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PLATYRHYNCHUS 
obviously follows the last sub-genus ; for although 
we are unacquainted with those aberrant species 
which would have made the transition still more 
gradual, the approximation of the two is quite 
sufficient to render the series perfect. Platyrhynchus 
cancromm, in short, might at first be mistaken for 
a small Conopophaga, so exactly do the two forms 
agree in their general aspect. We enter not here 
into the technical distinctions; but Platyrhynchus is 
immediately known by its short and widely dilated 
bill, the under mandible of which is very thin, and 
the base of both defended by strong thickset bristles, 
pointing obliquely forwards ; the feet are those 
of Conopophaga in miniature, the proportions be- 
ing the same, but very greatly diminished; the 
claws, moreover, are slender, sharp, and but slightly 
curved, so that if either of -these two groups might 
be supposed to frequent the ground, the probability 
would lie with Platyrhynchus. But here, again, we 
have not the slightest authenticated fact whereupon 
to ground a conjecture. The two species already 
known, we believe, are confined to Tropical Ame- 
rica, where they are very scarce. It is probable 
