2 Mr. E. Hargitt on the Genus Gecinus. 



in my opinion, only G. striolatus of Bly th, and this is the view 

 taken by Malherbe. The latter author^ in his monograph, 

 enumerates twenty-four species under the genus Chloropicus, 

 sixteen of which belong to the Old World and eight to the 

 continent of America. Of the Old- World species I would 

 eliminate from the present genus C. mentalis and C. miniatus, 

 and place them in the genus Chrysojjhlegma, and refer 

 C. karelini to our common Green Woodpecker, G. viridis ; 

 the New- World species I would include in the genus Chlo- 

 ronerpes. Sundevall, in his ' Conspectus/ under Tribus 19, 

 Pici viRiDEs, includes ten species; of these I have united 

 G. tancola and G. guerini. Gray, in his ' Hand-list,^ enu- 

 merates seventeen Gecini, and among these he includes the 

 yellow-naped species placed by modern authors in the genera 

 Chri/sophlegma and Callolophus. I unite his G. tancola and 

 G. guerini, and consider that G. karelini must sink into a 

 synonym of G. inridis. 



In the present genus I include sixteen species. Of these, 

 three have been described since the time of Malherbe, viz. 

 G. sharjjii of Saunders, G. erytliropnjgius of Elliot, and G. gorii, 

 recently described by myself and subspecifically distinct 

 from G. squamatus. Dr. Menzbier (Bull. Nat. Mosc. 1886, 

 pt. 1, p. 440) has described a Gecinus from the Murgab river, 

 which he names G. Jiavirostris ; but from the description I 

 cannot see in what respect it differs from G. squamatus, as he 

 has omitted to give the characters (if any) which distinguish it 

 from the latter species. Uuder the heading of G. squamatus 

 I have entered more fully into this question, and have endea- 

 voured to show that Dr. Menzbier^s G. jiavirostris is not the 

 same as my G. gorii, whatever else it may prove to be. 



I have done my best to make the synonymy in this paper 

 as complete as possible, and to describe the various plumages 

 of each species, as far as the series of specimens at my com- 

 mand would permit. For want of a perfect series of the 

 young, I have been compelled to omit them in the key. 

 In the geograjohical distribution appended to each species I 

 have been enabled, in some instances, to show an extended 

 range and where this has been done I have specified the 



