530 CUCULIDA. 
above, darker beneath, and with the under surface of the tail black; P. mexicana, on 
the other hand, is light rufous above and has a rufous tail beneath, the white terminal 
spots being banded inwardly by a black subterminal bar. 
The ranges of the two birds are also distinct, P. cayana being found in Eastern 
Mexico and thence southwards to the Isthmus of Panama, whence it spreads in various 
forms over nearly the whole of South America as far as South Brazil and Paraguay. 
P. mexicana, on the other hand, is restricted to Western Mexico, and is not found 
elsewhere within our region. The only difficulty that arises is that on the Isthmus of 
Tehuantepec we find intermediate birds which have a rusty tint over the under surface 
of the tail-feathers, and thus we have a case similar to what we find in Melanerpes 
santacruzi (antea, p. 421) and also in Psilorhinus morio and P. meaicanus, where forms 
mingle along their respective boundaries. In the present case, as in the others referred 
to, we think it best to treat each form as distinct, recording the fact that a certain 
amount of mixture takes place where the two come in contact. 
P. cayana is a common species throughout our region from the Mexican State 
of Tamaulipas southwards. It keeps to the eastern side of the mountains, as far 
south as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where it also crosses to the Pacific coast, and 
is the only form throughout the rest of Central America. In altitude it ranges from 
the sea-level to a height of at least 6000 feet in the mountains of the interior. 
Though strictly arboreal in its habits, P. cayana is not restricted to any particular kind 
of forest, but frequents the trees on the margins of clearings, sometimes resting close 
to the ground, at others amongst the upper branches. It is also found in the woody 
margins of streams. It is a bird that usually sits quietly on a bough; but both 
Mr. Richmond *? and Mr. Cherrie®® mention a habit it has of running along the 
boughs of trees, and thus resembles a squirrel, so much so that in Costa Rica it is 
called * Pajaro Ardilla,” or Squirrel-bird. It also, from its tameness, is called ‘ Bobo,” 
or Foolish bird. 
Mr. Nutting says it is silent and solitary, but when disturbed utters a loud harsh 
note at regular intervals and flits its tail with angry jerks. ‘The same observer says 
that the cry of this Cuckoo is frequently heard around San Juan del Sur. In Yucatan 
Dr. Gaumer says '° it is a common bird, and he is the only observer that speaks of its 
habit of frequenting the neighbourhood of hive-bees and feeding freely on them, taking 
them when resorting to flowers in search of honey. 
Mr. Cherrie 8 describes the nest from the notes.of Sefior Alfaro, who found one 
amongst some scraggy trees on the banks of the Rio de Poas in Costa Rica. The 
female bird, which he shot, was sitting on the nest, but flew to a short distance on 
being disturbed. The nest was placed about nine feet from the ground in the branches 
of a small tree, and was well hidden by the broad leaves of a climbing plant. It 
was constructed of decayed leaves, and could not be preserved. The two eggs were 
opaque white without markings, elliptical-oval in shape, and measured 35 x24 and 
33 X 24 millim, 
