AVES PTEROPTOCHIDyE. 743 



Division TRACHEOPHON^. 



Sclater, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xiv. p. i (1888) ; Sharpe, Hand-List Eds. iii. 

 p. 4 (1901). 



Family PTEROPTOCHiDiE. 

 Sclater, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xv. p. 337 (1890); Sharpe, Hand-List Bds. 

 iii. p. 4 (1901). 



Genus SCYTALOPUS Gould. 



Scytaloptis Gould, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 89, type Scytalopiis fitscus Gould = 

 Motacilla mageUanica Gmelin. 

 Geogyaphical Range. — Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, 

 Chili, Ecuador, southern Brazil ; Patagonia ; Tierra del Fuego ; Falkland 

 Islands. 



ScYTALOPUS NIGER (Swainsou). 



Platyiinis niger Swainson, Anim. in Menag. p. 323 (1837) (Chili). 

 Scytalopiis inagellauiciis Auct. nee Gmelin. 



Description. — Adult male, Colin. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 59304, Mt. Pi- 

 chincha, Ecuador, April 26, 191 1, S. N. Rhoads coll. Length, 4.60 

 inches; wing, 2.30; tail, 1.68; tarsus, .85; culmen, .40. Dark plum- 

 beous, slightly lighter below. Only one specimen in a series of five from 

 this locality shows any variation from this uniform coloration. It is a fe- 

 male and has the edges of the outer primaries brown and very much 

 worn, while the flanks and lower abdomen are barred rather obscurely 

 with cinnamon brown and black. The bill of this species is decidedly 

 heavier than in S. niagellaniciis. 



This widely ranging species occurs from Colombia to Chili along the 

 Andes and Dr. R. Dabbene records it from the wooded regions about 

 Lake Nahuel Huapi (El Hornero, 1919, i, p. 262) where it occurs with S. 

 magellaniciis. It may also occur at other localities within our limits but 

 it was not collected by the Princeton expedition, nor have I examined 

 any Patagonian specimens. For many years it was confused with S. nia- 

 gellaniciis and it is difficult to determine to which species many of the 

 published notes refer. The distinctness of the two species has been clearly 

 demonstrated by Menegaux and Hellmayr (Bull. Mus. d'Hist. Nat. 1905, 

 p. 379) and by Chapman (Auk, 1915, p. 411)- 



