Although as we have said above, nearly the whole of the valuable Zoological notes in the German edition of the Prince Maximilian’s Travels, are omitted in the English translation; two notices of the present species may be found in the latter, pp. 287, 297, the last of which is the description, and seems to have accidentally escaped the singular want of judgment which induced the omissions to which we allude. [Illustration: Plate 29 The Black Flycatcher Ptilogonys nitens (_Swainson_)] PTILOGONYS NITENS.—Swainson. The Black Flycatcher. PLATE XXIX.—Adult Male and Female. This gracefully formed, but sombre-colored little bird was first added to the Ornithological fauna of the United States, by our valued friend, Colonel George A. McCall, Inspector General in the Army of the United States, who observed it, and obtained numerous specimens, while on a tour of duty in California, in 1852. It had previously been known as a Mexican species, having been described by Mr. Swainson, in 1838, from specimens sent from that country. This bird belongs to a small group of Fly-catchers, containing not more than five or six species, all of which are inhabitants of either Western North America, Mexico, or the southern portion of this continent. They appear to possess the habits of true Fly-catchers, and are remarkable for their slender but active forms, in which the long and ample tail and the elongated feathers of the head, capable of being erected into a handsome crest, are generally conspicuous. The best known North American species is _Ptilogonys obscurus_, La Fresnaye (which is _Ptilogonys Townsendii_, Audubon), a bird that is now brought from the far west by nearly all collectors. Respecting the curious little species which is the subject of our present article, we have the pleasure of laying before the reader the following notes very kindly furnished by Col. McCall.