing that the colour of the bead varies somewhat, 

 and that the greater size is not a reliable character. The presence of the whitish 

 superciliary stripe, however, in combination with the invariably much smaller 

 smoky-brown chin-spot, renders V. d. amazonum a fairly well differentiated form. 



V. amazonum was originally described from Para, but afterwards Dr. Sclater* 

 doubted the correctness of this locality, suggesting that Upper Amazonia was its 

 true " patria." This, however, is not the case, and there can be no doubt whatever 

 that U. d. amazonum represents the typical form on the south bank of the Lower 

 Amazons and Kio Solirnoens. The British Museum contains a specimen collected 

 by Wallace near Para— this locality being indicated on Wallace's original label — and 

 another from Ega, obtained by H. W. Bates. 



On the other hand, the examples secured by Natterer and Wallace at Barra do 

 Rio Negro, on the north side of the great river, and those sent by the first-named 

 naturalist from Marabitanas and S. Carlos, upper Rio Negro, agree in every way 

 with a large series of typical U. d. dea from the Guianas ; as does also an adult 

 bird from Iqnitos, N.E. Pern, on the uorthern bank of the Maranon. The two 

 young birds from Salto Girao, Rio Madeira, mentioned by Pelzeln t appear to 

 belong to U. d. amazonum, as the smoky-brown chin-spot is very small. Adult 

 specimens, however, should be examined. 



The range of the two forms, accordingly, is as follows : 



a. Urogalba dea dea (Linn.) 



Cayenne, Surinam, British Guiana, west through the Rio Negro region to the 

 north bank of the Amazons (Barra do Rio Negro, Iqnitos). 



b. Urogalba dea amazonum Scl. 



South bank of the Amazons from Para to Ega, R. Solimoens ; perhaps also 

 occurring on the southern tributaries of the Amazons : Rio Madeira, etc. 



* Mono;/''. Jacamar.* and Pull Birds, p. 6. 



t SlU-BeriohU Akud. Wien (math, physih. CI.) xx. (1856) p. 504, 



