BIRDS — TYEANlJtNAE — SAYOENIS NIGKICAKS. 



18S 



SAYORNIS NIGKICANS, Bo nap. 



Black Flycatcher. 



Tyrannula nigrietms, Swainson, Syn. Birds Mex. Taylor's Phil. Mag. I, 1827, 367 — Newberry, ZooI. Cal. & 



Or. Route, Rep. P. R. R. Surv. VI, iv, 1857, 81. 

 Muscieapa nigricans, Aud. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 302 ; pi. 474— Ib. Birds Amer. I, 1840, 218 ; pi. 60. 

 Tyrannus nigricans, Nuttall, Man. I, 3d ed. 1840, 326. 

 Myiobius nigricans, Gray. 



Myiarchus nigricans, Cabanis, Tschudi Fauna Peruan. 1844- '46, 153, (Peru.) 

 Sayomis nigricans, Bonap. Comptes Bendus XXVIII, 1854, notes Orn. 87. 

 •Sulanax nigricans, Cabanis, Cab. Journal fur Ornith. IV, Jan. 1856, 2, (type of genus.) 

 Muscicapa semi-atra. Vigors, Zool. Beechey Voy. 1839, 17. 



Sp. Ch. — Wings rounded ; second, third, and fourth longest ; first rather shbrter thah Isixth. Tarsi with a second row of 

 scales behind. The head and neck all round, fore part and sides of the breast, dark sooty brown ; the rest Of the upper parts 

 similar, but lighter; faintly tinged with lead color towards the tail. The middle of the breast, abdomen, and loWler tail coverts 

 white ; some of the latter with the shafts and the centre brown. The lower wing coverts grayish brown, edged with white. 

 Wings dark brown ; the edge's of secondary coverts rather lighter ; of primary coverls dull white. Edge of the exterior 

 vane of the first primary and of secondaries, white. Tail dark brown, with the greater part of the outer vane of the exterior 

 tail feather white ; this color narrowing from the base to the tip. Bill and feet black. The tail rounded ; rather etnarginate ; 

 feathers broad ; more obliquely truncate than in sayus. The bill slender ; similar to that of S.fuscus. 



Length, nearly 7 inches ; wing, 3.60 ; tail, 3.45. 



Hab, — California coast, (Uhipqua valley, Oregon, Newberry) and across by valley of Gila and upper Rio Grande to JJew 

 Leon, and south. 



The female appears to differ only in the smaller size. A young bird from San Francisco has 

 two baads of rusty on the wing ; the shoulders and hinder part of the back tinged with the 

 same. 



List of specimens. 



