FAMILY PSITTACIDAE 79 



Colombia and Venezuela. In Panama they are known also as perico 

 moreno, perico pico negro, or simply piquiprieto. 



They must sleep in holes as the tails in most of those I have handled 

 have been badly worn. Specimens taken near Sona at the end of May 

 were in molt. 



The scientific name ocularis was given to this parakeet by Sclater 

 and Salvin in 1864, with the statement that "Mr. McLeannan has sent 

 a pair of this species apparently adult." The type, now in the British 

 Museum (Natural History) is marked "J 1 , Isthmus of Panama, 

 McLeannan 128" on the usual type of label of the Salvin-Godman 

 collection. As McLeannan at the time was track-master at Lion Hill 

 on the Panama Railway, this has led to misconception as to the type 

 locality. In an earlier report Lawrence (Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New 

 York, vol. 7, 1861, p. 333) included a pair of these birds under the 

 name "Conurus pertinax" in an account of birds collected by McLean- 

 nan and John R. Galbraith in the winter of 1860-1861. Lawrence 

 stated specifically that, while most of the specimens forwarded by these 

 two collectors were taken on the Atlantic slope of the Isthmus, 6 spe- 

 cies were secured "on the western slope, and in the vicinity of 

 Panama." Among these 6 Lawrence included the one that he called 

 Conurus pertinax. The only comment on the parakeet is a note that 

 in them "there is a distinct oblong yellow spot under the eye." An- 

 other of the 6 species listed from the Pacific side is the pipit, which 

 was said to be "found on the Savannahs near Panama." It might be 

 supposed that the parakeets were captives offered for sale in the 

 Panama market, but this is discounted by 2 skins of the parakeet, male 

 and female, in the U.S. National Museum received from McLeannan 

 labeled "Panama McL. 1862" both of which show holes made by fine 

 shot in the bill. The indication is that while this parakeet has not been 

 found recently east of the base of Cerro Campana, a hundred years 

 ago it appears to have ranged to the open lands around Panama City. 

 The Atlantic slope of what is now the Canal Zone in the area readily 

 accessible in McLeannan's day had a cover of rain forest with the 

 only open stretches those over and along streams and swampy ponds, 

 or manmade clearings, habitat obviously not suited to this parakeet of 

 the open savanna lands. It seems reasonable to designate the type 

 locality as near Panama City from the information available. 



Related parakeets range widely in northern South America, where 

 several forms exist. These vary in color, particularly in the presence, 

 amount, or absence of yellow on the head. On close examination, the 

 feathers of the auricular region in these South American populations 



