320 BULLETIN 50, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



pointed wing; tail thrcc-fourth.s to nearly six-.sevenths as long as wing, 

 more or less rounded; adult males black with red, orange, 3^ellow, or 

 tawny lesser wing-coverts;^ adult females much smaller and conspicu- 

 ously streaked." 



Bill shorter than head, elongate-conical or cuneate, compressed, with 

 straight or nearly straight outlines, its basal depth between one-half 

 and one-third the length of culmen, its basal Avidth much less; culmen 

 straight or nearly so, usually more or less depressed in middle portion 

 and elevated and arched basally, more or less flattened, especially the 

 mesorhinial portion, ending posteriorly in an obtuse point; maxillar\^ 

 tomiuni .straight or nearly so, usually faintl}^ convex in middle, the 

 rictal portion strongly deflexed; mandibular tomium straight to near 

 base, when strongly deflexed, with a gradual curve, the subliasal por- 

 tion sometimes (in South American species) slightly arched; gonys 

 straight or nearlj^ so, shorter than maxilla from nostril. Nostril 

 small, oval or roundish (sometimes more or less pointed anteriorly), 

 with a narrow but distinct superior operculum, posteriorly in contact 

 with feathering of frontal antise. Wing moderate or rather long (less 

 than four to nearly five times as long as culmen, three and a half to 

 nearly four and a half times as long as tarsus), the tip moderately pro- 

 duced (slightly less to much more than length of culmen), rounded or 

 truncate; outermost (ninth) primary intermediate between sixth and 

 fifth, equal to fifth, slightly shorter than fifth, or (in A. cyanopus), 

 shorter than fourth; eighth, seventh, or sixth primaries longest, or 

 these three equal in length; inner webs of two or three outer primaries 

 very faintly sinuated beyond middle. Tail three-fourths to nearly 

 seven-eighths as long as wing, more or less rounded (sometimes nearly 

 even), the rectrices broadest near ends, the inner webs of lateral pair 

 many times broader than the outer. Tarsus decidedly longer than 

 culmen, its anterior scutella distinct; middle toe, with claw, as long as 

 tarsus or slightly shorter; lateral toes with claws reaching to base of 

 middle claw; hallux much shorter than lateral toes, but much stouter, 

 its claw decidedly shorter than the digit. 



Coloration.— KdiuM males uniform black, with lesser wing-coverts 

 red, orange, yellow, or tawny ;-^ adult females conspicuously streaked, 

 both above and below,* except in Antillean species.^ 



Range, — The whole of America, except arctic and antarctic portions, 



' Except in two South American species, which are entirely black. 



''Except in the West Indian species, which are either like the males or (in A. 

 assimilis) wholly black. 



'Except in two South American species, A. c)jano})Hi< and A. f orbed, which are 

 entirely black. 



*In A. cyanopus the under parts yellow, with streaking restricted to sides and 

 flanks. 



5 In A. as^sunUU the adult female is entirely black; in A. himerallsandA. xanthomus 

 the sexes are alike. 



