BLACK-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. 59 
while the inner portions of all these white edged 
feathers are black. The tail is long ; each of the 
lateral feathers being graduated, while the two 
middle ones are from two inches and a half to six 
inches longer than the others, according to their 
growth ; for these beautiful ornaments are only pos- 
sessed by the males during the season of courtship. 
The bill and feet are black. 
It appears that the females of this genus are of 
the same colour as the nudes, but without any ex- 
cessive elongation of the two middle tail-feathers. 
We suspect the singular white line along the middle 
of the wing, possessed both by this and other species, 
is only seen in the perfect maturity of the bird ; for 
one of the specimens of M. rujiventer appeared to 
have a faint indication of it, while the other had 
none; it must not therefore be relied upon as a 
specific distinction. 
It may be as well to notice, in this place, that the 
Tckitrec of Le Vaillant (our M.perspicillata J differs 
from this, in having a large thick naked membrane 
round the eye, moveable, and of a rich blue colour ; 
the under tail-covers are dusky white, and the whole 
of the wings rufous, except the tips of the greater 
quills. 
Total length, excluding the two middle tail-fea- 
thers, which are always of variable lengths, 8 inches ; 
bill, from the gape, T % ; from the front, almost T 5 5 ; 
wings, 3/5 ; tail beyond (the lateral feathers only), 
2^ ; ditto, from the base, 4 ; tarsus, 
