Stelgidoptenjx fidvipemiis, Salv. P. Z. S. 1870, p. 184 ; Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. Av 



Neotr. p. 15 (1873) ; Boucard, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 67. 

 Stelgidoptenjx fulvigula, Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. ix. p. 96 (1870). 



£. gutture cinerascenti-brunneo, vix rufescentc lavato : abdomine et subcaudalibus albis, nee flavi- 

 cantibus. 



Hub. in America septentrionali et in America Centrali usque ad terram Panamensein. 



Adult male. General colour above brown, the lesser and median wing-coverts like the back ; median and 

 greater coverts blackish brown, washed externally with the same colour as the back ; bastard- 

 wing, primary-coverts, and quills blackish brown, the inner secondaries edged with lighter brown ; 

 tail-feathers dark brown, paler towards the base of the inner web ; head a trifle darker brown 

 than the back ; a narrow line of whity brown from the base of the forehead above the eye ; lores 

 blackish ; ear-coverts dark brown ; cheeks, throat, and breast, as well as the flanks and sides of 

 the bodv light brown, shaded with hoary whitish on the throat and fore neck, the chin and throat 

 slio-htlv washed with rufous; abdomen and under tail-coverts pure white; the breast-feathers 

 with a few dusky shaft-lines ; thighs white, with brown bases ; axillaries brown ; under wing- 

 coverts brown, with hoary-white edges to those near the edge of the wing : " tail black ; legs 

 brownish black; iris dark brown" (H. E. Dresser). Total length 4*8 inches, culmen 035, 

 wing 4-45, tail 2-25, tarsus 0'4. 



The adult female resembles the male in colour, but is rather smaller. Total length 4"4 inches, culmen 0-3, 

 wing 4 - l, tail T9, tarsus - 45. 



It has generally been supposed, and in the British Museum : Catalogue of Birds ' it is authori- 

 tatively stated, that the female lacked the serrations on the first primary. This we now find to 

 be a mistake as a large series of female specimens in the Henshaw collection shows that the 

 booklets on the first primary-quill are present in the old female, though not to the same extent 

 as in the adult male. 



Young birds (S. fulvipennis, Sclater) are easily distinguished from the adults by the rufous edgings to 

 the winc-coverts and secondaries. The back is also washed with rufous. The throat and breast 

 are light rufous, and the flanks are washed with the same colour ; the under wing-coverts are 

 broadly edged with rufous, and the gape is yellow. 



Before leaving their birthplace in the United States, a good deal of the rufous colour becomes 

 obliterated in the young birds, and many of them are almost as brown as the adults. The moult 

 takes place in their winter-quarters and is completed by December, as is shown by specimens in 

 the Salvin-Godman collection. 



This species has a distinct winter plumage, the edgings to the secondaries being white, while a rufous 

 tinge is evident on the throat. On the approach of the breeding-season, the white edges to the 

 secondaries quickly become abraded, but the rufous on the throat lasts for some time. Occasion- 

 ally the longer upper tail-coverts show a blackish-brown spot at the end : this is apparently a 

 sign of a very old bird, as it is not confined to specimens from any one locality ; it is most 

 strongly developed in a specimen obtained by Mr. Henshaw near Washington, on the 2.^ud of 

 July, 1883. 



