264 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 03 



de Tuxtla. Attention was called to it by the loud whirring noise 

 that it made as it dashed about in short nights, chirping loudly. On 

 April 22 he saw a considerable number on Volcan San Martin, con- 

 gregated in one spot at about 3,300 feet, acting like the one found on 

 Tuxtla. 



On casual examination these birds are so like the two previously 

 known races of Pampa pampa that there seems nothing especially 

 remarkable about them, until it is noted that the much larger size 

 of the four specimens of excellens is actual and not due to any dif- 

 ference in preparation of skins. In fact, by bulk, the new form 

 appears nearly twice the size of its relatives. In actual measure- 

 ments, the bill and wing length are closely similar, though the bill 

 in excellens is heavier. The tail in the new form is broader and 

 longer, and the head is much larger. The clearer gray of the under- 

 pays in excellens is the principal color difference. The race nrob- 

 ably is confined to the isolated Tuxtla Mountains. 



PHAETHORNIS LONGIROSTRIS VERAECRUCIS Ridgway 



Phaethornis longirostris veraecrucis Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 

 vol. 23, Apr. 19, 1910, p. 54 (Buena Vista, Veracruz, Mexico.) 



In March and April 1939 I had occasional glimpses of a large 

 Phaethornis near camp but did not succeed in getting a shot at one. 

 They are very shy and have the habit of flying up close to a person 

 for a second or two, then darting away at high speed so that they 

 are almost instantly out of sight. Carriker, the following year, was 

 more fortunate as he secured two on Cerro de Tuxtla, on April 3 

 and May 9. He recorded the species as occurring up to 1,500 feet 

 elevation on the mountain, and found a nest on May 9 fastened to 

 the tip of a pendant leaf of a palm, so that it hung only 3 feet from 

 the ground. The attachment was by means of spider webs, which 

 held the structure to the under side of the leaf. The nest was of 

 rather coarse material without a downy lining. The two eggs were 

 broken. 



PHAETHORNIS ADOLPHI ADOLPHI Gould 



Phaethornis adolphi Gould, A monograph of the Trochilidae, pt. 14, Sept. 1857 

 (vol. 1, 1861), pi. 35 and text, part (Cordoba, Veracruz, Mexico). 



This small hermit was one of the two most common hummingbirds 

 (the other being Amazilia t. tzacatl) in the region around Tres Za- 

 potes and over the lower slopes of the Sierra de Tuxtla. Specimens 

 were taken between March 9 and April 5, 1939, and from January 17 

 to April 12, 1940. The birds were found mainly in heavy forest, 

 though early in the morning before the light became too intense I 

 saw them occasionally in the open bordering the monte. They 



