CINCLIDiE. 43 



Juv. plumis omnibus supra et subtus maeulis distinctis fulvis nigro circumcmotis uotatis. (Descr. exempl. ex 

 Costa Eioa. Mus. nostr.) 



Hob. Costa Eica, Tucurriqui (Arce^), La Palma^ and San Jose^ (v. Frantzius), Navarro 

 {J. Cooper 3), Dota Mountains and Eancho Eedondo (Carmiol ^), Volcan de Irazu 

 {Bogers). 



Myiadectes melanops was one of our collector Arce's discoveries in Costa Eica soon 

 after he reached that country from Guatemala in 1863. After sending us a small 

 collection from the shores of the Gulf of Nicoya, he proceeded into the interior, and, 

 crossing the mountains, descended into the valley of the Eeventazon, and explored the 

 neighbourhood of Tucurriqui and Turrialba with such success that a score of novelties 

 reached us in the next collection he sent us. M. melanops was one of the most inter- 

 esting amongst them ; and of it he obtained several examples. Since then many 

 specimens have been obtained by collectors, mostly in the forests of the Volcan de Irazu 

 and in the Dota Mountains. Dr. v. Frantzius gives an account of the species, chiefly 

 derived from its habits in confinement ^ ; but he does not seem to have had a personal 

 knowledge of it in its native haunts, as he speaks of its living in the tops of the highest 

 trees — a place of abode so different from that of all its congeners that we cannot but 

 think some other species must have been mistaken for it. A living specimen kept by 

 Dr. V. Frantzius was fed exclusively on the fruit oi Phytolacca decam,dra, to be obtained 

 throughout the year in the neighbourhood of San Jose. The bird would not refuse 

 other juicy fruits, but never touched insects of any kind. From Dr. v. Frantzius's 

 description of the gait and song of his captive bird it would seem that M. melanops in 

 these respects quite resembles its congeners. 



Fam. CINCLID-ffil. 



CINCLUS. 



Cinclus, Bechstein, Naturg. Deutschl. iii. p. 808 (1807). 



America possesses four species of this genus, belonging to two very distinct groups, 

 the northern birds being closely allied to the Northern-Asiatic Cinclus pallasi, the 

 southern species having characters of coloration peculiarly their own. Of the northern 

 birds Cinclus meccicanus has a wide range throughout the Eocky Mountains, but is 

 confined to that chain, whence it passes into Mexico and Guatemala. C. ardesiacus, of 

 the high mountains of Costa Eica and Panama, is a local race of the northern bird. 

 Thus in Central America we find no trace of near relationship with the two Andean 

 species, one of which, however, is found as near our limits as the Quindiu Mountains 

 in Colombia. 



In the Old World Cinclus is distributed pretty generally throughout the mountainous 



6* 



