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Show 1870.] ON VENEZUELAN BIRDS. 783 Fam. SCOLOPACIDAE. 103. Actiturus bartramius (Wils.) S. of Merida. 104. Tringoides macularia (Vieill.) S. of Merida. *105. Gallinago frenata (Max.) S. of Merida, Lagoon of Urao. Fam. PODICIPITIDAE. 106. Podiceps dominicus (L.) Lagoon of Urao, S. of Merida. 1. TURDUS ALBIVENTRIS, Spix; Scl. et Salv. Ex. Orn. p. 147, t. 64. A young male of this Thrush from Merida. " Iris clear brownish yellow." 2. TURDUS SERRANUS, Tsch.; Wiegm. Arch. x. pt. 1, p. 280 (1844), et F. P. Aves, p. 186. Merula atrosericea, Lafr. R. Z. 1848, p. 3. Turdus atrosericeus, Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, pp. 136, 333, et Cat. Am. B. p. 5. M . Coulon having been kind enough to send us from the Neuf-chatel Museum the type specimen of Turdus serranus of Tschudi for comparison, we have been enabled to ascertain that this obscure bird is no other than the female or young of the Blackbird hitherto usually called T. atrosericeus. Tschudi's type is rather more deeply coloured than a female of the same species in Sclater's collection from Ecuador. There are also some lighter shaft-stripes on the head and wing-coverts, showing indications of immaturity. The range of this species, therefore, extends over the highlands of Venezuela, Columbia, and Ecuador, into the Sierra region of Peru. 3. CINCLUS LEUCONOTUS, Scl. Cat. Am. B. p. 10, t. 2; Salv. Ibis, 1867, p. 122. The occurrence of this bird in the vicinity of Merida proves a further northern extension of its range than was previously known. Hitherto we have only met with it in Bogota collections ; but De-lattre obtained specimens near Pasto (cf. Lafr. R. Z. 1847, p. 68), and Sir William Jardine has an example in his collection which was transmitted to him by Prof. Jameson from the vicinity of Quito. 4. HELEODYTES GRISEUS, SW. The single specimen of this species differs from the Venezuelan example in Sclater's collection in having the brownish black of the head extending over the upper portion of the back and the wing-feathers. The secondaries and wing-coverts are edged with coffee-brown of the same shade as the lower back, and rather deeper in hue than the corresponding parts of the Venezuelan specimen. Baird (Rev. A m . B. p. 96) appears to have described a similar specimen from Bogota in Mr. Lawrence's collection. The differences are not, in our opinion, of sufficient importance to warrant the separation of this race as a distinct species. |