BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 391 



and black (sometimes with white or yellow abdomen or scarlet thighs), 

 or else yellow and black with greenish pileum. 



Bill shorter than head, narrowly conical or wedge-shaped, usually 

 very slightly decurved terminally, with tip acute; culmen nearly 

 straight for basal half or more, thence slightly and graduall}' 

 decurved to the acute tip of the maxilla; gong's straight or some- 

 times faintly concave terminally. Nostrils exposed, longitudinally 

 oval, overhung by rather broad membrane. Rictal ])ristles very 

 minute or obsolete. Wing moderate, rather pointed (ninth, eighth, 

 and seventh primaries longest, the ninth longer than sixth, sometimes 

 equal to longest); wing-tip equal to or longer than tarsus (usually 

 decidedly longer). Tail much shorter than wing (decidedly shorter 

 than distance from bend of wing to tip of secondaries), even or veiy 

 slightly rounded. Tarsus about as long as commissure or a little 

 longer, distinctl}^ scutellate; middle toe with claw about equal to 

 tarsus or slightly shorter. 



Coloration. — Adult males bright bluish green to violet-blue, varied 

 with black, some species with the abdomen, etc., white or yellow, 

 or with scarlet thighs; or else the plumage yellow and black, with 

 greenish pileum; adult females much duller in color; greenish, olive, 

 or brownish above, palci below, the head sometimes bluish, with 

 grayish throat. 



Range. — Nicaragua to Peru, Bolivia, and southern Brazil. 



This genus has hitherto included some half dozen species which cer- 

 tainl}^ do not belong to it. These are D. pulchei'rima Sclater, which 

 I have made the type of a new genus, Iridophanes,^ and referred, 

 provisionally at least, to the Tanagridaj,'^ and the last six species given 

 by Dr. Sclater (except possibly D. salmoni^ which I have not seen), 

 these latter, according to my views, constituting a distinct genus 

 {Ateleodacnis Cassin ^) and belonging to the Mniotiltidfe. Of the spe- 

 cies left in Dacnis the most aberrant is D. jiavwentris.^ This has the 

 bill straighter than an}' other species (almost perfecth' straight, in 

 fact), and has the tarsus much longer than middle toe with claw; the 

 coloration is very different from that of other species, clear lemon 

 yellow replacing blue, but the pattern is essentiall}' the same. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF DACNIS. 



«; Lores and at least part of back black; under parts (except throat, in some species) 

 bright blue or green, or else greenish black with scarlet thighs. (Adult males. ) 

 h. Under parts of body bhie, thighs blue or bluish gray; wings with conspicuous 

 blue edgings. 



iProc. Biol. Soc. Wash., iii, 1891, 150. 

 ^See page 2, this volume. 



^ Ateleodaaiis Cassin, Proc. Ac Nat. Sci. Phila., 1864, 270. (Type, Dacnis leucugenys 

 Lafresnaye.) 



* Dacnis Jiac it eniri)< Lafresnaye and D'Orbigny, Mag de Zool., 1839, Synop. Av., 21. 



