FAMILY PIPRIDAE 345 



Santos (Pedasi, Tonosi). Aldrich (in 1932) found them common on 

 the northwestern shore of Bahia Montijo, at Paracote, and farther 

 down on the Rio Mariato. They were common in 1953 in the general 

 area of Sona, Veraguas, and in 1956 in eastern Chiriqui near San 

 Felix and Las Lajas. In 1960, I found one male at Buena Vista, above 

 Concepcion, at 700 meters elevation on the Rio Escarrea, and in 1966 

 there were a number at Aguacaton and Olivo, northeast of Puerto 

 Armuelles. In early collections Mrs. Davidson recorded them at El 

 Banco ; Arce collected them at Bugaba and Mina de Chorcha. In 

 1900 Brown secured a series at Divala. Extensive clearing of open 

 forests and thickets to make pastures and cultivated fields has re- 

 moved so much of the original cover that the Orange-collared Mana- 

 kin now is reduced in number over wide areas of former range. 



As indicated, M. aurantiacus is a miniature representative of the 

 widely distributed M. v. vitellinus, similar in pattern of markings but 

 brighter in color and definitely smaller in size. The two are not 

 known to meet, the smaller form ranging in the lowland areas of the 

 Pacific slope to the west of the other form. It has been suggested 

 that the smaller bird is a race of the larger one, but this seems un- 

 certain from present information. Beyond Panama aurantiacus con- 

 tinues in the lowlands of the Pacific slope of Costa Rica where it is 

 found northward to the Gulf of Nicoya. 



In museum specimens the orange and yellow colors of these birds 

 slowly fade and become paler so that there is apparent a difiference 

 between the older preparations from western Chiriqui and Costa 

 Rica and freshly taken examples. These differences, when Dr. John 

 Aldrich made comparison with his fresh material from Veraguas, led 

 to his description of a separate race flaviventris, from the eastern 

 area of the range. While this seemed justified at the time, when I 

 secured fresh specimens near the type locality of true aurantiacus 

 these proved to be as bright in color as recently collected Veraguas 

 birds. In 1958, on examination of the type female of flaviventris 

 and others of the Aldrich collection, now in the Museum of Zoology 

 at the University of Michigan, I found that through post mortem 

 fading they did not differ now from other older skins from south- 

 western Costa Rica. It appeared from this that there is no basis for 

 recognition of two subspecies. 



From a detailed study by Skutch (Pac. Coast Avif. no. 35, 1969, 

 pp. 118-147) it is learned that reproduction in this species is similar 

 to that of its larger relative Manacus vitellinus. Males gather in 

 groups in which each individual has, as his display court in under- 



