PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



FOR TUTS YEAR 1889. 



Volume XII. 



A REVIEW OF THE GENUS XIPHOCOLAPTES OF LESSON. 

 BY 



Robert Ridgway, 



Curator of t lie Department of Birds. 



Two specimens of an unknown species of this genus, from Costa Rica, 

 having been sent to me for identification by the director of the Costa 

 Rica National Museum, I found myself led into an investigation which, 

 contrary to my expectation or desire, has involved a very considerable 

 amount of labor and research. Fortunately, the National Museum col- 

 lection, re-enforced by specimens in the collections of the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History, in New York, the Boston Society of Natural 

 History, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology, iu Cambridge, has 

 afforded me fair material to work upon, and my thanks are due to the 

 officers of those institutions who have kindly placed this material in 

 my hands for study. 



Somewhat to my surprise, the existence of a much greater number of 

 clearly defined forms than have been recognized by leading authori- 

 ties soon became apparent ; and a strict regard for the principles of 

 geographical distribution and variation has left me no other resource 

 than to describe a considerable number as new to science, even though 

 by so doing the number of the latter exactly equals that of those which 

 have hitherto been recognized as valid. 



Until the two Costa Ricau specimens above mentioned were obtained 

 no representative of the genus was kuown to occur in any portion of the 

 continent lying between Guatemala and the interior of Colombia, and 

 there are still extensive regions in South America of which the same 

 may still be said. Consequently, it is quite certain that when more 

 extensive collections have beeu made in those regions and the birds of 

 other portions of the " g'reat bird continent" are better known, the 

 number of forms will be considerably further increased. 



Proceedings National Museum, Vol. XII— No. 761. 1 



Proc. N. M. 89 1 



