268 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 2 



details of color, and to a lesser degree in pattern of markings. Many 

 of the populations have been given names, but as yet there is no 

 certainty as to their grouping as species. Ridgway (U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 Bull. 50, pt. 5, 1911, pp. 319-321) listed 4 races that he recognized 

 between southern Mexico and Panama, under the specific name 

 longirostris. Todd (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 29, 1942, pp. 278-281) 

 in the area from Costa Rica southward divided them among 8 separate 

 species. Peters (Check-list Birds World, vol. 5, 1945. pp. 9-10) listed 

 14 subspecies under the species heading supcrciliosiis. Zimmer ( Amer. 

 Mus. Nov. no. 1449, 1950, pp. 17-29) separated three forms of 

 southern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northeastern Brazil as a species 

 superciliosus, and united 14 others from Mexico to Bolivia and central 

 Brazil under the name malaris. It is obvious that the problem of rela- 

 tionship here is complex, to be established only with many more data 

 than are now available. It has seemed best for the present to follow 

 Peters as a standard check-list. 



PHAETHORNIS SUPERCILIOSUS CEPHALUS (Bourcier and 



Mulsant) 



Trochilus ccphalus Bourcier and Mulsant, Rev. Zool., vol. 11, September 1848, 



p. 269. (Rio San Juan, Nicaragua.) 

 Phaethomis panamensis Boucard, The Humming Bird, vol. 2, pt. 9, September 



1892, p. 83. (Panama and Aguadulce.) 



Characters. — Averaging slightly larger, with longer tail ; paler, less 

 definitely green on the back ; crown slightly browner ; rump and upper 

 tail coverts averaging somewhat paler buffy brown. 



A male taken near the Peluca Hydrographic Station on the Rio 

 Boqueron, February 23, 1961, had the iris wood brown ; basal half 

 of mandible, including the bare skin between the rami, dull reddish 

 brown ; rest of bill black ; tarsus and toes fuscous ; claws dusky neutral 

 gray. 



A female shot near Puerto Armuelles, Chiriqui, February 12, 1966, 

 had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; tip of mandible dark grayish 

 brown; rest light orange-yellow; inside of maxilla black, of mandible 

 and the basal half of the tongue light orange-yellow ; distal half of 

 tongue dull brown; front of tarsus and toes grayish brown; back 

 of tarsus light dull brown ; claws fuscous. 



Measurements. — Males (10 from Panama), wing 60.0-64.0 

 (61.8), tail 63.2-67.2 (65.3), culmen from base 40.3-43.3 (41.5) mm. 



