GEALLAEIA. 239 



belonging to Mr. Sclater's second Section B, Gkallaei^e reges, and the other four to 

 his fourth Section D, GKALLAKiiE FLAMMULATiE. Sections A and C are unrepresented 

 in our fauna. 



All the species of Grallaria seem to be solitary in their habits. They live upon the 

 ground in the dense forest, seeking their food amongst the decaying vegetation. The 

 following note of Salmon's gives a good idea of their mode of life. Writing (P. Z. S. 

 1879, p. 527) of Grallaria ruficapilla he says: — "In the moniing, and shortly before 

 sunset, may be heard a melancholy cry as this Ant-Thrush creeps amongst the brush- 

 wood. Many times have I followed to obtain a specimen, and after a tough scramble 

 of an hour given it up for a bad job. At one time you seem to stand right upon it, 

 and a moment after you hear it four yards off ; again you reach the spot, and you hear 

 it twenty yards behind you ; you return, then it is on your right ; soon after you hear 

 it on the left. At first you imagine the bird has the power of a ventriloquist ; but by 

 dint of patience and watching you may see it creeping swiftly and silently among 

 the grass and brushwood in places where it has to pass a rather more open spot, and 

 the mystery is explained. The nest is also difficult to obtain : it is placed at some 

 height from the ground, and made of a mass of roots, dead leaves, and moss, lined 

 with roots and fibres. The eggs are two in number, rather round, and blue." 



Salmon also took the eggs of Grallaria ruficeps, which he describes as " rich dark 

 greenish-blue." 



It would thus appear that the species of Grallaria, though practically terrestrial in 

 their habits, seek the greater safety of bushes for their nests. Their blue eggs differ 

 widely from those of other Formicariidse known to us. 



The bill in Grallaria {G. guatemalensis) is stout, the culmen arched, the tomia of 

 both maxilla and mandible slightly decurved ; the former has a distinct but not very 

 prominent notch near the end ; the latter hardly shows any notch but only a slight 

 depression ; the surface of the maxilla is nearly smooth, without longitudinal ridges. 

 The nostril is quite open, nearly round, and exposed, and a portion of the turbinals is 

 distinctly seen within the cavity. The frontal feathers just reach the proximal end of 

 the nostrils. There are no simple rictal bristles strictly speaking, but the feathers 

 bordering the rictus end in black hair-like points. The legs are long, the tibia 

 feathered nearly to the tibio-tarsal joint ; the tarsi have indistinct scutella in front, 

 which become better defined towards the distal end, the back is covered with a single 

 shield. The toes are short and the claws short and only moderately curved. The 

 wings are short and rounded, the third primary slightly the longest and the first = the 

 tenth. The tail is short and slightly rounded and considerably shorter than the tarsi 



