MELANEEPES. 417 



applied to Melanerpes aurifrons and is a synonym of it. We cannot consider Wagler's 

 description an amended one of that of Gmelin, for though the former author gives 

 Mexico as the habitat of his M. tricolor, his type, as Dr Cabanis tells us, really came 

 from Cartagena -. The proper solution of the difficulty is to give the present bird a 

 fresh name, and vpe apply to it that of the author who first described it fully *. 



The range of Melanerpes wagleri is very restricted, and appears to be confined to 

 parts of Venezuela and Colombia, including the State of Panama. A closely-allied 

 species is M. terricolor (Berl.), a larger bird with the upper tail-coverts barred. 



M. rubriventris is also allied, but may be distinguished by its smaller size, more 

 closely barred back, and by the yellow colour which surrounds the mouth. 



5. Melanerpes rubriventris. 



Centurus rubriventris, Sw. An. in Meuag. p. 354 ' ; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. ix. p. 206 "^ ; Ann. N. Y. 



Ac. Sc. ii. p. 247'; Boucard, P. Z. S. 1883, p. 452'; Salv. Ibis, 1885, p. 192'; 1889, 



p. 369"; 1890, p. 88 \ 

 Zebrapicus rubriventris, Malh. Mon. Pic. ii. p. 248, t. 107. fig. 1 ^ 

 Melanerpes rubriventris, Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 176°. 

 Centurus rubriventris pygmmus, Ridgsr. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii. p. 576'°. 

 Melanerpes pygmtBus, Ridgw. Man. N. Am. Birds, p. 293 '\ 



Supra niger, dorso toto et alis extus crebre albo transfasciatis ; pileo sumino et nucha rubris, uropygio et 

 tectricibus supracaudalibus albis ; capitis lateribus, stria transversa inter oculos et corpore subtus sordide 

 albis, facie tota cum mento aureis, abdomine medio rubro, subcaudalibus nigro fasciatis, remigibus extus 

 nigris ad basin in pogonio externo albo maculatis, secundariis extrorsum maculatis ; cauda nigra, rectri- 

 cibus mediis ad basin albo variegatis, rectricibus duabus subexternis in pogonio externo extrorsum albido 

 maculatis ; rostro et pedibus plumbeis. Long, tota 7'0, alse 4-2, caudte 2-5, rostri a rictu 1"1, tarsi 0*72, 

 dig. med. absque ungue 0'6, dig. ext. 0'6. 



5 mari similis, sed capite summo cinereo, nucha tantum rubra. (Descr. maris et feminae ex Peto, Yucatan. 

 Mus. nostr.) 



Hob. Mexico, Merida in YncsA^xi {Schott^^, Gaumer^), Peto in Yucatan [Gaumer], 

 Cozumel I. {Bevis^, Benedict^^, Gaumer^'') ; Hondukas, Bonacca I. (Gaumer ^''). 



This little species, though characterized by Swainson in 1837, and figured by 

 Malherbe in 1862, was scarcely known until Mr. Lawrence described a male specimen 

 in 1869 obtained by Schott near Merida in Yucatan 2. During the last ten years many 

 specimens have been sent us by Dr. Gaumer, both from the mainland of Northern 

 Yucatan, the islands off the east coast, and from Bonacca Island in the Bay of 

 Honduras. The Cozumel bird was separated by Mr. Ridgway from the mainland 

 M. rubriventris first as Centurus rubriventris pygmceus and subsequently as Melanerpes 

 pygmoeus. The average size of the island birds is rather small, the colour rather dark, 

 and the central rectrices whiter at the base, but it is not difficult to match island and 

 mainland birds both as to size and colour. 



* This name need not be confused with Dyctiopicus wagleri, Bp., a synonym of Dendrocopus cawellatus 

 (Wagl.), or Picus wagleri, Hartl., a synonym of Dendrocopus maeii (Vieill.). 



BIOL. CENTR.-AMER., Aves, Vol. II., January 1895. 53 



