I08 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I50 



In Bocas del Tore specimens are recorded from Changuinola, Almi- 

 rante, and Cricamola (Peters, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 71, 1931, 

 p. 307). C. O. Handley, Jr., collected an adult on Cayo Agua, Febru- 

 ary 14, 1963, From near the line of the Panama Railroad, McLeannan 

 forwarded specimens a hundred years ago, and W. W. Brown, Jr. 

 secured one at Lion Hill in March 1900 (Bangs, Proc. New England 

 Zool. Club, vol. 2, 1900, p. 15). Goldman collected one on February 

 23, 1911, on the Rio Indio, near Gatun, Canal Zone, and I have one 

 taken January 14, 1955, at Juan Mina. I saw several near Mandinga 

 along the San Bias coast in January and February 1957 and col- 

 lected one January 28. It is probable that it ranges locally eastward 

 along this coast as we have specimens taken in Colombia in the 

 Atrato area. In Darien, Festa secured two immature birds at 

 the Laguna de Pita in August 1895. There is one in the American 

 Museum of Natural History from near Yavisa, and I shot one at 

 the mouth of the Rio Tuquesa on the Chucunaque on March 27, 

 1959, and one near El Real February 16, 1964. Goldman secured 

 one at 550 meters elevation near Cana March 14, 1912, this being 

 the highest point at which the bird is recorded. (The locality "To- 

 coume" or Tocumen on a specimen collected by E. Andre in the 

 American Museum of Natural History in which the original label 

 is missing is believed to be in error as the bird is not known in 

 the savanna area.) 



This tiger-bittern is found along the forested banks of the larger 

 streams and in swampy forests and mangroves, usually alone except 

 in the nesting season, or when recently grown young still remain 

 with the parents. They live more in forests than the jorrdlico, and 

 in contrast to that species seem always to seek shade. They are found 

 along the banks of streams, sometimes those of small size. Oc- 

 casionally they range along small, dry quebradas in regions of low 

 hills. 



As the birds rise when alarmed they call, qiiok qiiok quok, like 

 the bare-throated species, a sound that also resembles the note of 

 a night heron but is louder and deeper in tone. I have heard birds 

 that were not frightened give another note, harsh and long drawn 

 out, quoh - h - h - h, quoh - h - h - h. They also have a strange 

 groaning call, harsh in tone, a sound that carries far, particularly 

 since it is heard mainly during the quiet air of night. 



The stomach of the bird shot on the Tuquesa contained a partly 

 armored fish of good size. 



There is little known of their breeding. A nest of the closely 

 allied race T. I. marmoratum is described as a crude platform, rather 



