i8o 



Elliot on the Genus Dendrornis. 



[April 



In order to exhibit more clearly the variation that exists in the 

 extreme length of the wing, I give here a list of forty-four speci- 

 mens from various localities, with the measurements of the wing 

 taken from the carpal joint to extreme point of primaries. It will 

 be seen that the longest wing measures 43. inches and the short- 

 est 3^, a difference of |- of an inch. The specimens with the 

 longest wings come from Tehuantepec, and those with the 

 smallest from Mazatlan and Guatemala. But there are 

 examples from Tehuantepec with a wing measurement of 4^ 

 inches, showing a difference from its larger relative off inch, and 

 from Mazatlan there are specimens with wings 4^ inches in 

 length, or a difference in birds from that locality of a inch. 

 In Mazatlan and Tehuantepec these extremes are exhibited in 

 different sexes, the female being the smaller, but examples from 

 Orizaba show the male to have a wing of 4^ inches and the female 

 of 4-! inches. Honduras also shows a male with a wing 4^ inches 

 long, and a female with one 4^ inches, so it cannot lie said that the 

 difference of measurement is sexual; nor is it of any value, as 

 already stated, for a specific character. 



