_Cypselus niger._
_Hirundo nigra_, +Gmel.+
[14] Length 6¹⁄₂ inches, expanse—? flexure 6²⁄₁₀, reaching about
1 inch beyond the tail, tail outmost feather 2³⁄₄, uropygials 2,
rictus ¹⁄₂, beak from forehead ²⁄₁₀, tarsus ¹⁄₂, middle toe ⁴⁄₁₀,
lateral toes sub-equal, hallux opposite. Outmost tail-feathers
sub-rounded, the rest elegantly emarginated. First and second
quills equal, the rest graduated rapidly.
Irides ——? beak and feet black. Whole plumage black, very slightly
glossed with raven-grey, and greenish; head and under parts
approaching to smoke brown. The feathers of the forehead tipped
with whitish; a grey spot just behind the lower eyelid.
The description below is made from a dried skin in very poor order, but
assisted by one of Mr. Hill’s exquisite drawings, executed when the
bird was recent. It was shot in 1843, near Spanish-town, in company
with many others. I conclude it to be the _nigra_ of Gmelin and
Latham, as the latter ornithologist attributes that species to St.
Domingo as well as Guiana.