290 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 2 



Immature, upper surface, including wing coverts, with feathers 

 tipped with cinnamon. Young stages are without the blue patch 

 on the side of the head. 



Measurements. — Males (9 from Costa Rica and Darien), wing 

 68.8-72.6 (70.6), tail 36.0-41.6 (38.9), culmen from base 17.6-20.2 

 (18.7) mm. 



Females (5 from Costa Rica, Veraguas, and Darien), wing 64.4- 

 68.7 (66.8), tail 35.7-38.3 (36.8), culmen from base 16.8-19.8 

 (18.4) mm. 



Resident. Rare, in the Subtropical Zone of the mountains in 

 Chiriqui and Veraguas, and on Cerro Pirre, Darien. 



This is a species of broad range that has been found in widely 

 scattered areas in British Honduras, eastern Guatemala, Costa Rica, 

 Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, and British Guiana, and 

 south through Ecuador and Peru. Monniche collected 3 at Quiel 

 and Lerida above Boquete in Chiriqui, Arce obtained it at Calovevora 

 in Veraguas, and Goldman in March 1912 secured 4 near Cana on 

 Cerro Pirre in Darien. Two males were taken by Benson in the 

 Cana area in 1928. 



The only account of the manner of life in this species that I have 

 seen is that of Slud (Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 128, 1964, 

 p. 148) who writes of it in Costa Rica that "it seeks flowering shrubs, 

 shrubbery, hedgerows, new growth, and woodland borders, as in coffee 

 plantations and gardens or at openings and roadsides. Several indi- 

 viduals may forage at a favorable site together with other species 

 of hummingbirds. Though often seen at hedge and shrub height, it 

 may rise 30 and 40 feet in trees. I have seen it fly-catch rapidly, that 

 is, repeatedly making acrobatic flutters and returning to the same 

 high perch." 



Belcher and Smooker (Ibis, 1936, p. 32) describe 2 small nests, 

 found on Trinidad, as built of plant down "saddled on a small twig 

 of a low bush at about 4 feet from the ground under bamboos." 

 Each held 2 eggs. "Two eggs from different nests measure 14.1 x9.1, 

 and 13.7x9.2 mm." 



The species was described by Lesson from 2 specimens, with 

 no indication of locality, in the collection of Longuemare. Berlepsch 

 and Hartert (Nov. Zool., vol. 9, April, 1902, p. 87) wrote "loc. ignot. 

 We substitute Santa Fe de Bogota, Colombia." Hellmayr (idem, 

 vol. 13, February, 1906, p. 35) overlooked this as he said "loc. ignot. — 

 We substitute Trinidad." As a further oversight, Brabourne and 

 Chubb (Birds S. Amer. vol. 1, 1912, p. 123) list "Guiana" as the 

 type locality without comment. 



