10 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



Myrmelastes occidentalis (Cherrie) versus M. exsul 

 occidentalis (Cherrie;. 



In 189 1 (Auk, p. 191) Mr. George K. Cherrie described as new a 

 species from the Pacific slope of Costa Rica, calling it Myrmeciza im- 

 maadata occidentalis. Since this bird could not be reconciled as a sub- 

 species of (^Myrmeciza) Myrmelastes iimnaciilatus (Lafresnaye), it was 

 subsequently given specific rank as Myrmelastes occidentalis (Cherrie). 

 The same year (1891) Mr. Cherrie described as new, the Caribbean 

 race of this form, calling it Myrmeciza intermedia (Proc. U. S. Nat. 

 Mus., XIV, p. 345) = Myrmelastes intermedia (Cherrie). 



Mr. Bangs, in his late article, "On a Collection of Birds from 

 Western Costa Rica" (Auk, 1907, p. 296), calls this Pacific form 

 Myrmelastes exsul occidentalis. If this bird was not a subspecies of M. 

 immactilata, it certainly cannot be referable to M. exsul. The simplest 

 way out of the difficulty, and in my judgment the only correct one, is 

 to give Mynneciza immaailata occidentalis Cherrie specific rank as 

 Myrmelastes occidentalis (Cherrie), which has been done by most 

 authors, and reduce Myrmeciza intermedia Cherrie to subspecific 

 rank as Myrtnelastes occidentalis intermedia (Cherrie). 



Having had occasion to refer the foregoing observations to Mr. 

 Ridgway, I was surprised and gratified to learn that he had already 

 reached similar conclusions, and it is with his knowledge that I now 

 publish them. 



