JfiKeulem&nslith.
MERUL ALEUCOPS
MERULA LEUCOPS, Tacz.
WHITE-EYED BLACK OUZEL.
Turdus atrosericeus, pt. (nec Lafr.), Scl. Cat. Amer. B. p. 5 (1862).
Turdus serranus, pt. (nec Tschudi), Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 2 (1873).
Turdus leucops, Tacz. P. Z. S. 1877, p. 331 ; id. P. Z. S. 1879, p. 22 ; id. Qm. Pérou, i. p. 496
(1884).
Turdus hrunneus, Lawrence, Ibis, 1878, p. 57, pi. i. ( = $ ).
Merula leucops, Seebohm, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. v. p. 241 (1881).
M. rostro et pedibus flavis : remige secundo septimum haud æquante ; maris ptilosi nigrâ, foeminæ tamen brunneâ :
subcaudalibus albis, basi et lateribus plumarum brunneis.
T h e male of this species is scarcely to be separated from that of M. xanthosceles, but it has a slight
bottle-green reflection on the upper parts and on the wings, as opposed to the blue-black reflections
of M. xanthosceles. In the female the under tail-coverts are white, with a dusky-brown base and
lateral edges to the feathers of the same colour.
The range of the species extends from Upper Amazonia to Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. A
specimen obtained by Mr. Edward Bartlett at Chamicuros in the Peruvian Amazons is in the British
Museum, and in Peru it has been obtained by Mr. Jelski at Ropaybamba, and by Mr. Stolzmann at
Tambillo, Shanyn, and Cutervo (Tacz. Orn. Pérou, i. p. 497).
Specimens from Quito and Sarayacu (C. Buckley), in Ecuador, are in the Salvin-Godman
Collection, and an adult male procured by Fraser at Pallatanga is in the Sclater Collection. The
latter contains a young specimen from Bogota, whence there is also an adult male in the Seebohm
Collection.
Mr. Stolzmann observes “ It would seem to be common at Tambillo, where it is an inhabitant
of the forests. During the months of October and November its varied, though by no means
charming, song sounds from the tops of the higher trees. In January I met with a nest from which
the young had lately flown.- I t was constructed of moss, like that of our European Blackbird, and
finished off with vegetable fibres, but it was placed on a thick tree, at a height of about eight feet.
The young birds were hiding in the neighbourhood and piping. The alarm-note of this species is
short and piercing. I t is a very shy bird and conceals itself carefully. I saw it at Shanyn (7200 feet),
and afterwards I met with it in the forest of Angurra, near Cutervo (9800 feet), but it seemed to be
rare, and was perhaps only of accidental occurrence.” (Tacz. Orn. Pérou, i. p. 497.)
Adult male. Black above and below, with slight bottle-green reflections : “ bill orange-yellow ;
feet and claws wax-yellow ; iris dirty white ; eyelids orange-yellow ” (Stolzmann). Total length
8 inches, culmen 0*9, wing 4*6, tail 3*0, tarsus TO.
Adult female. Different from the male. ■ General colour above dark olive-brown, becoming
slightly paler olive towards the rump and upper tail-coverts ; wing-coverts like the back ; bastard-
pLmary-coverts, quills, and tail-feathers deep sepia-brown, externally deep olive-brown like the
ack, the primaries very narrowly margined ; crown of head and sides of face uniform dark brown ;
cheeks also brown, with a distinct malar line of white, followed by a blackish moustachial line, the
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