410 XOVITATES ZOOLOGICAK XXIV. 1917. 



NOTES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF SOUTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



By ERNST HARTERT and ARTHUR GOODSON. 



1. Pachyrhamphus peraanus sp. nov. 



?. Crown .ash-grey, over the ej'es a dull greenish line, hind-neck and nape 

 ash-grey, rest, of upper surface yellou-ish green as in P. viridis ; tail and wings 

 as in the latter, i.e. with a rufous patch on the upper wing-coverts. Sides of 

 head and the throat pale grey ; chest-band and sides of breast ohvaceous green 

 with yellow edges to the feathers, not uniform yellow as in P. v. viridis and 

 cuvieri. Rest of under surface white with a greyish tinge on the breast — not 

 creamy as in P. v. viridis and cuvieri. Wing, 73 mm. 



Hab. Chanchamayo, state of Cuzco, South-eastern Peru, 1,500 metres. 



Type : $ Chanchamayo, January 1905, collected by C. 0. Sckunke. 



The grey head and somewhat undecided supcrcihary line point towards 

 immaturity, and it is probable that the specimen — unfortunately only the one 

 female has been received— is not fully adult, but it is not hke young P. viridis, 

 which agree with it only in having the top of the head greyish. Probably 

 P. penunuis will have to rank as a subspecies of viridis, but without knowing 

 the male, this must remain uncertain. The collector marked the eyes as grey 

 (" pardo "), bill and feet plumbeous. 



2. Forms of Blacicus brachytarsus (Scl.). 



It has alreadj- been said by Mr. Ridg\\ay {Birds of North and Middle America, 

 iv. p. 527) that specimens from Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad are "con- 

 siderably greyer " above than those from Central America. Our series from 

 Trinidad and the State of Cumana is certainlj' paler and shghtly (we should 

 not say considerably) more greyish above, the crouii generally less brownish, 

 and they are also paler underneath, the breast being less olivaceous and 

 the abdomen paler yellow. Jloreover, they have a longer wing : S 75-80, 

 ? 72-76 mm., if correctlj' scxed, while Central American specimens measure 

 (J 72-75, ? 67-72 mm., if correctly scxed. 



No name appears to be referable to this form except Taczanowski's aiidinus. 

 This name is adopted by Berlepsch (Nov. Zool. 1908, p. 128) and Hellmayr 

 and Seilern (Arcliiv /. Katurg. Ixwiii. 1912. p. 84). It is difficult to believe 

 that, in consideration of the other local forms, these birds should be exactly the 

 same, but from comparison with a Bolivian male we are unable to find the 

 slightest difference. Tyrannula hogotensis Bonaparte cannot possibly be this 

 bird, as there are great discrepancies in the diagnosis, and Planchesia juliginosa 

 of the same author is only Gmelin's Mnscicapa juliginosa, in which no Blacicus 

 can be recognised (cf. Berlepsch, I.e. p. 129). 



We cannot unite with these birds our scries from Cayenne and Surinam. 

 They arc smaller, wings S 70'5-72-5, $ 67-69 mm. The colour of the upper- 

 side is slightly more grcj'ish and the crown is not so dark, less in contrast with 

 the back. Underside as in the Cumana and Trinidad birds. We call tliis bird : 



