FAMILY COLUMBIDAE 6l 



(148.9), tail 76.2-86.9 (82.7), oilmen 14.0-16.8 (15.2), tarsus 41.0- 

 43.8 (42.4) mm. 



Females (6 from Chiriqui), wing 140.8-147.5 (144.2), tail 78.4- 

 84.0 (81.2), culmen 15.0-17.0 (15.9), tarsus 39.0-42.7 (41.5) mm. 



Resident. Local in the Subtropical Zone in the mountains of 

 Chiriqui and Veraguas, to an elevation of 3,000 meters. 



This shy inhabitant of the highland forests lives in the concealment 

 of undergrowth where it remains hidden and secure. Adults, found 

 in pairs, may come out in early morning to walk with nodding heads 

 in trails and roadways, but at any alarm they flush and disappear. In 

 the more usual encounter, in hunting through heavy undergrowth, 

 one may rise from the ground with rattling wings, but instantly it is 

 gone from view. Birds for specimens are obtained only through slow 

 and careful stalking in the known areas of occurrence, where each 

 pair seems to have a territory or range. 



A nest collected by T. B. Monniche near the Finca Lerida, above 

 Boquete, on August 24, 1950, is described by Blake (Condor, 1956, 

 p. 386) as a crude platform 360 mm. (14 inches) in diameter, made of 

 coarse twigs and roots, lined with finer materials, placed 2% meters (8 

 feet) from the ground in a coffee tree. The 2 somewhat glossy, creamy 

 white eggs measured 33.7 X 24.9 and 32.4 X 25.1 mm. 



While this bird evidently is related to the brown-headed Geotrygon 

 linearis and its subspecies of northern South America, the adult is 

 sufficiently different in its dark bluish gray crown to be regarded as 

 a distinct species. The juvenile has a brown crown and is much 

 darker throughout than the similar stage of linearis. Geotrygon albi- 

 facies and its races found from Nicaragua north to southern Mexico 

 differ in the specialized plumage of the neck, especially on the sides, 

 where the feathers are somewhat narrowed, and slightly stiffened, 

 with the outer margins faintly incurved, so that they present a more 

 broken, imbricated surface. This group also lacks the black line across 

 the cheeks that is found in chiriquensis and linearis. 



In spite of their differences there has been confusion regarding the 

 forms of Central America. Sclater and Salvin (Exotic Orn., Dec, 

 1867, p. 77, pi. 39) figured the northern bird, albifacies of Mexico, 

 under the name chiriquensis. They recognized the error soon, and 

 published a correction in a subsequent part of their work (loc. cit., 

 Aug., 1868, p. 123, pi. 62) based on a specimen sent by Arce from 

 Veraguas. 



The original description of Geotrygon chiriquensis was published 

 by Sclater in a list of birds and mammals "obtained by Thomas 



