2l6 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA — PART 2 



is a specimen in the British Museum taken by Arce in 1870, labeled 

 as from the southern slope of the Chiriqui Volcano. Griscom (Amer. 

 Mus. Nov., no. 280, 1927, p. 1) says that Benson secured 1 in Vera- 

 guas, but did not give the definite locality. The specimen, in the Ameri- 

 can Museum of Natural History, was taken at Santa Fe, April 6, 1925. 

 As noted above, 1 was taken by Aldrich at Altos Cacao, Veraguas, 

 March 17, 1932. Bond and de Schauensee (Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadel- 

 phia, Monogr. 6, 1944, p. 29) record 2 from Garachine, Darien, in 

 1941. Griscom (Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 282, 1927, p. 4) reported 2 

 seen there in February 1927. One called near my house at Pucro, 

 Darien, January 29, 1964. Griscom also (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 

 72, 1932, p. 328) recorded a female from Puerto Obaldia, San Bias. 

 We have 1 secured by Dr. Galindo on the Rio Changuena, Bocas del 

 Toro, in September 1961. On February 3, 1963, I flushed 1 in high 

 forest on Isla Parida, off the coast of Chiriqui, but did not secure it. 



The birds are forest inhabitants mainly in rolling terrain where 

 hills are low. In the savannas I found them in thickets and the more 

 extensive stands of trees inland toward the higher country. They rest 

 on the ground in cover of the undergrowth, and when startled rise on 

 noiseless wings, fly low and swiftly a few meters, and disappear 

 immediately in the nearest cover. Often they lie close, as I have had 

 individuals rise behind me, when I chanced to startle them by firing 

 at another bird. After a few encounters, when I flushed a rufous 

 nightjar I learned to follow quietly, and by watching carefully some- 

 times found it resting on a log or on low vines where it was easier to 

 see than on dead leaves on the ground. On Isla Coiba they were 

 fairly common, while the pauraque, abundant on the mainland, was 

 absent, possible indication of some competition between the two, as 

 their usual haunts are similar. 



Males call steadily from dusk to dawn, sometimes from perches 

 10 to 20 meters or so above the ground. Near at hand the sound is 

 decidedly harsh. It begins with a low note, and continues with three 

 others of different pitch that are loud and ringing. The song may be 

 written chuck, wee-wee-oh. Beyond a brief distance the first note is 

 not heard, and the harsh, burring quality of the others is softened so 

 that the effect is pleasing. The whole suggests the song of the chuck- 

 will's-widow as heard on its nesting grounds in the north. 



Occasionally one increases the rapidity of the call for a brief period, 

 like related species in the early part of the breeding season. At the 

 Charco del Toro camp I heard 3 calling simultaneously, an index to the 

 abundance at this point. The birds covered considerable territory in 



