NO. 1-111. BTRDS FRO.V MOCXT KIIJM AX.TARn—OBEIilTOr.SER. 871 



Chars, gen. — Siinilar to Indicator Vieillot," but brll .shorter, stouter, 

 more conoid, its luMoht at base not decidodly less than length of cul- 

 nien from anterior cduc of nasal fossa, nor less than len«-th of gonys; 

 ooiiydeal angle much nioi'e prominent, the gonys much more ascend- 

 ing; nares more lounded, provided with a more prominent tul)ular 

 membrane, and set at a greater posteriorly divergent angle to the axis 

 of the culmen, lying thus parallel to the lateral outlines of the bill 

 instead of to the sides of its central ridge. 



(Ti'oqraphicdl dixt r'lhiition. — All of Africa, except the northwestern 

 portion. 



ANALYTICAI. KEY To THK Sl'ECUCS AND SCHSPECIES OF M EI-KINOTHES. 



A. Bill entirely bla(;k; under surface darker — slate gray. 



a. Crown like the back - tmheri 



a' . Crown conspicuously different from back. 



h. Head and neck more slaty; yellowish edgings of 



])ack and wings brighter nmirostrls 



I/. nea<l and neek inore brownish; yellowish edgings 



of back and wings duller lorati 



B. Bill with base of mandible pale; under surface lighter — 



dull pale brownish gray, or whitish. 

 a. Lighter; upper parts more yellowish; under wing- 

 coverts wliite or nearly so; bill usually larger. 



b. Larger — wing generally over 85 mm minor 



I/. Smaller— wing generally under 85 nmi diadematus 



n' . Darker; upper parts less yellowish; under wing-cov- 

 erts dull grayish or brownish; bill smaller. 



//. Wing over 75'mm pacJti/rht/nchus 



I/. Wing under 75 mm. 



r. Back not conspicuously streaked with blackish or dark brown . . .melipltUus 

 (■' . Back conspicuously streaked with blackish or dark brown. 



d. Pileum chiefly yellowish olive inillcockal 



d\ I^ileum chiefly gray or brown. 



e. Crown uniform cinereous j/oensis 



e' . Crown brownish gray, with darker shaft- 

 streaks, and slightly washed with olive 

 yellow - - ex\U^ 



I. Melignothes conirostris conirostris ('(i.ssiii. 



Mellgnothes conirostris Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. I'hila., 185(5, p. 156 (Munda 



River, Gabun, western Africa) . 

 liidicator occidentalis Hartlaub, Orn. Westafr., 1857, p. 185, in text ( Verreaux, 



manuscript) (Gabun, western Africa). 



(reographical distriJndwn. — Gabl^n to Kamerun, western Africa. 



This large, dark-colored species is vei'v distinct from both 31. < .I'ilis 

 and M. iuinor, occupying practically the same region as the former, 

 and it can by no means he, considered only a subspecies of the latter, 

 as proposed by Mr. Tseiunann.'' The t3'pe is .still in th(i collection of 

 the Academ}" of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and still in a good 

 state of preservation. Through the kindness of Mr, Witmer Stone 

 it has been examined, and the following measurements taken: Wing, 

 S3; tail, 53; exposed culmen, 1»,.5; tarsus, IG; middle toe, 13, ,5 mm, 



« Analyse Ornith., 1816, p. 28 (type, CuchIus indicator iy^amn&n). 

 ^'Journ. f. Ornith., 1900, p. 195. 



