trto ilitaeum of Natural i tatorg I.IHRARY ffifjiragn FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. PUBLICATION 167. ORNITHOLOGICAL SERIES. VOL. I, No. 7. DESCRIPTIONS OF TWENTY-EIGHT NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF NEOTROPICAL BIRDS BY CHARLES B. CORY Curator of Department of Zoology. CHICAGO, U. S. A. May 31, 1913. DESCRIPTIONS OF TWENTY-EIGHT NEW SPECIES AND SUBSPECIES OF NEOTROPICAL BIRDS BY CHARLES B. CORY Nothocercus Julius venezuelensis subsp. no-u. Type from Paramo de Tama (near source of the Tachira River), western Venezuela (close to the Colombian line), altitude about 7500 feet. Adult male, No. 43208, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood, February 26, 1911. Similar to Nothocercus Julius, but general color brighter, forehead and sides of the head more rufous and nape darker; primaries blackish; lower part of throat or foreneck grayish and not vermiculated; breast clear tawny ochraceous, without vermiculation, the color decidedly more ochraceous than in Julius; feathers of the flanks and thighs tipped with yellowish brown and narrowly barred with black, but the bars are broken and much narrower than in Julius. Length (skin), 305 mm.; wing, 190; culmen, 26; tarsus, 160. Eupsychortyx cristatus continentis subsp. nov. Type from El Panorama, Rio Aurare (about fifteen miles east of Maracaibo), northwestern Venezuela. Adult male. No. 44088, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and S. G. Jewett , January 22, 1911. Similar to Eupsychortyx cristatus of the islands of Curacoa and Aruba, but larger and with black stripe on side of throat and black superciliary stripe much wider; middle of belly distinctly darker chest- nut-rufous and with less black marking. The white markings on the feathers of the under parts largely replaced by pale buff; under tail coverts tawny rufous, becoming whitish buff on the edges and with conspicuous brownish black centers. Wing, 104 mm.; tail, 75; tarsus, 30; culmen, 14. Urochroma costaricensis sp. nov. Type from the vicinity of Limon, Costa Rica. Adult male. No. 283 284 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY — ORNITHOLOGY, VOL. I. 44389, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by H. F. Raven, May 23, 1910. General color green, the under parts lighter and more yellowish especially on the throat ; forehead and greater portion of crown, upper edges of lores, and a streak under the eye dull nopal red ; the red of the crown separated from the eye by a narrow streak of dull green; con- cealed portions of the feathers of the crown yellow; cheeks bluish green; feathers of the nape and base of crown slightly tinged with yellowish olive; cubital edge of wing bluish black; bend of wing and outer primary coverts scarlet; outer portion of under wing coverts scarlet; inner portion bright canary yellow, but the greater feathers dull green like the inner edge of the under surface of the quills ; quills black, all except the outermost one edged with green on the outer webs; scapulars and rump grass green; tail feathers yellow, edged with green on the outer webs ; all the tail feathers with the exception of the two outer ones with a band of black at or very near the tips, the black band increasing in size towards the central feathers and not complete on the third, the two outer feathers tipped with green; the black band at the end of the middle tail feathers is separated from the yellow by a patch of green; shafts of rectrices brownish black; bill yellowish at the tip, dark at the base; feet dark (blackish in dried skin). Total length (skin), 145 mm. (probably longer in life); wing, 120;- tail, 52; tarsus, 10; oilmen, 19. The female is similar to the male, but differs in having less extent of red on the bend of wing and under wing coverts; the red of the fore- head extends upon the lores, and the red spot below the eye is larger and extends further downward and backward; the green on the outer webs of outer primaries and on the shoulder is slightly tinged with bluish. This very distinct species approaches nearest to Urochroma dilectis- sima, but may be distinguished at once by its red crown and other characters. Four specimens, 2 males and 2 females, were secured by Mr. Raven. Piaya cayana venezuelensis subsp. nov. Type from Orope, Zulia, Venezuela. Adult female, No. 34589, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, March 6, 1908. Similar to P. cayana cayana, but having the general plumage de- cidedly darker; the upper parts deep rufous chestnut and the under parts more uniformly dusky. MAY, 1913. NEW SPECIES OF NEOTROPICAL BIRDS — CORY. 285 Length (skin), 420 mm.; wing, 142; tail, 293; bill, 28; tarsus, 34. This subspecies is readily distinguished from birds found in the dryer country about Rio Abrore, some 70 miles further north, the latter being apparently intermediate between Piaya cay ana cay ana and P. cayana colombiana. Momotus osgoodi sp. nov. Type from El Guayabal (ten miles east of Cucuta), Colombia. Adult male, No. 43299, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and S. G. Jewett, March 17, 1911. Similar to Momotus swainsoni, but differs in having the under parts darker and deeper chestnut, and absence of the bluish post occular area (which is replaced by olive chestnut) and having the mantle and sides of the neck strongly tinged with chestnut and rest of back olive tinged with chestnut. The exposed portions of the feathers forming the nuchal cincture bordering the black crown patch are plain bluish purple without black tips. Color of wings, tail, and under wing coverts similar to swainsoni. Wing, 127 mm.; tail, 167, the central feathers, 228; bill, 35; tarsus, 25. This new species is named for Mr. W. H. Osgood, who collected the type specimen. Scytalopus magellanicus grandis subsp. nov. Type from Tambo Ventija, ten miles east of Molinopampa, Peru (mountains about 30 miles northeast of Chachapoyas) . Adult male, No. 44390, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and M. P. Anderson, June 19, 1912. Similar to Scytalopus magellanicus magellanicus, but much larger; entire plumage nearly uniform plumbeous black; the feathers of the crown and back slightly darker at the tips and those of the under parts slightly paler at the tips, noticeable when held in the light ; bill brownish black; legs (in dried skin) dark brown. Total length (skin), 167 mm.; wing, 78; tail, 60; bill, 15; tarsus, 30. This bird approaches in size nearest to S. femoralis or S. macropus, but differs from either in having the plumage uniformly colored. It is darker and larger than S. unicolor and decidedly larger than 5. magel- lanicus magellanicus, but apparently approaches it in color, and on account of lack of sufficient material for comparison I have provision- ally considered it to be a large race of that species. 286 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ORNITHOLOGY, VOL. I. Threnetes frazeri venezuelensis subsp. nov. Type from Orope, Zulia, Venezuela (Southwest of Lake Mara- caibo). Adult male, No. 44391, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, March 10, 1908. Similar to Threnetes frazeri frazeri from Colombia, but slightly darker and having the upper parts golden bronzy green (much less green than in frazeri) and the under parts slightly more buff y gray ; iris dark brown; upper mandible black; under mandible yellowish; "feet flesh color." Total length (skin), 115 mm.; wing, 56; tail, 41; bill, 30; tarsus, 3. Anthracothorax prevosti viridicordatus subsp. nov. Type from El Panorama, Rio Aurare, Venezuela. Male, No. 43334, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood, January 18, 1911. Similar to A. prevosti prevosti, but differs in having the upper parts bright grass green (not golden green^as in prevosti prevosti and more grass green than in A. prevosti gracilirostris) and the upper surface of middle tail feathers olive green; under tail coverts darker than in gracilirostris. Length (skin), 118 mm.; wing, 68; tail, 36; bill, 26. Glaucis hirsuta fusca subsp. nov. Type from Orope, Zulia, Venezuela. (Southwest of Lake Mara- caibo.) Male, No. 43340, Field Museum of Natural History. Col- lected by N. Dearborn, March 7, 1908. Similar to G. hirsuta hirsuta, but green of the upper parts darker and under parts decidedly darker, less rufous and more dusky. Wing, 58 mm.; tail, 40; culmen, 31. Thaumastura cora montana subsp. nov. Type from Hda. Llagueda (about twenty miles northeast of Otuzco) . Peru, altitude about 7000 ft. Adult male, No. 44161, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and M. P. Anderson, March 15, 1912. Similar to T. cora cora, but having the upper parts clear green and not golden green; sides of the throat showing a tinge of purple (not blue as in T. cora); feathers on the sides of lower breast and flanks MAY, 1913. NEW SPECIES or NEOTROPICAL BIRDS — CORY. 287 largely with green centers; tail similar to that of T. cor a but the dark marking blacker and the black tip showing a subterminal faint tinge of green. Wing, 40 mm.; tail, 95; bill, 13. Laticauda rubriginosa sp. nov. Type locality mountains east of Balsas, Peru. (On divide between Balsas and Leimabamba, altitude 10,000 ft.) Female, No. 44647, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and M. P. Anderson, May 19, 1912. Description. Upper parts, crown, and sides of head rich bronzy red; a small buffy white spot in front of and behind the eye. Throat buff, the feathers tipped with spots of metallic green; feathers of the breast and belly dull bronzy red (tinged with olive green in some lights), but having a mottled appearance as all the feathers are buffy white at the bases ; sides of body strongly washed with bronzy red ; under tail coverts rufous banded with black; wings purplish brown, the bend of the wing edged with rufous ; under surface of retrices (except the outer web of outer feather) metallic green, outer web of outer tail feather blackish becoming pale at the tip; upper surface of retrices steel blue when held in the light, the outer feather tipped with buff on the outer web. Bill and feet black. Total length (skin), 97 mm.; wing, 60; tail, 30; bill, 14. . The female described above was the only specimen taken. (ialhula ruficauda brevirostris subsp. nov. Type from Encontrados (southwest of Lake Maracaibo), Venezuela. Adult male, No. 43355, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, February n, 1908. Similar to Galbula ruficauda, but bill decidedly shorter; tail shorter and color of the under parts averaging somewhat darker; the chestnut feathers of the tail are darker and the upper surface of the middle tail feathers less golden green. Length (skin), 218 mm.; wing, 75; tail, 115; bill, 38. The average measurements of 19 specimens from Encontrados and Catatumbo are as follows: Eleven males — wing, 75 mm.; tail, 114; bill, 42. Eight females — wing, 74 mm.; tail, 100; bill, 41. This small, short -billed form seems to be confined to the low, heavily forested region in the vicinity of Encontrados and Catatumbo. 288 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ORNITHOLOGY, VOL. I. Chelidoptera tenebrosa pallida subsp. nov. Type from Empalado Savannas, 30 miles east of Maracaibo, Vene- zuela. Male, No. 43380, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood, April 7, 1911. Similar to C. tenebrosa tenebrosa, but the chestnut abdomen paler. Black of the breast shading into slaty gray on lower part and separated from the rufous chestnut of the abdomen by a well defined band of white; cubital edge of wing tinged with rufous chestnut. Length (skin), 148 mm.; wing, 112; tail, 58; culmen, 16. Four specimens of this new subspecies are in the Field Museum collection and have been compared with sixteen examples of C. tenebrosa tenebrosa from British Guiana and Peru. Peruvian specimens apparently are not separable from those from British Guiana. Picumnus venezuelensis sp. nov. Type from Encontrados, Zulia. Venezuela. Male, No. 34631, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, February 13, 1908. Special characters. Approaches P. cinnamomeus cinnamomeus, but differs in being darker and having the under parts deeper chestnut; the anterior part of the forehead rufous chestnut, and no white spots on the posterior part of the crown. Description. Back, rump and scapulars rufous brown; under parts darker, approaching rufous chestnut; nape and sides of the head dark like the under parts; frontal band rufous chestnut on anterior part, shading posteriorly into buff; crown black, the feathers broadly tipped with golden yellow nearly as in cinnamomeus but without white spots at the extreme hinder part as in that species ; wings and tail as in cinna- momeus. Length (skin), 97 mm.; wing, 53; tail, 33; bill, 12; tarsus, 12. Phaethornis anthropilus fuscicapillus subsp. nov. Type from Orope, Zulia, Venezuela. Adult female, No. 43343, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, March 6, 1908. Similar to P. anthropilus anthropilus, but crown darker brown (blackish brown); throat streaks darker and heavier; breast darker; back darker green and tips of feathers on lower back and rump more rufous buff. Length (skin), 145 mm.; wing, 55; tail, 66; bill, 31. MAY, 1913. NEW SPECIES or NEOTROPICAL BIRDS — CORY. 289 Camptostoma pusillum tenuirostris subsp. nov. Type from Rio Aurare (east of Maracaibo), Venezuela. Adult male, No. 43466, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood, January 12, 1911. Similar to C. pussillum pusillum, but differs in having a more slender and somewhat straighter bill; the back more olive and the yellow on the under parts brighter; tail feathers narrowly tipped with whitish and outer tail feather narrowly edged with the same. Length (skin), 90 mm.; wing, 45; tail, 40; bill, 9. Empidochanes zuliensis sp. nov, Type from Orope, Zulia, Venezuela. Male, No. 43494, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, March 12, 1908. Somewhat similar to Empidochanes cabinisi, but much darker, more olive and under mandible brownish white. Back dark brownish olive, the feathers with concealed whitish shafts; crown dark brown, decidedly darker than the back; throat whitish, with a faint tinge of yellow; breast dusky olive; abdomen whitish, washed with pale greenish yellow; wings and tail similar to E. cabanisi, but slightly darker and the brown- ish tips of the wing coverts paler; upper mandible blackish; under mandible brownish white. Length (skin), 128 mm.; wing, 68; tail, 60; bill, 13; tarsus, 12. Inezia caudata intermedia subsp. nov. Type from Rio Aurare (about 15 miles east of Maracaibo), Vene- zuela. No. 44161, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood, January 17, 1911. Similar to Inezia caudata caudata, but decidedly larger; the bill somewhat broader and the upper parts paler and more greenish olive; breast with slight wash of olive (not buffy) ; the chin whiter and the lores conspicuously pure white. Length (skin), 115 mm.; wing, 53; tail, 52; bill, 10, tarsus, 17. Attila rufipectus confinis subsp. nov. Type from Orope, Zulia, Venezuela, Female, No. 44186, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, March 12, 1908. Similar to A. rufipectus rufipectus, but somewhat smaller and much ago FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY — ORNITHOLOGY, VOL. I. darker; the color of the upper parts deep rufous chestnut; throat and breast rufous chestnut ; the chin paler, flanks more strongly tinged with orange brown; rump, wings and tail similar to rufipectus, but wing coverts orange brown; rump, wings and tail similar to rufipectus, but wing coverts tipped with darker rufous; upper mandible brownish black. Length (skin), 168 mm.; wing, 77; tail, 74; culmen, 20; tarsus, 23. Thamnophilus doliatus dearborn! subsp. nov. Type from Encontrados, Zulia, Venezuela. Adult male, No. 43564, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, February 19, 1908. Similar to T. doliatus doliatus, but general color much blacker, the white markings narrower and less numerous, and on the tail feathers fewer and smaller. Wing, 74; tail, 67; culmen, 19; tarsus, 27. Adult female, No. 43565, Field Museum of Natural History, Encon- trados, Zulia, Venezuela. Collected by N. Dearborn, February 12, 1908. Upper parts rufous chestnut, decidedly darker and less ferrugineous than in the female of T. doliatus doliatus; crown darker than back and more chestnut; black stripes on side of head broader and on throat heavier and more confluent; under wing coverts darker than in T. doliatus doliatus and spotted with black ; tail darker ; under parts decided- ly darker and deeper rufous, palest on the belly. Wing, 73; tail, 65; culmen, 19; tarsus, 27. Apparently a well marked dark form inhabiting the low country in the vicinity of the lower Catatumbo River. I have dedicated this well marked subspecies to Dr. 'N. Dearborn, who collected a number of the new birds described in this paper. Dendrocincla tyrannina hellmayri subsp. nov. Type from Paramo de Tama, Colombia (headwaters of Tachira River near the Venezuela line). Adult male, No. 44185, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood, February 14, 1911. Similar to D. tyrannina tyrannina, but general color somewhat more olivaceous (less rufous), most noticeable on the upper parts; blackish edgings on feathers of forehead heavier and more distinct. Length (skin), 260 mm.; wing, 125; tail, 115; culmen, 27; tarsus, 27. I have dedicated this new form to Dr. E. C. Hellmayr. MAY, 1913. NEW SPECIES OF NEOTROPICAL BIRDS — CORY. 291 Furnarius agnatus venezuelensis subsp. nov. Type locality Rio Aurare, Venezuela (about 15 miles east of Mara- caibo). Adult female, No. 44621 Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and S. G. Jewett, January 21, 1911. Similar to Furnarius agnatus but bill longer and the middle of the abdomen white. Superciliary stripe buffy white. Total length (skin), 165 mm.; wing, 85; tail, 62; bill, 22; tarsus, 29. Two adult females were secured on the Rio Aurare in January by Messrs. Osgood and Jewett and an immature male was taken near Catatumbo, Venezuela, in October, by Mr. H. F. Raven. Margarornis perlata peruviana subsp. nov. Type from Tambo Ventija ten miles east of Molinopampa, Peru (in mountains about 30 miles northeast of Chachapoyas) . Adult male, No. 44587, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and M. P. Anderson, June 12, 1912. Similar to Margarornis perlata perlata but olive of crown, slightly more rufous and the white markings on feathers of the under parts replaced by pale yellow. White patch on throat and superciliaries faintly washed with yellow. . Total length (skin), 150 mm.; wing, 82; tail, 81; bill, 12; tarsus, 18. This well marked subspecies seems to be intermediate between M . perlata perlata and M. squamigera but approaches much nearer the former in having the olivaceous crown very different from the rufous chestnut back and the feathers of the under parts heavily bordered with black. Female similar but slightly smaller. Seven specimens taken, four males and three females. Microrhopias grisea fumosa subsp. nov. Type from Encontrados, Zulia, Venezuela. Adult male, No. 43582, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, February 22, 1908. Similar to M. grisea intermedia but darker; crown and back fuscous brown, and black on under parts more extended; crown slightly darker than the back but shading into black on the forehead; superciliary stripe not extending in front of the eye. Apparently the darkest form of any of the races of this species. Length (skin), 128 mm.; wing, 55; tail, 54; tarsus, 21; culmen, 15. Coereba luteola obscura subsp. nov. Type from Encontrados, Zulia, Venezuela. Adult_male,\No. 43655, 292 FIELD MUSEUM or NATURAL HISTORY — ORNITHOLOGY, VOL. I. Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by N. Dearborn, Feb- ruary n, 1908. Similar to C. luteola luteola, but the general plumage is darker, the upper parts being almost black; the gray throat is decidedly darker and the rump and under parts deeper yellow and slightly more orange. Length (skin), 105 mm.; wing, 56; tail, 42; tarsus, 17; culmen, 13. Diglossa sittoides intermedia subsp, nov. Type from Cajamarca, Peru (altitude about 9,000 feet). Adult male, No. 44472, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and M. P. Anderson, April 19, 1912. Similar to Diglossa sittoides sittoides but differs in haying the crown and forehead bluish plumbeous like the back, the lores and about the eye slightly darker (but not so dark as in sittoides}, and the under parts much paler shading to buffy white on the middle of the belly. Total length (skin), 115 mm.; wing, 59; tail, 50; bill, 10; tarsus, 18. Synallaxis candei venezuelensis subsp. nov. Type from Rio Aurare, Venezuela (about 15 miles east of Maracai- bo). Adult male, No. 44473, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and S. G. Jewett, January 19, 1911. Similar to Synallaxis candei candei but having a narrow line of white feathers extending from the nostril to the eye. The line of demarkation between the blackish ends of the tail feathers and their rufous bases is much more abrupt than in candei and not gradually shading from one to the other. Total length (skin), 155 mm.; wing, 157; tail, 70; bill, 12; tarsus, 20. Atlaptes castaneifrons tamae subsp. nov. Type from Paramo de Tama, Venezuela (near the Colombian line, headwaters of Tachira River, altitude between 6,000 and 7,000 feet). Adult male, No. 44188, Field Museum of Natural History. Collected by W. H. Osgood and S. G. Jewett, March i, 1911. Similar to Atlaptes castaneifrons, but crown much darker chestnut and narrow frontal band black; general color of upper parts blacker and of under parts darker and more uniformly gray. Length (skin), 170 mm.; wing, 75; tail, 78; tarsus, 26; culmen, 13. Seven specimens taken, five males and two females. The females are similar to the males, but slightly smaller.