CATHAEUS. 5 



Sumichrast, who obtained specimeijs in the Sierra Madre near Zapotitlan^. During 

 his previous residence near Orizaba the same gentleman also met with it, and sent 

 several specimens to the Smithsonian Institution ^ ; he says that it has nearly the same 

 range as C. melpomene *. These and others obtained by Mr. le Strange in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Mexico itself show that the species is not one peculiar to Western Mexico, 

 as Mr. Sclater at first supposed ^ ^. Its range, however, seems to be very limited, as it 

 has not as yet been noticed out of the highlands of Southern Mexico. 



The faint spots on the throat and chest render C. occidentalis easily distinguishable 

 from C. melpomene, and, indeed, from all its congeners. 



5. Catharus foscater. 



Myioturdus fuscater, Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 341 \ 



Catharus fuscater, Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, p. 324'j Salv. P. Z. S. 1867, p. 132', 1870, p. 180*; Lawr. 

 Ann. Lye. N. Y. ix. p. 90'. 



Supra schifitaceo-niger, pileo fere nigro ; subtus griseo-fuscus, abdomine medio albo ; rostro efc pedibus auran- 

 tiacis. Long, tota 6-5, alse 3-5, caudae 3, rostri a riotu 0-9, tarsi 1-3. (Descr. maris ex CordUlera de Tole 

 in Statu Panamensi. Mus. nostr.) 



Hah. Costa Eica, Cervantes {v. Frantzius^); Panama, Cordillera de Tole {Aj-ce^), Calo- 

 vevora and CordiUera del Chucu (Arce^). — Colombia i; Ecuadoe^. 



This, the oldest known member of the genus, was not referred to its proper position 

 until Mr. Sclater removed it from the Formicariidse (where it had been placed by its 

 describer Lafresnaye ^), and classed it among the Turdidae in the genus Catharus ^. 



Its range, though wide, is not so extensive as that of its congener C. dry as ; still it is 

 found from Ecuador to Costa Eica, specimens from which places, as well as from the 

 State of Panama, show no differences that we can trace. 



Though not so rare as most other Cafhari, it cannot be said to be a common species. 

 More specimens have been sent us from the mountainous parts of Panama than from 

 elsewhere. 



A Costa-Eican example was compared by Mr. Lawrence with Lafresnaye's type at 

 Boston, and certain differences described ^, notably the colour of the maxilla and the 

 yellowish tinge of the abdomen in the Costa-Eica bird. The variation in the colour of 

 the bill, we believe, is due entirely to age, and the tint of the abdomen to the fresh- 

 ness of the specimen, the ochre tint of this part in C. dryas being very evanescent. 

 The blackness of the back is a sexual difference in species of this section of the genus. 



The nearly uniform blackness of the whole of the upper plumage distinguishes 

 C. fuscater from all other Central-American Cathari. 



