122 



by six bauds of dull black, wider than tbe brownisb-gray interspaces. 

 Lower parts as in tbe adult, but featbers of tbe breast and sides marked 

 witb narrow stripes of dilute brown. Wing', 7.80; tail, 7.00. (Merida, 

 Venezuela, 1873. A. Goeriug ; coll. O. Salvin.) 



At first sigbt, tbisnew species appears very similar to X. cMonogaster , 

 especially in tbe whiteness of tbe lower parts. A close examination 

 reveals so many important points of difference, bowever, entirely out- 

 side the range of variation in tbat species, tbat it seems clearly distinct. 

 Indeed, we consider it more closely related to N. ventralis, witb wbicb it 

 closely agrees in tbe color of tbe tibia?, the narrowness of tbe ligbt 

 bands on tbe tail, and in tbe general aspect of tbe upper parts. Tbe 

 cbief differences from N. cliionogaster consist in tbe deep rufous instead 

 of ocbraceous tibiae, dusky instead of white auriculars, and much nar- 

 rower gray bands on the tail, in which respects it agrees with N. ven- 

 tralis ; while from the latter it differs in the pure white lower parts of 

 both old and young. 



?X1SUS NIGROPLUMBEUS. 



Accipiter iiigro-plumbeiis Lawr. Ann. N. Y. Lye. 1369, 270 (Quito Valley, Ecuador).— 

 Ortox, Am. Nat. iv, Feb. 1871, 711. 



Sp. CH. — Adult male: — Wing, 6.75; tail, 6.30; culmen, 0.45; tarsus, 

 1.95; middle toe, 1.30. Fourth quill longest ; fifth scarcely shorter; 

 first shortest ; outer five with inner webs sinuated. Tail very slightly 

 rounded, almost even. Prevailing color uniform dark plumbeous, tbe 

 low^er surface somewhat more glaucous and mixed on the abdomen, 

 anal region, and crissum witb ferrugineous-rufous ; this continuous on 

 the middle of the abdomen and in cloudings on the center of tbe feathers, 

 and paler in tint on the crissum. Tail narrowly tipped with white and 

 crossed by four bands of black, rather broader than the plumbeous ones, 

 which incline to a slaty-brownish tint. Longer scapulars and tertials 

 showing concealed large roundish spots of pure white ; occipital feathers 

 snowy-white beneath the surface ; upper tail-coverts witb concealed 

 bands of ashy, growing white at the base of the featbers. Lining of 

 tbe wing about equally clouded witb light cinnamon and bluish-i:)lumbe- 

 ous ; inner webs of primaries pure white for basal half and hoary slate 

 for terminal half, the white portion crossed by broad bands of blackish 

 slate, which become gradually obsolete in tbe slaty portion. Tarsal 

 scutellfe fused into a continuous plate. " Iris orange-yellow ; tarsi and 

 toes yellow." 



Hah. — " Eastern side of Quito Vallev, on slope of Antisona, altitude 

 10,000 to 12,000 feet." 



The general appearance of this bird strongly suggests the possibility 

 of its being a melanism of JSf. ventralis. The markings of the tail are 

 tbe same, and the picturte of tbe under surface of the wing is similar, 

 only darker. The color of tbe upper parts in their entirety differs solely 

 in being of a darker shade ; while in the size, and in the details of 

 structure, it corresponds exactly with tbe male of ventralis. 



mSUS CHIONOGASTER. 



Xisus cliionogaster Kaup, P. Z. S. 185] , 41 (Guatemala). 



Accijnter cliionogaster Bonap. Eev. et Mag. Zool. 1854,538. — Scl. & Salv. Ex. Oni. 

 ii, 1867, 27, pi. xiv ; xi, 170; Norn. Neotr. 1873, 120.— Gray, Hand List. i. IdO'J, 

 32.— Sharpe, Cat. Ace. B. M. 1H74, 148. 

 Accipiter erythrocnemius Scl. & Salt. Ibis, 1859, 218. — Salt. Ibis, 1861, 140. 



Mab. — Guatemala. 



Wing, 6.80-8.40; tail, 6.0C-7.30; culmen, 0.40-0.52; tarsus, 1.90-2.25; 



