166 



U. S. p. E K. EXP. AND STIEVEYS — ZOOLOGY — GENERAL REPORT. 



Mj^le. " Above ash ; the middle of the back black or mi.^ed with black ; a grayish white collar on tlie nape. Crown lus- 

 trous black, with a frontal whitish line. Scapulars white. Wings black, the coverts and secondaries bordered with white. 

 Beneath white, tinged with ash. Tail black, the lateral feathers broadly tipped with white. Bill plumbeous black ; feet black. 

 Length, 6,00 ; wing, 3.30 ; tail, 2.40." 



The preceding description of the male is taken from Mr. Sclater's article, as I have no speci- 

 men of that sex before me. The single specimen collected by Lieutenant Couch, was supposed 

 for a time to be the female of Pacliyrhamphus aglaiae, even by Mr. Sclater, whose authority on 

 these birds is so deservedly high. It is, however, generically distinct in many points of 

 structure. 



The lustrous greenish black feathers of the top of the head are much edged with rufous, which 

 predominates on the forehead. The neck above is much lighter than the back, rump, and tail, 

 which are light rusty, or, perhaps, chestnut. In the unexpanded tail no black is visible from 

 above, except a small dusky speck at the end of the middle feather. The black of the tail 

 feathers fades in intensity anteriorly and passes into reddish ; posteriorly, however, it is abruptly 

 bordered by the yellowish rufous tips, (these on the outer feathers are .70 of an inch long.) The 

 outer webs of all the feathers are rufous excepting on the third and fourth, where the black extends 

 nearly across. The inner webs of all the feathers, except the innermost, show much black. 

 There is a strong tinge of greenish yellow on the throat as well as the belly, but the breast 

 appears to be of the same light rufous as the sides. 



This bird is readily distinguished from the female Pacliyrhamphus aglaiae by the black on the 



graduated tail feathers. 



« 



List of specimens. 



Sub-Family TYRANNINAE.— Tyrant Flycatchers. 



Bill broader than high at the base, much depressed, more or less triangular. Culmen nearly 

 as long as the head, or shorter ; straight to near the tip, then suddenly bent down into a con- 

 spicuous hook, with a notch behind it ; tip of lower jaw also notched. Commissure straight to 

 near the notch ; gonys slightly convex. Nostrils oval or rounded, in the anterior extremity of 

 the nasal groove, and more or less concealed by long bristles which extend from the posterior 

 angle of the jaws along the base of the bill, becoming smaller, but reaching nearly to the median 

 line of the forehead. These bristles with lateral branches at the base. Similar bristles mixed 

 in the loral feathers and margining the chin. Tarsi short, generally less than middle toe, com- ■ 

 pletely enveloped by a series of large scales which meet near the posterior edge of the inner side, 

 and are separated either by naked skin or by a row of small scales. Sometimes a second series of 

 rather large plates is seen on the posterior face of the tarsus, these, however, usually on the upper 

 extremity only. Basal joint of middle toe united almost throughout to that of the outer toe, 

 but more thaxi half free on the inner side ; outer lateral toe rather the longer. Wings and tail 



