FAMILY DENDROCOLAPTIDAE 7 



colored ant-birds, though the woodcreeper is larger and heavier of 

 body. 



As indicated above, the Brown Woodcreeper climbs vertical trunks 

 like other species of the family, with the tail braced firmly for sup- 

 port. On the whole they are quiet and, from their color and the 

 shadows amid which they live, often are inconspicuous. The bill is 

 strong, and though the sharp tip is slightly decurved the bird in its 

 search over the trunks of trees may hammer strongly and persistently 

 on the bark and wood to uncover insect prey. On occasion I have 

 traced such sounds under the impression that the author was a 

 woodpecker. The tips of the shafts of the tail feathers are stifif 

 and firm, affording good support in climbing, but as the points project 

 only slightly beyond the feather vane, they are less evident than in 

 some other species of the family. When one perches at rest across a 

 branch, as it often does for a brief period, it may thus suggest a bird 

 of some other family. 



A set of two eggs in the U.S. National Museum, collected near 

 Pacuare. Costa Rica, in May 1876, by Jose Zeledon, came from a nest 

 of dry moss built inside the hollow stump of a palm. They are white 

 in color, with faint gloss (the shell under low magnification appear- 

 ing slightly rough). In form they are subelliptical, with measure- 

 ments of 24.8 X 19.2 and 26.2 X 19.5 mm. Skutch (Auk, 1946, p. 339) 

 notes that when Dendrocinclas leave the nest, they regularly conceal 

 the eggs beneath the loose material of the lining. 



To the north this race ranges on the Caribbean slope through 

 Costa Rica and Nicaragua to southeastern Honduras (Rio Segovia). 

 Beyond eastern Panama it is recorded along the Pacific slope through 

 western Colombia south to western Ecuador, and eastward is found 

 to northwestern Antioquia (Villa Artiaga, Necocli) and the lower 

 Sinu Valley (south to Quebrada Salvajin in western Cordoba). 



DENDROCINCLA ANABATINA SATURATA Carriker: 

 Tawny-winged Woodcreeper, Trepador Alicastano 



Dendrocincla anabatina sahirata Carriker, Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, no. 4, 

 August (September 7) 1910, p. 649. (El Pozo de Terraba = El Pozo del Rio 

 Grande, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.) 



Throat and faint streaks on upper f oreneck light buff ; secondaries 

 and inner primaries centrally bright tawny brown, with tips and the 

 upper wing dark like back. 



Description. — Length 170-190 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown 

 and hindneck dull brown, with the feathers usually slightly paler 



