RAMPHOCCELUS. 519 



677. Ramphoooelus carbo. 



Silver-beaked Tanager. 



Lanius carlo Pallas, Vroeg's Catal. Eais. Adumbrat. p. 2, 1764 



(Surinam). 

 Rhamphopis atroooccineus Cab. in Schomb. Reis. G-uian. iii. p. 668, 



1848. 

 Bamphocelus jacapa Salvin, Ibis, 1885, p. 210 (Bartica Grove, Roraima) ; 



Sclater, Oat. B. Bi-it. Miis. xi. p. 174, 1886 (Georgetown); Lloyd 



Price, Timehri (2) v. p. 63, 1891 (nests and eggs) ; Quelch, torn. cit. 



p. 79 (Georgetown). 

 Samphocaelus carbo Brabourne & Chnbb, B. S. Amer. i. p. 417, no. 4297, 



1912. 

 IRampJiocoelus carlo carlo Beebe, Tropical Wild Life in British Guiana, 



p. 137, 1917 (Bartica). 



Adult male. Crown of head, hind-neck, and sides of face dark 

 crimson; entire back, upper tail-coverts, and upper wing-coverts 

 velvety black pervaded with crimson ; flight-quills and tail-feathers 

 black ; throat, fore-neck, and upper breast rich crimson, the feathers 

 on the chin have black hair-like tif)s; lower breast, sides of body, 

 abdomen, and under tail-coverts black more or less tinged with 

 crimson ; under wing-coverts black ; under surface of flight-quills 

 and lower aspect of tail black. " Bill black ; widened base of 

 lower mandible bluish grey ; feet black " (Cat. B. Brit. Mus.). 



Total length 170 mm., exposed culmen 15, wing 80, tail 62, 

 tarsus 22. 



The male described was collected on the Mazarnni River in 1905. 

 Adult female. Differs from the adult male in being much less 

 rich in colour, in having the rump and upper tail-coverts uniform 

 dark crimson ; forehead, sides of fac(», throat, breast, sides of 

 body, abdomen, and under tail-coverts dull red ; axillaries and 

 under tail-coverts rust-brown, the feathers on the chin have hair- 

 like tips. Wing 76 mm. 



The female described was collected on the Ituribisi River in 

 November 1906. 



Breeding-season. Unrecorded in British Guiana. 

 Nest. " Builds its nest in low bushes, close to the ground, made 

 of small sticks, pieces of cane-trash, etc., and lined with dry 

 grass, may be found hidden in the leaves of many low trees " 

 {H. Lloyd Price). 



Eggs. " Two in number and are of a pinkish white, spotted, and 

 blotched with pur|.)le " [H. Lloyd Price). 



