X E N P S genibarbis, 

 Whiskered Xenops. 



Generic Character. 



Xeiiops. i^Hoffmansegg. i?i llliger. Prod. p. 213). 



Rostrum mediocre, rectum, acutiim, vahle comprcssum, inxerse cul- 

 tratum, i. e. culmine recto, g07iyde reciirvd ascendente. Nures 

 basales, laterales, otatce, parvce, patidce. Lingua — f Pedes me- 

 diocres, congrui. Digiti antici hasi coadnati, laterales subctquaks. 

 Hallux digitum medium xquans. llliger. 



Bill moderate, straight, acute, much compressed, and inversely 

 curved; the top of the upper mandible being straight, and the 

 edge of the lower ascending or recurved. Nostrils basal, lateral, 

 oval, small, and covered by a naked membrane. Tongue — ''. Feet 

 moderate, clav/s united at their base, the lateral ones nearly 

 equal; the hind claw as long as the leg and the middle toe. 



Specific Character. 

 A', suprc} fusco-rufa, infra griseo-fusca ; mento, super ciliis maculisque 



jugularibus et pectoralibus albeniibus ; maculo infra aures niveo; 



remigum secunduruni nigricantium basi fulvu, apicibiis margini- 



hiisque rujis. 

 Above reddish-brown, beneath grey-brown; chin, eyebrows, and 



spots on the throat and breast, whitish; beneath the ears a 



snowy spot; lesser-quills blackish, the base fulvous, the tips 



and margins rufous. 

 Xenops genibarbis llliger Prod. p. 218. (1811.) 

 Neops ruficaudus Vieillot. Orn. Elem. p. 68. (1816.) 



Avery extraordinary and not inelegant little creature, having 

 a bill totally different from any other bird. Its general habit 

 evinces a close connexion W\i\\ the SIttcv, particularly those 

 of New Holland ; some of which iiave their bills (which are 

 slender) slightly inclining upwards, thus forming a con- 

 nexion between Xenops and the straight billed SittcB of the 

 old world. 



The figure is of the male, and its natural size ; the head 

 dark brown with pale spots ; the back of a reddish tinge, and 

 the rump and tail rufous ; tail much rounded, and of twelve 

 feathers; the three outer and the two pair in the middle 

 entirely rufous, the other pair having the inner shafts black ; 

 the greater quills black ; the last having an internal bar of 

 pale fulvous. Beneath the eye a spot of white downy 

 feathers, with a dusky border above and below ; there is a 

 little difference between this and Illiger's bird, but it may be 

 only sexual. 



Inhabits Brazil, but -is rare. 



PI. 100, 



