PLATYRHYNCHUS cancromus. fem.

_Short-tailed Flatbill._

GENERIC CHARACTER.

_Platyrhinchos_, Temminck. _Sw. Zool. Ill._ (div. I.) Vol. i. pl. 13.

_Rostrum tenue, breve, valde depressum, frontis lat.i.tudinem superans, mandibulae superioris abrupte aduncae, et ad apicem emarginatae, marginibus dilatatis, et inferioris margines superplicantibus. Nares medii, basi membrana pennis minutis instructa obtecta, apertura parva, rotunda, terminali, tantum non nuda. Rictus ampli, ad mandibulae superioris basin vibrissis rigidis armati. Pedes sedentes, graciles, digitis lateralibus imparibus, digito exteriore ad medii digiti articulum primum annexo, halluce valido._

Bill thin, short, very much depressed, broader than the front of the head; the upper mandible abruptly hooked and notched at the tip; the margins dilated, and folding over those of the under mandible; nostrils central, the base covered with a membrane having minute feathers, the aperture small, round, terminal, and nearly naked; mouth large, armed above with stiff bristles; feet sitting, slender; lateral toes unequal, exterior united to the middle as far as the first joint; hinder claw strongest.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_P. (fem.) supra olivaceo-fuscus, infra pallide fulvus; jugulo albo; genis pennisque spuriis nigris; striga ante et pone oculum, maculoque auriculari albentibus._

(Female) above olive-brown; beneath pale fulvous; throat white; ears and spurious quills black; stripe before and behind the eye, and spot on the ears whitish.

Platyrhinchos cancromus. (male?) _Temminck_ and _Laugier_. _Pl. Col._ _Pl._ 12. _f._ 2.

The remarkable breadth of the bill, and the extreme shortness of the tail, in this bird, render it a very singular little creature. Though a native of Brazil, I never met with it during my travels in that country; and the only specimen I have yet seen belongs to Mr. Leadbeater. The figure of _P.

cancromus_ of Professor Temminck, differing only from this bird in having a yellow crest, leads me to believe they are s.e.xes of the same species; this being the female bird. The tail in the male appears to be somewhat longer, but this may be an error of delineation, and the description has not yet been published.

The figure is of the natural size, and below is an outline of the bill and nostrils; these latter are depressed, and the base covered with thickset feathers; the aperture is naked, round, and piercing the membrane in a lateral direction, midway between the ridge and margin of the bill, and at the end of the nasal membrane. The plumage above fulvous brown: darker, and tinged with reddish on the margin of the quills and tips of the wing covers: spurious quills and stripe beneath the eyes black: the upper part of the ears are also black, the lower half whitish yellow; chin and throat whitish; breast and body beneath pale fulvous brown; tail remarkably short, and not projecting beyond the wings; upper mandible black, lower white.

Since the publication of the remarks on this genus at Plate 14, a further consideration of the subject induces me to adopt the opinion of Professor Temminck, in placing the _Todus Platyrhynchos_, Gm., and its allies, under a distinct genus; or, in other words, of detaching from this group the second division annexed to my former definition of this genus. Still, however, the close affinities I have there pointed out, render the generic situation of several of these birds very doubtful; because the transition from one to the other is so gradual that even the most accurate set of generic characters, founded on the bill, will not clearly define the limits between the genera _Platyrhynchus_ and _Muscipeta_. Their anatomy might do so, but on this subject we are quite ignorant.

I can gather nothing from the characters which Dr. Horsfield has given in the Linnaean Transactions of his new genus _Eurylaimos_; which does not perfectly agree with those of _Platyrhynchus_. It appears to have precisely the same formation of bill, nostrils, legs, &c. as _P. cancromus_, but in a higher state of development; thus strengthening the opinion I have above expressed.

Pl. 116

[Ill.u.s.tration]

MUSCIPETA barbata,

_Whiskered Flycatcher._

GENERIC CHARACTER.

_Rostrum latum, valde depressum, lateribus aliquando dilatatis, culmine prominente, mandibulae superioris apice adunco, plerumque emarginato, marginibus mandibulae planae inferioris margines superplicantibus. Nares basales, membrana obtectae, apertura terminali, ovata, vibrissis longis armata._

_Ob. Pedes mediocres vel breves, digito exteriore ad medii articulum secundum annexo, interiore et medio ad basin mod annexis._

Bill broad, much depressed, the sides sometimes dilated, ridge prominent; tip of the upper mandible hooked, and mostly notched, the margins folding over those of the under mandible, which is flat; nostrils at the base of the bill covered by a membrane; the aperture terminal, oval, and defended by long stiff bristles.

Ob. Feet moderate or short; the external toe united to the middle as far as the second joint, the inner and middle toes united only at their base.

Generic Types (_Tem._) Todus plumbeus, Muscicapa borbonica, Flabellifera, &c.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_M. Supra olivacea, subtus fulva, aurea crista (maribus) insignis; jugulo albido; uropygio pallide flavo; cauda nigra._

Above olivaceous, beneath fulvous, (male,) with a golden yellow crest; throat whitish; rump pale yellow; tail black.

Muscicapa barbata. _Gmelin._ i. 933. _Lath. In. Orn._ 2, _p._ 488. _n._ 86. _mas._

Whiskered Flycatcher (male). _Lath. Syn._ 364.

I once shot a pair of these little birds in the forest of Pitanga, about twenty leagues west of Bahia: this is the only instance which I know of their having been found in Brazil. The same bird appears, however, more frequent in Cayenne, according to the older ornithologists. But whether the bird described by them as the female be really such, admits of great doubt, because Dr. Latham (probably on the authority of Buffon) describes it as having a smaller bill, and a few short hairs, instead of long bristles, at the base; the crown with a spot of yellow, a longer tail, &c. None of these are, in general, s.e.xual distinctions, and, moreover, are at complete variance with the female here figured. The s.e.xes I ascertained by dissection. It follows, therefore, that either the bird found in Cayenne is a distinct species, or that the bird described as its female is not such in reality. This latter supposition I apprehend is nearest the truth.

The figures are of the natural size, the upper representing the female, and the lower the male bird: the head of the former is entirely dest.i.tute of the crest which distinguishes the latter; in every other respect the resemblance is uniform. This crest, when not erected, is concealed, being nearly covered by the olive feathers around it. When erected, however, it discloses a stripe down the middle of the head of deep straw-coloured feathers, some of which are tipped with olive. The upper mandible of the bill is triangular, and much hooked, notched, and depressed; the colour is black, the perforations of the nostrils are rather large, and would be naked, were they not partially covered by numerous stiff bristles, which spring from the base of the bill and angle of the mouth; between the eye and bill a pale stripe. The plumage above is dull olive green, with a broad band of very pale yellow across the rump. Wings and their covers brown; tail and upper covers blackish; beneath, the plumage is yellowish, the chin almost white, and the breast and vent tinged with ferruginous; the two first quill feathers are progressively shorter than the third and fourth, which are equal, and longer than the others. Legs and claws short, slender, and pale.

This bird would obviously belong to the second division which I had proposed in my former remarks on _Platyrhynchus_, and it is in every respect allied to _P. Ceylonensis_, _Pl._ 13. My reasons for disturbing this previous arrangement have been already given; and, until a complete investigation is made of the immense genus of Flycatchers, I concur with M.

Temminck in the distribution which he has proposed; viz. the arrangement of the European species under the old genus of _Muscicapa_, and of the exotic under that of _Muscipeta_; the characters of which, however, are very imperfect: they are, indeed, at variance with this bird, which has the outer and middle toe connected only to the _first_ joint, and the inner toe cleft to the base.

Pl. 117

[Ill.u.s.tration]

NECTARINIA cyanocephala,

_Blue-headed Nectarinia._

GENERIC CHARACTER.

Nectarinia. _Illiger._ _Cuvier._ Caereba _Brisson_. _Temminck._ Certhia.

Motacilla _Linn._

_Rostrum longius, gracile, acutum, sub-arcuatum, basi cra.s.sa, lata, trigona, lateribus compressis, mandibula superiore apicem juxta leviter emarginata. Nares basales, ovatae, breves, membrana nuda, in medio ovate fissa tectae. Lingua longa, bifida, apice fibroso, haud extensibilis.