NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 39 



"Willis and tail of the nsual shape and structure of this group ; the length 

 of the latter contained three and a half times in the length of the former 

 from the carpal joint to the end of the longest primary. I^egs short, stout, 

 liitle compressd. Tarsus entirely reticulate, shorter than middle toe without 

 claw ; outer toe as long as the middle one ; its claw shorter and smaller than 

 that of the middle one. Inner lateral toe extremely short, the tip of its claw 

 falling far short of the base of the middle claw. 



Adult. — An elongated crest of twelve to twenty slender feathers springing 

 in a bundle from one point at the extreme forehead, far in advance of the 

 angle of the rictus, and curving over forwards in the greater part of a circle. 

 These feathers are not truly filamentous, having well developed, though short 

 barbs, and appear narrower than they really are, from the slight obliquity of 

 the barbs from the shaft. A slender bundle of filamentous feathers from the 

 posterior canthus of the eye over the auriculars and sides of the neck. A 

 very few shorter filamentous feathers forming a sparse interrupted superciliary 

 series. All these filamentous feathers white or whitish ; the crest concolor 

 with the plumage of the upper parts. General color of the crown, uape, 

 wing, tail, and whole upper parts glossy blackish, with a good deal of a fuli- 

 ginous or brownish (not plumbeous or cinerous) tint ; under parts a diluted 

 shade of the same, or much more brownish gray, tending on ihe abdomen 

 and posterior under parts generally to ashy gray. Under surfaces of wings 

 and tail like abdomen. Bill and appendages orange or Vermillion red, 

 yellowish towards the tip. Feet dusky greenish, an undefinable color, in the 

 dried state. 



Length about 9-00; wing 5-25; tail 1-50; tarsus 9 00; middle toe and 

 claw 1-55 ; outer toe and claw about the same, or slightly less ; inner toe and 

 claw 1-00; bill; chord of culmen -45; tomia of upper mandible, excluding 

 supernumerary piece -70 ; greatest width of the latter -25 ; tomia of under 

 mandible -90; gonys -40; depth of bill opposite posterior end of nares -45; 

 width at same point -SS. 



Younff. — Similar to the adult, except in the following points: — The bill is 

 smaller, weaker, less irregular and sinuous in outline, less brightly colored, 

 wanting the expansion and eversion of the tomial edges of the two mandi- 

 bles near their base, and with little or no trace of the supernumerary piece 

 at the angle of the mouth. Even in the youngest specimens the bill shows 

 unmistakable signs of its fu ure character, and cannot be confounded with 

 the simple conic bill of tetraculus, etc. The crest and white setaceous feath- 

 ers are wanting, or only traces of them are apparent. The color is less 

 blackish, more inclining to a fuliginous dusky above, and to a light dull 

 brownish gray below. 



This species never acquires a distinct parti-coloration like that of most 

 species of the genus. With the exception of the whitish filamentous feathers 

 on the head, the colors are uniform over the whole body, varying in shade 

 on different parts ; and the transition from the darkest, that of the upper 

 parts, to the palest on the lower is effected by imperceptible degrees. The 

 brilliantly colored bill is a conspicuous feature. The color of the feet cannot 

 be accurately defined in the dried state ; but the tints are probably not very 

 striking. The crest only makes its appearance after the bird is full grown, 

 is at least nearly a year old, and has acquired pretty much the perfect shape 

 of the bill The same is true of the white supra- and post-ocular filaments ; 

 and generally among the Phaleridine birds, the presence of these peculiar 

 head-ornaments may be relied on as indices that the bird is adult, and that 

 its bill has acquired its mature form. It is just possible, however, that these 

 remarks may not apply to the setaceous //'o/i/a/ feathers of S. microceros and 

 pusiUun. The crest of S. cristatellus first appears as a little bundle of short 

 straight feathers shooting out backwards from the plumage of the fore- 

 head. These plumes, in an early state of their growth, are much broader, 



1868.] 



