32G COTINQIDiE. 



Family IV. COTINGIDvE. 



The CotingidoB are one of the great fruit-eating families of 

 Tropical America, and amongst the Passerine birds addicted to this 

 kind of diet are the most numerous and most important after the 

 Tanagridce. In plumage, structure, and size they are much varied. 

 Nothing can he more brilliant in colour than the typical Cotingas 

 and some allied forms, while the Lvpaugi and others are of uniformly 

 dull plumage in both sexes. As regards structure, the second aborted 

 primary of the Tityrince, the feet and crest of Mupicola, and the 

 wattles of Ghasmorhynchus and Cephalopterus show such extraor- 

 dinary excesses of development as are almost unequalled in the 

 Passerine series. In size also, the discrepancy between Iodopleura 

 pipra, with a total length of 3| inches, and Pyroderus scutatus, with 

 a length of 18 inches, is certainly remarkable amongst members of 

 the same natural family. 



Like the Tyrannidce the Gotingidce are dentirostral Oligophoncs, 

 and have ten well-formed primaries instead of nine, or nine and a 

 shortened outer primary, as is the case with the dentirostral Oscines. 

 They number about 110 species, and are distributed over tropical 

 America from Southern Mexico to the northern borders of the Ar- 

 gentine Republic. In this case, as in many other Neotropical groups 

 of Animals and Plants, there seem to be three districts which may 

 be called the principal " foci " of their development, namely : Central 

 America (characterized by Carpodectes and the extraordinary species 

 of Ghasmorhynchus and C&phalopterus), Guiana and Amazonia (the 

 home of Phcenicocercus, Supicola, Querula, Gymnocephalus, and 

 Gymnoderus), and S.E. Brazil, where alone we find Tijuca, Phiha- 

 lura, and Calyptura. 



Key to the Subfamilies. 



A. Second primary of adult male excessively 



abbreviated 1. TITYRINJE, p. 327. 



B. Second primary of male Dot abbreviated. 



a. Smaller forms : bill turdine. 

 a'. Rictus bristled. 



I Bill broader, slightly hooked .... 2. LIPA UGINsE, p. 348. 

 | Bill compressed, much hooked . . 3. ATTILINA?, p. 358. 

 V. Rictus smooth. 



I Tarsi very strong ; gressorial 4. RUPICOLINjE, p. 36G. 



| Tarsi moderate ; arboreal 5. COTIKdlNJE, p. 371. 



b. Large forms : bill corvine 6. GYMNODERINJE, 



[p. 394. 



