FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 549 



Haverschmidt (Birds of Surinam, 1968, p. 337; and Condor, 1970, 

 p. 374) gives an account of nesting in the subspecies Phaeomyias 

 murina wagae, which differs in heavier bill, darker brown coloration 

 of the back, and yellower breast, and occupies a broad area from 

 eastern Peru through the valley of the Amazon, extending also to the 

 Guianas. He describes the nest as a small, open cup of fine grasses 

 and green moss, lined with a thick layer of feathers, and the two eggs 

 as white. The female alone incubates, with the period 14 days, but 

 both parents feed the young. The main food was the orange berries 

 of a mistletoe (Phthirusa pirifolia), a species of wide distribution in 

 Central America and South America. The parent birds also captured 

 insects. 



At La Palma, in eastern Los Santos, Panama, on March 26, 1948, 

 I found a pair of the race eremonoma starting a nest a meter above 

 the ground in a thorny shrub. Two days later the foundation was 

 completed but the nest itself not finished. Unfortunately, I was not 

 able to follow it further. Birds in breeding condition were recorded 

 elsewhere from the middle of March to the first week in June. 



In field observations I found these birds quite similar in general 

 habits to the Beardless Flycatcher, which however, differed noticeably 

 in much smaller size. As information and specimens increased, it 

 became evident that the population of Panama differed in paler color 

 and smaller size from P. m. iucomta of Colombia. It was, therefore, 

 separated under the subspecific name eremonoma (from the Greek 

 words signifying isolated, alone). 



The size difference is shown by comparison with the following 

 measurements of a series of incomta from Colombia : 



Males (23 specimens), wing 60.1-64.4 (62.2), tail 51.0-58.9 

 (54.9), culmen from base 10.3-11.7 (10.9), tarsus 16.4-19.4 (18.4). 



Females (12 specimens), wing 55.2-60.5 (57.8), tail 46.4-50.8 

 (49.1), culmen from base 10.2-11.0 (10.5), tarsus 16.2-17.1 

 (16.6) mm. 



ELAENIA FRANTZII FRANTZII Lawrence: Mountain Elaenia, 

 Papamoscas Montanes 



Elainia Frantzii Lawrence, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 8, November 

 1865, p. 172. (San Jose, Costa Rica.) 



Medium size ; breast and sides grayish olive, abdomen pale yellow ; 

 crown without white, or with this marking much reduced ; white spot 

 on inner tertials broad and prominent. 



Length 142-155 mm. Adult (sexes alike), above brownish olive; 



