( ol9 ) 



Bourcier 6i Mulsaut described Ornismi/a josephinae with shorter wings and 

 an entirely green underside. This is a very constant form in Eastern Bolivia and 

 other places, but on the Upper Amazons, especially near Pebas, specimens are 

 common with only a blue chin, and transitions occur between this blue-chinneil form 

 and C. oenone oenone with the entire throat bine on the one hand, and ('. jon'phiime 

 without any blue on the othm- hand. This blue-chinned form lias been distinguished 

 as a third species by Boncard, but unfortunately he applied the names neera and 

 josephinae to this form and named the in\e josepkitme once more, calling it hnckleyi. 

 The former has no name, and 1 propose for it intermedin., nom. nov. 



Salvin's treatment of C. neera and its forms contains some inconsistencies. First 

 of all he accepts the name neera, which is a " nomen nudum." In the Rec. Zool. 

 1839, p. 18, it is only quoted from an unpublished picture-book, and all that is said 

 about it is, " M. De Lattre indiqne Guaduas, dans la t'olorabie, pour la patrie de cette 

 belle espfece." On account of this most authors have avoided this name. Xow Salvin 

 — against his usual custom — has accepted this quite unacceptable name. Whether 

 the supposed type of " neera " in the British Museum is the type has never been 

 proved. The Colombian form should be C. oenone oenone or ('. oenone lonyirostrin, 

 and not neera. It is also quite in contradiction to Salvin's rule to accept neera 

 as a species, as he admits that it is connected with oenone by transitional specimens 

 —a reason for which he usually unites tlie forms which are thus connected. 



According to my views the three forms should be treated as follows : — 



1. C/ir. oenone oenone (Less.). Longer wing, bine throat. Venezuela to Eastern 

 Ecuador. 



2. Ckr. oenone longirostris Berlp. E.xactly like 1, only bill generally 1 to 

 2 mm. longer. Eastern ranges of the Andes in Colombia. 



3. Chr. oenone intermedia Hart. Wing shorter, chin only blue. Upper 

 Amazons. 



4. Clir. oeyione josephinae (Bonrc. & Muls.) (synonyms: "i neera 1831), nom. 

 nud., caerideicapilla 1861, buc/dej/i 1893). No blue on chin and throat, wing 

 shorter. Plains of Bolivia. 



Chrysuronia ruficoUis auct. recentiura. 



For a long time this bird has been known as < 'hri/snronia chrt/.vira, until 

 Berlepsch has shown that Trochilns rnjicollis Vieillot, based on the Picaf/or cola de 

 topacio of Azara, is this species. It has since been correctly named ('hri/.s>/ronia 

 ruficoUis, but there is no reason for sejmrating any species of the genus (lirysuronid 

 from Hylocharis, except Chrijsuronia oenone, which has a harder bill ;iiid a 

 differently shaped tail, in which the outermost rectrices are longest. 



Comparing specimens from Hio Grande do tSul and La Plata, which, according 

 to Berlepsch {J. f. O. 1887, p. 18) do not differ from those from Paraguay, with a 

 series collected by Mr. Arthur Maxwell Stuart in the plains near Reyes on the Rio 

 Beui in Eastern Bolivia, I find that the latter have a remarkably shorter bill and 

 are generally a little smaller. I find it therefore necessary to separate tlie latter as 



Hylocharis ruficoUis maxwelli ^ubsIl. n<iv. 



(See the forthcoming Tierreich, 7'rorhilif/ap.) Specimens from Miitu ({rosso are 

 perhaps somewhat intermediate in size. 



