sr grnglten at te sae en een eo = 
=P mee: et oe ee <= = 
A eet cee et et, 



488 Mr. J. H. Gurney’s Notes on 
does not entirely accord with the view expressed by Mr. 
Sharpe as to the mode in which the change from the young 
to the adult dress is accomplished, though at the same time 
I think it does not preclude the possibility of some portion 
of that change being effected in the manner suggested by 
Mr. Sharpe :—‘‘ August 22, 1876. The Uruditinga moulted 
from the immature brown plumage into a slaty ash-coloured 
dress in 1875. The bird has now nearly finished moulting, and 
the feathers of the body are very nearly black; the keeper, 
as well as myself, considers that the change in colour is due 
to change of feathers.” From a conversation with the keeper 
who has charge of this specimen, I learned that the newly 
acquired feathers were in the first instance covered with a 
dusty powder, which gave them an ashy slate-coloured hue 
for a time, but which subsequently disappeared. 
The Urubitinga found in Cuba was erected into a distinct 
species by Cabanis, who assigned to it the specific name of 
gundlachi (vide Journ. fir Orn. 1854, p. 80) ; this, however, 
is treated by Mr. Sharpe as a synonym of U. anthracina ; 
whether correctly or not I cannot say, as I have never seen a 
Urubitinga from Cuba. U. gundlachi is said by its describer 
to be of a dark chocolate-brown colour; and if this hue be 
permanent, and not merely the remains of immaturity, it no 
doubt indicates a distinct species; but another character 
given, that of two more or less distinct white bands at the 
base of the tail and above the central band, is not, I think, 
to be relied on; adult specimens of U. anthracina vary much | 
in this respect, some having two basal bands, some but one, 
and others none. The Norwich Museum possesses specimens 
with two such bands from New Granada, Guatemala, and 
Southern Mexico; and Messrs. Salvin and Godman have a 
similar example from Veragua. The bird from St. Vincent, 
now living in the Zoological Gardens, has but one such band, 
in which it agrees with a Guatemalan specimen in the col- 
lection of Messrs. Salvin and Godman; but the same collec- 
tion contains two other Guatemalan skins, in which the basal 
band is altogether absent. All these are either nearly or fully 
adult individuals. 

