BIKDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 379 



or less distinct sublerniiiial toinial notch; maxillary torn iuni, posterior 

 to the subterniinal notch, nearly or quite straight to near the base, where 

 more or less convex; mandible recurved, falcate, with very acute tip and 

 very short rami, the gonys strongly convex, its base very broad and 

 much posterior to the nostrils. Nostrils exposed, narrow, longitudinal, 

 overhung by l)road membrane. Rictal bristles rather long but weak. 

 Wing moderate, rather rounded (seventh and sixth, or seventh, sixth, 

 and tifth primaries longest, the ninth shorter than fourth, sometimes 

 shorter than first). Tail decidedl}- shorter than wing (sometimes 

 shorter than distance from bend of wing to tip of secondaries), more 

 or less rounded or slightly double-rounded. Tarsus rather long 

 (nearl}^ one-third to more than one-third as long as wing); middle toe 

 with claw decidedly shorter than tarsus. 



Coloratfon. — Adult males (also adult females of some species) usually 

 plain bluish or l)lackish, the under parts sometimes partly rufous or 

 chestnut; if the general color bluish, the forehead and lores (some- 

 times auriculars also) l)lack; if the general color ])lack, the lesser wing- 

 coverts usually bluish gra}" or white. 



Range. — Southern Mexico to Colombia and thence through moun- 

 tains of western South America to Peru and Bolivia. (Only two 

 species north of Panama.) 



Not having seen all the species of this genus, I am not able to form 

 an opinion respecting its proper limits.' Judging from the species 

 that have ))een examined, however, I am inclined to believe that 

 it will be necessary either to merge the generally accepted genus 

 Di<jlos.so2>''x'~ into DkjloSKa, or else to recognize one or more addi- 

 tional genera, to include species which are intermediate in structural 

 characters or differ in certain respects from ])()th types. In Dlglosso- 

 pi.s the moditications of the 1)111 which are so remarkable in typical 

 Digl(w>«( are not carried nearly so far; the tip of the maxilla is ])ut 

 faintl}' hooked; the general trend of the })ill is more nearly on a line 

 with the longitudinal axis of the head; the exposed culmen is nearly 

 as long as the lateral length of the mandible (instead of being much 

 shorter — sometimes less than two-thirds as long), and the inferior out- 

 line of the mandible is but slightly convex. The nasal fossaj are also 

 much more exposed, the latero-frontal feathering encroaching much 

 more upon the nostrils in Dlglosxa. Some of the species referred to 

 D!gh>ss((^ as, for example, I). )>erx(>iuit(i.^ are in the particulars men- 

 tioned almost exactly intermediate between typical DigJoxm and 

 Diglossop'k., though there seems to be rather more of a gap l)etween 

 these intermediate forms and Dlgloxso^}/^ than between the former and 

 true Diglossa. 



* The species which I have not seen are D.gloriosa,D.pectoraUs, D.myMacalis, D. 

 carbonaria, and D. glauca. 



^Diglossopis Sclater, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 2, xvii, 1850, 467. (Type, D. 

 cserulescens Sclater. ) 



