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Phylogeny of the Waxwings and Allied Birds · M. Dale Arvey — chapter 3 of 20 · ~562 words · public domain

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=Ptilogonys cinereus molybdophanes= Ridgway

Ashy Ptilogonys

Ptilogonys cinereus molybdophanes Ridgway, Man. N. American Birds, 464 (footnote), 1887.

Diagnosis.--Coloration of adult male: Upper parts darker bluish than in P. c. cinereus; venter paler; flanks Olive-Green rather than Olive as in P. c. cinereus. Coloration of adult female: Like female of P. c. cinereus but colors darker throughout; dorsum more olivaceous.

Measurements.--In adult male, wing 89.4, and tail 97.1; in adult female, wing 89.4, and tail 93.3; both sexes, culmen 11.7, and tarsus 17.3.

Range.--Western Guatemala, in subtropical and temperate zones.

=Ptilogonys caudatus= Cabanis

Costa Rican Ptilogonys

Ptilogonys caudatus Cabanis, Jour. fuer Orn., 1866:402, Nov. 1866.

Diagnosis.--Coloration of adult male: Forehead and crown Pale Grayish Blue, slightly paler anteriorly; orbital ring Lemon Yellow; rest of head and neck, including crest, Olive-Yellow; throat paler and tinged with Light Gull Gray; back, scapulars, rump, upper tail coverts and wing coverts uniform Bluish Slate-Black; chest and breast similar but paler; sides and flanks Yellowish Olive-Green; thighs, lower abdomen, and under tail coverts Lemon Yellow; remiges, primary coverts, and tail Black, glossed with Bluish Black and edged with Gull Gray; inner webs of rectrices (except two middle pair) with large middle patch of White; bill, legs, and feet Black. Coloration of adult female: Forehead and crown Pale Gull Gray, becoming paler anteriorly; rest of head, together with neck, back, scapulars, rump, and wing coverts plain Yellowish Olive Green; chest and breast similar but more grayish; lower abdomen and flanks White tinged with Yellowish Olive; under tail coverts Olive-Gray; remiges, primary coverts, and rectrices Black with Gull Gray edges. Coloration of young: Dorsum plain Light Grayish Olive; upper tail coverts Brownish Olive; underparts Grayish Olive anteriorly, becoming more Yellowish Olive on abdomen; under tail coverts pale Yellowish Olive with Grayish Olive base; bill and feet Brownish Drab.

Measurements--In adult male, wing 96.2, and tail 135.7; in adult female, wing 93.9, and tail 113.7; both sexes, culmen 12.6, and tarsus 19.1.

Range.--Highlands of Costa Rica and extreme western Panama.

Genus =Phainopepla= Sclater

Phainopepla Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 26:543, 1858. Type Phainopepla nitens (Swainson).

Diagnosis.--Tail almost as long as wing; head with pointed crest of narrow, separated feathers; rectrices without white; bill narrow, compressed terminally; conspicuous white patch under wing; nostril small, exposed; rictal bristles distinct; tail slightly rounded.

=Phainopepla nitens nitens= (Swainson)

Phainopepla

Phainopepla nitens nitens (Swainson), Anim. in Menag., 1838:285, Dec. 31, 1837.

Diagnosis.--Coloration of adult male: Uniform glossy Bluish Black; inner webs of primaries except innermost pair with middle portion White; bill, legs, and feet Black. Coloration of adult female: Plain Olivaceous Black, longer feathers of crest Black, edged with Gull Gray; remiges and rectrices Dusky Drab to Black; rectrices and coverts margined by White; bill and feet Brownish Drab to Dusky Brown. Coloration of young: Like adult female but more Brownish Drab.

Measurements.--No specimens examined; larger than P. n. lepida (Van Tyne, 1925).

Range.--Central and southern Mexico, in states of Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Durango, Guanajuato, Mexico, Puebla, and Veracruz.

=Phainopepla nitens lepida= Van Tyne

Phainopepla

Phainopepla nitens lepida Van Tyne, Occ. Pap. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 5:149, 1925.

Diagnosis.--Coloration same as P. n. nitens; separated by smaller size.

Measurements.--Wing 91.0, tail 90.3, culmen 11.5, tarsus 17.6.

Range.--Southwestern United States, from central California, southern Utah, and central western Texas southward to Cape San Lucas in Baja California, and into northwestern Mexico (Sonora and Chihuahua).

Subfamily =Bombycillinae=

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