204 Mr. V. L. Sclatcr's F-'ijnopsis of Uie 



for the purpose of shooting small birds as often as was neces- 

 sary. But it is strange that I have never once succeeded in 

 prevailing on these Eagles (and two of them are now sixteen 

 months old*) to partake of reptile food in any form whatever. 

 This doubtless may be accounted for by my " blooding " them 

 with such dainty morsels when first fed by the hand, in the 

 same way as man-eating tigers and crocodiles are said to ac- 

 quire a decided penchant for the flesh of the human form divine 

 when once partaken of. 



XIII, — Synopsis of the Species of the Subfamily Diglossinse. 

 By P. L. ScLATER, M.A., F.R.S. 



(Plates lY., V.) 



The genus Diglossa was instituted by Wagler in 1832 for 

 the reception of a little bird of which specimens had been 

 obtained in Mexico by Dr. Petz and deposited in the Museum 

 of Wiirtzburg. Wagler referred the bird, somewhat doubt- 

 fully, to his Order " Corvi," and gave an accurate diagnosis 

 of both sexes. He called it very appropriately Diglossa, from 

 its divided tongue, and baritula, from the peculiar hook of the 

 upper mandible, which reminded him of the genus Barita. 



In 1838 Prince Charles Bonaparte described the same bird 

 in the ' Nuovi Annali delle Scienze Naturali/ published at 

 Bologna, and, not being aware of Wagler's prior designation, 

 proposed to call it Agrilorhinus sittaceus. The term Agri- 

 lorhinus (which has been variously written by subsequent 

 authors) Avas probably intended to have been Ancylorhinus 

 {dyKuXot; and p/?). Prince Bonaparte's types were specimens 

 collected by Signor F. Sirletto in Mexico, and were believed 

 to have been destined for the Museum of Florence. I do not 

 know whether they were ever placed in that institution. 



* One of the three I made into a specimen immediately it was fully 

 pluraaged, in order to demonstrate what the nestling bird is like ; the 

 second has just completed its moult, and I gi-ieve to think that a similar 

 fate awaits it ; the third I should like to see placed in the Zoological 

 Gardens. 



