Some observations concerning the American families of Oligomyodian Passeres

Vol. XIX, ^pp. 7-16 January_29, 1906

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

SOME OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING THE AMERICAN^^^_

'

FAMILIES OF OLIGOMYODIAN PASSERES.*

BY ROBERT RIDGWAY.

Bypermission^ofthe Secretary^ofthe SmithsonianInstitution.

This section of the Superfamily

Mesomyodif

comprises, ^ac- cording ^to Dr. _{Sclater, eight} family groups,

namely,

^the

"

Oxyrhamphidffi

"

(Oxyruneida^), Tyrannidse, Pipridae, Cotin- gida3, Phytotomidse, Philepittida?, Pittidae

and

_Xenicidse, all of which, except ^{the three last}

named,

are peculiar ^to

America,

the families of

Mesomyodi

beingdistinguished in Dr, Sclater's

keys^{'' as follows:}

OUGOMYOD^.J

a. Tarsus exaspidean.

a^. Toes_nearlyfree (as intheOscines).

(Billincurved,hooked ^{- - -} 1. Tyrannidse.

tBill straight,pointed ^{. - - 2.} Oxyrhamphidee.

b^

Toesmoreorlessunited ^{- - - 3.} Pipridae.

h. Tarsuspycnaspidean.

{Billelongated, compressed,not serrated 4. Cotingidse. I

\^Billshort, conical,serrated ^{- -} 5. Phytotomidae.

c. Tarsustaxaspidean ^6. Philepittidee.

d. Tarsusocreate.

fRectrices 12 7. Pittidse.

\ Rectrices 10 ^8. Xenicidae.

*OUgomyodxHuxley,Proc. Zool. Soc.Lond.,1867, 471,part (includesEurylaimidae).—

Oligomyadi Garrod,^{Proc. Zool.Soc.} Lond., 1876,517 (Eurylaimidae excluded).—ifaptoo- phonx ^Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.,1876, 517,518 (comprises Tyrannidse, Rupicolidse, and Pipridse)^; Forbes, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1880, 389-391 (adds Philepittidse and

"

Acanthisittidie" ==Xenicidse).—7VTOn"o*de« Stejneger, Standard Nat. Hist., iv, 1885, 460, 463.

tSeeBirds ofNorthandMiddle America,I,p.^16.

XCat.BirdsBrit.Mus.,xiv,1888,^2.

§TheCotingidseofDr. Sclaterincludes theRupicolidee.

3—Proc.Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol.XIX, ^1906. (7)

8 _Ridgivai/

— _American

Families _of

OUgomyodian

^Passeres.

Tracheophon^.*

A. Sternumwithonepair of posterior notches.

a. Tarsus endaspidean ^{. - . . i.} Dendrocolaptidae.f

b. Tarsustaxaspidean

---

^2. Formicariidae.

B. Sternumwithtwo_pairsof posterior notches.

a. Tarsusexaspidean ^{. - . . .j.} Conopophagidae.

b. Tarsustaxaspidean

---

^4. Pteroptochidse.

It is thus seen that the character ofthe tarsal envelope^is Dr.

Sclater's chief reliance in the discrimination of these groups.

This characteris

undouhtedly

^{one of} considerable importance, probably ^the

most important

^of

any

single external character;

but unfortunately

when

carefully tested ^it does not

work

out so beautifully as

would

appear

from

Dr. Sclater's presentation of the case. If it did, certain genera ^referred 1)3'

him

to the Tyrannida*

would

_belongto tlieCotingid^e, while a considerable numl)er ofgenera ^referred Ijy

him

to the latter

group

^{could not} be placed^atall, since theirtarsal envelope^isneitherexaspidean, pycnaspidean^, taxaspidean, nor ocreate. It is evident, there- fore, that a _really

"

workaljle

"

key must

be based

on

other characters in addition to that ofthe tarsal envelope.

An

effort to devise a satisfactory one has engaged ^a considerable

amount

of

my

time; but, while I believe that

some improvement

^has been

made,

^{I nnist confess that it does} not wholly satisfy

me, and

theresultsareherewith presented only^asaprovisional ^class- ification, with the observation ^that a _really natural

one

^is scarcely possible until the internal structure ^oiall the genera has

been

studied.

Provisional

Key

to the Famii,U':s of INIesomyodi.

a. Syrinxbroncho-tracheal (typically Passerine). {OUgomyodi.)

b. Syringeal muscles anachromyodous^{; tarsal} envelope exaspidean;

middletoecoherent with outertoe fornotmore_{(usuallyless)} than thewhole_{length of}^itsbasal phalanx.

c. Billcuneate,^itstipacuteand notatall uncinate.

1. Oxyruncidse.

cc. Billnotcuneate nor_acute,itstipmoreorlessuncinate.

2. Tyrannidse.

bb. Syringealmuscles catacromyodous^{; tarsal} envelope^notexaspidean, or else (Pipridae) themiddletoecoherent with outertoe formore than its basal phalanx ^or (genus Plpreoln of _Piprida;) coherent

with innertoe forwholeofitsbasal_plialanx.

c. Temporal^fosssenormally^Passerine.

d. Intrinsicmuscles normally catacromyodous^; tongue^not penicil- late.

*Cat.BirdsBrit.Mus.,xv,1890,^2.

j-TheDendrocolaptidseof Dr. Sclaterincludesthe verydistinctfamilyFurnariidse.

Ridgum/ — _American

Families _ofOligomyodian ^{Passeres. 9}

e. Rectrices 12; bill not subulate nor acute; tarsalenvelope not fused.

f. Heteromerous_(themainartery of thethigh femoral).

g. Tarsal envelope exaspidean (as in Oxyruncidse and _Ty- rannidre); second phalanx^of middle toe partly (some- times wholly) coherent with outer toe or else (genus Piprites)thefirstphalanx wholly coherent^{with innertoe.}

3. Pipridse.

(j(/. Tarsal envelope ^not exaspidean (usually pyenaspidean,

holaspidean ormodifiedtaxaspidean)^; second phalanx ofmiddletoewholly^freefromouter_{toe (orelse,}ingenus

Pliant Iclrcus, inner side of tarsus feathered), never wholly^coherentwithinnertoe. ^- 4. Cotingidas.

f. Homoeomerous_(themainartery ofthigh sciatic).

g. Billcompressed, withsmoothtomia; headwith a_conspic- uous,compressed,semicircular, bilateral crest; outermost primary abruptly attenuated ^{at tip;} inner secondaries abnormallybroad, truncated. ^{- - 5.} Rupicolidse.

gg. Bill conical (finch-like),with serrated tomia; headwith- outcrest; outerprimaryandinner secondariesnormal.

6. Phytotomidae.

ee. Rectrices _10; bill subulate, acute; ^tarsal envelope ^fused

(ocreate). ^7. Xenicidae.*

dd. Intrinsic nuiscles peculiarly expanded ^{at lower} insertion, not attachedto bronchial semirings,which are peculiarly modi- fied; tonguepenicillate. ^{- - - 8.} Philepittidse.

cc. Temporal ^fossteextendingacross occipital region ofskull, thetwo of opposite^sidesnearlymeetingonmedianline. 9. Pittidae.

aa. Syrinxtracli€'al. {TracJifopJiorne.)

b.

One

pair of tracheo-bronchialmuscles; tarsalenvelopeexaspidean^or taxaspidean^; metasternum 4-notched (exceptⁱⁿFormicariidte).

c. Metasternum4-notched; tensor_patagiibrevis quasi-picarian^;nares holorhinal.

d. Tarsal envelope exaspidean^; no intrinsic muscles; sterno-tra- chealis notattached to processus-^{vocal es}; palate schizogna- thous;mesorhinium normal; nostrilsnot conspicuously oper-

culate. 10. Conopophagidae.

(/(/. Tarsal envelope taxaspidean^{; intrinsic}muscles_present;sterno- trachealis attached to processus vocales^; palateaegithogna- thous (Oscine); mesorhinium _compressed and _arched, or expanded^{intoaflattened}oval shield; nostrilsconspicuously operculate. ^{- - - - - 11.} Pteroptochidae.

cc. Metasternum2-notched;tensor_patagiibrevisnormally^Passerine; nares schizorhinal. ^{- - - -} 12. Formicariidee.

bh.

Two

_pairsof tracheo-bronchial muscles; tarsal envelope endaspid- ean; metasternum^2-notched.

*See Pycraft,Ibis, Oct.,1905,603-621,pi.13,wherethepossibility ofnearerrelation- shiptoFurnariidteissuggested.

10

Ridgway — _American

Families _ofOligomi/odian Passeres.

c. Naresliolorhiiialormodifiedschizoiliinal; palate scliizognathous^; outertoe

much

shorterthanmiddletoe (notconspicuously longer than inner toe),the three anterior toes coherent for

much

less

thanfulllength of^theirbasal phalanges. ^13. Furnariidae.

cc. Naresholorhinal; palateaegithognathous^orsenii-desmognathous^; outertoenearly (sometimesquite) as long^as middle toe, both conspicuously longer than inner toe, the three anterior toes coherent(fused) for entirelength of^theirbasalphalanges.

14. Dendrocolaptidae.

It should be stated here that the

Tracheophonae have

^not yet been _critically studied

by me and

that the above

scheme

is

purely^{eclectic. It}

may

^{1)6 that}

^when

^{these aretaken in}

^hand

^a

similar

nonconformity

^{of the character ofthe tarsal} envelope ^to Dr. Sclater's keys

may

^{be discovered} as in the case of the Co- tingidse.

The same remarks

_applyin part ^to the

Oligomyodian

family^Pittidse.

So

few of the INIesomyodian forms

have

been studied as to their internal structure that I feel surea satisfactory increase of our

knowledge

^{in this} respect ^{will result} in

more

or less funda- mental modification ofour _presentviews as to their classifica- tion.

The anachromyodous

syrinx

and homoeomerous

thigh- artery ^of

many

genera^of Tyrannidte as well as the catacromyo-

dous

_syrinx

and

heteromerous thigh ^of

many

^formsof PipridjB

and

_{Cotingidse are,} for

example,

merely

assumed, and

^there

may

^be

many

exceptions ^{to these} supposedly diagnostic charac- tersof thegroups in question. Sofaras externalcharacters are concerned, certainly

some

_genera

commonly

^{referred to the}

Cotingidae can be _separated

from

the Tyrannidae only by ^their non-cxaspidean ^tarsal envelope,

and

at the

same

time certain genera

commonly

^{referred tothe}Tyrannidae ^also

have

thetarsal envelope non-exaspidean. In the

group

^called Cotingidae the characterof the tarsal envelope^is exceedingly variable,

and

the

homogeneity

^ofthe

group

^is

open

^tovery ^serious doubt.

Of

all external characters, ^to

which

_present recourse is necessarily limited, the character ^of the tarsal envelope ^is

by

^{far the}

most

nearly diagnostic, ^for the

Oligomyodi may

be sharply divided into

two major

groups, oneof which, comprising Oxyruncidae, Tyrannidae ^(as here defined)

and

_Pipridae,

having

^{the tarsus} exaspidean, ^the other, comprising Cotingidae, Rupicolidae,

and

Phytotomidae,

among ^American

forms, having ^{the tarsus}

Ridgway — _American

Families_ofOligomyodian ^{Passeres. 11} non-exaspidean. ^I

am

^led to attach great value to this character forthe reason that

no

matter

how

_greatthe variations in general

form

or specialization ^of other characters within the Tyrannidae

and

Pipridae the character of the ^tarsal envelope ^is practically

uniform

_throughout thesegroups.

Tyrannid^.

In ordertoget as clear

an

understandingas possible^oftheclass- ification of the Tyrannidse, ^{all the}genera^available*

have

been carefully

examined and compared. Many

days were devoted ^to

an attempt

^toconstructa

"

key "

toall thegeneraⁱⁿ

hand,

^but

it finally

became

evident that the undertaking

was much

too formidable forthe limited time

which

could be devoted to_it,

and

tli^refore it

became

_necessaryto restrict the

key

^{to those} genera belonging ^to

North and Middle

America, togetherwith a few

South American

_genera

which were

included for purpose^of comparison.

Even

with this eliminationof halfthe genera the task has

proven

exceedingly^difficult

and

the results far

from

satisfactory, although ^{it isbelieved that}

some improvement

^has been

made

over the

''

purely provisional

''

arrangement

ⁱⁿ Vol^.

XIV

of the ^''Catalogue ^of Birds in the British

Museum

,

''

in

which

the so-called families are without question purely

artificial

and

the allocation ofcertain genera obviously wrong.^f

The

_subject has called forth a very pertinent

and

interesting paper

by

^Dr.

von

Ihering,+ in

which

a partial reconstruction of Dr. Sclater's

"

subfamilies," based

on

_biological facts (chiefly the character of nests

and

_eggs), is

shown

to be necessary, the proposed changes being ^{as follows :}

(1)

The

Taeniopterinas ^restricted

by

eliminationof thegenera Sayornis, Sisopygisand, probably, Machetornis^.

(2)

The

Platyrhynchinse divided ^into

two

groups, Euscarth-

minge and

Serpophaginae.

*Theonlygenera not seenbymeareOchthomisSclater, CemtotriccusCabanis, Pseudo- triccusTaczanovvski and Berlepsch, LeptotriecusCabanisandHeine, Pseudomyobius Sal- vador!andFesta, PlanchesiaBonaparte, TxniotriccusBerlepsch, Chxomyias Berlepsch, andAcrochordopus BerlepschandHellraayr.

tAsan examplemaybe cited thereferenceofone_{species of}Sayornis(thanwhich there arefewifany morenatural genera)tothe"Tyranninse" andthe remainingspecies tothe"

Taeniopterinse,"almostat oppositeextremes of thearrangement^!

IThe_Biologyofthe Tyrannidse withrespect to theirsystematicarrangement. The Auk, XXI,July,1904,313-322.

12

Ridgway — _American

Families _of Oliyomyodian ^Passeres.

(3)

The

Elaininae restricted by elimination ^{of the} genera Rhi/nrhorych(S, Legatiis, Myiozetetes, Conopias, Pitangtis, Sirystes,

and

Myiodynastes, which, except ^{the first (referred to the} Eus- carthminae), ^sliould constitute a subfamily Pitanginse,

morpho-

logically intermediate ])etween the Elaininae

and

Tyranninae,

and

_{doubtfully separable}

from

thelatter.

In

my

opinion ^these suggested modifications in the arrange-

ment

oftheTyrannidaeare,inthe

main,

entirelyjustifiable; but I

am

convinced that they ^are but a _step

toward much more

radical changes

which

will be necessary ^before a satisfactory exposition ^of the

phylogeny

^{of the}

group

^{can be}

made;

and, while not prepared ^{to forecast these}with

any

degree^of certainty will express

my

^{beliefthat (1) the genera Agriornis}

^and

^Musci-

saxicola are each quite ^sui generis

and

are not

by any means

as closely related to Tfeiiio2}tera as the latteris to

Tyrannus

;

and

(2) ^thata considerable

number

of genera

do

not belong ^tothe Tyrannidae ^{at all} but

must

be transferred toother groups, since in

none

of

them

is the tarsal envelope exaspidean, ^the only^ex- ternalcharacterexcept^thatof slightsyndactylism (very^variable within the group)

which

can be said to l)e really diagnostic ^of the family.

These

_generaare (1) Lawrencia

which

has a_typic- ally Oscine tarsus

and

is without

doubt

a

member

of the Vire- onidae. (2) Sh'yv7atura, (3) Hapalorerciis,

and

₍₄₎ Hfdirura,

which have

taxaspidean ^tarsi; (5) Miisrigralla, (6) Sirystes,

(7)

''

Myiarrlms^'' validus

and

(8) Kdnvphotrigon,

which have

essentially holaspidean ^{tarsi; (1))}

''

Pogonotriccus^^ ^zeledoni, (10)

''

Myiojxigis" gaimardi, (11) Tyrannidns elatvs, (12)

"

Tyranmdns^^

(i.e. Microtricciis) semifiavus

and

hrunneicapilhs,

and

(13) Ornithion inerme,

which

haveessentially pycnaspidean

tarsi,

and

(14) Cvlirirora,

which

has non-exaspidean ^tarsi

and

only ^{ten rectrices.}

These

_genera,

which

I conclude

do

'not belong ^{to the}

Tyran-

nidae, unless

some new

^{definition of} the family be

made, may

be again ^{referred to in} order to

show more

clearly

why

they should be excluded

from

the

group under

consideration, as at presentsusceptible ofdefinition.

1. Lawrencia _Ridj^way.

(Type Empidonax ^luniuH Lawrence.)

This genus has ^atypicalOscine acutiplantar^tarsalenvelope. ^Itliasten obviousprimaries, ofwhichthe tenth (outermost) ^isabout halfaslong ^as

Ridgway — _American

_{Families of} Oligomyodian ^Passeres. 13 theninth; the basalphalanx^ofthemiddletoeiscompletely united^tothe outertoeand almost wholly adherent^tothemiddle_toe,thus agreeing,^as inthe wing-structure, with the Vireonidae. In fact,except^foritsdepressed and _{broadlytriangular}^"_flycatcher"-likebill,the birdis minutely ^similar to Vireo pusillus.

2. Stigmatura ^Sclater and Salvin.

(Type, Culidvora _badytoides D'Orbigny and Lafresnaye.) Thisbirdresembles in general form and _appearancethe Formicariine genus Forinicivora,and_{probablybelongs}tothesame_family.

3. Hapalocercus ^Cabanis.

(Type EiiscartJimus meloryphus Maximilian.)

Thisalsoispossibly Formicariine in^itsrelationships.

One

species has beenreferred toitwhichhasthe_typicalTyrannine exaspidean^tarsusand thereforecannot becongeneric. ThisisAledrurusflavlventris D'Orbigny and _Lafresnaye {Hapalocercusflaviventrh Cabanis, Sclater, and _others), type ^{of the}genusMyiosi/mpofesReichenbach _(Av.Syst. Nat., 1850,pi.65),

and therefore to be

known

as Mylosympotesflaviventris. I havenotseen H. _fulviceps {EuscartJmmsfulviceps Sclater) nor H.acutipennis Sclaterand

Salvin, and thereforecan not say whether they are congenericwith H.

melacoryphus or not; but theformerdoubtless_is,sincewhatissaid to be a very nearrelative, H._paulusBangs,^isa true Hapalocercus.

4. Habrura Cabanis and Heine.

(Type, SylviapectoraUs Vieillot.)

Thetarsal envelope^ofHabrura, while ^less typically taxaspidean than that of Hapalocercus^isby no meansexaspidean. The inner side of the planta^{tarsi consists}ofa_singlecontinuousseriesof well-defined quadrate scutella; ^Initonthe outer side ofthetarsustheacrotarsiumextends_quite tothe_posterioredgeexcept^fortheupperthird,wherethreeor four rather large and _very distinct longitudinal scutella occupy approximately ^the posterior^half. Thelastcharacterisseenin

many

typicalTyrannidfe^;but innone of the latteristhereeveranyindication ofthe well-defined and continuousseriesofscutellaalong the posterior half of the inner side of the tarsus. The nostrils in Habrura _{are quite} different from those of Haprilocercus, being roundishand nonoperculate while^{in the latter} they are more longitudinal,relatively larger,and overhung by ^{a rather} large

membraneous _operculum. The proper place ^for these two _genera ^is a questionwhich I

am

notal)le to decide,but Habrura

may

^{not beout of}

placeⁱⁿthe Cotingidte while,^assuggested above, Hapalocercus

may

belong tothe Formicariidfe.

5. Muscigralla D'Orbigny and Lefresnaye.

(Type, M. brevicatula D'Orbigny and Lafresnaye.)

The_appearanceofthisvery peculiar formdoes notinthe least suggest to

me

_any relationship with the Tyrannidse,while its holaspidean^tarsi certainlyexcludeitfromthat family. Possibly^itisa Formicarian.

14 Ridguxiy

—

American Families of Oligomyodian ^Passeres.

6. Sirystes Cabanis and Heine.

(Type, Muscicapa ^sibilator Vieillot.)

This genus has^thearrangement^ofthetarsalenvelopeprecisely as inthe Cotinginegenera Lipaiigus and _Casiornis,and ifthese belong ^{to the} Co- tingidsetherecanbenodoubtthat_Sirystesdoesalso.

7.

"Myiarchus"

^{validus Cabanis.}

(Type ^ofgenus Hylonax Ridgway.)

The sameremarks apply^{tothis as to}Sirystes,and IwouldplaceHylonax betweentheabove-named_generaandAttila.

8. "

Pogonotriccus"

zeledoni Lawrence.

(Type ^ofgenus Idiotriccus Ridgway.)

Inthiscuriousform thetarsus

may

^becalledultra-pycnaspidean,^fornot only ^the planta ^tarsi but also the lower portion of the acrotarsium ^is brokenup^into numeroussmallscutella,whichonthelowerportion of the tarsusare almost tuberculate. I have not seen the typespecies ofthe genus Pogonotriccus Cabanis and Heine _{Muscicapa eximia Temminck) and therefore can not say whether^{the latteris} Tyrannine^{or not.}

The

onlyspeciescommonlyreferred tothegenus^{that I} have beenabletoex- amine,^besides Idiotriccus zeledoni,^is P. plumbeiceps Lawrence,which von Berlepsch placesⁱⁿthegenus TyranniscusCabanisand_Heine,anallocation in whichIentirely agree.

9.

"Elainea"

gaimardi (D'Orbigny).

{Muscicapa gaimardi D'Orbigny,

=

Elaineaelegans Pelzeln, type^of genus Elainopsis Ridgway.)

This _bird,while superficially resembling very closely the Tyrannine genus Myiopagis Salvin and

Godman

hasessentially pycnaspideantarsi,

theacrotarsiumextending only^alittlemorethanhalfwayacross the outer side of the tarsus and _{the planta} tarsi coveredwith minute ^{scutella. I} thereforereferittotheCotingidse.

10. Tyrannulus ^Vieillot.

(Type, Sylvia elata Latham.)

Thisalsohasessentiallypycnaspideantarsi,andforthat reasonistrans- ferred from the Tyrannidse ^{to the} Cotingidse. ^T.semiflavus Sclater and Salvinwhile_agreeingⁱⁿpycnaspidean^tarsiisvery^differentotherwiseand

isthe_{type of}

my

genusMicrotriccus.

11. Ornithion Hartlaub.

(Type. ^0. inerme Hartlaub.)

This also has pycnaspidean^tarsiand is most _nearly related to Micro- triccus.

The

bill in both these genera,butespecially in Ornithion,^isde- cidedly Cotingine ⁱⁿform. Ornithionis,so far as known,monotypic,^the other_species

commonly

referred toitbeing^trueTyrannidae (having ^exas- pideantarsi)andconstitutethegenus Camptostoma ^Sclater.

Ridgivay

— _American

_Families

of Oligomyodian ^Passeres. 15

12. Culicivora Swainson.

(Type, Muscicapa ^stenura Temminck.)

Thetarsalenvelope^ofthisgenus appears on ^firstsight tobe exaspidean^; but, whiletheacrotarf^ium entirely crossesthe outersideofthetarsusand occupies the greater part of the innerside,thereisinterposedbetweenthe two edges a continuous^seriesof very^distinctlozenge-shaped^scutella. The

styleof coloration (conspicuously streaked above) ^is very ^different from that of any ^true Tyrannine form and recalls that ofsome Synallaxinee

(Furnariidae) orsomeofthe smaller Formicariidse.

PlPRID^.

The

_diagnosis of this

group

^as given l\v Dr. Sclater requires

no

modification, all possessing

an

_exaspidean tarsal envelope, like the Tyrannidse, ^l)ut differing

from

the latter in

having

^the second

phalanx

^ofthe

middle

toe at least half (usually wholly) united to the outer toe orelse (in the genus Pijmtesonly) hav- ing ^{the first}

phalanx

^ofthe

middle

toewholly coherent with the inner toe. Ntn^rthelessthe characters of the

group

necessitate theexclusionof one genus{Ptilochloris*

Swainson) and

^itstrans-

fer to the Cotingidse,

and

the addition (a substraction

from

Cotingidse) ^of another (genus

AuUa

Bonaparte).

COTINGID.E.

The

Cotingidae are characterized

by

^{Dr. Sclater (Cat. Birds}

Brit. Mus., xiv, 1888, 2) as

Oligomyodian

^l)irds with pycnas- pidean ^tarsi

— _no

_{other character for the}

group

^l)eing given.

Nevertheless, as a matterof _fact, aconsideraljle

number

of the genera belonging^tothe

group

^{as limited}

by

^{Dr. Sclater}

have

not

pycnaspidean

tarsi,

though

^{it is} equally true that

none

of

them have

the tarsal envelope exaspidean.

The _group

is

an

exceed- ingly

complex

one,

and

I

have

very strong doubts as to its

homogeneity. Rvpicola ^Icertainly

would

excludeas a _separate family, Rupicolidae;

and

I believe that

when more

^is

known

of their internal structure disintegration^ofthe

group

^willgo^farther.

So

far as external characters are concerned, ^I

am

able to diagnosethe Cotingidse, asa_separate

group from

^the Tyrannidae

and

_{Pipridse, only}

_by

their different (non-exaspidean) ^tarsal envelope^; butif the

group

^{were limitedto those forms}possess- ing

pycnaspidean

^{tarsi it}

would

_{be very}

much more

restricted

*_Iam_{using the}names_adoptedbyDr. Sclater,^it being unnecessaryto discuss here whether Laniimma Swainson andLanioceia Lesson should notdisplacePlilochlorisand AiiUarespectively.

16 Ridgwai/

— _American

_Families

ofOligomyodian ^Passeres.

than the Cotingitlae of Dr. Sclater.

Those

_generaofCotingidae possessing

non-pycnaspidean

^tarsi present ^three recognizably different types of scutellation ^of the planta tarsi;

two

of these types

approach most

nearly^tothe holaspidean

and

taxaspidean,

l)Ut for the _{third, in}

which

the

whole

_planta tarsi consists of

smooth

integument, ^I

am

unal)le to find a distinctive term.

Ifcertain genera (as Lipavgus, Casiornis, Lathria,

and

_Attiki)

which

_{by nearly} universal usage ^are placed ^{in the} Cotingidae really belong ^{to that} group, then

most

_certainly

do

certain genera usually referred ^to the Tjn-annidae ^also belong there, ^for thecharacter of the tarsal scutellation is essentially ^if not_pre- cisely similar.

These

_{genera, Sirgstes,} Bamphotrigon,*

and Hylonax

(type, Mginrchus ^valichisGosse) ^{I therefore}

add

to the Cotingidae, as well as others

which

_possess essentiall3" pycnas- pidean^{or atleast}non-exaspideantarsi,

namely,

^^

Pogonotriccus

''

zeledoni (type ^of genus Idiotriccus

Ridgway),

''

Elainea"

or

"

Mgiopagis

"

gaimardi (type ^of Elainopsis

Ridgway),

Tyrannv- lus _elatus,

"

Tyrannidus'' semijiavus (type ^of Microtriccus Ridg-

way), and

Ornithion

—

possibly ^also Habrura.

There

should also be

added

a supposedly Piprine genus, Ptilochloris (or Lanii- soma),

which

has neither the exaspidean ^tarsus nor _great syn- dactylism ^ofthe Pipridae.

At

the

same

time, the exclusion

from

Cotingidae

and

addition to Pipridae ^of the genus Aidia (or Laniocera) ^is

made

necessary, since ^its foot-structure

and

tarsal scutellation istypically Piprine.

*Equals Rhynchocydua.part,of Dr. Sclater. Ramphotri(/onGrfiy, Cat.Gen.and_Subgen.

Birds,1855, 146,ex^"Pr.B[onapartej 1854." (Type,Plalyrhynchusnificauda Spix.)