258 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Bill as long as or longer than head (but much less than twice as 

 long as tarsus), decidedly though not conspicuously decurved through- 

 out, rather slender, much compressed, its width at latero-frontal 

 antise slightly to decidedly less than depth at same point and con- 

 tained from four and a half to seven times in distance from nostril to 

 tip of maxilla; culmen and tomia gradually decurved from base, the 

 latter without trace of subterminal notch ; gonys very faintly to rather 

 strongly concave, sometimes slightly prominent basally. Nostril 

 exposed, posteriorly in contact with latero-frontal feathering, longi- 

 tudinally oval, nonoperculate, but margined above by a narrow mem- 

 brane. Eictal bristles absent, and feathers of chin, etc., without 

 terminal seta3. Wing moderate or rather large, rather pointed, the 

 longest primaries exceeding secondaries by nearly to much more than 

 length of tarsus; eighth, seventh and eighth, sixth, seventh, and 

 eighth, or seventh, eighth, and ninth primaries longest, the tenth 

 (outermost) nearly to a little more than three-fourths as long as the 

 longest, the ninth longer than fifth, sometimes equal to the longest. 

 Tail three-fourths to (usually) decidedly more than three-fourths as 

 long as wing, graduated for about one-fourth its length, the rectrices 

 (12) acuminate, their strong and very rigid shafts decurved, some- 

 times twisted, terminally. Tarsus much shorter to slightly longer 

 (P. tenuirostris) than length of bill from nostril, one-fourth (P. 

 tenuirostris) to much, less than one-fourth as long as wing, distinctly 

 scutellate (endaspidean) ; middle toe, with claw, equal to tarsus or 

 decidedly longer; outer toe, without claw, equal to or slightly longer 

 than middle toe; inner toe, without claw, reaching to subterminal 

 articulation of middle toe; hallux decidedly shorter than inner toe, 

 scarcely if at all stouter; middle toe united to outer toe for whole of 

 first and part of second phalanx, to inner toe by greater part of first 

 phalanx; anterior claws large, very strongly curved, acute, that of the 

 hallux much less curved, equal to or shorter than the digit. 



Coloration.— Jiiuirp, upper tail-coverts, tail, and at least part of 

 remiges cinnamon-rufous or rufous-chestnut; back, scapulars, and 

 wing-coverts olive-brown, russet, or cinnamon-rufous; pileum and 

 hindneck brown or dusky, streaked or spotted with paler (sometimes 

 the back also streaked), or feathers margined with dusky; chin and 

 throat white or bully (feathers of throat sometimes narrowly mar- 

 gined with dusky), the rest of under parts more or less distinctly 

 streaked or striped. 



Nidification. — Nest in holes of trees or stumps; eggs plain white. 



Range. — Southern Mexico to Cayenne, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, 

 and Peru. (About twenty species.)*^ 



a Of these the following have not been examined in this connection: P . faldnellus 

 (Cabanis and Heine), P. obtectus Allen, P. warscewiczi (Cabanis and Heine), P. par- 

 virostris Sclater, P. puncticcps Sclater and Salvin, P. albolineatus (Lafresnaye), P. 

 saturatior Underwood, and P . fuscicapillus Pelzeln. 



