356 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 3 



Hartert, in the original description, placed the bird tentatively in the 

 Pipridae, an allocation that has been followed with some uncertainty 

 by others. Skeletons are now available, but no specimens in alcohol, 

 so that other detailed anatomical data still are lacking. Current treat- 

 ment is followed here in default of firm decision. It seems probable 

 that the true relationship is with the Cotingidae, though allocation in 

 the Tyrannidae also has been suggested. 



Family TYRANNIDAE: Tyrant Flycatchers, Atrapamoscas 



This family, found only in the Americas, one of evident South 

 American affinity, has 88 species recorded in Panama. These are 

 distributed most abundantly throughout the Tropical Zone, but with 

 certain kinds adapted for life in the mountain areas where suitable 

 cover exists for them. Fourteen kinds are winter migrants from the 

 north, the others residents. The family as a whole may number 

 more individuals than any other in this avifauna. 



One species, the Pied Water-tyrant, or Pozera, is a ground in- 

 habitant found only in a limited area of swamplands near the coast, 

 east of Panama City. A number of kinds seek perches where they 

 have open view in their watch for insect food, a habitat that some 

 find along the highways, in pastures, marshes, and savanna lands. 

 In careful watching it is found also that some find these open spaces 

 in the sun across the top of the leaf crown on the high summit of 

 extensive forests. 



Where a species is resident throughout the Isthmus, it is common 

 to find slightly differing geographic races in the west and in the 

 east. Some also, with more northern distribution, especially in high- 

 land areas, are restricted to the western section, near Costa Rica. 

 Others in the east, especially on Cerro Tacarcuna and Cerro Pirre, 

 may have affinity with species of the western Andes of Colombia. 



Many in the family are of medium or small size. The smaller ones 

 include one of the smallest of the Passeriform group, the tiny Black- 

 capped Pygmy-tyrant (Perissotriccus atricapillus) . Nests in the 

 main are cup shaped, placed on the branches of shrubs or trees. 

 Others are varied to pendant, suspended globes that suggest masses 

 of waste vegetation. A few use cavities in tree trunks. One species, 

 the Piratic Fly-catcher, (Legatiis leiicophaius) , usurps nests made 

 by other birds, often of species of much larger size. The eggs in a 

 few may be plain white, but those of the majority are spotted lightly 

 or heavily with shades of brown, which varies to gray when the color 

 is overlaid by a deposit of shell material. 



