FAMILY CUCULIDAE II5 



1953, near Rio de Jesus, below Santiago, Veraguas, was in breeding 

 condition, but another of the same sex collected March 23, 1962, on 

 Isla Brincanco, in the Contreras islands, off the coast of western 

 Veraguas, was molting heavily over the body. While I have seen 

 these cuckoos most often in the lowlands, on March 1, 1960, I en- 

 countered 2 in low bushes bordering a pasture at 600 meters elevation 

 near Buena Vista, above Concepcion, Chiriqui. On Isla Parida, off 

 the coast of Chiriqui, they ranged in gallery forest and tall rastrojo 

 inland, while on Isla Bolafios nearby I saw them in open trees back of 

 rocky beaches. The stomachs of those taken have held remains of 

 large orthoptera. 



These birds are little known to country residents, though some 

 recognized them by the name voy y vuelo. 



The only previous records for Panama have been 1 taken by Kel- 

 lett and Wood in Chiriqui during the cruise of the Herald, the speci- 

 men being in the British Museum ; and 1 in our museum secured by 

 Heyde and Lux near Nata, Code, January 5, 1889, marked "found in 

 open woods." 



As stated in the description, there is much variation in depth of 

 color on the lower surface from light buff to cinnamon-buff. It has 

 been supposed that these two phases marked separate geographic 

 races — a pale one, represented by Ridgway's type of C. a. palloris, 

 that inhabited the mangroves, and a darker one, found inland, that 

 van Rossem described as C. a. continentalis. This, however, is not 

 true. For example, 2 specimens that I shot in the pastures at 600 

 meters elevation at Buena Vista both are light-colored, while 2 from 

 near the beach on Isla Parida and Isla Bolanos are deep cinnamon- 

 buff. The subspecies must be known under the name palloris, with a 

 range from Mexico to western Panama. 



[COCCYZUS LANSBERGI Bonaparte 



Coccyzus latisbergi Bonaparte, Consp. Av., pt. 1, 1850, p. 112. (Bogota, Co- 

 lombia.) 



This species of north-central Colombia, western Venezuela, and 

 western Ecuador has been attributed uncertainly to Panama. Its men- 

 tion dates from Shelley (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 19, 1891, p. 303) 

 who gives the range as from "Panama to Colombia and Venezuela." 

 This was cited by Sharpe (Hand-1. Gen. Spec. Birds, vol. 2, 1900, 

 p. 163) as "Panama. Colombia. Venezuela." The record has been 

 treated as doubtful by Ridgway and other writers. In 1954, I made 

 careful search in the British Museum collections and found nothing to 



