TERSINA. 487 



Family TERSINTD^. 



Now tliat the genus Procn/'as o£ Illiger, upon which the family 

 name Procniutidfe was founded^ has been transferred to the 

 family ('otingidfe and the genus Tersina Vieill. is used in its place, 

 I propose that the family title be known henceforth as Tersinidse. 



This family, which consists of one genus and two species only, 

 is distributed over the greater part of South America — one of the 

 species occurring in British Guiana. 



Genus TERSINA Vieill. 



Tersina Yieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxxiii. p. 401, 1810. Type 

 T. c<£rulca, Vieill. 



mm 



Fig. 184. — Tersina occidentalis. 



In this genus the bill is depressed, the width at the base \f>, 

 al.»out twice the length of the exposed culmen and the depth at the 

 nostrils is about one-half its width, the upper mandible is hooked 

 at the tip. The wing is rounded, the second and third primaries 

 are longest and equal, and the first and fourth are about equal. 

 The tail is square at the tip and about two-thirds the length of 

 the wing. The tarsus is only slightly longer than the width of 

 the bill at the gape, ^'deration : male and female different. 



655. Tersina occidentalis. 

 "Western Swallow Fruit-eater. 



Promina venlralis (nee 111.) (';ib. in Sclionib. Roi.s. Guian. iii. p. G71, 



ISIS. 

 ProcninK ocr/tlrn/alis Sclater, I'. Z. S. IS,')!, p. 210 ("Nova Granada ") ; 



Urtbonni.- Si ChuUh, H. S. Ani.;r. i. p. IWS, no. IW^. 1912. 

 Procnias Icrsa Sulvin, ll)is, ISS.l, p. LH)7 (Jioniinia). 



