Description of an adult female Euphonia supposed to be Euphonia gnatho (Cabanis)

GeneralNotes.

225

columbiana, according ^to Rhoads, Reprintof Guthrie's Geography, 1894, Appendix, p. 36.

As

this leaves the Picus_torquatus ofWilson without a name,^it

may

^becalled

Asyndesmus

^lewisi. /.

H.

_Riley.

DESCRIPTION OF AN ADULT FEMALE EUPHONIA SUPPOSED TO BE EUPHONIA GNATHO (CABANIS).*

The

statusofEuphoniagnat.ho(Cabanis)t has neverbeensatisfactorily determined. Itisadmitted intothe Biologia ^Centrali-Americana _(Aves,i, 1883,262) aspossibly adistinct speciesbutthedoubtisexpressedwhether

itisreally distinctfrom E. hirundinacea Bonaparte,onthe strength ofan adultmale from Tempate, ontheGulf_{of Nicoya,}westernCostaRica. Itis

likewiseadmitted intothe Catalogue of Birdsⁱⁿthe British

Museum

_(xi,

1886, 76),but withreservationsas toitsvalidity.

The

bird described

by

^Cabanis

was an

adult male, the exact locality

whence

it

came

_being

unknown

orat leastnotstated. Itwas compared with E. chalybea(Mikan)of southeastern_Brazil,from

which

itwassaid to differ inhavingthe yellow^colorofthe underparts,etc.,

more

saturated.

The

male from Tempate, western^CostaRica,described

by

^Salvin

and Godman,

issaid toagree"inevery respect exceptⁱⁿthe greaterdevelopment^ofthe

bill" withthe adultmaleof E. hirundinacea.

On March

8,1905,whileawaiting the^arrivalofour

boatman

totake us backtocamp, Mr.^JoseC.Zeledon

and

Iputⁱⁿashorttimeshooting birds from awild_figtreeonthe

bank

oftheRio

Grande

de_Tarcoles,a shortdis tanceabovethe

mouth

of that stream.

Among

^{thebirdssecured onthat}

occasion isanadult female Euphonia

which

is apparentlyreferable toE.

gnatho; ^{at least it}cannot bereferred to

any

^other

known

_species.

The

only one

which

itat allcloselyresemblesisE. hirundinacea,butthatit is perfectly distinct therecannot be the_slightestdoubt, the ^billbeingvery

much

_deeper,lesscompressedterminally,

and

with the

culmen and

_gonys

much more

strongly convex,

and

the coloration distinctly different. It

may

^{bedescribedasfollows:}

Euphonia

gnatho (Cabanis) (?)

Adult_female.

Above

darkolive-green(becomingbrighteron

rump ^and

uppertail-coverts) distinctlyglossed with metallic bluish green; beneath brightyellowshaded laterally 'with pale olive-green,the

median

_portion ofthe throat pale gray, tinged witholive-yellow,thelower

abdomen

_white,

inabrupt^contrastwith the bright olive-yellow of flanks

and

_pureyellow ofupper

abdomen and median

portion of breast,

and

undertail-coverts;

*Bypermission^ofthe_SecretaryoftheSmithsonianInstitution.

tPhonasca gnathoCabanis,Journ.fur Orn.,viii,Sept.,1860(publishedJan.,1861),335 (CostaRica;^coll.Berlin Mus.). Euphoniagnatho Lawrence,Ann.Lye.N.H.

New

York, ix, 1868,98;Frantzius, Journ.^fur.Orn,1869,297; (?)Salvinand Godman,^Biol.Centr.Am., Aves,i,1883,262(Tempate, Gulf^ofNicoya, CostaRica)^:(?)Sclater Cat.BirdsBrit.Mus., xi., 1886,76 (Tempate and Turrialba, Costa _Rica); Zeledon, Anal. Mus. Nac. Costa Rica,i,1887,IQ9. Euphonia hirundinacea(not ofBonaparte) Ridgway, ^{Bull. U.S.Nat.}

Mus., No.50,pt.ii,1902, 25,part(insynonomy).

226

General Notes.

axillars pale olive-yellow;

under

wing-coverts white, tinged with _pale olive-yellow; under primary-coverts deep

mouse

gray; .inner webs of remiges^ratherbroadlyedgedwith palebrownish gray; maxillabrownish black; mandible bluish gray (inlife)

becoming dusky

at tip; ^iris dark

brown;

legs

and

feet dark bluishgray (in life); length (skin), 95

mm.;

wing, 07; ^tail,33.5; exposed culmen,9; depth ^{ofbill at frontal} antise, 6, itswidth at

same

point, 7; tarsus, 14; middle _toe, 10. (No. 198,537,^coll.

U.S.National

Museum

_; near _Pigres,Costa Rica,

March

8, 1905

; JoseC.

Zeledon.) RobertRidgway.