173 



2. URUBITmGA " GUI^DL ACHI ". 



' Morphnus nruhitinga Cuvikr", Lrmbf.yk, Avgs de Cuba, 1850, 14, pi. iii, fig. 3. — 



March, Pr. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philad. 18G:5, 3 (.Jamaica). 

 Sypomorphnus gnndlachi Cabanis, Jonru. fiir Orii. 18.54, pi. Ixxx. — Brewer, Pr. Boston 



Soc. N. H. vii, 18H0, p. — (Culia).— ? FiNScn, P. Z. S. 1870, 554 (Trinidad).— 



GuNDL. Jonrn. fiir Orn. 1^71, 365. 

 VAsturunicinclus" Leot. Ois. Trinidad, 1866, 44. 

 Urubitiiiga anihracina (part) Siiari'E, Cat. Ace. Brit. Mus. 1874, 215. 



Hal). — Cuba. (Also Jamaica and Trinidad'?). 



This bird has been referred b}"- Mr. Sharpe to U. anthracina, but we 

 think without sulScieut reason for so doing. It seems to be really a good 

 species, bat quite nearly related to the continental one. According to 

 Dr. Finsch {I. c.) "the whole plumage is dark brownish-black; the 

 feathers on the upper part of the interscapulium are rufous at the base ; 

 the upper and under tail-coverts are margined narrowly with white ; 

 the tail has a broad white cross-band, above this is another much nar- 

 rower and not quite complete, a third, still narrower, and ill-defined, is 

 placed at the base and hidden by the tail-coverts ; the tail-feathers are 

 tipped with white ; the under surface of the wings shows a white space 

 formed by the white basal third of the first four primaries, but this white 

 is speckled very minutely with grayish-black, as in H. anthracinus; the 

 secondaries bear in the middle portion of the inner web six or seven 

 cross-bauds of pale rufous-brown, somewhat ill-defined, And mixed and 

 washed with dark brown, giving a somewhat marmorated appearance." 

 He adds that it is "closely related to S. cmthraGinus Licht., bitt may be 

 easily distinguisJied by the two white bands on the base of the tail, 

 besides the white middle cross-band." 



The difference in the markings of the tail are quite sufficient to sepa- 

 rate this bird from U. anthraciiia, at least as a geographical race, since 

 of the very numerous individuals we have examined not one had any 

 white bands across the tail anterior to the middle zone, other than faint 

 indications, usually on the inner webs, in a very few exceptional cases. 

 It seems, however, to be scarcely distinct specifically, but the descrip- 

 tions are hardly concise enough to settle the question. 



