4l8 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 3 



Hist., vol. 38, January 1928. p. 457). Simultaneously Griscom 

 (Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 293. January 12, 1928, p. 1) listed the 

 Kiskadee by scientific name only from skins collected by R. R. 

 Benson at Almirante and Cocoplum, Bocas del Toro, in early 1927. 

 Kennard reported that he found it "common and conspicuous, par- 

 ticularly in coconut groves and on brushy hillsides." M. A. Carriker, 

 Jr. (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, no. 4, August 1910, pp. 688-689) 

 collected specimens and recorded the Kiskadee as common on the 

 "Rio Sicsola" in southeastern Costa Rica. This stream, now known 

 as the Rio Sixaola, marks the boundary in this area between the 

 Provinces of Bocas del Toro in Panama and of Limon in Costa Rica. 

 Carriker lived on the Costa Rican side from late January 1904 to 

 early August 1905 in a camp overlooking the river, located between 

 8 and 10 kilometers downstream from Sibube on the Panamanian 

 side. The indication is that the Kiskadee has been resident for more 

 than 60 years, probably much longer, in the area. Presumably its 

 spread in range has come through extensive forest clearing in recent 

 years along the Caribbean coast. 



From detailed records furnished by Eugene Eisenmann, the Kiska- 

 dee was first identified in the Canal Zone on December 4, 1955, when 

 J. E. Ambrose saw two at Coco Solo. Soon after he saw others at 

 Coco Solito, Mt. Hope. Cristobal, and Rainbow City. Eisenmann, 

 guided by Ambrose, on June 19, 1956, saw them at New Cristobal and 

 Gatun Dam, and the following year Ambrose found a nest. In 

 August and September 1958, the bird was common on the Caribbean 

 slope in the Canal Zone, and on September 2 Eisenmann saw one 

 in the suburbs of Panama City. Later, in May 1961, he found a 

 pair in this area. Since then the bird has become well established in 

 Ancon and Balboa on the Pacific slope. It was breeding also at 

 Gamboa, and on April 14. 1961, Eisenmann saw one in the labora- 

 tory clearing on Barro Colorado Island. It is common also at Rio 

 Piedras. in the eastern sector of Colon. 



Two specimens collected in the Canal Zone, one by E. S. Norton 

 near Gamboa, October 26. 1965, and one by Storrs Olson at Mira- 

 flores Lake, Alay 2, 1966, both agree with those of the race guati- 

 malensis represented in Bocas del Toro. 



Around Bahia Almirante, and from Changuinola to the Rio 

 Sixaola, I found these birds common in 1958. In form they show 

 heavy bodies and short tails, with attractive color pattern. Usually 

 they rest quietly on open perches, except for turning the head to 



