PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 483 



Myadestes clisabethcc. 



Myadestes.* Swaius. 



= ld28.— Myadestes Swains., Nat. Libr., xiii, p. 182. 



= 1838. — Myidestes Swaius., o}!. cit., p. 134. 



=: lS42.—Mi/iadestes Agass., Noiueucl. Zool. Aves, p. 4'J. 



= 1846. — Myiesthes Agass., Index Univers., p. 241. 



=: 18.54. — Myiadecics Bonai>., Not. Coll. Delattre, p. 27. 

 Size rather small ; color unspotted and unstreaked. Wing rounded, 

 the third, fourth, tifth, and usually, also, the sixth i^rimaries longest; 

 second primary never longer than three and a half — usually only two 

 and a half— times the first, and usually shorter than the seventh ; second- 

 aries rather long. Bill weak, short, and broad, much depressed -, com- 

 missure nearly straight, with distinct subterminal notch, and three times 

 as long as the short gonys; chin angle reaching considerably before the 

 line of the nostrils, which are oval, with overhanging membrane. Bris- 

 tles rather well developed. Tarsus rather short, seldom exceeding in 

 length the middle toe and claw, usually a, little shorter, but about twice 

 the exposed culnien, and about one-fourth or less the length of the long- 

 est tail-feathers. Tail rounded, or double rounded, the outermost pair 

 of tail-feathers always considerably shorter than the longest; feathers 

 rather narrow, tapering gently from base to tip, the shafts of the outer- 

 most converging towards the tip ; longest tail-feathers never shorter 

 than four times the commissure. Feathers of occiput full and some- 

 what lengthened. 



Eemakks. — The relationship of this genus has already been pointed 

 ont. I will here only remark that I am inclined to believe that the 

 '• Flycatching Thrushes," besides their close afduities to Turdampelis 

 and the Platycichlea', on the other hand are somewhat related to the 

 iSialea\ That the group, besides, show some relationship towards cer- 

 tain African forms is not so very surprising, when \vg remember several 

 other affinities of South American and West Indian birds with forms 

 from Africa. A very striking instance is in this respect the close rela- 

 tionship between members of the genus Merula — especially those com- 

 posing the division Flanesticns — inhabiting the two continents. 



* The recently adopted spelling is Myiadectes (see Sliarpc, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vi, 

 p. 3G8, where Salvin and Godmau are erroneously given as the original authors). This 

 is intended to be an ''improvement" or " correction" of Swaiuson's original name, 

 being, however, quite unnecessary, as the derivation of MyarZes^es is from Mi!f4 (att. for 

 fiviu), a fly, and 'Edeanic (Hdt. 3, 99)=an eater, devourer. 



