344 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



AGELAIUS XANTHOMUS (Sclater). 

 YELLOW-SHOULDERED BLACKBIRD. 



Adult male. — Uniform flossy black, with a faint bluish green reflec- 

 tion; lesser and ni'ddle wing-coverts clear lemon yellow, the latter 

 sometimes slio-htly paler (rarely inclining to white at tips); bill, legs, 

 and feet black; iris brown; length (skin, one specimen), 198.1; wing, 

 107.2-108; tail, 83.8-8t;.9 {>^-^'>^)\ culmen, from base, 20.8-22.1; depth 

 of bill at base, 9.7; tarsus, 24.1-25.4; middle toe, 19.0-19.8.' 



Admit female. — Similar to the adult male in coloration, ))ut smaller; 

 length (skins), 172.7-198.1 (185.4); wing, 95-97.3 (90.3); tail, 74.2-78.7 

 (77); culmen, from base, 19.8-20.3 (20.1); depth of bill at base, 8.1- 

 8.9 (8.0); tarsus, 24.1-24.9 (24.4); middle toe, 18.3.' 



YoioKj. — Uniform dull black, except les.ser wing-coverts, which are 

 light butl'v yellow or yellowish bufl', the middle coverts partly of the 

 same color. 



Iiiiiuatarc. — Similar to adults, but yellow wing-patch more or less 

 broken posteriorly by spots or ])lotches of black. 



Island of Poilo Rico, Greater Antilles. (Island of St. Thomas?) 



Agela'ms diryHopterux Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., xxxiv, 1819, 539 part 



(St. Thouiat-, W. I.); Enc. Meth., ii, 1823, 713, part. — Gundlach, Anal. 



Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., vii, 1878, 211 (Porto Rico); Journ. fiirOni., 1874, 312 



(Porto Rico); 1878, 177 (Porto Rico). 

 Ayeleeus chrysopterun Sundevall, Oh^fv. K. Vet.-Akad. Forh., 1869, 597 (Porto Rico). 

 lAgelseusI dirysoptei-us ScLATEKandSALViN, Nom. Av. Neotr., 1873, 37 (Porto Rico). 

 Icterus xanthomus Sclater, Cat. Am. Birds, 1862, 131 ("Mexico;" coll. P. L. 



Sclater).— Taylor, Ibis, 1864, 168 (Porto Rico).— Bryant, Proc. Bost. Soc. 



N. H., X, 1866, 254 (Porto Rico). 

 HypJtaiitcit xaiithoinus Cassin, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philu., 1866, 63 (nionogr. ; Porto 



Rico; St. Thomas?). 

 A gelseiis xanthomas Sci.atkk, Ibis, 1884, 12 (nionogr.); Cat. Birds Brit. JMus., xi, 



1886, 343. 

 lAyelims} xdnlliunnis (\)h\, List Birds W. I., 1SS5, 14. 

 Ayt'laiiis x<iidlii>jnii.'<(_\)K\, Auk, iii, Ai)r., iSSti, 221; Birds W. 1., 1889, 108; Cat. 



W. L Birds, 1892 14, 110, 132 (Porto Rico; accidental on Mona I.). 



Genus NESOPSAR Sclater. 



Nesopsar Sci.atkr, Ibis, i, Oct., 1859, 457, footnote. (Type, Iiifrns nigfrritiius 

 Osbnrn.) 



Rather small, uniforndy black Ictcrida' with tlu^ bill longer than 

 the head, iiai lowly wedge-shaped, the wing about three times as long 

 as the culmen, roundtnl, the tail about two-thirds as long as the wing, 

 even, the tarsus about one-fourth as long as thi^ wing. 



P>ill longer than head, slender-conical or narrowly Avedge-shaped, 

 compressed, acute, with straight outlines, its l)asal deplli al)out one- 

 third the culmen, or less, its basal width less than the depth; culmen 

 straight, flattened, the flattened surface wid(>ning gradually toward 



' Two specimens. ^ Four sjtecimens. 



