176 



PR.ECOCIAL GRALLATOUES — LIMICOLiE. 





Char. Remiges normal ; rectrices much abbreviated, very soft, entirely concealed by the tail- 

 coverts; forehead witli large leal-like lube, 'ree laterally and posteriorly, atllieriny centrally and 

 anteriorly ; rictus (irnamented by a smaller lobe (rudimentary in P. (jijiiuiosIoiiki). 



The above characters are chielly those which distinj,niish the American genus Farm from its 

 Old World allies IIijdivphuKUiiiits,^ AMitapwIiiiH,'^ i\\u\ lliidndivlnr.^ I am unable to state in just 

 what essential particulars the two latter dill'er I'rom I'arra, never having seen specimens of any 

 species of either form. The ftret, however, diftei-s very widely in the great deveiojanent of lliu 

 rectrices, of which the intermedia' are excessively elongated ; in the curious attenuation of the jni- 

 maries, which are, moreover, of very unequal length, and in the entire aljsence of lobes about tlie 

 base of the bill. These characters I have drawn from figures of the single species, //. chirnnjitg, 

 Scoi'UM, not having seen the bird itself. 



In addition to the generic characters given above, the following also may be mentioned : — 



Bill somewhat Flover-like in form, the liasal half with the upper and lower outlines nearly 

 parallel and decidedly approximated, the terminal half of the culiuen strongly convex, the gonys 

 nearly straight, antl decidedly ascending terminally ; nostrils small, horizontal, elliptical, situated 

 about half-way lietween the anterior angle of the eye and the tip of the bill. Primaries ten, 

 reaching to the tijis of the tertials, the three outer tpiills longest and nearly e<jual, their inner webs 

 slightly narrowed near the end. Tarsus and bare portion of the tibia covered by a continuous 

 frontal and posterior series (if transverse scutelhe, these sometimes fused into continuous sheaths ; 

 middle toe (exclusive of its claw) about c(pud to the tarsus (sometimes a little shorter) ; outer toe 

 etjual to the middle toe, but its claw a little shorter ; inner toe a little shorter than the outer, but 

 its claw considerably longer ; hallux about e(iual to the liasal phalanx of tla; middle toe, but its 

 claw reaching nearly, if not liuite, to the end of the middle toe. 



Farra gymnostoma. 



THE MEXICAN JACANA. 





Parra gymnostoma, Wagl. Isis, 1831, CAT. — Sci,. & Sai.v. Xoni. Nootr. 1873, 142. — Meurill, liall. 

 Nutt. Oni. Club, I. Nov. ]87t), 88 (Fort Brown, Texas) ; I'roc. U. S. Nal. JIus. I. 1878, 107 

 (Fort Brown). — Hinow. ib. (synonymy; descriptions); Noiu. N. Am. B. 1881, no. .lOS. — 

 CouES, Cheek List, Sd cd. 1882, no. ()72. 



Parra cordifcra, Less. Kov. Zool. 1842, l.'if) (Aoapnlco). — Des Muils, Icon. Orn. pi. 42. 



Hab. The whole of Central America, from Panama to Noi thern Mexico ; lower Rio Grande 

 Valley of Texas, at Fort Brown (Meuuim., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. I. 1878, 1G7) ; Cuba. 



Sp. Char. Adult: Wing, 4.50-5.40 ; culmen, 1.15-1.40 ; tarsus, 1.90-2.35 ; middle toe, 1.85- 



m 



2.25.* Head, neck, jugulum, and extreme anterior portion of the back uniform black, with a hunt 

 silky green gloss below. Rest of the plumage nuiinly uniform rich purplish chestnut, with a 



1 " Hydroplumanus, Wagl. 1832" (type, //. chirurgus, Scopoi.i). 



" " Metopodius, Wagl. 1832" (type, Parra africana, Lath., /rfc Gray). 



8 " Hydralcdor, Wagi,. 1832" (type, Parra crislala, Yikill., fiilc Gray). 



* Extremes of thiiteeu examples. 



