List of Costa-Rica Birds. 109 



was collected at " Atiro *, Costa Rica, 15/3 65, by J. Carmiol/' 

 The name Stelgidopteryx falvigula on the label is in Mr. Law- 

 rence's handwriting. 



It remains, then, to compare our recently acquired specimen 

 with S. uropygialis, Lawr., of Panama ; and I must say that 

 I cannot perceive any difference whatever either in size or colo- 

 ration, and conclude that the specimens upon which the species 

 was founded are immature, as Prof. Baird (Rev. Am. B. p. 318) 

 seems half to suspect. 



Anyhow there are two species of this form in Costa Rica : — 



1. Stelgidopteryx uropygialis (Lawr.), Ibis, 1863, 

 p. 181. S.fulvigula, Baird, Rev. Am. B. p. 318. 



2. Stelgidopteryx fulvipennis, Scl. ; Baird, Rev. Am- B. 

 p. 316. S.fulvigula, Lawr., Ann. Lye. N. Y. p. 96 {pa?'tim). 



It will be seen that the specimens upon which Prof. Baird 

 founded S, fulvigula were all collected at Angostura. Mr. Law- 

 rence, on the other hand, gives the locality " Atiro " only. 

 Hence it would appear that Mr. Lawrence had not the types of 

 ;S^. fulvigula before him when compiling his list ; and therefore 

 probably the Atirro specimens are all S. fulvipennis. 



(118.) Tachyphonus propinquus. 



The position of this species is at present anything but satis- 

 factory. Mr. Lawrence changed the name of the bird from 

 T. 7'ubrifrons to T. propinquus (Proc. Ac. Philad. 1867, p. 94), 

 because it was shown that the red forehead, from which the name 

 was derived, was due to a stain and not to natural colour. The 

 name p7'opinquus was chosen from the near relationship of the 

 supposed species to T. xanthopygius, Scl. ; but no differential 

 characters whatever were given. I imagine that Mr. M'Lean- 

 nan's statement that the sexes were alike has misled Mr. Law- 

 rence ; but, with all due deference to Mr. M'Leannan^s original 

 observations, I cannot help thinking that in this case he was 

 wrong. Analogy certainly points to the existence of a differ- 

 ence between the coloration of the sexes in this species in a 

 degree similar to what we find in T. xanthopygius. Indeed the 

 species would not be a Tachyphonus at all did not a difference 

 * Lege " Atin-o," cf. Von Frantzius, J. f. Orn. 1869, p. 201, note. 



