BTEI.OinOI'TF.nYX. 



313 



Torr'i'. Frontal ffathi^rfi noft, ntul, llk« chin, without hriHtlnH. TnrHt equal 

 ;o mtddle toe witliout claw ; the iipimr t^iid covertiil with f<mtht<r<i all roan<i, 

 noiiH At lower t-iid. Hanal Joint of middle toe adht^rent externally nearly to 

 end; intHrnaily, Hoarcoly half. Lateral toeH about ciiual, their clawrt not 

 reaoliiiig beyond haHe of middle claw. Tail nlightly eniar^inBte; the feathers 

 broad, itiid ohli(iuely rounded at end. Kdge of wing rough to the touuh ; the 

 RliaftK of the flhrilln of outer web of outer priiuary prolonged and bent at 

 riglit anglen into a Hhort Htttf hook. 

 Color d U brown abova. 



The f^rc-at peculiarity in this genua consists in the remarkable 

 roughness of the edge of the wing, Haid to oc(!nr also in PHulido- 

 prucne, Cab. The object is uncertain, but is proljably to enable tho 

 bird to secure a foothold on vortical or inclined rocks, among or 

 on wiiich it makes its nest. A favorite breeding place of H. aerri' 

 penniH is in the piers and abutments of bridges, and these hooks 

 might render essential aid in entering into tli(*ir holes. 



Tho birds of this genus have usually been referred to Cofyle, 

 which, however, they resemble only in color. The nostrils are ox- 

 jmsed, inHtend of being overlmng ; the tursuH is bare below, not 

 foathercd, and tho lateral claws are considerably curved,* and not 

 rcacliing iM'yond the base of the lat<!ral, as in Cotyle. The structure 

 of the wing is very different. 



According to Cabanis, Paaadoprocne {P. rypnelina, Cab. of 

 Africa) has the same structure of wing, but it seems to dilTei in 

 having the tail deeply forked, as in Alticora ; the toes and nails oven 

 shorter than in Alticora, not longer; and in having the outer toe 

 shorter than the iimer, instead of equal to it. 



The genus has a wide range, extending from British America to 

 Brazil, and probably Ecuador. 



as his description of the tail and Its under coverts, at least, does not apply at 

 all. HriswonV article ia evidently copied from Feuillfi (172.')), a very vague 

 author, as likely to call a Cuckoo or Flycatcher "IJirundo" as anything else. 

 This species is much in form like A. ryauoleura, but considerably larger. 

 I have little doubt that the A. ryiinojih<rn, of Cabanis, is the young bird of this 

 species, as a specimen in the museum of the Philadelphia Academy, from 

 Hogota, agrees exactly with Cabanis's description, and is hardly to be distin- 

 fuisilieJ, except in its evident immaturity, from the Academy-typeof Cassin's 

 Petrochelidon mtirtna, from Ecuador. It is probably closely related to tlie //. 

 andecola, of D'Orb. & Lafr. Syn. Av. 1837, 69 (La Paz), but differs somewhat. 



