FAMILY SCOLOPACIDAE 397 



white; foreneck and upper breast lined heavily with grayish brown, 

 the lines changing to narrow, irregular bars on breast ; sides, flanks, 

 axillars, and under tail coverts pale cinnamon-buff, barred heavily 

 with grayish brown. 



Measurements (from Ridgway, I.e., pp. 403-404). — Males, wing 

 231-257 (239.1), tail 88-101 (92.9), exposed culmen 77-93.5 (83.1), 

 tarsus 52-61 (55.7) mm. 



Females, wing 240-267 (252.4), tail 92-102 (97.1), exposed culmen 

 84-95.5 (91.5), tarsus 54-61 (57.9) mm. 



Migrant from the north. Found along both coasts of the mainland : 

 Isla Coiba; Archipielago de las Perlas (Rey, Pajaros, Chapera, 

 Saboga, Canas, Malaga) ; Isla Escudo de Veraguas. 



The main flight arrives from the north at the beginning of Septem- 

 ber. Most leave in March and April, with a few nonbreeding birds 

 present during the months of northern summer. Eisenmann (Wilson 

 Bull., 1951, p. 182) has found a few near Panama Viejo in June 

 and July, and Imhof recorded one here on June 20, 1942; Festa 

 collected one on June 14, 1895, near the mouth of the Rio Coconati, 

 Darien. On June 8, 1953, I recorded 5 near the mouth of the Rio 

 Vidal in western Veraguas. 



While the whimbrel ranges to some extent on the sand beaches it 

 is most common on mud flats near the mouths of rivers, and in such 

 localities it goes back inland through the coastal swamps. As the 

 tide rises they often seek perches in the mangroves, sometimes as 

 much as 10 meters above the water, and there rest until their feeding 

 grounds again are open. The mudflats at Panama Viejo are favored 

 haunts where they may be found almost without fail — at low tide 

 spread widely, and when the flats are covered with water on the 

 rocky islets off the beach. Here in December I have seen as many 

 as 100 gathered together. On the Caribbean side of the isthmus they 

 are less common. I have recorded them there in Almirante Bay, at 

 Isla Escudo de Veraguas and at Mandinga. They are recorded along 

 this coast east to Perme, near the Colombian boundary. 



At times the whimbrel may come to wet meadows a short distance 

 inland in pursuit of insects, as I found them in such a location at 

 Catival on Isla Coiba. Jewel (Auk, 1913, p. 426) recorded them 

 feeding in the short grass of the clearings around Gatun in 1911, 

 and reported that he saw them catching butterflies, an unusual food 

 for a bird that normally seeks the small crabs of the beaches. 



