538 PRiOCEEtDINGS OF THE; NATIOiNAiL MUS'E(U'M vol.89 



flight. In the tops of dead trees they were conspicuous but when 

 among leaves I had difficulty in seeing them. Others were observed 

 there on November 5. 



Bangs and Peters ^ have shown that two forms are represented 

 in this species. After examination of a good series in the National 

 Museum it appears to me that the character separating them is found 

 in the width of the orange-buff frontal band, this being narrow and 

 restricted in birds from western Mexico Aratinga c. eburmrost')mm 

 (Lesson) , the color usually not reaching the loral area. In the typical 

 race canicvlaris the broad frontal band extends back to the anterior 

 line of the eye, or farther, and sometimes comes down over the an- 

 terior part of the lores. The color is more restricted in young birds 

 as has been noted by van Rossem.* The shade of green in these birds 

 is variable and offers no differences correlated with geographic range. 



Several from Acapulco, southern Guerrero, in the National Mu- 

 seum are typical candcularis, so that the dividing line between this 

 and eburnirostnmi comes farther north in Guerrero, if we accept 

 the statement of Bangs and Peters that the northern bird ranges 

 from Guerrero to Sinaloa. 



ARATINGA HOLOCHLORA STRENUA (Ridgway) 



Conurus holochlorus strenuus Ridgway, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 28, 

 May 27, 1915, p. 106 (Ometepe, Nicaragua). 



At the Finca Chichivac (elevation 8,600 feet), above Tecpam, these 

 parakeets came in flocks to feed in the fields of maize. Carlos Pira 

 gave me one taken there on November 14, and two more on November 

 20. These last had the crops filled with corn. On November 24 at 

 Los Arcos a dozen circled high in the air. 



After examination of a fair series I agree with van Rossem that 

 this bird is best considered a geograpliic race of Aratinga holochlora., 

 though Bangs and Peters ^ list both holochlora and stremui in a 

 collection made by W. W. Brown at Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, in Sep- 

 tember 1927. I should, however, hold Aratinga 'brevi'pes of Socorro 

 Island as a distinct species because of the different wing formula 

 (with the tenth primary shorter than the seventh, instead of vice 

 versa as in holochlora and its races) and its isolated position. Under 

 this the birds of this group would stand as follows : 



Aratinga hrevipes (Lawrence). 

 Aratinga JiolocJilora holochlora (Sclater). 

 Aratinga holochlora irewsteri Nelson. 

 Aratinga holochlora strenua (Ridgway). 

 Aratinga holochlora i^ubritorques (Sclater). 



3 Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 68, 1928, pp. 388-389. 

 * Field Mus. Nat. Hi.st., zool. ser., vol. 23, 1938, p. 204. 

 « Bull. Mus. Comp. ZoOl., vol. 68, 1928, p. 388. 



