94 Mr. P. L. Sclater on the 



In order to endeavour to come to a conclusion which of 

 the two proposed generic names should be retained for this 

 bird, I have assembled together the specimens of Rampho- 

 canus in my collection and that of Messrs. Salvin and God- 

 man (thirty-three in number), and made a careful exami- 

 nation of them, with the following result : — 



Comparing Microhates with Rhamphocanm melanurus, 

 there can be no doubt that the points mentioned in our 

 original description of the genus hold good. The tail, instead 

 of being long and graduated, as in that species, is very short 

 and almost square, or barely rounded at the tip. But in R. 

 cinereiventris, on the other hand, nearly the same form of 

 tail-structure prevails as in Microbates ; and these two species 

 cannot be fairly separated generically. 



The best course to pursue is, on the whole, I think, to 

 regard the structure of the tail as being only of subgeneric 

 value, and to arrange the five species of RhamphoccBnus under 

 two heads, somewhat as follows : — 



Genus Rhamphoc^nus. 



Subgen. A. Rhamphoccpnus : cauda elongata, rectricibus 



graduatis. 



1. Rhamphoc^nus melanurus. 



Rhamphocanus melanurus, Vieill. N. Diet. xxix. p. 6; Enc. 

 Meth. p. 863; Gal. Ois. i. p. 204, pi. 128; Burm. Syst. Ueb. 

 p. 72; Cab. et Heine, Mus. Hein. ii. p. 11; Bp, Consp. p. 201 ; 

 Scl. P. Z. S. 1858, p. 243; Cat. A. B. p. 183; Scl. et Salv. 

 P. Z. S. 1867, p. 576 (r. Capim), et Nomencl. p. 73; Pelz. 

 Orn. Bras. p. 84. 



Rhamphoccenus longirostris, Licht. Nomencl. Mus. Berol. 

 p. 22. 



Troglodytes rectirostris, Sw. Zool. 111. ser. 1, pi. 140. 

 Troglodytes gladiator, Max. Beitr. iii. p. 751. 

 Murino-brunneus ; subtus albus, lateraliter ruf escens : cauda 

 nigra, rectricis unse utrinque extimse dimidio apicali 

 sordide fusco, proximis plus minusve fusco terminatis : 

 long, tota 4'75, alse 1*9, caudse 1*7, rostri a rictu 9*5, 

 tarsi 08. 



