Characters of a new American family of passerine birds

CHARACTEES OF A NEW ^AMERICAN FAMILY OF PASSERINE BIRDS.

By Robert Ridgwat,

Curator of^theDepartmentof Birds.

In ''TheAuk",' Mr. F. A. Lucas, curator of the department of com- parative

anatomy

iu the National

Museum,

hascalled attentiontothe notable characters x^resentedin the skullofthegenusProcnias,llliger, at the

same

timeremarking' that

my

x^roposed establishment of a

new

familyfor its reception "is certainlywarranted

by

thecranial charac- ters of thegenus."

Although

I

had

already

drawn up

a diagnosisof the external characters of thefamily,circumstances

have

until

now

pre- vented itsi)ublication.

The

diagnosisisherewith presented, the osteo- logical

and

pterylographicalcharacters being givenin a separatepaper

by

Mr. Lucas.-

Famiiy

PROCNIATID^.

SWALLOW-TANAGEKS.

Procniaiina' [Tanagrida''} Sclater, Cat. Am. Birds, p.54, 1863. (Subfamily.)

Externalcharacters.

—

Bill triangular, depressed, extremelybroad at basebut compressed attip, the lateral outline changing from convex basally to concave terminally: gape very long, extending to beneath anteriorangle of eye; gonysless thanhalf as long ascommissure

and much

lessthan breadthofbillatbase; culmensharplyridged,strongly recurved terminally^; tipof maxillaslightlynotched^; nostrilsexposed, veiy small, circular, surrounded

by

a slightlyraised rim. Tarsi short (about as longascommissure,shorterthan middletoewithclaw), scutel- late anteriorly, caligate posteriorly, the hinder margin contracted into asharpedge; lateralclaws not reachingbaseofmiddleclaw^; hindclaw

'much

stouterthanmiddleclaw.

Wings

long* (more thanfivetimes as

•April, 1895,p. 186.

^Mr. Lucas'paper (Proc.U.S.Nat.Mus.,XVIII,1895, p.451)follows immediately afterthepresentone.

ProceediiiKs of theUnitedStatesNationalMuseum,Vol.XVIII

—

Xo.1076.

449

Proc. N.

M.

⁹⁵ 29

450

^{^"'^^}

FAMILY OF PASSERINE BIRDS— BIDGW

AY. ^vol.xvm.

long as tarsus)^; tip of longest primary exceeding that of ninth

by

a little

more

than length of tarsus

and

half of middle toe; second

and

third quills longest, first

and

fourth butlittle shorter. Tail

more

than half as long as wing, nearlyeven or veryslightly emarginated.

Plumage

^{blended,glossy; remiges}

and

rectricesveryfirm,almostrigid.

Colormainlyblue (greenishin female), thesides

and

flanksbarred with black. Nestin holes; eggs purewhite.

Eange.

—

:S"eotropicalregion (Brazilian

and Amazonian

provinces,and northeastern portion of Colombianprovince).