Zoological Illustrations Series II/Plate 62



Although not particularly striking in its plumage, this is one of the most interesting birds, to the ornithologist, which has yet been gleaned from the little known regions of Mexico. Closely allied, by its short and broad bill to the Flycatchers, it is principally distinguished from them by the absence of those bristles round the mouth, which almost invariably belong to purely insectivorous birds. Its very short, robust, and feathered tarsi, the profile of the bill, construction of the wing, and even the colouring of the plumage, all remind us of the Ceblepyrinæ or Catterpillar-catchers, and point to that group as containing its true affinities: a group, however, which is in such confusion, that we venture not to hazard any speculations on the precise station of this curious genus.

If the authors of the Planches Coloriées, will consult the Philosophical Magazine for July 1827, (one of the oldest and best of our scientific Journals), they will find that this, and most of the birds from Mexico, which they are now describing as new, were long ago named and characterized by us. Our list, indeed, of all those brought over by Mr. Bullock, was printed with the catalogue, in 1824, when one of the Authors was himself in England, and viewed the collection.