5-6 Nelson, Nctv Birds from Mexico and Guatemala. \^^ 



Description. — Back greenish blue with a grayish shade, the blue much 

 lighter or brighter than in true formosa. A slightly more intense shade 

 of this color extends over the exposed parts of the folded wings. The 

 top of head, back and sides of neck are richer, brighter blue than the 

 back. The crown feathers are white at base and usually have the distal 

 half blue. 



In some specimens a black area is interposed between the basal 

 white and the blue of the tip, but not one of the twenty Central 

 American specimens before me has the crown wholly black on 

 the surface. Of twelve specimens of true fonnosa, six have the 

 crown wholly black and six have the crown black and blue, with 

 the black predominating in several. A black malar patch is 

 present on most of the specimens oiformosa but is exceptional in 

 aztirea. Among the latter it is common to find the forehead and 

 basal half of the crest bluish white, which is exceptional mformosa. 

 In azurea the chin, cheeks and neck down to the black pectoral 

 crescent are white, washed with a light shade of blue that rests on 

 the feathers like a delicate bloom varying in intensity as the bird is 

 turned at different angles in the light. Trne for?nosa has the back 

 dull grayish blue, the throat and adjoining part of the neck white. 

 The crest of azurea appears to be larger than that oifonnosa. In 

 size the two forms are about the same. 



Eight specimens of this bird taken by us at Huehuetan, 

 Chiapas, agree with numerous specimens in the National Museum 

 from various Central American localities, in being bluer than those 

 from the Pacific slope of Mexico between Tehuantepec and Colima. 

 In the ' Biologia Centrali-Americana,' Aves, Vol. I, p. 509, the 

 authors call attention to this difference but express the opinion 

 that it is not a constant character. Having before me thirty-four 

 specimens from various parts of Mexico and Central America, I 

 find no difficulty in distinguishing the Central American bird from 

 its Mexican relative. 



Cissolopha pulchra, new species. Acapulco Jay. 



Type, No. 144794, U. S. Nat. Museum, Dept. Agric. coll., $ , Acapulco, 

 Guerrero, Mexico, January 13, 1895. Collected by E. W. Nelson and E. A. 

 Goldman (Orig. No. 2481). 



Distribution. — Rather common along the coast near Acapulco. 



Description. — Head, neck and entire lower part of body black ; 

 shoulders, back, rump (with upper tail-coverts) cyanine blue becoming 



