BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 129 



Genus IXOREUS Bonaparte.a 



Ixoreus Bonaparte, Comptes Rendus, xxxviii, 3, iiute, Jan., 1854; Orn. Coll. 

 Delattre, 1854, 26, footnote. (Type, Turdus nsevius Gmelin.) (See Rich- 

 mond, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xv, 1902, 85.) 



Hesperocichla Baird, Review Am. Birds, June, 18G4, 12. (Type, Turdus nxvius 

 Gmelin.) 



Medium-sized Tiirdidas without distinct (if any) subterniinal notch 

 to maxillary tomium, nasal fossa? mostly occupied by dense feather- 

 ing of frontal antise (almost concealing nostril), broad whitish sub- 

 basal band across inner webs of remiges, tawny superciliary stripe, 

 and large tawny or ochraceous spots on greater and middle wing- 

 coyerts. 



Bill much shorter than head, rather slender, decidedly compressed, 

 nnich deeper than wide at frontal antise; exposed culmen much 

 shorter than middle toe (without claw), straight basally, yery grad- 

 ually and not strongly decuryed terminally; gonys much longer than 

 mandibular rami (yery nearly equal to distance from nostril to tip of 

 maxilla), straight or yery nearly so, its base somewhat prominent; 

 maxillary tomium slightly concaye, especially subterminally, where 

 \yithout distinct, if any, notch. Nostril small, longitudinally oyoid, 

 mostly coyered by the short dense feathering of latero-frontal antise, 

 oyerhung by rather broad membrane. Rictal and decumbent post- 

 nasal bristles well dey eloped though slender and weak; feathers of 

 lores and chin wdth fine bristle-like tips. Wing rather long and 

 pointed, the longest primaries exceeding longest secondaries by com- 

 bined length of tarsus and about half the middle toe; outermost 

 (tenth) primary shorter than primary coyerts, about one-fourth as 

 long as ninth, the latter equal to or longer than sixth, the eighth and 

 seyenth equal and longest; three primaries (eighth, seyenth, and 

 sixth) with outer web sinuated. Tail much less than three times as 

 long as tarsus, slightly longer than distance from bend of wing to end 

 of secondaries, eyen. Tarsus more than one-fourth as long as wing, 

 much less than one-third as long as tail, the acrotarsium fused on 

 both sides (except lower portion); middle toe (without claw) two- 

 thirds as long as tarsus; lateral toes equal, both reaching (without 

 claw) to slightly but decidedly beyond subterminal articulation of 



a It is with extreme reluctance, and only after having given the matter most careful 

 consideration, that I am able to concur in the adoption of Ixoreus Bonaparte for this 

 genus. If we are to go entirely by the original printed record in such cases, ignoring 

 all extraneous evidence, however clear and unimpeachable, as I believe is the only 

 practical)le method of attaining final stability of nomenclature, it really makes no 

 difference whether Bonaparte wrongly identified a Tyi-annine bird { Myiotheretes 

 rufiventris) as Turdus nsevius Gmelin so long as he plainly stated that the typ(> of his 

 new genus Ixoreus is the latter. (See Richmond, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xv, 1902, 85, 

 and Sclater, Ibis, 1903, 142.) 



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