341 



A SYNOPSIS OF THE SUBSPECIES OF ELECTRON 

 PLATYIUI Y\( 'II I'M ( LEADHEATER ) . 



Harry C. Oderiiolser. 



All inci(l(Mital investigation of the typical form of Electron' iihiti/rlnni'Jnitn 

 led to the discovery of an apparently new subspecies of tills i,'i<)U]i. For 

 iH'tter elucidation of its relationships the following synopsis of all tlic suli- 

 siiecies of Electron platijrhi/rtchum may be useful. The names of colors 

 used in this paper are from Mr. Ridgway's "Color Standards aii<l Color 

 Nomenclature. " For the privilege of consulting material pertinent to the 

 present study, the writer is indebted to the authorities tif tiie Iiiited 

 States National Mu.seum. 



ELECTRON PLATYRHYNCHTIM PLATYRHYNCHUM (Leadbeater) . 



[Momotusl PlntiirhynchuK LEADBEATER. Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond.. XVI. 

 pt. 1, 1829, p. 92 ("Brazil"; errore pro western Ecuador). 



Chars, subsp. — Size large; subterminal portion of middle tail-feathers 

 without barbs; upper parts rather dark; lower parts tinged with bluish. 



Description. — Pileum and cervix between chestnut and Sanford's brown : 

 back between parrot green and grass green, shading into meadow green on 

 the upper tail-coverts ; tail prussian green, the edges of the feathers less 

 bluish, their tips black ; wings deep chaetura drab, the outer part of the 

 upper surface of the quills meadow green, their edges less bluish, the out- 

 ermost quills more bluish (near wall green) ; upper wing-coverts rather 

 yellowish grass green ; sides of head and of nt>ck of the same color as the 

 crown ; chin between meadow green and grass green ; throat and jugulum 

 of the same shade as the crown, but paler ; i-emaining lower parts meadow 

 green, in places inclining to grass green: crissum darker: inider wing- 

 coverts drab, much washed outwardly with the green of the npiier wing- 

 coverts. 



Measurements. — Wing. 121.n — 130 nun.: t.iil. iss — 22:'.: exposed culnien. 

 .% ; tar.sus, 20: middle toe without claw. 14..">. 



Type localiti/. — ^Vestern Ecuador.^ 



Gcograpliic distrihiition. — ^Vestern Ecuador and western Coloniliia. 



Rcnmrks: — Dr. E. Hartert has already shown^ that the type of Momoins 

 phitiirhynchns Leadbeater. though supposedly from Brazil, is really from 

 Ecuador, as is plain from its large size and uncut central rectrices. As a 

 matter of fact, the Brazilian bird is much nearer Hlvctron platyrhynchum 

 pyrrholaemum, as hereinafter sliown. 



'For the use of this generic name in place of PrinnarniK. cf. Ridgway, Bull. U. 

 Nat. Mus.. No. 50, VI, 1914, p. 470. 

 =Here definitely designated. 

 =Xovit. Zool., v., 1S9S, pp. 497-498. 



