BIRDS — TYEA-NNINAE — MYIARCHUS MESIICANUS, 



179 



TAst of specimens. 



MYIARCHUS MEXICANUS, Baird. 



Ash-throated Flycatcher 



Tyrannula mexicana, Kauf, Pr. Zool. Soc. Feb. 1851, 51. 



Tyrannula cinerascens, Lawrence, Annals N. Y. Lye. N. Hist. V, Sept. 1851, 109. 



Sp. Ch. — Bill black, the width opposite the nostrils not half the length of culmen. Head crested. Tail even, the lateral" 

 feathers slightly shorter. Sgceind, third, and fourth quills Ipngfst ; first rather shorter than the seventh. Above dull greyish 

 qlive ; the centres of the feathers rather darker ; the crown, rutnp, and upper tail coverts tinged with brownish. The fprehead 

 and sides of the head and neck grayish ash ; the chin, throat, and fore part of the br«ast ashy white ; the middle of the breast 

 white ; the rest of tho under parts very pale sulphur yellow ; wings and tail brown. Two bands across the wing, with outer 

 edges of secondaries and tertials dull white ; the outer edges of the primaries light chestnut brown (except towards the tip and 

 on the outer feather ;) the inner edges tinged with the same. Whole of middle tail feathers, with the outer. webs (only) afld 

 the ends of the others brown ; the rest of the inner webs reddish chestnut, the outer web of exterior feather yellowish white. 

 Legs and bill black ; lower mandible brownish at the base. . Length about 8 inches ; wing, 4 ; tail, 4.10 ; tarsus, .90. 



flafc.—T Cqast of California, and across by valley of Gila an^ Rio Grande to northeastern Mexico. Seen as far north in Texas 

 as San Ajitonio, 



In a young specimen the crown is more tinged with brown ; the upper tail coverts and the 

 middle tail feathers are chestnut, ^nd, in fact, all the tftil feathers are of tjhis color, except alonj; 

 both sides of the shaft on the ceptral feathers, and a,long its outer side in the lateral ones. 



The relationships of this species are clearly lyith M. crinitus, although the differences are 

 readily appreciable. The size is much the same ; the bill narrower and blacker ; the tarsi much 

 longer ; the wings not so much pointed. The colors of the upper part|3 are quite the same ; 

 beneath, however, the throat and middle of the fore breast are nearly \yhite (quite white behind) 

 instead of ash, and the sulpbur yellow of the remaining under parts is exceedingly pale, instead 

 of very intense. The wings are similar, but the chestnut brown of the inner web is deeper and 

 more abruptly defined in crinitiis. In the lateral tail feathers of mexicanus the brown does 

 not cross the shaft fropQ the outer webs, but is continifed rather broadly round the tips ; whjle 

 in the other the inn.er side of the shaft is bordered by brown, but the inner web is chesnut to 

 the extreme end. 



This species is but briefly described by Kaup, as quoted above, still his comparisons of size 

 &c., with its allies leave no doubt as to the identity with Tyrannula dneraspens qf Lawrence. A 

 ]JJe?ican specimen is a little la,rger than usual, but otherwise the same. 



