Page:Birds of North and Middle America partV Ridgway.djvu/39

g. Tail one and a half times as long as wing; not crested; spotted above in both sexes

Nisius (extralimital).^[1]

gg. Tail much less than one and a half times as long as wing; conspicuously crested; not spotted above (adult male wholly dusky, female barred with blackish and rusty)

Lochites (extralimital).^[2]

ee. Tail little if any longer (usually much shorter) than wing.

f. Toes relatively shorter, the middle toe (without claw) not longer than distance from nostril to tip of maxilla, or else tail not more than two-thirds as long as wing, and wings and tail conspicuously spotted.

g. Tail much less than two-thirds as long as wing, truncated.

Pygiptila (extralimital).^[3]

gg. Tail at least two-thirds as long as wing, much rounded or graduated.

h. Tail not more, than two-thirds as long as wing; bill relatively smaller, the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla less than length of middle toe without claw; wings, tail, and upper tail-coverts conspicuously spotted with white (adult male) or buffy (female)

Megastictus (extralimital).^[4]

hh. Tail more than two-thirds as long as wing; bill relatively larger, the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla greater than length of middle toe without claw; wings, tail, and upper tail-coverts with minute white or buffy spots or none at all.

i. Plumage without spots, streaks or bars (plain brownish or olive above, yellowish olive below, the wings and tail rufescent; tail much shorter than wing

Thamnistes' (p. 21).

ii. Plumage more or less spotted or streaked (adult male black with white dots on wing-coverts and small white tip to lateral rectrices, female slate color or olive, streaked with whitish; tail nearly as long as wing)

Abalius (p. 24).

ff. Toes relatively longer, the middle toe (without claw) longer than distance from nostril to tip of maxilla; (tail more than two-thirds as long as wing).

g. Bill relatively much larger and stronger (exposed culmen equal to or longer than middle toe with claw), more strongly uncinate; crest more conspicuously developed.

h. Bill more compressed, its width at frontal antiæ much less than its depth at same point, and equal to less than half the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla; larger (total length about 200 mm.); under parts white, the adult male black, the female rufous-brown, above with more or less of white on wings.

Taraba (p. 27).

hh. Bill less compressed, its width at frontal antiæ nearly if not quite equal to its depth at same point and equal to at least half the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla; smaller (total length not more than 170 mm.); under parts not white (except, sometimes, in part).

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1. Nisius Reichenbach, Av. Syst. Nat., 1850, pl. 71. Type, Thamnophilus leachii Such. (Southeastern Brazil and northern Argentina; monotypic?)
2. Lochites Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., ii, Aug., 1859, 18. Type, Lanius severus Lichtenstein. (Southeastern Brazil; monotypic?)
3. Pygiptila Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1858, 220. Type, Thamnophilus maculipennis Sclater. (Upper Amazons; monotypic.) — Pygoptila (emendation) Cabanis and Heine, Mus. Hein., ii, 1859, 15.
4. Megastictus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxii, Apr. 17, 1909, 69. Type, Myrmeciza margaritata Sclater. (Upper Amazons; monotypic.)