156 



Genus EEGERHIXUS, Kaup. 



Eegerhiiuis Kaup, Mus. Senck. iii, 1845, 262. Type, Faleo undnatns Illig. 

 Cymlndis Swaixs. 1837, et auct. (uec. Cur. 1817). 



Ch.* — Form very liglit : the feet very weak (almost Steatoruitbine) ; 

 bill very large, greatly hooked, aucl much compressed ; wiugs and tail 

 large, the latter slightly rounded. Tomia without indentations or per- 

 ceptilDle sinuations ; gonys nearly straight; tomium of the lower man- 

 dible very convex. ISTostril very small, slit-like, narrower, and more 

 horizontal than in Leptodon. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe, 

 covered with large, irregular, hexagonal scutellie (as in Leptodon and 

 Ulaiwides) ; toes and claws compressed ; middle claw with its inner 

 edge much produced, as in Elanoides. llemiges and rectrices greatly 

 developed, verj- broad, and of a soft texture. Contour-feathers of the 

 inferior surface remarkably broad, their tips nearly truncated ; feathers 

 of the i)ileum soft and blended, with no tendency to an occipital crest. 

 Secondaries very long and broad, about three-fourths as long as the 

 primaries ; third, fourth, or fifth quills longest ; first shortest ; outer 

 six with inner webs faintly sinuated. Tail large, but much shorter 

 than the wing, slightly rounded, the feathers broad and soft. Lore 

 wholly naked, with a narrow strip of bristles extending from the ante- 

 rior angle of the eye to the anterior part of the frontal feathers, which 

 extend forward so as to almost cover the top of the cere. After-shafts 

 better developed than in Leptodon. 



This genus is so very distinct from Leptodon that it is a matter of 

 surprise why it should ever have been considered synonymous. The 

 form of the tjill is entirely different and strikingly distinctive, while there 

 are very conspicuous dilierences throughout its external structure. The 

 feet are weaker than in any of the allied genera, the toes and claws be- 

 ing more compressed. In its pterylosis, it is more like Avicida suhcris- 

 tata than any other species of the group, the contour-feathers of the 

 lower surface having that same remarkable breadth and nearly trun- 

 cated termination, wliile the wings and tail are quite similar. There is 

 also considerable resemblance in the colors and markings. In Avicida^ 

 however, the lore is feathered, the occipital feathers are pointed and 

 crest-like, and the bill more like that of Leptodon. 



The species of this genus present so many phases of plumage that 

 they are in a state of great confusion. We do not pretend to have made 

 any progress toward elucidating them, but present our views so far as 

 they have resulted from the examination of the material available. 



EEGEEHI^^US UNCIis^ATUS. 



Falco undnatns Temm. PL Col. 1824, pis. 103, 104, 115. 



Cymhidis undnaius Lesson, Man. Orn. i, 1828, 91; Tr. Orn. 1831, 55. — ViG. Zool. 

 Jouru. i, 337.— Stephens, Zool. siii, 22.— Gray, Gen. B. 1845, 25, pi. 9, fig. 7 ; 

 Hand List, i, 1869, 136.— Kaup, Class. Sang. u. Vog. 1844, 124.— Bonap. Cousw. 

 Av. i, 1850, 21.— BUKJX. Tb. Bras, ii, 1856. 108.— Scu. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, 

 369 (Istb. Panama); Norn. Neotr. 1873, 12'2.— Leot. Ois. Trinidad, 1866, 36.— 

 Lawe. Ann. Lye. N. Y. is, 1868, 134 (San Jose, Costa Eica).— Finsch, P. Z. 

 1870, 557 (Trinidad).— S. Pelz. Orn. Bras. 1871, 5, 398.— Schleg. Eev. Ace. 

 1873, 136.— Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1873, 419. 



*Ibave beeu unable to obtain bones of tbis genus, but tbe osteological cbaracters 

 are probably very similar to tbose of Leptodon and Elanoides. Isitzscb mentions uotbing 

 peculiar in the pterylosis. 



