226 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



like in form, though without a chisel-shaped tip and well adapted to 

 hammering or chipping the decayed wood, as in the case of the 

 Woodpeckers. In size the Dendrocolaptidse vary from the dimensions 

 of a true Creeper (CertJiia) to those of a Flicker (ColajHes). There is 

 little range in the variety of their coloration, rufous or chestnut and 

 olivaceous hues prevailing throughout the group, often unvaried but 

 sometimes relieved by streaks or bars of darker and lighter hues. 



The family as properly restricted is equal to the "Subfamih^ 

 Dendrocolaptinse" of Dr. Sclater,"' minus the genera Margarornis 

 and Pygarrliicus, which belong to the Furnariidse, and plus the 

 genera Glyphorliynclius and Dendrornis, which constitute Dr. Sclater's 

 "Subfamily Glyphorhynchinse." 



KEY TO THE GENERA OF DENDROCOLAPTID^. 



a. Nostril roundish, without distinct operculum. {Dendrocolaptinse.) 



b. Bill moderately elongated (much less than twice as long as tarsus) or rather 



short. 



c. Bill depressed (at least as broad as deep at nostril); maxillary tomium more 



or less distinctly notched subterminally. {Dendrocolaptese .) 



d. Bill relatively short and stout, the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla 



not greater than length of tarsus, its depth at nostril equal to one-third 



the length of exposed culmen and nearly half the distance from nostril 



to tip of maxilla Dendrexetastes (extralimital).c 



dd. Bill relatively longer and more slender, the distance from nostril to tip 

 of maxilla greater than length of tarsus, its depth at nostril less than 

 one-fourth the length of exposed culmen and less than one-third the 



distance from nostril to tip of maxilla Dendrocolaptes (p. 227). 



cc. Bill compressed (much deeper than broad at nostril); maxillary tomium 

 without trace of subterminal notch. {Xiphocolaptcx .) 



d. Bill straight Dendroplex (extralimital).<^ 



dd. Bill more or less decurved. 

 e. Larger (wing 120-152 mm.); bill relatively shorter and deeper, with 

 gonydeal angle more prominent and base of gonys with a narrow but 



distinct median ridge Xiphocolaptes (p. 235.) 



ee. Smaller (wing less — usually much less — than 120 mm.); bill relatively 

 longer and less deep, with tip of maxilla more decidedly decurved, 

 gonydeal angle less prominent, and base of gonys without median 

 ridge. 

 /. Bill nearly straight (only the tip of maxilla decidedly decurved), rela- 

 tively much deeper (depth at nostril equal to nearly one-fourth to 

 about one-third the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla). 



Xiphorhynchus (p. 239). 



a Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum, vol. xv, 1890, pp. 117-175. 



b The genus Hylexetastes Sclater (type, Dendrocolaptes perrotii Lafresnaye) I have 

 not examined, and therefore is omitted. 



c Dendrexetastes Eyton, in Jardine's Contr. Om., 1851, 76. (Type, D. capitoides 

 Eyton=Dendrocolaptes temminckii Lafresnaye. — Cladoscopus Reichenbach, Handb. 

 Spec. Om., 1853, 192. Type, Dendrocolaptes temminckii Lafresnaye. (Cayenne and 

 upper Amazon Valley; two species.) 



d Dendroplex Swainson, Zool. .Tourn., iii, 1827, 354. Type, Oriohis piciis Gmelin. 

 (Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia, southeastern Brazil, and lower Amazon Valley; 

 two species.) 



