BIRDS OF SOUTHERN VERACRUZ — WETMORE 335 



SPOROPHILA TORQUEOLA MORELLETI (Bonaparte) 



Spermophila morelleti Bonaparte, Conspectus generum avium, vol. 1, 1850, p. 497 

 (Peten, Guatemala). 



This is one of the common species of the region, represented by a 

 small series. The birds were found in pastures and the borders of 

 cultivation, often in company with Volatinia jacarina atronitens. As 

 I passed they flew into the cover of low weeds or thickets and immedi- 

 ately were gone. Though I saw them daily, they are birds easily over- 

 looked because of these retiring habits and their small size. At the 

 beginning of April they were nesting, and I heard them singing a 

 pleasant warbling song. Carriker found them in the Tuxtla range 

 as high up as clearings had been made. 



It seems reasonable to place this form as a race of Sporophila tor- 

 queola. 



ORYZOBORUS FUNEREUS Sclater 



Cryzooorus funereus P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1859 (Feb. 1860), p. 

 378 (Suchapam, Oaxaca). 



Carriker shot a male January 25, 1940, in a clump of bushes grow- 

 ing in a marshy spot in the savanna near camp, our only record. 



VOLATINIA JACARINA ATRONITENS Todd 



Volatinia jacarini atronitens Todd, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 33, Dec. 30, 

 1920, p. 72 (Campeche, Campeche). 



At Tres Zapotes these little birds were common in groups some- 

 times containing 25 or 30 individuals that ranged through weeds 

 and grassy growth in the fields and little clearings. When startled 

 they flew rapidly into the adjacent thickets and there slipped away 

 so quickly that it was seldom that I flushed one a second time. At 

 camp they came out into the edge of the clearing to feed, moving 

 quickly and nervously and occasionally flitting the wings. They are 

 found across the level lowlands, being common to the base of the 

 mountains. In 1939 I saw them in flocks until my departure on 

 April 15, though males were coming into breeding dress at the end 

 of March. Specimens were taken on March 7, 15, 22, 23, and 24 

 and April 8, 1939, and March 4, 1940. 



ATLAPETES APERTUS Wetmore 



Atlapctes apertus Wetmore, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 55, Aug. 13, 1942, 

 p. 108 (Cerro de Tuxtla, Sierra de Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico). 



Carriker secured five specimens of this fine bird on Cerro de Tuxtla 

 on March 19 and on Volcan San Martin on April 16 and 17, 1940. 

 They were found in the forests to the summit of the mountains, from 

 about 2,500 feet upward, sometimes in pairs that ranged on the 

 ground around rotting logs and fallen trees. Usually they were 



