FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 443 



by Sclater (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 14. 1888, p. 356) as "J" ad. 

 sk. Santa Fe, Veragua (Arce). Salvin-Godman Coll." and "2 ad. 

 sk. Chepo. Isthm. of Panama (Arce). Sclater Coll." There is ob- 

 vious confusion over the early Veraguas records. It seems pos- 

 sible that Arce collected the birds at Chepo and that inadvertently 

 one may have been confused with later collections from Veraguas. 



As these birds live mainly in heavy forest they may be more com- 

 mon than is indicated by the few that are seen in days afield in their 

 range. While they may perch on small branches where they have an 

 open view, also they may choose shaded perches where they rest 

 quietly, almost like trogons. Their dull colors and rather small size 

 serve as camouflage in their shaded haunts. Rarely, one has ap- 

 proached as I have decoyed birds by squeaking calls, but after a 

 quick look they usually retreat to a distance. However, when feeding 

 they may move actively through the branches. The whistled call, a 

 sibilant double note, not explosive in utterance, and with little carry- 

 ing power, is one that is not often heard. The flight is direct like 

 that of the larger thrushes. Food seems to be varied as the stomach 

 of one taken near El Real was filled with berries. Another, collected 

 by Goldman at Cana on Cerro Pirre, had eaten small caterpillars and 

 the pupal case of a lepidopteran. 



I have seen no report of the nest and eggs. Ridgway (U.S. Nat. 

 Mus. Bull. 50, pt. 4, 1907, pp. 763-764) placed this species with the 

 Manakins, family Pipridae, because of the form of the foot in which 

 the tarsus is exaspidean, and there is extensive union of the basal 

 joints in the anterior toes, the middle toe with the first and second 

 joints wholly adherent to the outer toe, and the first joined for most 

 of its length to the inner toe. 



The current name in English, "speckled mourner," is a misnomer 

 as the spots on the breast are found only in the immature bird, and 

 usually are few in number. They are called bobo in Colombia. 



In northwestern Colombia from northern Choco and Antioquia to 

 the middle Magdalena Valley the population of this species is some- 

 what darker, duller cinnamon and rufous-brown, with the central 

 foreneck and upper breast gray. These birds also average slightly 

 smaller. Apparently in adult stage they retain the gray shade of the 

 upper foreneck found in the immature L. r. rufescens. This Colom- 

 bian group has been separated as Laniocera rufescens griseigiila by 

 de Schauensee (Not. Naturae, no. 221, February 24, 1950, p. 11) 

 with Quimari, north of Monteria, Department of Cordoba, as type 

 locality. Birds from Cerro Pirre and Cerro Tacarcuna in eastern 



