L 



BIRDS OF NORTH AND MIDDLE AMERICA. 493 



jj. Tail slightly emarginate, always much shorter than wing; 

 sexes not conspicuously different in coloration, the male 

 with lateral rec trices not mostly white. 



Systellura (extraLimital) fl 

 a. Tail more or less rounded. 

 j. Tarsus bare for lower third or more; nostrils roundish, semi- 

 tubular. 

 k. Bill relatively very small; adult male with a white patch 

 on middle portion of primaries. .Setopagis (extralimital).& 

 kk. Bill relatively much larger; adult males without white 



patch on primaries Antrostomus (p. 503). 



jj. Tarsus feathered to base of toes; nostrils narrow, slit-like, 



operculate Nyctipolus (extralimital).c 



ee. Tarsus naked (except extreme upper portion in front). 

 /. Tail nearly as long as wing, strongly rounded; tenth primary much 

 shorter than seventh; primaries with a white or buffy patch in midde 



portion, not sjDotted with tawny -buff Nyctidromus (p. 535). 



ff. Tail less than two-thirds as long as wing, very slightly rounded; tenth 

 primary nearly as long as seventh; primaries without a white or 

 buffy patch in middle portion but conspicuously spotted or banded 



with tawny-buff Phalsenoptilus (p. 547). 



dd. Feathers of chest greatly developed, abruptly much longer than those of 

 breast, forming a conspicuous bib- or apron-like flap. 

 e. Feathers on sides of occiput (supra-auricular region) elongated, more or 

 less pointed, forming more or less conspicuous ear-shaped erectile tufts; 

 tarsus longer than middle toe without claw, naked (except upper portion 

 in front); feathering of chin and throat shorter, less dense. 

 /. Latero-occipital feathers longer and more acimainate, forming more con- 

 spicuous "ear-tufts" Otophanes (p. 553). 



ff. Latero-occipital feathers shorter, less acuminate. . .Nyctagreus (p. 556). 



ee. Feathers on sides of occiput (supra-auricular region) not elongated, but 



broad, round-tipped, and blended; tarsus shorter than middle toe 



without claw, apparently feathered for upper half or more;f' feathering of 



chin and thi'oat denser, longer Nyctiphrynus (extralimital). ^ 



a Systellura Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxv, May 4, 1912, 97. (Type, Ste- 

 nopsis ruficervix Sclater.) {EuazkXXoj, to abridge; oupa, tail.) 



^ Setopagis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxv. May 4, 1912, 98. (Type, Capri- 

 mulgus parvulus Gould.) {2!tjc, or^xbg, a moth; -^za-fcq, trap.) 



c Nyctipolus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxv. May 4, 1912, 98. (Type, Capri- 

 mulgus nigrescens Cabanis.) (NuktctloXoc, roaming by night.) 



d The three specimens examined all have defective feet, and therefore this character 

 can not be stated with certainty. 



^ Nijctiphrynus Bonaparte, Rivista Contemporanea, ix, Feb., 1857,215. (Type, 

 Caprimulgus occllatus Tschudi.) 



The first publication of Nyctiphrynus dates 1854 ( Cmispectus Sysiematis Ornitliolo- 

 gise, p. 35), where it is a pure nomen nuduvi. It was next used by Bonaparte in the 

 publication quoted above, a work I was unable to see at the time I proposed the 

 name Ptilonyctcrus (Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxv, May 4, 1912, 98). Ptilonycterus 

 must therefore sink as a synonym of Nyctiphrynus, with Caprimulgus ocellatus 

 Tschudi as type (by subsequent designation of Oberholser, Bull. U. S. National 

 Museum, No. 86, 1014, p. 8, footnote). Gray adopts Nyctiphrynus in his "Hand- 

 list" (i, 1869, 59) as a subgenus of Capriviulgus, and includes under it only C. ocel- 

 latus Tschudi. 



