26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1962 



Smithsonian Institution, covered the period from January 3 to April 

 6, 1962. The month of January was devoted to the valley of the Rio 

 Guanico at the southern end of the Azuero Peninsula, a region pre- 

 viously not studied, with shorter trips to the marsh areas in the 

 savannas east of Pacora, and to an area between the Trans-Isthmian 

 Highway and the eastern boundary of the Canal Zone. Early in 

 February work continued in the lower valley of the Rio Bayano, with 

 interesting results. Following this the party moved to the Province 

 of Cocle near the Veraguas bomidary. In addition to work in the 

 lowlands and the foothill region, one camp was made in rain forest on 

 the Caribbean slope of the continental divide. Three hours distant 

 by trail to the south the vegetation was brown and dry, as is normal 

 on the Pacific slope in the height of the dry season, while at the Tigre 

 camp rain fell daily and the forests were dense and green. Specimens 

 taken here included a number of birds that are little known. Other 

 collections in this region were made during a survey by Jeep of the 

 savannas near the sea, and trips in a dugout canoe to the mangroves 

 in the extensive swamp lands at the mouth of the Rio Pocri. 



Dr. Wetmore's final field trip of the season, in the latter half of 

 March, was a survey of the islands that lie between Isla Coiba (visited 

 in 1956) and the Pacific coast of Veraguas and Chiriqui. The party 

 traveled and lived on the launch Barbara 11^ handled expertly in these 

 rough waters by Capt. George Edgington and his companion William 

 Bailey. On this expedition it was finally possible to identify the sooty 

 terns that come to nest on the rocky islets Frailes del Sur off Punta 

 Mala. Collections were made also on the islands Canal de Afuera and 

 Afuerita, and on Brincanco in the Contreras group. All are forested, 

 rock-boimd, and uninhabited, with landings possible only on a few 

 tiny beaches. The final specimens were taken on the western end of 

 Isla Cebaco, from an anchorage in the sheltered bay Caleta Cayman. 

 Affinities of the few resident land birds of these islands appear to be 

 with the peculiar forms of Isla Coiba farther at sea, rather than with 

 the adjacent mainland. Throughout this travel Dr. Wetmore had as 

 assistant Rudolfo Hinds, technician from the Gorgas Memorial Lab- 

 oratory, who made blood smears from all specimens taken, to be 

 checked for incidence of tropical disease. 



Bernard R. Feinstein, museum aide in the division of birds, com- 

 pleted in September 1961 the field work that he had begun in August 

 1960, under the auspices of the U.S. Army Medical Research and 

 Development Command and the Bernice P. Bishop Museum. 

 During the period of his operations, Mr. Feinstein obtained speci- 

 mens of 1,070 mammals and 1,800 birds, in addition to a number of 

 reptiles. The vertebrate collections include much topotypical mate- 

 rial. Areas visited included regions in Viet Nam and Cambodia. 



