3. MERTJLA. 255 



streaked with nearly black ; rest of underparts palish slate-grey, 

 shading into nearly white on the centre of the belly ; under tail- 

 coverts nearly white, with grey bases and sides ; axillaries and 

 under wing-coverts slate-grey ; inner margin of quills pale grey. 

 Bill bright yellow. Wing with the fourth and fifth primaries 

 nearly equal and longest, second primary between the seventh and 

 eighth, bastard primary 0"95 to 0'9 inch. Legs, feet, and claws 

 pale yellow. Length of wing 4-55 to 4-2 inches, tail 3-35 to 3-25, 

 culmcn 1-0 to 0-85, tarsus 1-25 to 1-2. 



The female differs from the male in having the grey of both the 

 upper and under parts replaced by brown. Birds of the year and 

 young in first i^lumage appear to be unknown. 



Jelski's Ouzel appears to range from the mountains of Ecuador 

 and Central Peru to the Sierra de Cordova in the centre of the 

 Argentine Ilepublic. 



26. Merula rufitorques. 



Tardus (Merula) rufitorques, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1844, p. 214. 



Tardus ratitorqaes {Hartl.), Grat/, Gen. B. i. p. 219 (1847) ; Ihi Bits, 

 JEsquiss. Orn. pis. 19 & 20 (1848) ; Bp. Consp. i. p. 275 (1850) ; 

 Sclater, P. Z. S. 1859, p. 334; Scl. ^- Salv. Ibis, 18G0, p. 29 : Baird, 

 Rev. Am. B. p. 32 (1864) ; Gray, Hand-l. B. i. p. 258. no. 3766 

 (1869) ; Scl. i^- Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 2 (1873) ; Salv. ^ 

 Godm. Biol. Centr.-Amer. Zool., Aves, i. p. 22 (1879). 



In the adult male in spring plumage the general colour of the 

 upper parts is dark brown, approaching black ; lores and ear-coverts 

 the same ; no trace of eye-stripe ; nape deep rich chestnut. Chin 

 and upper throat chestnut, each feather having a fan-shaped black 

 terminal spot ; lower throat and breast deep rich chestnut ; re- 

 mainder of the underparts, including the axillaries and under wing- 

 coverts, dark brown, approaching black ; under tail-coverts with 

 white shafts ; inner margin of quills scarcely paler brown than the 

 rest of the under surface. Bill bright yellow above and below. 

 Wing with the third, fourth, and fifth primaries nearly equal and 

 longest, second primary intermediate in length between the sixth 

 and seventh, bastard primary 0-9 to G'To inch. Legs, feet, and 

 claws yellowish brown. Length of wing 5-3 to 5'05 inches, tail 

 4-2 to 3-8, culmen 0-93 to 0-89, tarsus 1-3 to 1-15. 



The female diftei's from the male in having the black parts re- 

 placed by brown, and the deep rich chestnut by dull chestnut ; the 

 throat is striated with dark brown ; the white on the under tail- 

 covei-ts, which in the male scarcely extends beyond the shafts, in 

 the female forms a lanceolate white centre one third of the breadth 

 of the featlier. The colour of the bill is also pale brown. In some 

 skins the underparts below the breast are black, each feather 

 narrowly margined Avith pale brown. These I take to be males in 

 autumn phtmage. Some birds have the feathers of the head mar- 

 gined with dark chestnut. This I take to be an individual pecu- 

 liarity. The young in first plumage appear to be unknown. 



The Chestnut-necked Ouzel appears to be confined to Guatemala, 



