ROCKY4M0IINTAIN -ANTGATCHER.
MYI0THERJ1 OBSOLETE.
Plate I; Fig. 2.
Troglodytes obsokta, Sat, in Long’s Ropedition to the Rocky Mountains, vol. 11^ p. 4.
Philadelphia Museum, No. 2420. .'
T his bird is one .of ^those beings which seem created to'puzzle the
naturalist, and ïjsénvdiree. him that nature wift -never- conform td ’iiis
sy^tejns/, however perfect; his ingenuity mayfhe capable- of devising
them.;-» t*TMs will.become sufficiently.apparent,:when wfefcconsiden-in
what jnanner-.different,authors would have-arranged it.
jlFe. cannot .positively decide whether ^N^Motl.'andwHis-followeEs
woidd have referred, this species to. Myrmothera, a name'ffeh^ih'aVe
substituted for Myiothera;;to their genus Thryothorus, which*we;unite
to Troglodytes; or. to their slender-billed 'section'} bi'-fFamnophilus;>r'e-
jeoj^dfby us from that.genus, and of which some-recent* authors ha-ve-
made a genus .called F orm icivorayet we have- very* little ^hesitation
in stating ourjbelief, .that they would' have assigned its place among
the species.iof the latter. According, to our classification, it is«er-
tainly not a Tamnpphilus, as. we adopt the genus, agreeablyl'W the
characters given by Tewaninck^whoy not admitting the genus Troglodytes,
would undoubtedly have arranged this bird with Myiothera,
as .Hliger would.also.have done.' ;;
«The .only, point, therefore,; tp? be established by us, is whether this
bird is. a Myiothera or a Troglodytes. . It is, in fact, <a link intermediate
to both. After a .careful examination of its form, especially
the unequal length of the. mandibles,. the notch-of the superior mandible,
and the length of the tarsus; and, after a due consideration
of the little that is known relative to its habits, we unhesitatingly
placedt wiïfciMyiöt'leerdf. tbdüghtÉ of j its having the bill
mores slender,«, lômg^-ând tham tha-^c of any other sÿeeies I
have;f|^a',^]i, u u i n * »tlic - I » sbffiorU;in the. gemfe, being still
• 'm%çercf®sel^illjc'il^^*/;>î^A/r/^,-i.t;han! thSèsWs^efcxesiwhose great
affinity te^th.it geryisfinis„by i? pouitcclfbÿt'bÿ Cuvier. This may be
■eâ'siyCæ^^lamed^by^^ïpârm^tl^i-.'ânne.xedtrepresentation with the
figua^esa givén^Ib^’ Buffori. a M T e m n ^ i ^ ^ p â t t figure which our
R o ck ^ lpÜBQifâln A ntla#6éf IleffÉftMés mosl|^Buffoh’s PI. Enl<;12%
jUÎ- *• (-.1 ïyiorheB(i/lin1dtg^^-Y luj (.cxloiWol oimibi®ds;a^4^6,03,similar
,it@ïèlosets^a Wren5&bt£tnhi^M^6tud.eld’sdikewise‘observed, in other
Myiothen&uhv
The ; jbird mpW^brféfêilurS-’Was \ brought froimthé; Arkans aw riverain
the1 -neighbourhood of^fehe Rocky M^ttatajinsq'^Majer EcÉï^V éxplo-
ring p a ru , and was desVrfibvdthjlSas umlti:'llu n am os of k'l loflÿtfàé
'obMë0f)hom -it^btesè resemblâtefc* to the* ^Wèïina Wÿètp^Erog.tô^
^rsftltóifom'^^^jïwhiohiWil‘sbi^eóiÉidbYêd*ïa!>'®'te|a^and Vieillot
at-Thkyptfiorus! -
As the Rc^k-y^MountaipîAütÈâtck'er- is ■ the firsthand only4 dpecies
hithertoïtkis'coVeted • in N ortfe America, -wet'âhâlb make some* general
observations ônithcsspecHàMarities of; k; genus4 thusvintroduced; into the
Fauna of the United*, Stàtéssi.s’ s
Bi^ffon^ firs^fôrmedia'.cfetiïtôt sgroup of.'the Antcèföhers undefethd‘
name o£'Foürmiliers; andeconsidéred them? as* alliêjsÉtck his Breves';
naw forming the genus'4jPittiaf of "YiöiRi^öke^lB:aving been previously
placed in that 'oî»OEurdus. Eacégèdetiàîdopted * that' group* as^a
genusÿfând appliedÉjfoj'it’ the?nanîe '^^W^tirrigcophaga. Illiger added*
suoh^speèié§! of th& genus ^Eüniusi of Linné and MÈtHam,* as are ’dfesv
titlxte of prominent* teeth tét-the*hifl^nd gavè'»rtï^ihevgenus thus edn-
MfcteÉ the name of ./liyiotAmz; rejecting MàSgèdé*« designation, as
already appropriated to a genus^of Mammalia; e
Cl?ner»pereeived that''some'of Buffon were true
Thrushes^Hibüt he retained the- remain’dér- as Myiothetæ, among which
he also included the Pittæ. Vieillot, besides the Pittæ, removed some