MIMUB. 



fi8 



Collected by 



h ; in all it is 



jngnlum, the shafts heing wliite ; on its sides alone are there indications of 

 theae, which on tlie sides of the breast and belly become more distinct than 

 in M. bakamensis, owing to tlie purer white of the under parts. There is 

 rather more white on tiie end of the tail feathers, this covering .70 in the 

 outer one. 



An immature specimen (26,802) is similar to the adults, but has a little 

 more white on the end of the tail, and the feathers of the breast and jugulum 

 show triangular spots of brown at the ends. 



Length (of 24,37(3), 11.75; wing, 4.90; tail, 6.30; graduation, 1.00; Ist 

 quill, 1.50; 2d quill, 3.00; bill from nostril, .70; tarsus, 1.51; middle toe 

 and claw, 1.22; claw, .35. 



This Species is very closely related to the M. bahamensis, hut 

 appears to diflFer in some appreciable features. The distinction in 

 coloration has already been adverted to. It is a larger species, and 

 the tail is more graduated — the difference in length between the 

 lateral and middle feathers being 1.00 instead of .70. The wings 

 are more rounded ; the 5th quill longest instead of the 4th ; the 2d 

 shorter than the 8th, instead of longer. 



A larger series of specimens of M. hahamensis will perhaps be 

 necessary fully to ascertain the relationships between the Bahaman 

 and Jamaican birds, and prove whether they be really distinct or not. 

 How they stand in reference to M. gundlachi, of Cuba, it is even 

 more difficult to determine, as our only guide is the brief comparison 

 by Cabanis of his species with M. safurninus of Brazil. To this, 

 however, there is very little resemblance on the part of the Jamaican 

 and Bahaman birds, as shown by comparing them with a specimen 

 presented by the Berlin Museum. Cabanis speaks of the white 

 tip of the tail feathers being but 3-4 lines long in gundlachi ; in the 

 others it is from one-half to three-quarters of an inch. 



Of the South American Minii in the museum of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, the relationship is closest to M. thenca, of Chile, much 

 more than to satiirninus. 



Mr. Hill thinks that this species is the Titrdus orpheus of Linnaeus. 

 A careful examination, however, of the descriptions of Brown and 

 Edwards, upon which the species was founded, will, I think, show 

 conclusively that both authors had in view the small Mocking bird 

 of Jamaica, rather than the large one. 



