1. roDiciPES. 5U3 



Type. 

 Dasyptilus, Siuains. Class. B. ii. p. 369 (1837) .... P. poliocephalus. 

 Poliocephalus, Selhy, Cat. Gen. ^- Suhyen. Types 



Aves, p. 47 (1840) P. poliocephalu.<i. 



Pedeaithyia, G. E. Gray, Gen. B. iii. p. 632 (1846) ; 



id. Hand-l. B. iii. p. 93 (1871) P. griseigena. 



Lophaethvia, Ayassiz, Nometi. ZooL, Inde.v Univer- 

 salis, p." 620 (1848) P. cristatus. 



Tachybaptus, Reichenb. Av. Syst. pi. ii. (1849) ; id. 



Nat. Syst. Toy. p. iii (lS52j P. fluviati'.is. 



Otodytes, Beichenb. Nat. Syst. Voy. p. iii (18.52) . . P. nigiicollis. 



Ilollandia, Bouap. C. R. xlii. p. 775 (1856) P. roUandi. 



Centropelma, Scluter ^- Saliiin, Exotic Orn. ii. p. 189 



(1869) P. luicropterus. 



Colymbetes, Heine in Heine ^ Reichenow, Nomencl. 



Mus. Hein. p. 364 (1890) P. poliocephalus. 



Calipareus, Bonap. 1855 ; jide Gray, Hund-l. iii. 



p. 94 (1871) P. calipareus, 



Culmen short, fairly long, or long, somewhat curved downward 

 toward the tip, straight, or slightly upturned. Feathers on fore- 

 head normal. Secondaries equal to, or not much shorter than the 

 primary quills. Metatarsus considerably shorter than the middle toe 

 and claw. 



Range. Throughout the world. 



Key to the Species in hreeding-jylumarjc. 



I. Size small : culmen from feathers on forehead 

 to tip less than 1 inch ; wing less than 

 5 inches ; outer toe and claw not exceeding 

 2 inches. 

 A. With no long hair-like feathers on the sides 

 of the head or ear-coverts. 

 a. Lower part of throat and fore-neck 

 chestnut. 

 a . Crown and nape dark brown like the 

 forehead; general colour above brown- 

 ish black. 

 a". Primaries ash-brown ; outer web? 

 of secondaries ash-brown, inner 

 webs mostly white. 

 «'. Chestnut on sides of head not 

 extending to hinder margin of 

 eye, but divided by a wide black- 

 ish tract ; underparts mostly 



black Jluviatilis, p. 507. 



b^. Chestnut on sides of head e.x- 

 tending to hinder margin of eye. 

 a*. Chin, upper part of throat, and 

 feathers below the eye blackish ; 



underpartsmostJy silvery white, philippensis, p. 511. 

 b^. Chin blackish, upper part of 

 throat and feathers below the 

 eye deep chestnut, like the rest 

 of the fore-neck ; undei-piirts 

 mostly black /ricn/or, p. 517. 



