BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 11 



g. Tail one and a half times as long as wing; not crested; spotted above 



in both sexes Nisius (extralimital)." 



gg. Tail much less than one and a half times as long as wing; conspicu- 

 ously crested; not spotted above (adult male wholly dusky, 

 female barred with blackish and rusty) .. Lochites (extralimital).^ 

 ee. Tail little if any longer (usually much shorter) than wing. 

 /. Toes relatively shorter, the middle toe (without claw) not longer than 

 distance from nostril to tip of maxilla, or else tail not more than two- 

 thirds as long as wing, and wings and tail conspicuously spotted. 

 g. Tail much less than two-thirds as long as wing, truncated. 



Pygiptila (extralimital).c 



gg. Tail at least two-thirds as long as wing, much rounded or graduated. 



h. Tail not more than two-thirds as long as wing; bill relatively 



smaller, the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla less than 



length of middle toe without claw; wings, tail, and upper 



tail-coverts conspicuously spotted with white (adult male) or 



buffy (female) Megastictus (extraliniital).'^ 



hh. Tail more than two-thirds as long as wing; bill relatively larger, 



the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla greater than length 



of middle toe without claw; wings, tail, and upper tail-coverts 



with minute white or buffy spots or none at all. 



i. Plumage without spots, streaks or bars (plain brownish or 



olive above, yellowish olive below, the wings and tail rufes- 



cent; tail much shorter than wing Thamnistes (p. 21). 



ii. Plumage more or less spotted or streaked (adult male black 

 with white dots on wing-coverts and small white tip to lateral 

 rectrices, female slate color or olive, streaked with whitish; 



tail nearly as long as wing) Abalius (p. 24). 



ff. Toes relatively longer, the middle toe (without claw) longer than 

 distance from nostril to tip of maxilla; (tail more than two-thirds as 

 long as wing) . 

 g. Bill relatively much larger and stronger (exposed culmen equal to 

 or longer than middle toe with claw), more strongly uncinate; crest 

 more conspicuously developed. 

 h. Bill more compressed, its width at frontal antia? much less than 

 its depth at same point, and equal to less than half the distance 

 from nostril to tip of maxilla; larger (total length about 200 mm.); 

 imder parts white, the adult male black, the female rufous- 

 brown, above with more or less of white on wings. 



Taraba (p. 27). 

 hh. Bill less compressed, its width at frontal antia? nearly if not quite 

 equal to its depth at same point and equal to at least half the 

 distance from nostril to tip of maxilla; smaller (total length not 

 more than 170 mm.); under parts not white (except, sometimes, 

 in part). 



a Nisius Reichenl^ach, Av. Syet. Nat., 1850, pi. 71. Type, Thamnophilus leachii 

 Such. (Southeastern Brazil and northern Argentina; monotypic?) 



^Lochites Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., ii, Aug., 1859, 18. Type, Lanius severus 

 Lichtenstein. (Southeastern Brazil; monotypic?) 



c Pygiptila Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1858, 220. Type, Thamnophilus 

 maculipennis Sclater. (Upper Amazons; monotypic.) — Pygoptila (emendation) 

 Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., ii, 1859, 15. 



d Megastictus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxii, Apr. 17, 1909, 69. Type, 

 Myrmeciza marguritata Sclater. (Upper Amazons; monotypic.) 



