BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 63 



then nearly straight or faintly concave, more or less convex beneath 

 nasal fossie; mandibular tomium lirst a little concave, then more or 

 less convex to about the middle, thence nearly straight to the slight 

 subbasal angle. Nostril exposed, broadly horizontally oval, with 

 rather broad superior membrane. Rictal bristles obvious but not 

 conspicuous. Wing a little less than four to about four and one-third 

 times as long as tarsus, rather pointed (ninth to sixth or eighth to 

 fifth primaries longest, the ninth longer than fifth); primaries exceed- 

 ing secondaries by a little less to a little more than length of tarsus. 

 Tail shorter than wing by less than length of tarsus, slightly divari- 

 cate and emarginate, the rectrices rather narrow, with firm webs and 

 rounded or very slightly pointed tips. Tarsus less than twice as long 

 as exposed culmen, equal to or slightly exceeding middle toe with 

 claw; lateral claws scarcely reaching to base of middle claw; hind 

 claw decidedly shorter than its digit, strongly curved. 



Coloration. — Adult males with head black, relieved b}- broad super- 

 oil iarj^ and malar stripes of white; wings and tail black, conspicuously 

 marked with white; under parts with more or less yellow or orange, 

 or both, sometimes with chestnut on chest; throat black laterally, 

 white or yellow centrall}^ or medially. Females and young much 

 duller, with black replaced l)y olivaceous, the head without conspicu- 

 ous (if any) stripes. 



Range. — Greater Antilles (Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Porto Rico, 

 .Jamaica, Grand Cayman) and Cozumel Island, Yucatan. 



S. pretrei has been separated generically, doubtless on account of 

 its slender bill, which is very different in form from that of aS'. nlgri- 

 ce])hala and S. Ixmedicti,' V>ut other species are intermediate, and I can 

 see no good reason for subdividing the genus. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF SPINDALIS. 



a. Head black, with conspicuous white superciliary and malar stripes. (Adult males. ) 

 h. Rump yellowish olive-green, similar to back, but slightly more yellowish; inner 

 webs of lateral rectrices not extensively white. 

 c. Larger (wing 92.2-100.6); hindneck olive-green, like back; lesser wing-coverts 

 black; abdomen and flanks yellow. (Jamaica.) 



Spindalis nigricephala, adult male (p. 64) 

 cc. Smaller (wing 82.5-87.6) ; hindneck orange, forming a sharply defined col- 

 lar; lesser wing-coverts chestnut; abdomen white, flanks grayish olive- 

 green, indistinctly streaked with darker. (Porto Rico.) 



Spindalis portoricensis, adult male (p. 65) 



hh. Rump rufous-orange, orange-rufous, or chestnut very different from color 



(olive-green or black) of back; inner webs of lateral rectrices extensively 



white. 



c. Bill more slender (depth at base much less than distance from nostril to tip of 



maxilla); nuchal collar yellow or rufous-orange; whole rump rufus-orange 



or orange-rufous. 



d. Nuchal collar yellow; upper tail-coverts chestnut or chestnut-rufous; chest 



chestnut. (Haiti.) Spindalis multicolor, adult male (p. ()7) 



