AKT. 7 EEYISIOX OF THE GENUS BASILEUTERUS — TODD O 



nent critical remarks on the characters and scope of the group at 

 large, and of certain extralimital species, but does not venture to 

 formally subdivide it. Two new races are described in the course 

 of his revision. Dubois, in his " Synopsis Avium," published in 

 1901, gave 26 species and 13 additional " varieties " under the genus. 

 Sharpe in 1909 gave a list of 46 forms in the body of his "Hand- 

 List,"' and 3 more in the appendix. Brabourne and Chubb, whose 

 work on " The Birds of South America " was based on Sharpe, 

 allowed 30 forms for that continent alone. Altogether 23 new 

 forms of this group have been described since 1900 by the late Count 

 von Berlepsch, Dr. C. E. Hellmayr, Dr. Harry C. Oberholser, Mr. 

 Outram Bangs, Dr. E. W. Nelson, Mr. Hobert Kidgway, Mr. Ludlow 

 Griscom, Dr. Frank M. Chapman, and the present writer. Doctor 

 Chapman's contributions to the literature have been noteworthy ; he 

 has no less than nine names to his credit, of which only one is now 

 considered a synonym. With so many additions in the last few 

 years, and so many forms still imperfectly understood, the time has 

 seemed ripe for a new revision of the genus, which should attempt 

 to bring our knowledge down to date. 



GENERIC LIMITS 



Authors are agreed in placing Basil-euterus in the Setophagine 

 division of the Mniotiltidae, comprising the so-called "flycatching" 

 warblers. Baird indicated its true position many years ago in his 

 '■'■Review of American Birds," and his scheme has been closely fol- 

 lowed by Mr. Ridgway. But as to the exact limits of the group 

 there is no such unanimity. Baird recognized MyiotMyjyis Cabanis 

 for the Trichas nigrocristatus of Laf resnaye and its allies, and set up a 

 new genus, Idiotes^ based primarily on Setophaga rufifrons Swainson, 

 but including also the other species with the pileum rufous. I\Ir. 

 Ridgway, on the other hand, would exclude the plainly colored 

 species allied to " Trichas " nigrocnstutus, but does not recognize 

 Idiotes. Sharpe in 1909 retained Myiothlypls only for nigrocnstatus 

 and its races {nigrivertex and euophrys), relegating all the rest of 

 the forms to Badleuterus. Thus he went beyond his arrangement of 

 1885 so far as Myiothlypis is concerned. 



There was a time when the present writer was inclined to adopt 

 Mr. Ridgway's suggested arrangement of 1902, but more study has 

 convinced him that a further modification is desirable. In the first 

 place, Myiothlypis is easily recognizable from Basileuteims by its 

 shorter outer primary and vertical crest, but it will be necessary to 

 restrict it to the type species,® as Sharpe has done. This leaves the 



^ Basileuterus niyriv&tex Salvin is almost certainly a synonym of Mi/iothlypis nigro- 

 cristata (Lafresnaye), while B. euophyrs Sclater and Salvin (not seen by the writer) is 

 probably conspecific. 



