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HYLIOTA, 



which agrees with Muscicapa and Cryptolopha in 

 having the outer half of the bill compressed ; but 

 here this structure is carried to its extreme. Its 

 length is sufficient to give to the bird an appearance 

 of being a warbler : the base, indeed, is broad, but 

 beyond the nostrils it suddenly contracts, and the 

 remaining portion is so much compressed that its 

 height (when viewed in profile) is much greater 

 than its vertical breadth : the rictus, moreover, has 

 merely a few setaceous hairs, and is destitute alto- 

 gether of stiff bristles. Hyliota further differs from 

 Muscicapa in having the claws broader, stronger, 

 and more curved, and in the scales of the tarsi 

 being divided into four pieces. And yet, notwith- 

 standing these great deviations from the typical 

 character of fly-catching birds, we feel fully per- 

 suaded that this is the tenuirostral type of the genus 

 before us. The wings and tail are precisely those of 

 M. albicollis. The outer toe is connected as far as 

 the first joint; and the glossy blue -black plumage, 

 white scapulars, and buff-coloured throat, is in com- 

 plete unison with the family we are now treating 

 of. The first aspect of the species now before us 

 suggests the idea that it belongs to Platystero^ 



