2la POEMICAEIID^. 



We have skins from Panama sent us by Mr. Hughes from Paraiso Station. One of 



these and another from M'Leannan are males in fully adult black plumage ; the third 



is immature, slightly greyer on the flanks, and with white streaks on the throat. We 



refer all of them to C. nigricans, a bird we trace to Western Ecuador and Northern 



. Colombia, but not beyond the line of Railway in the State of Panama. 



Salmon ^ describes the nest of this species as made of dry grasses and placed between 

 a fork at the extremity of the boughs of low bushes. The eggs are mahogany-colour, 

 mottled with darker shades of the same colour. 



d". Bectrices duodecem. 



FORMICIVORA. 



Formidvora, Swainsoiij Zool. Journ. ii. p. 145 (1825) ; Scl. Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xv. p. 248. 



Formicivora contains about eighteen or nineteen described species, fifteen of which 

 are included in Mr. Sclater's Catalogue. These are widely distributed over Tropical 

 America from Southern Mexico to South Brazil. The well-known F. boucardiand the 

 somewhat doubtful F. virgata are the only representatives of the genus found within 

 our limits, and both belong to a small section of it in which the plumage of the males 

 is mostly black and the tail comparatively short. 



The bill in F. loucardi is feeble, but does not present any peculiar characters, the 

 nostrils being quite open, the supranasal feathers dense and reaching nearly to the 

 nostrils. There are well-developed rictal bristles. The tarsi are covered behind with 

 ill-defined scutella, the claws have all deep lateral grooves. The wings and tail are 

 much rounded. 



1. Formicivora boucardi. 



Formicivora boucardi, Scl. P. Z. S. 1858, p. 300 ' ; 1859, p. 383 ' ; Cat. Am. Birds, p. 183, t. 16 ' ; 

 Cat; Birds Brit. Mus. xv. p. 254"; Moore, P. Z. S. 1859, p.-55'; Scl. & Salv. Ibis, 1859, 

 p. 119°; P. Z. S. 1864, p. 356'; 1870, p. 837 «; Lawr. Anu. Lye. N. Y.. vii. p. 469 = ; ix. 

 p. 108 " ; Salv. P. Z. S. 1&70, p. 195 " ; Ibis, 1872, p. 318 (?) '= ; Boucard, P. Z. S. 1878, 

 p. 61 " ; , Nutting, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. vi. p. 405 "; Zeledou, An. Mus. Nac. Costa Eica, 

 1887, p. 115 ". 



Formicivora quixensis, Cassin, Pr. Ac. Phil. 1860, p, 190 " ; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. vii. p. 325 ". 



Kigra ; plaga magna dorsali celata alba ; teotricibus alarum omnibus et rectricibus (quatuor medianis exceptis) 

 macula alba terminafcis ; subalaribus et remigibus interne albis ; h3'})ochondriis griseo tinctis : rostro et 

 pedilas nigfis-. Long, tota 4-3, alas 1-9, caudse rectr. med. 1-85, reotr. lat. 1-15, rostri a rictu' 0*65, 

 tarsi 0-6. . 



$ supra grisea, macula dorsali sicut in maris, alls et Cauda quoque albo similiter maculatis ; subtus omnino 

 rufo-castanea. (Descr. maris et feminse ex Choctum, Guatemala. Mus. nostr.) 



Hah. Mexico, Acatepeci, Playa Yicenie^ {Boucard) ; Guatemala, Choctum, Yzabal, 

 Teleman (0, S. & F. J). G.)-, Honduras, Omoa [Leyland^^), San Pedro {G. M. 

 Whitely ») ; Nicaragua, Chontales [Belt-^^), Los Sabalos {Natting i*) ; Costa Rica, 



