LIBRARY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

590.5

CENTRAL CIRCULATION BOOKSTACKS

The person charging this material is re-
sponsible for its renewal or its return to
the library from which it was borrowed
on or before the Latest Date stamped
below. You may be charged a minimum
fee of $75.00 for each lost book.

Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books or* reasons
for disciplinary action and may result In dismissal from
the University.

TO RENEW CALL TELEPHONE CENTER, 339.8400
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

BUILDING USE ONLY

MAR 1 6 1997

MAR 1 6 1997
Ff B 2 5 m

e 2000

When renewing by phone, write new due date below
previous due date. L162

I

'7'

AFIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOUNDED BY MARSHALL FIELD, 1893

PUBLICATION 257
ZOOLOGICAL SERIES VOL. XVII, No. 1

THE BIRDS OF THE NEOTROPICAL
GENUS DECONYCHURA

BY

JOHN T. ZIMMER

ASSISTANT CURATOR OF BIRDS

WILFRED H. OSGOOD

CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY
EDITOR

CHICAGO, U. S. A.
MAY 18, 1929

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

FOUNDED BY MARSHALL FIELD, 1893

PUBLICATION 257
ZOOLOGICAL SERIES VOL. XVII, No. 1

BY
JOHN T. ZIMMER

ASSISTANT CURATOR OF BIRDS

WILFRED H. OSGOOD

CURATOR, DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY
EDITOR

CHICAGO, U. S. A.
MAY 18, 1929

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY FIELD MUSEUM PRESS

THE BIRDS OF THE NEOTROPICAL GENUS
DECONYCHURA

BY JOHN T. ZIMMER

While studying the birds obtained by the Captain Marshall
Field Peruvian Expedition of 1922-23 I have been interested to find
that practically all records of Deconychura longicauda refer to males
or to specimens of unknown sex. It also appears that, until recently,
only two specimens of D. stictolaema have been recorded, one female
(the type) and one not sexed. One example of each species was
secured in 1923 at Puerto Bermudez, Peru, and, curiously enough,
that of longicauda was a male and that of stictolaema, a female.
The possible interrelationship of these two forms therefore seemed
worthy of investigation.

Thanks to the kindness of Mr. W. E. C. Todd of Carnegie
Museum, Pittsburgh, and Dr. Frank M. Chapman of the American
Museum of Natural History, New York, I have been able to borrow
sufficient material to settle the point at issue. As might have been
expected, the two species prove to be quite distinct, but, in the
course of the investigation, other unsuspected relationships within
the genus have become evident and three new races appear to be
worthy of recognition. Since all the forms of the genus came under
observation, it seems well to present a review of all the species
and subspecies.

I am greatly indebted to Mr. Todd and Dr. Chapman for the
loan of material used in this study, and further to Mr. Todd for
permission to describe two new forms which were found only in the
series belonging to Carnegie Museum.

Genus DECONYCHURA Cherrie.

Deconychura CHERRIE, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 14, p. 338, 1891 type Decony-
chura typica CHERRIE.

Dendrocinclopa CHUBB, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., 40, p. 107, 1920 type Dendro-
cincla longicauda guianensis CHUBB.

Examination of the various forms of this genus induces the
conclusion that all of them can be grouped under two specific heads,
longicauda and stictolaema. These two species are distinguishable

3

4 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

chiefly by the rufous rump and smaller size of stictolaema. Their
general coloration is not greatly dissimilar, especially in certain
western forms, although longicauda tends to be more heavily marked
on the under surface. Both have a variable amount of rufescence
on the upper scapular border of the wing (though it is oftener lacking
in stictolaema), but the color of the rump appears to be quite constant
and diagnostic.

Both species are found together over a wide area in the Ama-
zonian lowlands, but longicauda passes farther northward into
Colombia and Central America while stictolaema appears not to go
beyond Ecuador, and there are some other differences at other
extremities of their ranges. The distributions are not, therefore,
completely parallel although racial distinctions occur in both groups
at not far distant points.

The larger and more widely distributed species will be taken
up first.

Deconychura longicauda longicauda (Pelzeln).

Dendrocincla longicauda PELZELN, Orn. Bras., 1, pp. 42, 60, 1868 part,
Marabitanas and Barra do Rio Negro (= Manaos); SCLATER AND SALVIN,
P. Z. S. Lond., 1868, p. 54 Amazonia (part); idem, Norn. Av. Neot., p.
67, 1873 (ex Pelzeln, part); SALVIN, Ibis, 1885, p. 421 Bartica Grove,
MerumS Mts., British Guiana; RIDGWAY, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 10, p.
496, "1887"= Jan., 1888 (ex Pelzeln, part); SCLATER, Cat. B. Brit. Mus.,
15, p. 165, 1890 part, Barra do Rio Negro, Surinam, Merume 1 Mts. and
Bartica Grove, British Guiana; OBERHOLSER, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil.,
56, p. 451, 1904 (ex Pelzeln, part).

Dendrocincla longicauda guianensis CHUBB, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., 39, p. 61,
1919 Bartica Grove, Brit. Guiana.

Deconychura longicauda HELLMAYR, Nov. Zool., 14, p. 368, 1907 part,
Bartica Grove, Merum6 Mts., Brit. Guiana, and Marabitanas, Barra do
Rio Negro, Brazil; idem, op. cit., 17, p. 334, 1910 part, Barra and Manaos;
RIDGWAY, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50, pt. 4, p. 284, 1911 part, Brit.
Guiana to Rio Negro; BEEBE, Trop. Wild Life, 1, p. 133, 1917 Bartica
Grove; HELLMAYR, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 13, pt. 4,
p. 363, 1925 part, Dutch and British Guiana, and northern Brazil
(Manaos and Marabitanas; type loc. desig. Manaos).

Dendrocinclopa longicauda guianensis CHUBB, Birds. Brit. Guiana, 2, p. 120,
1921 Bartica Grove and Merume 1 Mts., Brit. Guiana.

Diagnosis. Darker and deeper in coloration than pallida from
south of the Amazon; pale streaking of anterior under parts deeper
buff, more sharply defined. Similarly deeper colored than the western

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 5

races (Peril to Costa Rica), though to a lesser degree, with the
pectoral spots distinctly more linear and less sagittate or guttate.

Habitat. The Guianas and Brazil north of the Amazon.

Description. Top of the head dark Olive Brown 1 to blackish
Clove Brown, with narrow buffy shaft streaks; back about Bister,
sometimes approaching Snuff Brown; upper tail coverts and extreme
lower margin of rump light Bay; chin and throat light Tawny-Olive
to Cinnamon-Buff, regularly though lightly margined with brown,
the margins becoming broader on the lower portion of the throat;
breast and sides deep Saccardo's Umber, with central shaft stripes
of Tawny-Olive or Cinnamon-Buff; lores dusky whitish; auriculars
Sepia with Cinnamon-Buff shaft lines; streaks of the breast continued
down the middle of the belly as narrower hair lines, sometimes
broadened a little toward the tips of the feathers to form indistinct
spots; flanks Saccardo's Umber, unstreaked; under tail-coverts like
the flanks but with a rufescent tinge at the tips of the longest feathers
and with occasional strong traces of central spots. Rectrices Bay, paler
beneath with under side of shafts still lighter. Remiges light Chest-
nut with an olivaceous wash along the outer margin; five outer
primaries with dull blackish tips; remainder of primaries and second-
aries with an obscure dusky area along the shaft near the tip ; scapular
border of lesser upper wing-coverts suffused with Chestnut to a
varying degree; rest of upper wing-coverts Brussels Brown with a
chestnut tinge on the inner webs; under wing-coverts deep tawny
Ochraceous-Buff. Sexes alike in color; female smaller in size. Wing,
c? 102-114 mm., 9 95-97.5; tail, <? 96-115, 9 92-99; exposed culmen,
d" 22-26, 9 20-23; culmen from base, & 25-30, 9 23.5-27; tarsus,
d" 22-25.5, 9 20-22.5.

There are certain minor variants of the above details of coloration,
but they are not capable of geographical apportionment. The lesser
upper wing-coverts along the scapular border are but lightly rufes-
cent in six specimens, a little stronger in seven, more prominently
marked in eight, and quite rufescent in four. The specimens from
French Guiana average more rufescent on the shoulder than do those
from nearer the Amazon, but one of the Guianan birds is very lightly
marked in this particular and two of the Obidos examples are among
the prominently marked series. Since the reduction in intensity of
the shoulder patch is characteristic of the race found south of the
Amazon in Brazil, it is not strange that birds from just across the

'Names of colors when capitalized indicate direct comparison with Ridgway's
"Color Standards and Color Nomenclature."

6 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

river show a greater tendency in that direction than do examples
from a more distant region.

Pelzeln described his longicauda from specimens secured by
Natterer at Borba, Marabitanas, and Manaos, Brazil. Borba was
generally accepted as type locality until Hellmayr (1925) pointed
out that only one specimen, from Manaos, out of Natterer's original
series, agreed in detail with Pelzeln's description, and that Manaos
must, therefore, replace Borba as type locality. The matter is
important since the forms found north and south of the lower Amazon
prove to be different.

Chubb (1919) renamed the northern form guianensis on characters
which he found in (two?) specimens from British Guiana, but he
neglected to explain what he considered to be typical longicauda.
Later (1921) he gave the range of guianensis as confined to British
Guiana, evidently distinguishing it from the specimens taken in
Surinam and at Manaos which were in the British Museum collection
with his type. Hellmayr (1925) noted that British Guianan specimens
(including Chubb's type of guianensis} were absolutely indistinguish-
able from Manaos specimens. A fine series of excellent skins in
Carnegie Museum from French Guiana and from Obidos, Manaca-
puru, and Tonantins, Brazil, further show that the form found north
of the Amazon in Brazil and the Guianas is indivisible. The Manaca-
puru specimens are nearly topotypical longicauda.

Deconychura longicauda pallida subsp. nov.

Dendrocincla longicauda PELZELN, Orn. Bras., 1, pp. 42, 60, 1868 part,
Borba, Rio Madeira; SCLATER AND SALVIN, P. Z. S. Lond., 1868, p. 54
Amazonia (part); idem, Nom. Av. Neot., p. 67, 1873 (ex Pelzeln, part);
RIDGWAY, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 10, p. 496, "1887"= Jan., 1888 (ex
Pelzeln, part); SCLATER, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., 15, p. 165, 1890 Ega, Rio
Solimoes; OBERHOLSER, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 56, p. 451, 1904
(ex Pelzeln, part).

Deconychura longicauda HELLMAYR, Nov. Zool., 14, pp. 367, 368, 1907 part,
Borba; idem, op. cit., 17, p. 334, 1910 part, Calama, Rio Madeira;
idem, Abhandl. Bayr. Ak. Wiss., Math.-phys. Kl., 26, No. 2, pp. 41, 92,
1912 Peixe-Boi, Para); SNETHLAGE, Bol. Mus. Goeldi, 8, p. 343, 1914
Providencia, (Para), Rio Iriri (Bocca do Curua); HELLMAYR, Field
Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 13, pt. 4, p. 363, 1925 part, Ega,
Borba, Calama, Brazil, and Rio San Mateo, n. Bolivia; CHAPMAN, Bull.
Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 55, p. 461, 1926 part, Rio Roosevelt, Brazil.

Type from Hyutanahan, Rio Purus, Brazil. No. 86902 Carnegie
Museum. Adult male. Collected December 31, 1921 by S. M.
Klages. Original number 28304.

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 7

Diagnosis. Similar to D. L longicauda from north of the Amazon
(Manaos to the Guianas), but colors of body plumage paler; throat
and spots of breast distinctly more yellowish buff, less orange-tinted;
dark edges of the feathers on breast and crown paler olive, less
dusky; feathers of throat less conspicuously edged with dusky; streaks
on breast averaging narrower, less sharply denned; rufescent area
on scapular border of upper wing-coverts averaging less prominent,
sometimes nearly obsolete.

Habitat. Brazil, south of the Amazon, and possibly lowlands of
northern Bolivia.

Description of type. Top of the head dark Olive Brown, with the
feathers dusky on their edges and with narrow shaft lines of dull
Pinkish Buff, broader on the lateral margins of the occiput and nape
where they form a noticeable pale superciliary stripe; back light
Snuff Brown, changing abruptly on the upper tail-coverts and the
lowest margin of the rump to Kaiser Brown. Lores dusky white;
auriculars, malar region, and sides of neck dusky Olive-Brown with
buffy shaft streaks; chin and throat light Pinkish Buff; sides of
lower throat with dusky olivaceous edges; breast light Saccardo's
Umber, with obovate central shaft streaks of Pinkish Buff; belly
and flanks paler, Buffy Brown, with occasional faint suggestions of
shaft streaks; under tail-coverts anteriorly like the belly, posteriorly
Hazel. Rectrices Bay, paler beneath and with under side of shafts
still paler. Remiges bright Auburn with exterior margins washed
with olive; tips of five or six outer primaries dull blackish; remainder
of primaries and secondaries with a more or less obvious dusky area
at tip; upper wing-coverts pale Saccardo's Umber, those along scapu-
lar edge of wing suffused with Hazel; under wing-coverts Cinnamon-
Buff, brownish at the bend of the wing; inner margin of quills Pecan
Brown. Wing, 105 mm.; tail, 99; exposed culmen, 26; culmen from
base, 29.5; tarsus, 23.

Females similar but smaller. Range of measurements in both
sexes as follows: wing, 6" 104-109 mm., 9 96-99; tail, cf 95-104,
9 88.5-104; exposed culmen, d" 25-27, 9 21.5-23; culmen from
base, cf 28.5-31, 9 25-27; tarsus, cf 22-24.5, 921-22.5.

As in typical longicauda there is considerable individual variation
within the limits of the racial characteristics. One male from the
type locality appears to be slightly immature, judging by the texture
of the abdominal feathers. The upper belly and hind neck in this
specimen are inclined to be broadly, but obscurely, spotted with

8 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

pale buffy white, margined, equally obscurely, with dusky. In
normal plumage the belly is unspotted and the nape is less spotted
than streaked. In five specimens there are only slight traces of the
rufescent patch on the scapular border of the wing; there is a little
more in eight others (including the type), but none of the series is as
strongly marked as are most specimens from north of the Amazon.

Three specimens from Sao Paulo de Olivenca, Rio Solimoes, are
somewhat intermediate between pallida and longicauda but show
no tendency toward the characters of the Peruvian form next to be
described. All three have a slight suggestion of immaturity in the
texture of the plumage and immaturity may possibly account for the
differences observed. They are not very different from two other
males, one from Villa Braga, Rio Tapajoz, and one from Nova Olinda,
Rio Purus, and may, after all, represent only the extreme variants
of pallida. They are slightly deeper buff on the pale portions of the
ventral plumage than typical pallida but are paler and less sharply
marked than longicauda. There is very little rufescence on the
shoulder of any of them.

Three examples from the Para district (Colonia de Mojuy,
Santarem, and Benevides, Braganca R. R.) present a somewhat
different problem. These birds may prove to be separable from
pallida from which they differ by having the markings of the throat
and chest even less buffy. The Santarem specimen is not so different
from some of the palest Purus and Tapajoz examples but the female
from Benevides is much grayer on the belly and whiter on the throat
while the ventral streaking is more linear than in any of the series of
true pallida. The male from Benevides is intermediate. In any case,
without a larger series from the Para region, it is unwise to attempt
the separation of another race on the differences noted. All three of
these specimens have only a little rufescence on the shoulder.

The record from Rio San Mateo, northern Bolivia, given by
Hellmayr (1926), is based on a specimen in the Berlepsch collection.
Without examining this specimen in the light of recent observations,
it is impossible to say without doubt that it belongs to pallida and
not to some other form, known or unknown. From the geographical
position of the locality it is more likely to belong with pallida than
with the Peruvian race.

Deconychura longicauda connectens subsp. nov.

Deconychura longicauda HELLMAYR, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser.,
13, pt. 4, p. 363, 1925 part, Puerto Bermudez, Peru; CHAPMAN, Bull.

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 9

Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 55, p. 461, 1926 part, Sabanilla and Macas, e.
Ecuador.

Type from Puerto Bermudez, Rio Pichis, Dept. Junin, Peru.
Altitude 1100 feet. No. 65866 Field Museum of Natural History.
Adult male. Collected March 17, 1923 by J. T. Zimmer. Original
number 3514.

Diagnosis. Similar to D. I. typica from Costa Rica, but averaging
larger in all dimensions. Top of the head with shaft streaks broader;
ventral pattern similar but belly more olivaceous, less grayish; pale
centers of pectoral feathers a little narrower and less sharply bordered
with more olivaceous (less blackish) margins.

From D. I. longicauda it is separable by the paler, less ochreous
throat; the pectoral feathers with their centers paler and less ochreous
but more sharply denned by the dusky edges, leaving the shaft spots
broader and more sagittate than the more deeply colored linear
streaks of longicauda.

From D. I. pallida it is separable by the deeper general coloration,
with the throat somewhat deeper buff while the wings and tail are
about the same in both forms; breast feathers more heavily margined
with more dusky olive; belly deeper olive; pectoral spots more
sharply denned and less linear; back deeper brown.

Habitat. Tropical zone of eastern Peru and southeastern
Ecuador.

Description of type. Back Brussels Brown x Raw Umber,
changing abruptly to Chestnut on the very lowermost rump feathers
and the upper tail-coverts; top of the head Brussels Brown x Mummy
Brown with relatively narrow shaft streaks of deep Clay Color,
present also on the hind neck but disappearing on the mantle; streaks
on the lateral borders of the head broader, forming a rather pro-
nounced buffy superciliary stripe on each side. Lores white with a
faint buffy tinge; auriculars mostly whitish buff with narrow, dusky
brown edges; chin and upper throat whitish with a faint buffy tinge
and with narrow, buffy brown edges, not sharply denned; malar
region and lower throat dull, pale Cinnamon-Buff with dusky olive
brown margins and tips; breast with sagittate central spots of Cin-
namon-Buff, edged with dark Saccardo's Umber; sides of neck similar
but central areas not so sharply denned; sides of breast similar to
middle but with shaft spots somewhat more linear though retaining
a broadened area near the tip which continues the spotted appear-
ance; lower breast with gradually reducing shaft spots which are

10 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

continued faintly down the middle of the upper belly; flanks and
thighs Saccardo's Umber without pale markings; under tail-coverts
with anterior portion Saccardo's Umber, changing to Kaiser Brown
or pale Chestnut on the terminal portion. Rectrices Bay, paler
beneath and with under side of shafts still paler. Remiges light
Chestnut with an olivaceous wash along the outer margin; five outer
primaries with dull blackish tips; remainder of primaries and second-
aries with a rather obscure dusky area along the shaft near the tip;
upper wing-coverts Brussels Brown with a Chestnut tinge on the
inner webs; lesser coverts along the scapular border distinctly though
not strongly Chestnut in tone; under wing-coverts deep tawny
Ochraceous-Buff; bend of wing beneath Brussels Brown; inner mar-
gin of quills Cacao Brown. Iris brown; bill with maxilla mostly
brown, blackish at the base, and mandible olive green; feet bluish
slate. Wing, 102 mm.; tail, 102; exposed culmen, 25; culmen from
base, 30; tarsus, 22.

Two specimens from Sabanilla, Rio Zamora, and Cutucuo, Macas
region, eastern Ecuador, show the same general features as the type,
with a closer approach toward typica in coloration though not in size.
The Sabanilla bird (a male in molt) especially is very similar to a
specimen of typica from Palmar, Costa Rica, being more grayish
olive and less rufescent on the breast and belly than the type of
connectens, with the pectoral spots paler ochraceous. The Cutucuo
specimen (of undetermined sex) is more dusky below than either of
the others, with the dusky margins of the feathers of breast and sides
rather darker; the back also is darker, being Raw Umber, with faint
blackish tips; the top of the head is duskier with the shaft streaks
narrower; the entire mid belly is spotted broadly like the breast but
the dark edges are less dusky and more pale olivaceous, giving the
mid belly a distinctly pale median area. The under wing-coverts are
quite pale in the Cutucuo bird in comparison with the deep buff of
the type, but in the Sabanilla specimen the color is very little lighter
than in the bird from Peru. Both Ecuadorian skins are larger than
the type, thus differing even more from typica in that regard. The
first of each pair of the following measurements refers to the Sabanilla
specimen; the second, to the Cutucuo specimen. Wing, 108, 106;
tail 101 (imperfect), 109; exposed culmen, 22.5, 23.5; culmen from
base, 26.5, 29; tarsus, 23, 24.5.

If these Ecuadorian birds belong to the Peruvian race, connectens,
as I believe, this race is somewhat more variable than the others
and, while recognizable in itself, exhibits certain characteristics of

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 11

the other forms between which it is the connecting link. Curiously
enough, although it is no ornithological novelty, its closest affinities
are not with the immediately adjacent forms but with those once
removed. Actually it is closest to typica from which it is separated
not only by its subspecific characters but also by the intervention
of the Colombian race, minor.

Deconychura longicauda minor Todd.

Deconychura typisa minor TODD, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 32, p. 116, June 27,
1919 El Tambor, Santander, Colombia; HELLMAYR, Field Mus. Nat.
Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 13, pt. 4, p. 362, 1925 El Tambor.

Diagnosis. Similar to D. L typica from Costa Rica but upper
parts more olivaceous and less rufescent; lores and auriculars whiter,
less buffy; pale markings of under parts lighter and more restricted;
size possibly smaller.

From connectens of Peru and Ecuador it is distinguishable by a still
greater difference in size; pale shaft streaks on the crown narrower;
general coloration paler except that the dusky margins of the pectoral
feathers are darker in contrast to the much lighter central spots.

From longicauda and pallida it is distinguishable by having the
chest more dusky with broad central spots, whereas in the other two
forms the pectoral marking is linear, with the margins uniform with
the sides and flanks.

Habitat. Known only from the type locality, but possibly
occurring in other parts of central Colombia.

Description. Back dark Buffy Brown, changing abruptly to
Kaiser Brown x Chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and adjacent
margin of the rump; top of the head dark Olive-Brown with buffy
shaft lines not very strongly marked. Lores whitish; auricular and
malar regions whitish buff edged with dusky; throat buffy Isabella
Color with dusky brown margins on at least the lateral feathers;
chest dark Olive-Brown or blackish brown at the tips of the feathers,
with broad, rounded central spots of Cartridge Buff x Cream-Buff;
lower breast somewhat paler and more uniform, with the central
spots indistinct, not sharply defined; belly and flanks Light Brownish
Olive or Brownish Olive; under tail-coverts anteriorly like belly,
Hazel at tip. Rectrices light Bay, paler beneath and with under side
of shafts still paler. Remiges light Bay; upper wing-coverts a trifle
browner; lesser upper coverts along scapular border rufescent; under
wing-coverts Ochraceous-Buff. Female similar but smaller. Wing,

12 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

cf 92 mm., 9 88; tail, d" 89, 9 86; exposed culmen, cf 21, 9 19;
culmen from base, d 1 24, 9 21.5; tarsus d 1 22, 9 20.

This race, instead of being intermediate between typica and
connectens in taxonomic characters, as it is geographically, is a small,
pale extreme, unlike either although nearer to them than it is to
longicauda or pallida. It is closest to typica, having the dusky pectoral
area spotted with paler color as in that form. The type may be
slightly immature, judging by the texture of the feathers.

Deconychura longicauda typica Cherrie.

Deconychura typica CHERRIE, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 14, p. 339, 1891 Pozo
Azul de Pirris, s.w. Costa Rica; idem, Expl. Zool. Merid. Costa Rica, p.
39, 1893 Palmar, s.w. Costa Rica; idem, Anal. Inst. Fis.-Geog. Costa
Rica, 6, p. 17, 1893 Pozo de Pital, s.w. Costa Rica (descr. nest and eggs) ;
BANGS, Auk, 18, p. 367, 1901 Divala, Chiriquf, Panama; SHARPE, Hand-
list, 3, p. 77, 1901 Costa Rica to Panama; HELLMAYR, Nov. Zool., 14,
p. 368, 1907 Costa Rica and Chiriqui (diag.) ; CARRIKER, Ann. Car.
Mus., 6, p. 652, 1910 Pozo Pital, Pozo Azul de Pirris, El General de
Terraba, El Pozo de Terraba, s.w. Costa Rica; RIDGWAY, Bull. U. S. Nat.
Mus., 50, pt. 4, p. 285, 1911 s.w. Costa Rica and Panama.

Deconychura typica typica HELLMAYR, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool.
Ser., 13, pt. 4, p. 361, 1925 s.w. Costa Rica and w. Panama.

? Dechonychura typica minor Griscom, Am. Mus. Novit., 293, p. 1, 1928 n.
Chiriqui, Panama.

Diagnosis. Similar to D. L longicauda but smaller; feathers of
chest with more blackish margins and more sagittate, less linear,
pale central areas; belly paler.

From minor it is distinguishable by its more rufescent upper parts
and its more extended and deeper buff markings on the chest.

From connectens it is separable by smaller size, darker margins on
the feathers of the chest, more buffy throat, narrower shaft streaks
on the top of the head, paler belly, and slightly more rufescent back.

Habitat. Southwestern Costa Rica and western Panama.

Description. Top of head Clove Brown with hair streaks of
Pinkish Buff along the shafts; back Brussels Brown, changing
abruptly to Chestnut on the upper tail-coverts and extreme lower
border of the rump. Lores dusky white, faintly tinged with buff; a
narrow superciliary line light Pinkish Buff; malar region and auri-
culars dull Cinnamon-Buff with dusky margins; chin and throat light
Pinkish Buff with traces of dusky tips; feathers of upper breast with
sagittate central spots of light Cinnamon-Buff, margined and tipped
with blackish Clove Brown, blacker on the central feathers, more
olivaceous on the lateral ones; lower breast, sides and flanks Buffy

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 13

Brown with indistinct shaft spots of pale buff becoming obsolete on
the belly and lower flanks; anterior under tail-coverts like the belly,
posterior ones Chestnut x Auburn. Rectrices Bay x Chestnut,
paler beneath and with under side of shafts still paler. Remiges
light Chestnut with an olivaceous tinge along the outer margin,
especially toward the base; five or six outer primaries with dusky
brown tips; remainder of primaries and secondaries with an indistinct
darker subterminal area; upper wing-coverts mostly Snuff Brown,
more rufescent on the inner webs; the lesser coverts at the scapular
border distinctly Hazel; under wing-coverts deep tawny Ochraceous-
Buff with bend of wing a little browner; inner margin of quills Army
Brown. Measurements (including those by Ridgway, 1911) as
follows: wing, cf 94-102 mm., 9 86-90; tail, <f 89.5-96, 9 83.5-88;
exposed culmen, <? 19.5-23, 9 20-21.5; culmen from base, rf 1 25,
9 23; tarsus, cf 20.5-22, 9 19-20.

The above description is drawn up from a specimen collected by
Cherrie at Palmar, Costa Rica. Other specimens examined vary in
the direction of more rufescent upper parts, blacker margins on the
feathers of the chest, deeper buff throat, and darker, more spotted
belly.

Deconychura stictolaema stictolaema (Pelzeln).

Sittasomus stictolaemus PELZELN, Orn. Bras., 1, pp. 42, 59, 1868 Borba,
Rio Madeira; SCLATER AND SALVIN, Nom. Av. Neot., p. 66, 1873 Amaz.
sup.; SCLATER, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., 15, p. 120, 1890 part, Amazonia
(part, ex Pelzeln).

Deconychura stictolaemus HELLMAYR, Nov. Zool., 14, p. 368, 1907 Borba.

Deconychura stictolaema HELLMAYR, Nov. Zool., 17, p. 333, 1910 Borba;
SNETHLAGE, Bol. Mus. Goeldi, 8, p. 343, 1914 Rio Madeira; HELLMAYR,
Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 13, pt. 4, p. 362, 1925 part, Borba.

Diagnosis. More olivaceous in tone than the other races, with
paler buffy markings below; top of the head browner (less blackish)
than in clarior from north of the Amazon.

Habitat. Amazonian lowlands of eastern Brazil, south of the
Amazon and west at least as far as the Rio Tapajoz.

Description. Top of the head Clove Brown with buffy shaft
lines, obsolete on the nape; mantle light Bister; lower back, rump,
and upper tail-coverts light Chestnut. Lores whitish with dusky
tips immediately before the eye; shaft streaks of crown wider on
lateral borders, forming a pale superciliary line on each side; auri-
culars dusky brown with pale shaft lines; malar region with shaft

14 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

marks broader, more ovate; chin and throat light Olive-Buff with
light Olive Brown margins and tips which are continued, darker and
heavier, on the upper breast, leaving sagittate central spots of buff;
belly and flanks Buffy Brown or Saccardo's Umber; sides like breast
but with pale central spots reduced to shaft lines; flanks Brownish
Olive x Light Brownish Olive; mid belly dark Isabella Color; under
tail-coverts like belly on their upper portion, dark Cinnamon-Rufous
on the lower part. Rectrices deep Chestnut above, light Russet
below, with Apricot Buff shafts. Remiges fuscous; outer webs
of primaries and secondaries Snuff Brown x Saccardo's Umber,
becoming more rufescent toward the tips of the inner secondaries;
tertials Auburn x Chestnut; upper wing-coverts Dresden Brown
with a concealed area of bright Hazel (sometimes absent) along the
scapular border; under wing-coverts Cinnamon-Buff. Wing, cT 86-87
mm.; tail, 82-89; exposed culmen, 16-17.5; culmen from base, 20-22;
tarsus, 19-20.5.

The rufous patch on the shoulder is well marked in a specimen
from Colonia de Mojuy, Santarem, Para, is present but not conspi-
cuous in a Miritituba example, and is totally absent in a Villa Braga
bird. The type is described by Hellmayr (1907) as having the
shoulder olive brown, apparently without rufous.

Deconychura stictolaema clarior subsp. nov.

Type from Pied Saut, Oyapock, French Guiana. No. 68183
Carnegie Museum. Adult male. Collected April 1, 1918 by S. M.
Klages. Original number 16438.

Diagnosis. Top of the head a little blacker than in stictolaema;
back somewhat more rufescent and very slightly less dusky; rump
and upper tail-coverts distinctly lighter rufous; pale areas of head
and under parts decidedly more buffy with the belly altogether
paler; rectrices and tertials rather lighter rufescent; under tail-
coverts more extensively but paler rufescent.

Description of type. Top of the head Chaetura Black with
narrow shaft streaks of pale buff, becoming obsolete on the nape or
at least not as sharply defined; mantle Snuff Brown; lower back,
rump, and upper tail-coverts bright Hazel. Lores dull whitish with
dusky tips immediately in front of the eye; the pale shaft streaks of
crown broader above the eye, forming a superciliary stripe of Tawny-
Olive; auriculars like the crown; malar region with the Tawny-Olive
shaft streaks broader than the dark brown edges; chin and throat

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 15

pale Clay Color with tips of Saccardo's Umber; the dark tips on the
chest broader and the color of the central spots deeper, rich Tawny-
Olive; sides like breast; flanks Saccardo's Umber x Tawny-Olive,
with paler shaft stripes ill-defined; center of belly clear Tawny-
Olive; basal under tail-coverts like belly; longer ones, embracing
the distal two-thirds of the area, Sanford's Brown x Cinnamon-
Rufous. Rectrices light Chestnut above, Hazel x light Russet
below, with shafts Apricot Buff. Remiges fuscous; outer webs
of primaries and secondaries Snuff Brown x Saccardo's Umber,
becoming more rufescent toward the tips of the inner secondaries;
tertials largely Chestnut x Auburn except at base of outer webs
where the color is nearer Snuff Brown; upper wing-coverts Dresden
Brown with a concealed area of variable intensity along the scapular
border bright Hazel; under wing-coverts Cinnamon-Buff, more
grayish at base of primaries. Wing, 87 mm. ; tail, 89; exposed culmen,
16; culmen from base, 19; tarsus, 21.

Female like the male but smaller.

The series examined is rather consistent in coloration. One
specimen from the type locality is somewhat darker below than the
others, with a more olivaceous tone on the flanks, but it is still more
rufescent than typical stictolaema. The color of the tail varies a
little in the direction of a paler tone. The rufous shoulder patch is
well marked in six specimens (including the type), inconspicuously
present in two, barely suggested in one immature example, and
absent in another young bird. The variation in size is as follows:
wing, d 1 86-90.5 mm., 9 75 (-79); tail, rf 1 88-95.5, 9 75 (-81) ; exposed
culmen, cf 15-16.5, 9 15; culmen from base, c? 19-21, 9 19; tarsus,
cf 20.5-22, 9 18.5 (-19). The measurements in parentheses are
those of a specimen the sex of which is in doubt; it is marked as a
male but probably is a female.

Deconychura stictolaema secunda Hellmayr.

Sittasomus stictolaemus SCLATER AND SALVIN, P. Z. S. Lond., 1873, p. 270
Chamicuros, Peru; TACZANOWSKI, Orn. Pe>., 2, p. 164, 1884 Chamicuros;
SCLATER, Cat. B. Brit. Mus., 15, p. 120, 1890 Amazonia (part, Ucayali).

Deconychura secunda HELLMAYR, Bull. B. O. C., 14, p. 51, 1904 Coca R.,
upper Rio Napo, Ecuador ("9"=c??); idem, Nov. Zool., 14, p. 368,
1907 Coca; idem, Field Mus. Hat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 13, pt. 4, p.
362, 1925 Coca; CHAPMAN, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 55, p. 462, 1926
(ex Hellmayr 1904).

Dendrocincla sp. inc. GOODFELLOW, Ibis, 1902, p. 62 Coca.

16 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

Deconychura stictolaema HELLMAYR, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser.,
13, pt. 4, p. 362 part, Puerto Bermudez and Chamicuros, Peru.

Diagnosis. Similar to D. s. stictolaema but back less rufescent
brown; under surface more olivaceous; buff spotting on the chest
more distinct; wings and tail deeper rufous; shoulder patch less
pronounced or more often absent.

Separable from clarior by the browner (less blackish) top of the
head; back duller, less rufescent; rump deeper rufous; under parts
more olivaceous; pale portions of throat and chest less buffy, more
olive whitish.

Habitat. Lowlands of northeastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, and
extreme western Brazil (Sao Paulo de Olivenca).

Description. Top of the head Clove Brown with buffy shaft
lines, obsolete on the nape; back light Sepia; lower back, rump, and
upper tail-coverts light Bay. Lores whitish; pale shaft lines of sides
of crown forming a narrow buffy superciliary line; sides of head as in
stictolaema; chin and throat Pale Olive-Buff with tips and margins
of the feathers Brownish Olive, broadest on the upper chest but
narrowing to mere shaft lines on the lower breast and sides; flanks
clear light Brownish Olive; mid belly a little lighter; under tail-
coverts like the belly with only the tips of the longest coverts dark
Hazel x Auburn. Rectrices deep Bay above, light Chestnut-Brown
below, with shafts dull Salmon Color. Remiges as in stictolaema but
darker; tertials Chestnut x Bay; under wing-coverts Pinkish Buff.
Wing, cf 1 84.5-88 mm. (including Hellmayr's measurements of the
type), 9 76.5; tail, <f 90, 9 77; exposed culmen, cf 19-20, 9 15.5;
culmen from base, c? 25, 9 20; tarsus, cf 21, 9 19.

It is with very slight misgivings that I have identified one
Peruvian and one west-Brazilian specimen with Hellmayr's Decony-
chura secunda. It is evident from the original description of the rufous
rump and the non-rufous shoulder that secunda is more closely
allied to stictolaema than to longicauda with which it was originally
compared. On the other hand, the differences from stictolaema as
given by Hellmayr (1907) are exactly those which distinguish my
Peruvian specimen from two undoubted stictolaema taken on the
Rio Tapajoz. The specific distinctness of secunda from stictolaema
depends, therefore, solely on the measurements. If the type specimen
is a female, as indicated on the label (fide Hellmayr), secunda might
exist as a still different race of stictolaema, separable by its much
larger size. If the specimen is wrongly sexed, it is a perfectly normal

1929 BIRDS OF GENUS DECONYCHURA ZIMMER 17

male comparable in size to those of the other races. Since the sexes
of the various forms of Deconychura are alike in color and since
Goodfellow collected only one specimen of that genus (the type of
secunda), the chances are extremely great that he made an error in
determining the sex of that specimen, an error which afterward
led to the description of secunda as a distinct species.

The Sao Paulo de Olivenca bird is similar above to the Peruvian
specimen, though with slightly greater rufescence on the mid back;
below it is a little paler, with the throat and breast slightly buffier
Light Brownish Olive; the belly is pale Buffy Brown; the wings and
tail are of the same deep Bay and the other characters likewise are
the same. There is no trace of rufescence on the scapular border of
the wing in either specimen, in which both agree with the original
description of secunda. Quite possibly the complete absence of
rufescence on the shoulder is a constant character in this race,
though variable in the others.

Deconychura stictolaema var?

Two skins from Arima, right bank of the lower Purus, Brazil,
are puzzling. Both are labeled as females although one, judging by
its size, is probably a male. These specimens do not agree exactly
with stictolaema, clarior, or secunda. The upper back is Verona
Brown, more rufescent than any of the others; top of the head
dark Olive-Brown with buffy shaft lines disappearing on the nape,
the whole being paler than in the other races; color beneath about
as in clarior but the under tail-coverts with rufescence only on
the longer distal feathers, about as in secunda; rump and upper
tail-coverts in one specimen a little darker than in secunda, in the
other about as in clarior; rectrices and tertials of one example deep
Bay as in secunda, of the other light Chestnut as in clarior; shoulder
without rufescence.

Geographically, these birds should belong to typical stictolaema;
taxonomically they are closer to clarior and secunda. Until more
material is available from this particular region it is best to leave
their subspecific assignment in abeyance.

Specimens examined (in Carnegie Museum unless otherwise
specified).

D. I. longicauda Brazil: Manacapuru, Rio Solimoes (nearly
topotypical) 2 d" cT ; Tonantins, Rio Solimoes 2 c? cf ;
Obidos, Para 2 rf d 1 ; 1 " 9 "= cf ?. French Guiana: Pied

18 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY ZOOLOGY, VOL. XVII

Saut, Oyapock 9 cf cf 3 99; Tamanoir, Mana R. 3 cf cf
299; Cayenne 1 9 .

D. I. pallida Brazil: Hyutanahan, Rio Purus 5 cfcf (incl.
type) 1 "cf " = 9 ?; Nova Olinda, Rio Purus 1 cf ; Arima,
Rio Purus 2 cf cf 1 9 ; Villa Braga, Rio Tapajoz 1 9 1
<V"= 9 ?; Miritituba, Rio Tapajoz 1 "cf " = 9 ?; Colonia
de Mojuy, Santarem, Para 1 cf ; Benevides, Braganga
R.R., Para 1 cf 1 9 ; Sao Paulo de Olivenca, Rio Solimoes
2 cfd" 1 9.

D. 1. connectens Peru: Puerto Bermudez 1 cf (type). 1 Ecuador:
Sabanilla, Rio Zamora, Prov. Loja 1 cf ; 2 Cutucuo, Macas
region 1 ?. 2

D. Z. minor Colombia: El Tambor, Santander 1 cf (type) 1 9 .

D. 1. typica Costa Rica: Palmar 1 cf; 1 El Pozo de Terraba
1 cf 1 9.

D. s. stictolaema Brazil: Villa Braga, Rio Tapajoz 1 cf ; Miri-
tituba, Rio Tapajoz 1 cf ; Colonia de Mojuy, Santarem,
Para Icf.

D. s. clarior French Guiana: Pied Saut, Oyapock 3 cf cf (incl.
type); Tamanoir, Mana R. 3 cf cf. Brazil: Cayari Is.,
Uassa Swamp 1 cf 1 "cf "= 9 ?; Obidos, Para 1 cf 1 9 .

D. s. secunda Peru: Puerto Bermudez 1 9 - 1 Brazil: Sao Paulo
de Olivenca, Rio Solimoes 1 cf .

D. stictolaema var? Brazil: Arima, Rio Purus 1 9 1" 9 "= cf ?.

Note. Since the above account was put in type, a new race of
D. longicauda has been described from Dari^n, Panama, as D. typica
darienensis Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 69, p. 172, April 1929.
Without having examined the type and only specimen of this race
it is impossible to speak with absolute certainty, but I suspect that
a series from eastern Panamd would show a considerable lessening
of the ascribed differences from typica. The blackish borders and
deep buff central spots of the throat and chest are characters of
typica, the amount of rufescence on the shoulder is a variable feature,
and while the size is somewhat smaller than recorded for typica the
difference is slight in such a variable species. The fact that specimens
from Almirante, w. Panama, were identified as minor (Griscom, Am.
Mus. Novit., 293, p. 1, 1928), indicates the extreme variability of the
group in Panama as elsewhere.

'Specimen in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
Specimen in American Museum of Natural History, New York.