Birds of North and Middle America, part V/Genus 17. Myrmeciza Gray

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Genus MYRMECIZA Gray.

Myrmeciza Gray, List Gen. Birds, 1841, 34. (Type, Myrmothera longipes Vieillot.)
Myrmonax[1] Cabanis, in Wiegmann's Archiv für Naturg., xiii, pt. i, 1847, 210. (Type, Myrmothera longipes Yieillot.)
Myrmelastes Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1858, 274. (Type, M. plumbeus Sclater.)

Medium-sized Formicariidæ (length about 130-165 mm .) resembling Gymnocichla but loral and suborbital regions feathered (only the postocular and rictal regions naked), tail relatively shorter (two- thirds to three-fourths, instead of four-fifths, as long as wing), the adult males not black (or else without white tips to wing-coverts).

Bill shorter than head, rather slender to moderately stout, its width at frontal antiæ equal to or slightly greater than its depth at same point and equal to nearly if not quite half the distance from nostril to tip of maxilla; culmen distinctly (sometimes rather sharply) ​ridged, straight or nearly so for basal half or more, then gradually more and more decurved to the distinctly uncinate tip of maxilla; tomia nearly straight, minutely but distinctly notched subterminally (more slightly so on mandibular tomium); gonys distinctly convex and prominent basally, gently convex or nearly straight and ascending terminally, the tip of mandible forming a minute slightly recurved point. Nostril exposed, separated more or less widely from feathering of latero-frontal antiæ, longitudinally oval, with an internal tubercle showing distinctly within posterior portion, margined above by a more or less broad extension of the membraneous integument of the nasal fossa. Rictal bristles absent; feathers of chin, etc., without distinct terminal setæ, but their webs semidecomposed, bristle-like. Wing moderate, much rounded, the longest primaries projecting very little (sometimes not at all) beyond secondaries; fourth, fifth and sixth, fifth, sixth and seventh, or fifth and sixth, primaries longest, the tenth (outermost) a little more than half (M. plumbea) to two-thirds (M. boucardi) as long as the longest, the eighth slightly shorter to decidedly longer than secondaries. Tail two-thirds to slightly more than three-fourths as long as wing, strongly rounded (graduation equal to less than distance from nostril to tip of maxilla), the rectrices (12) rather narrow to rather broad (M. plumbea), rounded terminally. Tarsus much longer than whole culmen, two-fifths as long as wing or a little more, the acrotarsium distinctly scutellate, the planta fused (nonscutellate); middle toe, with claw, much shorter than tarsus; outer toe, without claw, not reaching to middle of subterminal phalanx of middle toe, the inner toe slightly shorter; hallux about as long as inner toe, but much stouter; basal phalanx of middle toe united to outer toe for much the greater part, to inner toe for not more than basal half (for less than basal half in M. boucardi); claws moderate in size and curvature, much compressed, that of the hallux decidedly shorter than its digit. Plumage full and blended, that of rump (and to a less extent that of flanks also) much lengthened, more lax; feathers of pileum short and blended in M. plumbea, more elongated and distinctly outlined in other species; rictal and postocular regions naked, the loral and frontal regions more or less scantily feathered.

Coloration. — (I) Adult males uniform black, including outer surface of wings; adult females brown, the head more dusky. (II) Adult male plain slate color, the wing-coverts spotted with white; adult female similar but under parts bright tawny. (Ill) Adult males brown above, the head and neck slate color or olive, the wing-coverts with or without white spots; under parts gray or slate color, darker (sometimes black) on throat, the flanks brownish; adult females duller, brownish or rufescent below, or (in M. læmosticta) similar to the male but the black throat barred with white. (IV) Adult males ​bright cinnamon-rufous, more grayish (sometimes wholly gray) on pileum and hindneck, the wing-coverts sometimes spotted with black; sides of head, throat, and chest black, rest of under parts white medially, grayish and fulvescent laterally; adult females similar but without black on under parts.

Range. — Nicaragua to western Ecuadór, Amazon Valley, and British Guiana. (About six species.)[2]

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF MYRMECIZA.

a. Under parts partly black.

b. Back, wings, etc., brown or cinnamon-rufous.
c. Abdomen white; back, wings, etc., cinnamon-rufous or rufous-chestnut. (Myrmeciza boucardi.)
d. Whole chest gray.
e. Pileum and hindneck wholly gray; no black spots or bars on wing-coverts. (Central Colombia.)
Myrmeciza boucardi boucardi, adult male (extralimital).[3]
ee. Pileum and hindneck mostly rufous-brown; wing-coverts with conspicuous bars or transverse spots of black. (Central Venezuela.)
Myrmeciza boucardi griseipectus, adult male (extralimital).[4]
dd. Upper chest black, like throat, the lower chest white medially.
e. Sides of chest paler and less extensively gray. (Coast district of Venezuela; Trinidád.)
Myrmeciza boucardi swainsoni, adult male (extralimital).[5]
ee. Sides of chest darker and more extensively gray. (Eastern Panamá and Caribbean coast district of Colombia.)
Myrmeciza boucardi panamensis, adult male (p. 107).
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cc. Abdomen slate color or gray.
d. Back with a large concealed patch of white; sexes nearly alike in color.
e. Throat uniform black. (Costa Rica and western Panama.)
Myrmeciza læmosticta, adult male (p. 109).
ee. Throat spotted or barred with white.
Myrmeciza læmosticta, adult female (p. 109).
dd. Back without a concealed white patch; sexes very different in color.
e. All the wing-coverts with a white apical spot or dot; tail relatively shorter.
f. Darker, the back, rump, etc., deep mummy or vandyke brown, head (all round) black, chest, breast, and abdomen blackish slate. (North-western Ecuador)
Myrmeciza maculifer, adult male (extralimital).[6]
ff. Paler, the back, rump, etc., mars brown, head (all round) blackish slate, chest, breast, and abdomen slate-gray. (Eastern Panamá and adjacent portion of Colombia)
Myrmeciza cassini, adult male (p. 110).
ee. Wing-coverts (except, sometimes, a few of the more anterior lesser coverts) without white spots or dots. (Myrmeciza exsul.)
f. Slightly darker or duller in general coloration, with slate color of under parts usually not paler on abdomen. (Caribbean slope of Panamá, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.)
Myrmeciza exsul exsul, adult male (p. 111).
ff. Slightly brighter in coloration, with slate color of under parts usually paler on abdomen. (Pacific slope of Costa Rica and western Panamá.)
Myrmeciza exsul occidentalis, adult male (p. 113).
bb. Back, wings, etc. (whole upper parts), also entire under parts, uniform black, the anterior lesser wing-coverts white.
c. Forehead and lores densely (normally) feathered; white area on anterior margin of wing narrower; tarsus 31.5-32. (Central Colombia.)
Myrmeciza immaculata, adult male (extralimital).[7]
cc. Forehead and lores scantily feathered; white area on anterior margin of wing broader; tarsus 33.5-36.
d. White area on anterior portion of wing smaller, involving only marginal lesser coverts; tarsus 33.5-34.5. (Costa Rica and western Panamá.)
Myrmeciza zeledoni, adult male (p. 114).
dd. White area on anterior portion of wing much larger, involving nearly the whole of the lesser covert area; tarsus 36. (Western Ecuadór to central Colombia.)
Myrmeciza berlepsch, adult male (extralimital).[8]

aa. Under parts without any black.

bb. Throat and chest buff or ochraceous-buff (the former sometimes whitish); abdomen white. (Myrmeciza boucardi.)
c. Wing-coverts distinctly spotted or barred with black.
d. Spots or bars on wing-coverts larger, very conspicuous.
Myrmeciza boucardi griseipectus, adult female (extralimital).
dd. Spots or bars on wing-coverts smaller, inconspicuous.
Myrmeciza boucardi panamensis, adult female (p. 108).
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cc. Wing-coverts not distinctly, if at all, spotted or barred with black.
Myrmeciza boucardi swainsoni, adult female and young (extralimital).
Myrmeciza boucardi panamensis, young male (p. 108).[9]
bb. Throat gray or dusky; chest and abdomen brown or tawny.
c. Smaller (wing 62-71, tarsus 26-31); pilemn slaty or blackish, in contrast with chestnut or chestnut-brown of back; tail brown.
d. All the wing-coverts with a terminal spot or dot of white; under parts paler, becoming buffy on abdomen
Myrmeciza cassini, adult female (p. 110).
dd. Wing-coverts uniform brown (except, sometimes, a few small dots of white near bend of wing); under parts darker, the abdomen brown. (Myrmeciza exsul.)
e. General color of under parts much duller, the chest Vandyke brown.
Myrmeciza exsul exsul, adult female (p. 111).
ee. General color of under parts much brighter, the chest bright chestnut or tawny-chestnut
Myrmeciza exsul occidentalis, adult female (p. 113).
cc. Larger (wing 75-81, tarsus 32-35); tail blackish; pileum dark brown, like back, etc.
d. Forehead and lores densely (normally) feathered; chin to auricular region grayish dusky; throat dull grayish, chest slaty olive; back chestnut-brown; tail blackish brown; culmen, 19.5.
Myrmeciza immaculata, adult female (extralimital).
dd. Forehead and lores scantily feathered; chin to auricular region dull black; lower throat, chest, and other under parts deep vandyke brown; back, etc., dark vandyke brown; tail black; culmen, 20.5-22.
Myrmeciza zeledoni, adult female (p. 114).

MYRMECIZA BOUCARDI PANAMENSIS Ridgway.

WHITE-BELLIED ANTBIRD.

Adult male. — Pileum and hindneck gray or slate-gray, at least anteriorly and laterally, the gray paler on sides of occiput (supra- auricular region), the crown, occiput, and hindneck usually more or less overlaid by chestnut-brown (burnt-umber or vandyke), sometimes uniformly of this color; rest of upper parts plain bright cinnamon-rufous or chestnut-rufous, the color paler and more tawny on primaries; anterior margin of lesser wing-covert area white or pale buffy, immediately followed by more or less of black spotting; middle wing-coverts sometimes with an indistinct subterminal bar of dusky; loral, suborbital, auricular, and malar regions, chin, throat, and chest uniform black, the first mixed with gray anteriorly; lower chest and breast (except medially) and sides of upper chest plain gray (no. 6 or no. 7), passing posteriorly into tawny-buff or clay color on flanks; median portion of lower chest and breast, together with abdomen, white; under tail-coverts tawny or tawny- ochraceous; smaller under wing-coverts white or buffy white, those on carpal region with more or less distinct central or mesial marks of dusky; inner webs of remiges broadly edged with vinaceous- cinnamon; bill black; legs and feet dull yellowish or pale yellowish ​brown (in dried skins); length (skins), 145-152 (150); wing, 65.5- 71.5 (69.3); tail, 51-57.5 (53.8); culmen, 18.5-20.5 (19.6); tarsus, 28-31.5 (30.5); middle toe, 16.5-18.5 (17.5).[10]

Adult female. — Pileum and hindneck brown (nearly mummy brown), passing into grayish (more or less extensively) on forehead and into light buffy grayish on supra-auricular region; rest of upper parts plain cinnamon-rufous, somewhat darker and duller on tail, paler and more tawny or cinnamomeous on primaries; lesser wing- coverts mixed black and cinnamon-brown ; middle coverts crossed by a broad subterminal bar of black, the tip lighter cinnamon- rufous than general color; the greater coverts and tertials similarly marked but black subterminal bar narrower; auricular region dark brown or dusky, with narrow shaft-streaks of buffy or whitish; malar region, throat, and chest plain ochraceous-buff, passing into white or buffy white on chin; sides and flanks paler ochraceous-buff, some- what tinged with grayish; breast and abdomen white; under tail- coverts tawny-ochraceous; maxilla dark horn color, mandible paler; legs and feet dull yellowish or light yellowish brown (in dried skins); length (skins), 133-154 (141); wing, 62-69.5 (64.8); tail, 49-58.5 (52.2); culmen, 18.5-20 (19.2); tarsus, 28.5-31 (30): middle toe, 16-18.5 (16.8).[11]

Immature male. — Similar to the adult female, but without distinct, if any, black markings on wings.

Panamá (Lion Hill; Panamá; Sabana de Panamá; Verágua) to northeastern Colombia (Santa Marta, Cacagualito, Don Diego, and Bonda, Santa Marta; Cartagena).

(?) Myrmeciza longipes (not Myrmothera longipes Vieillot) Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1858, 249, part ("New Granada").
Myrmeciza longipes Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. N. Y., vii, 1862, 325 (Lion Hill, Panamá). — Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864, 357 (Lion Hill).
Myrmeciza swainsoni (not of Berlepsch) Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, 229, part (Verágua and Lion Hill, Panamá). ​
Drymophila swainsoni Thayer and Bangs, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., xlvi, 1906, 217 (Sabana de Panamá).
[Drymophila] swainsoni Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 33, part (Colombia; Panamá).
Myrmeciza boucardi (not of Berlepsch) Sclater, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xv, 1890, 279, part (Venágua; Panamá). — Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xii, 1898, 138 (Santa Marta, Colombia). — Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. N. H., xiii, 1900, 160 (Bonda, etc., Santa Marta, Colombia).
Myrmeciza boucardi panamensis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxi, Oct. 20, 1908, 144 (line of Panamá Railway; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.).

MYRMECIZA LÆMOSTICTA Salvin.

SALVIN'S ANTBIRD.

Adult male (= M. stictoptera Lawrence). — Head and neck plain slate-black or blackish slate, becoming black on chin and throat; upper back dark brownish olive, the feathers black centrally and extensively white basally; lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts dark chestnut or chestnut-brown, the tail similar but slightly darker; lesser and middle wing-coverts black, each with a roundish apical spot of white, some of the coverts along anterior border of wing with outer web wholly white; greater coverts and secondaries dark chestnut-brown, some of the former with indistinct small apical spots of fulvous; alula and primary-coverts uniform dusky grayish brown; primaries prouts brown, the outermost without white edging; chest, breast, anterior portion of sides, and upper abdomen, deep slate-gray or slate color, the feathers blackish centrally; posterior portion of sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts plain vandyke brown; maxilla black, mandible brownish (dark bluish horn color in life);[12] iris carmine red, scarlet, or crimson;[12] legs and feet horn brown (leaden bluish or dark purplish lead color in life);[12] length (skins), 120-141 (131); wing, 62-65.5 (64.3); tail, 44-49 (46.5); culmen, 17.5-20 (18.5); tarsus, 25.5-28 (26.7); middle toe, 16-18 (17.1).[13]

Adult female (= M. læmosticta Salvin). — Similar to the adult male, but throat conspicuously spotted with white, and pileum and hindneck mostly dark sepia brown instead of wholly slate-black or blackish slate; length (skins), 121-145 (131); wing, 62.5-65 (63.3); tail, 42-49 (44.8); culmen, 17-18.5 (18); tarsus, 26-28 (26.8); middle toe, 17-18 (17.2).[13]

Costa Rica (Tucurríqui; Angostura; San Carlos; La Florída; Turrialba; Peralta; Guápiles; Cuábre; Carrillo; La Vijágua; Rio Súcio) and western Panamá (Santa Fé de Verágua).

Myrmeciza læmosticta Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864 (pub. Apr. 1, 1865) 582 (Tucurríqui, Costa Rica; coll. Salvin and Godman); 1867, 145 (Santa Fé de Verágua, Panamá; crit.). — Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. N. Y., ix, 1868, 109 ​(Tucurríqui). — Frantzius, Journ. für Orn., 1869, 305 (Costa Rica). — Sclater, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xv, 1890, 280. — Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, 230, pl. 51, fig. 1. — Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vi, 1910, 617 (Caribbean slope, 1,000-2,500 ft., Costa Rica; crit.; habits).
[Myrmeciza] læmosticta Sclater and Salvin, Nom. Av. Neotr., 1873, 74.
Myrmeciza læmosticta læmosticta Hellmayr, Novit. Zool., xiii, 1906, 343 (crit.).
[Drymophila] læmosticta Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 34.
Drymophila læmosticta Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., v, 1908, 9, in text.
Myrmeciza stictoptera Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N. Y., viii, 1867, 132 (Angostura, Costa Rica; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.); ix, 1868, 109 (do.). — Frantzius, Journ. für Orn., 1869, 306 (Costa Rica). — Cherrie, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xiv, 1891, 532 (San Carlos, Costa Rica; crit.). — Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, 230.
[Drymophila] stictoptera Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 34.
Drymophila stictoptera Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., v, 1908, 9 (crit.).

MYRMECIZA CASSINI (Ridgway).

CASSIN'S ANTBIRD.

Adult male. — Head and neck, all round, uniform slate-black or blackish slate; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail-coverts, tail, and secondaries plain bright mummy brown or mars brown; edge of wing white; lesser wing-coverts brownish black or blackish brown, each with a conspicuous apical spot of white;[14] alula dusky brown, the outermost feather broadly edged with white; primary-coverts uniform dusky brown; primaries grayish brown basally passing terminally into light olive-brown, the outermost edged with white; under parts, except chin, throat, and under tail-coverts, plain slate- gray, somewhat paler posteriorly, where slightly tinged with fulvous; under tail-coverts light mummy brown; bill black; legs and feet light yellowish gray (in dried skin); wing, 69; tail, 42; culmen (bill defective); tarsus, 29; middle toe, 18.[15]

Adult female?. — Upper parts as in the adult male, but brown of back, etc., much deeper (chestnut-brown); chin and most of throat uniform slate color; median portion of lower throat, chest, and breast chestnut, the remaining under parts slightly paler and duller (more russet); wing, 64; tail, 39; culmen (bill defective); tarsus, 26; middle toe, 18.[16]

Immature male.[17] — Similar to the supposed adult female, as described above, but brown of upper parts lighter and less castaneous (deeper, however, than in the adult male described), and general color of under parts much lighter (dull cinnamon-rufous on chest ​passing into ochraceous-buff on abdomen), the sides and flanks more brownish (nearly raw nmber), the slate-gray restricted to chin and upper throat; wing, 63; tail, 41; culmen, 19; tarsus, 27; middle toe, 17.

Eastern Panamá (Cascajál, Coclé) and adjacent portion of north- western Colombia (Turbo).

Myrmeciza exsul[18] (not of Sclater, 1858) Cassin, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pliila., 1860, 191 (Turbo, Colombia).
Myrmelastes cassini Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxi, Oct. 20, 1908, 194 (Turbo, n. w. Colombia; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.).

MYRMECIZA EXSUL EXSUL Sclater.

SCLATER'S ANTBIRD.

Adult male. — Head and neck, all round, uniform slate-black; upper parts (except pileum and hindneck) plain deep chestnut; lesser wing- coverts at least partly black, those along anterior margin of wing more or less extensively white, and behind this white margin often a few small dots of white; the carpo-metacarpal region also streaked with white, and outermost feather of alula sometimes edged with white; under parts (except chin, throat, flanks, anal region and under tail-coverts), plain blackish slate color; flanks, anal region, and under tail-coverts plain mummy or Vandyke brown; bill black; iris brown; bare skin of postocular region and chin sky blue; legs and feet dusky (blackish horn color or dark bluish gray in life); length (skins), 126-148 (134); wing, 64-71 (67.4); tail, 44-49 (46.8); culmen, l8.5-21.5 (20.2); tarsus, 27-29.5 (28.2); middle toe, 17.5-19 (17.9).[19]

Adult female. — Upper parts as in adult male, but slate-black of pileum and hindneck slightly duller; chin and throat slate-blackish, but usually duller than in adult male; rest of under parts plain vandyke or mummy brown; bill, etc., as in adult male, but mandible ​sometimes brownish; length (skins), 124-140 (132); wing, 64-69.5 (66.4); tail, 42.5-50 (45.2); culmen, 19-21 (20); tarsus, 27.5-31 (28.3); middle toe, 16.5-19 (17.9).[20]

Caribbean slope of Panamá (Lion Hill; Frijole station; Chepo; Panamá; Cascajál, Coclé), Costa Rica (Jiménez; Sipúrio; Talamanca; Angostura; Rio Reventazón; Guácimo; Guápiles; Cuábre; Rio Sícsola; Siquirres; LaCristina; Carrillo; Limón; La Balsa; Turrialba; Volcan de Turrialba; El Hogár; Rio Banana; La Vijágua; Pacuare) and Nicaragua (Los Sábalos; Rio Escondido; Chontales; San Emilis,Lake Nicaragua).

Myrmeciza exsul Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1858 (pub. 1859), 540 (Panamá; coll. Derby Mus.). — Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vi, 1910, 614 (Caribbean lowlands up to 2,000 ft., Costa Rica; crit.; habits; descr. nest and eggs).
M[yrmeciza] exsul Hellmayr, Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellsch. Wien, 1903, 215 (diagnosis).
Myrmelastes exsul exsul Hellmayr, Novit. Zool., xiii, 1906, 341 (Panamá; e. Costa Rica; Rio Escondido and Chontales, Nicaragua; crit.; synonymy).
Myrmeciza immaculata (not Thamnophilus immaculatus Lafresnaye) Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., Oct. 1, 1864, 357 (Lion Hill, Panamá; coll. Salvin and Godman). — Lawrence, Ann. Lyc. N. Y., ix, 1868, 109 (Pacuare and Angostura, Costa Rica; crit.). — Frantzius, Journ. für Orn., 1869, 305 (Costa Rica). — Nutting, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vi, 1883, 405 (Los Sábalos, Nicaragua; habits). — Zeledón, Anal. Mus. Nac. Costa Rica, i, 1887, 115, part (Pacuare and Jiménez, Costa Rica). — Sclater, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XV, 1890, 279, part (Panamá and Chepo, Panamá; "Valza," i. e. La Balsa, Costa Rica). — Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, pl. 51, figs. 2, 3.
[Myrmedza] immaculata Sclater and Salvin, Nom. Av. Neotr., 1873, 74.
Myrmeciza intermedia Cherrie, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xiv, no. 355, Sept. 4, 1891, 345 (Sipúrio, Talamanca, Costa Rica; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.).
Myrmelastes intermedius Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, 227, part (Los Sábalos, Nicaragua; Pacuare, Angostura, La Balsa, Jiménez, and Carrillo, Costa Rica; Lion Hill and Chepo, Panamá). — Richmond, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xvi, 1893, 502 (Rio Escondido, Nicaragua; habits). — Bangs, Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, ii, 1900, 25 (Loma del León, Panamá.).
[Myrmelastes] intermedius Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 32.
Myrmelastes occidentalis intermedius Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., v, no. 1, Oct. 1, 1908, 10, in text.
​

MYRMECIZA EXSUL OCCIDENTALIS (Cherrie).

CHERRIE'S ANTBIRD.

Adult male. — Head and neck, all round, plain black or slate-black; rest of upper parts plain chestnut, the tail slightly darker; anterior lesser wing-coverts black (those along margin of wing white), the posterior ones more brownish; outermost feather of alula sometimes edged with white; chest, breast, sides, and abdomen plain blackish slate (rather darker anteriorly, where usually shading gradually into the black of throat, slightly paler, or clearer slate color, posteriorly); flanks, anal region, and under tail-coverts plain chestnut- brown or vandyke brown; bill black; iris brown; bare skin of postocular region and chin sky blue (in life); legs and feet dusky (blackish horn color or dark bluish gray in life); length (skins), 125-143 (133); wing, 65-71 (68.3); tail, 47-51.5 (48.1); culmen, 20-22 (20.7); tarsus, 27-29.5 (27.8); middle toe, 17.5-19.5 (18.2).[21]

Young male {nestling). — Much like the adult male but coloration much duller, the chestnut of back mixed or tinged with sooty brown, the head, neck, and chest sooty blackish or brownish slate-black, and under parts of body mixed sooty brown and tawny brown.

Adult female. — Upper parts as in adult male, but color of back, etc., usually rather lighter, more tawny, chestnut, and less sharply defined against the dusky slate color of pileum and hindneck, which are usually more or less tinged with brown; sides of head, chin, and upper throat slate color, the latter sometimes tinged with tawny brown; lower throat and chest bright tawny-chestnut or rufous- chestnut, passing into russet or tawny-russet on breast and abdomen, the flanks, anal region, and under tail-coverts tawny-brown (between mars brown and russet); bill, etc., as in adult male; length (skins), 131-140 (135); wing, 62-69 (65.7); tail, 44.5-49 (46.8); culmen, 18.5-21.5 (20.1); tarsus, 27-29.5 (28.1); middle toe, 17-18 (17.7).[21]

Pacific slope of Costa Rica (Pozo del Pitál, Rio Naranjo; Pozo Azúl de Pirrís; Pozo del Rio Grande; Pozo de Térraba; El Generál; Paso Reál; Boruca; Buenos Aires; Barranca, Boruca; Las Trojas; Palmár; Lagarto; La Palma de Nicoya; Esparta; San Mateo; San Carlos), and western Panamá (Divala; Bugaba).

Myrmeciza immaculata (not of Sclater and Salvin) Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1870, 195 (Bugaba, Panamá; crit.). — Boucard, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1878, 61 (San Carlos and San Mateo, Costa Rica). — Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., v, 1882, 398 (La Palma de Nicoya, Costa Rica; crit.). — Zeledón, Anal. Mus. Nac. Costa Rica, 1887, 115, part (Las Trojas and Pozo Azúl, w. Costa Rica).
Myrmeciza immaculata occidentalis Cherrie, Auk, viii, April, 1891, 191 (Pozo Azúl, s. w. Costa Rica; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.). ​
Myrmeciza occidentalis Cherrie, Anal. Inst. Fis.-Geog. Costa Rica, vi, 1893, 19 (Pozo del Pitál, s. w. Costa Rica). — Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vi, 1910, 616 (Pacific lowlands and foothills, Costa Rica; crit.; descr. nest and eggs).
Myrmelastes occidentalis Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, 228 (Bebedero, etc., w. Costa Rica). — Cherrie, Expl. Zool. Mend. Costa Rica, 1893, 43 (Palmár, Lagarto, Boruca, and Buenos Aires, s. w. Costa Rica). — Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., v, 1908, 10 (crit.).
[Myrmelastes] occidentalis Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 32.
Myrmelastes exsul occidentalis Hellmayr, Novit. Zool., xiii, 1906, 341 (Pozo Azúl, etc., s. w. Costa Rica; Bugaba, Panamá; crit.). — Bangs, Auk, xxiv, 1907, 296 (Boruca, Paso Reál, Pozo del Rio Grande, and Barranca, s. w. Costa Rica). — Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., v, 1908, 10, in text.
M[yrmelastes] exsul occidentalis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxi, 1908, 194, in text.
Myrmelastes intermedius (not Myrmeciza intermedia Cherrie) Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Aves, ii, 1892, 227, part (San Carlos and San Mateo, Costa Rica; Bugaba, Panamá).

MYRMECIZA ZELEDONI Ridgway.

ZELEDON'S ANTBIRD.

Adult male. — Uniform black, relieved only by a white patch on inner-anterior portion of lesser wing-covert area, a narrow white margin thence around bend of wing, and white edging to alulæ; bill and feet black; iris chestnut; bare skin of lores and orbits blue, becoming white behind eye;[22] length (skins), 168-188 (178); wing, 78-86 (80.9); tail, 70-82 (76.8); culmen, 21-23 (22); tarsus, 33.5- 34.5 (34); middle toe, 20-22 (21.2).[23]

Adult female. — Above plain dark chocolate brown (or between chocolate and seal brown), the tail blackish brown or brownish black; loral, orbital, and auricular regions, chin, and upper throat, blackish brown or brownish black; under parts lighter chocolate brown or vandyke brown; maxilla blackish brown, mandible pale yellowish brown or dull yellowish (in dried skins); legs and feet dusky brown (in dried skins); length (skins), 166-193 (175); wing, 75-81 (78.6); tail, 71.5-78 (75); culmen, 20.5-22 (21.1); tarsus, 32-35 (33.6); middle toe, 20-22 (21.1).[24]

Costa Rica (Naranjo de Cartago; Guayabo; Guápiles; Carrillo; La Hondura; Tucurríqui; Cariblanco de Sarapiquí) and western Panamá (Boquete de Chitra; Calobre; Calovévora; Caribbean slope, Volcan de Chiriquí). Western Colombia.

Thamnophilus immaculatus (not of Lafresnaye) Salvin, Ibis, 1870, 114 (Tucurríqui, Costa Rica; cnt.); Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1870, 194 (Volcan de Chiriquí, Calovévora, and Calobre, Panamá). — Sclater, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xv, 1890, 189, part (Tucurríqui, Costa Rica; Boquete de Chitra, Calobre, Calovévora, and Volcan de Chiriquí, Panamá). ​
[Thamnophilus] immaculatus Sclater and Salvin, Nom. Av. Neotr., 1873, 69, part.
Myrmelastes immaculatus Salvin and Godman, Biol. Centr.-Am., Avea, ii, 1892, 225, part (Costa Rica and Panama localities and references). — Bangs, Proc. New Engl. Zool. Club, iii, 1902, 42 (Volcan de Chiriqui, 2,000 ft.).
[Myrmelastes] immaculatus Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 32, part.
Myrmeciza immaculata Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vi, 1910, 618 (Caribbean slope Costa Rica, 1,000-4,000 ft.; crit.)[25]
Myrmeciza zeledoni Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxii, April 17, 1909, 74 (Guayabo, Costa Rica; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.).

  1. ↑ ? = ?, Ameise; ?, Herrscher, tyrannus. (Cabanis.)
  2. ↑ I have not seen Thamnophilus leuconotus Spix, referred to Myrmelastes by recent authors. I am quite unable to appreciate any reasons for retaining a genus Myrmelastes as distinguished from Myrmeciza, unless the former is restricted to the type (M. plumbeus). The latter differs from other species in much greater development of the plumage of the lower back and rump, stouter bill, more rounded wing, and narrower, more broadly operculate nostrils. On the other hand, M. boucardi and its allies have a longer and more slender bill, longer tail, with relatively narrower rectrices, longer outermost primary, and very different style of coloration. While not so homogeneous as most genera, however, the group, after the elimination of the long-tailed and otherwise very different species constituting the genus Drymophila Swainson (see page 15), may, on the whole, be considered a fairly natural group.
  3. ↑ Myrmeciza boucardi Berlepsch, Ibis, 5th ser., vi, no. xxi, Jan., 1888, 129 (Bogotá, Colombia; coll. Count von Berlepsch); Sclater, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xv, 1890, 279, part (Bogotá). — [Drymophila] boucardi Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 34.
  4. ↑ Myrmeciza swainsoni griseipectus Berlepsch and Hartert, Novit. Zool., ix, no. 1, April 10, 1902, 76 (Caicará, Orinoco R., Venezuela; coll. Tring Mus.).
  5. ↑ Myrmeciza swainsoni Berlepsch, Ibis, 5th ser., vi, no. xxi, Jan., 1888, 130, in text (based on Myrmothera longipes Swainson, but not of Vieillot). — M[yrmeciza] boucardi swainsoni Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxi, Oct. 20, 1908, 194, in text. — Myrmeciza longipes albiventris Chapman, Auk, x, no. 4, Oct., 1893, 343; Bull. Am. Mus. N. H., vi, Feb., 1894, 51 (Princestown, Trinidád; coll. Am. Mus. N. H.). — [Drymophila] albiventris Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 34 (Trinidád). — Myrmeciza longipes longipes (not Myrmothera longipes Swainson?) Hellmayr, Novit. Zool., xiii, 1906, 33 (Trinidád; crit.).
  6. ↑ Myrmelastes exsul maculifer Hellmayr, Novit. Zool., xiii, no. 2, July 10, 1906, 340, 342 (Paramba, n. w. Ecuadór, 3,500 ft.; coll. Tring Mus.). — M[yrmelastes] maculifer Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxi, Oct. 20, 1908, 194, in text.
  7. ↑ T[hamnophilus] immaculatus Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., viii, Sept., 1845, 340 (Bogotá, Colombia; types now in coll. Bost. Soc. N. H.). See Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xxii, 1907, 74, under Myrmeciza berlepschi.
  8. ↑ Myrmeciza berlepschi Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xii, April 17, 1909, 74 (Chimbo, n. w. Ecuadór; coll. U. S. Nat. Mus.). This form (of which I have not seen Colombian specimens) may prove to be only subspecifically distinct from M. zeledoni.
  9. ↑ The distinctive characters of the several forms of this species are not very evident in females and immature birds. 1 have not seen the adult female of M. b. boucardi.
  10. ↑ Eleven specimens.
  11. ↑ Nine specimens.
    Locality. Wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus. Middle
    toe.
    males.
    Five adult males from eastern Panamá 68.5 52.5 19.7 30.7 17.2
    Six adult males from Santa Marta, Colombia 70 55.5 19.5 30.2 17.7
    Two adult males (M. b. swainsoni) from Venezuela 66.7 52.7 18.5 29.5 16.7
    Ten adult males (M. b. swainsoni) from Trinidád 66.6 53.5 19.4 29.2 16.9
    females.
    Four adult females from eastern Panamá 63.9 50.4 18.9 29.5 16.4
    Five adult females from Santa Marta, Colombia 65.5 54 19.4 30.4 17.1
    Four adult females (M. b. swainsoni) from Venezuela 66 53.4 17.3 38.6 16.4
    Six adult females (M. b. swainsoni) from Trinidád 66.3 52.5 18.7 28.2 16.5
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 M. A. Carriker, jr., on labels.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Ten specimens, from Costa Rica.
  14. ↑ In the single specimen that I have been able to examine the middle and greater coverts are wanting.
  15. ↑ One specimen (the type).
  16. ↑ One specimen, from Turbo, Colombia.
  17. ↑ Described from no. 150, 920, U. S. Nat. Mus., Cascajál (Coclé), Panamá; Heyde.
  18. ↑ The following citations of Myrmeciza (or Myrmelastes) exsul refer to one or more allied forms:
    Myrmeciza exsul (not of Sclater, 1858) Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1860, 294 (Esmeraldas, w. Ecuadór; crit.); Cat. Am. Birds, 1862, 187 (Esmeraldas); Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xv, 1890, 279 (Esmeraldas and Intac, Ecuadór; Nechi, Colombia). — Sclater and Salvin, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1879, 556 (Nechi, Antioquia, Colombia). — Berlepsch and Taczanowski, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1883, 566 (Chimbo, w. Ecuadór; crit.). — Salvadori and Festa, Boll. Mus. Zool., etc., Torino, xv, 1899, no. 362, p. 31 (Foreste del Rio Peripa, w. Ecuadór). — Hartert, Novit. Zool., v, 1898, 493 (Cachavi, n. w. Ecuadór). — Goodfellow, Ibis, 1902, 65 (Santo Domingo and Guanacillo, n. w. Ecuadór; habits, etc.).
    [Myrmeciza] exsul Sclater and Salvin, Nom. Av. Neotr., 1873, 74.
    [Myrmelastes] exsul Sharpe, Hand-list, iii, 1901, 32 (Colombia to Ecuadór).

    (The bird from Nechi, Colombia, may possibly be M. cassini.)

  19. ↑ Sixteen specimens.
  20. ↑ Fourteen specimens.
    Locality. Wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus. Middle
    toe.
    males.
    Six adult males from eastern Panamá 67.4 47.2 19.4 28.4 17.8
    Ten adult males from eastern Costa Rica (8) and Nicaragua (2) 67.4 46.5 20.6 28.1 18
    females.
    Four adult females from eastern Panamá 66.6 45.4 20.1 27.9 18
    Ten adult females from eastern Costa Rica (8) and Nicaragua (2) 66.3 45.2 20.1 28.5 17.9
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Ten specimens, from Costa Rica.
  22. ↑ Zeledón, manuscript.
  23. ↑ Five specimens, from Costa Rica.
  24. ↑ Eight specimens from Costa Rica (7) and western Panamá (1).
  25. ↑ Mr. Carriker erroneously concludes that because six skins of "Myrmeciza immaculata (Lafresnaye)" from western Colombia agree closely with Costa Rican specimens of M. zeledoni, the latter is not a tenable form. He quite overlooked the fact that the specimens from western Colombia which he examined are not Thamnophilus immaculatus of Lafresnaye, which is so different that their confusion would be almost impossible if specimens are actually compared. His observations simply extend the range of M. zeledoni to western Colombia.
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