j$ General Notes. I Jan. 



of wing muscles in birds which fly, so to speak, by main strength'and in 

 which the humerus is reduced in length. The leg muscles are curious. 

 first bv the absence of the peroneus longus, a muscle which run:, from 

 the head of the tibia to the upper end of the tarsus in Passeres, and 

 second bv the great simplification of the deep plantar tendons. In the 

 Passeres, as we all know, one tendon flexes the first digit of the foot, 

 while another with three branches flexes the three front toes. In the 

 true Swifts. Macropterygidae, the tendon of the hind toe is attached bv a 

 short slip to the branch running to the fourth digit. In the other 

 Swifts SO far examined the two main tendons are completely fused for 

 some distance although worked bv two muscles. Now in Hemiprocne 

 while the muscle which ordinarily works the front toes, the flexor per- 

 forans, is present, it has no separate tendon, but is attached to the mus- 

 cle of the first digit, flexor longus hallucis, and is diverted to the work of 

 pulling on its tendon, which as usual runs up over the outer side ol tin 

 belly of the muscle. Below this single tendon sends off four slips, one 

 to each digit, thus presenting the simplest condition possible and literally 

 realizing Gadow's statement that the flexor longus hallucis is really a 

 common flexor of all digits. If a good generic character is needed for 

 Hemiprocne, here it is.— 1". A. Lucas, Washington, D. C. 



The Authority for the Combination Cypseloides niger borealis. — In 

 the Eighth Supplement to the A. O. U. Check-List (Auk, Jan., 1S97, XIV, 

 126) the second reference under Cypseloides niger borealis is credited to 

 Drew, Auk, Jan.. 1885,11, 17. Turning to Mr. Ridgway's ' Catalogue of 

 North American Birds,' it is seen at once that Mr. Drew was not the 

 first to write Cypseloides niger borealis; and unless one still earlier be 

 found, the proper quotation is Ridgway, Proc. I". S. Xat. Mus., Aug. 

 27, 1880, 111. t88. — Harry C. Oberholser, Washington, D. C. 



Octhceca frontalis (Lafr.) and Cardinalis granadensis Lafr. — In a 

 paper published in the Revue Zoologique, 1S47, p. 67, Lafresnaye 

 described a number of birds from Peru, Colombia, etc., collected by M. 

 Delattre, the types of which are now in the Philadelphia Academy. Most 

 of these are well known, but two — Tyrannula frontalis and Cardinalis 

 granadensis — have been generally overlooked, and neither name appears 

 in the British Museum Catalogue of Birds. 



Tyrannula frontalis was redescribed by Sclater as Octhceca citrinifrons 

 {V. Z. S., 1862, 113), which name must of course be relegated to synonymy. 

 Cardinalis granadensis from Colombia is probably a synonym of C. 

 phaenicurus Bp. (type locality, Venezuela), though it should be considered 

 if any subdivision of this species is deemed advisable. — WlTMER STONE, 

 Acad. Nat Sciences. Philadelphia. 



Pica pica hudsonica in California. — In August last the Black-billed 

 Magpie was found abundantly about Alturas, Modoc County. I believe 



