180 jVIr. S. B. Wilson's Notes 



them in the neighbourhood of the Sierra Nevada of Santa 

 Marta in Colombia. Amongst the other species in the 

 same collection I find Basileuterus conspicillatus and Buar- 

 remon melanocephalus, both discovered by Mr. Simons in 

 this district^ and as yet only known to be found there. 



That a peculiar species of Setophaga should inhabit the 

 Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta was to be expected, and also 

 that its nearest ally should be found in the uplands of 

 Venezuela^ the two districts having many zoological affinities, 

 S.flavivertex, however, is obviously distinct from S. albifrons, 

 its yellow occiput being a peculiar feature, no other species 

 of the genus Setophaga having this character. 



This is the most important addition to our knowledge of 

 Setophaga made since I wrote my synopsis in 1878 (' Ibis,' 

 1878, p. 302 et seq.), though the acquisition of additional 

 specimens of S. castaneocapilla from British Guiana has 

 established the differences of that bird from tlie Bolivian 

 S. brumieiceps. A good deal, however, has been written on 

 Setophaga. The Central-American species were treated of 

 in the ' Biologia Centrali- Americana,' and Mr. Sharpe has 

 reviewed the whole genus in the tenth volume of the ' Cata- 

 logue of Birds.' In his Key to the species, Mr. Sharpe 

 adopts a somewhat different arrangement from mine ; but I 

 think the result does not bring out the natural affinities of 

 the species so clearly. The division of all the species, 

 except S. ruticilla, into those with crimson and those with 

 yellow breasts, associates S. miniata with 8. picta, and not 

 with S. verticalis, to which it is certainly most closely allied ; 

 S. picta standing apart from the rest. 



XIII. — Notes on some Siviss Birds. 

 By ScoTT B, Wilson. 



As a short introduction to these notes, I may briefly mention 

 the chief places in Switzerland at which they were taken. 

 My observations extend over the springs of 1885 and 1886, 

 with a few taken in the winter of 1885, when living at 

 Geneva, where I had the advantage of having access to the 



