FAMILY TROCHILIDAE 367 



Description. — Length 112-125 mm. Feathering on base of bill 

 extended on either side to the bases of the nasal opercula, on 

 throat forward within the mandibular rami to the level of the an- 

 terior end of the opercula. Adult male, crown light metallic blue; 

 sides and back of head and hindneck coppery bronze ; back, wing 

 coverts, rump, and upper tail coverts bronze-green to bronze; a 

 partly concealed white stripe on rump; central rectrices bronze- 

 green to green ; those on either side similar but partly blackish 

 toward ends, except the two outermost, which have a terminal white 

 spot in some specimens ; wings dusky with a purplish sheen ; streak 

 below eye, and spot behind eye white ; chin black ; throat metallic 

 reddish purple; lower foreneck, breast and sides brownish gray, 

 glossed with light metallic green ; abdomen white ; sides with a partly 

 concealed streak of silky, elongated white feathers extending from 

 axillar area to flanks ; under tail coverts dusky, tipped with white ; 

 under wing coverts dull metallic green. 



Adult female, above similar to male, but crown either like back, 

 or partly metallic light blue; black area on chin larger; white streak 

 below eye broader. 



Immature, feathers of back and rump tipped narrowly with 

 cinnamon-buff ; under surface laterally dark gray tipped lightly with 

 grayish white ; gorget black with a faint sheen of purple. 



Bill, tarsi, feet, and claws black. 



Measurements. — Males (7 from Panama and Colombia), wing 

 59.0-62.0 (59.3), tail 30.3-337 (32.1), culmen from base 34.0-38.3 

 (35.3) mm. 



Females (9 from Panama and Colombia), wing 58.3-59.9 (59.2), 

 tail 29.4-31.6 (30.4), culmen from base 33.3-36.7 (35.1) mm. 



Resident. Widely distributed on the Pacific slope, mainly in the 

 lowlands, but to 1,200 meters in western Chiriqui (Santa Clara), 

 900 meters near Boquete, and 550 meters on Cerro Pirre. On the 

 Caribbean side recorded from near the town of Bocas del Toro, on 

 the lower Rio Chagres near Juan Mina, Canal Zone, and near Puerto 

 Obaldia, San Bias ; Isla Taboga. 



These are birds of groves, Jborders of pastures, lines of trees along 

 streams in the savannas, and low second growth, that in general do 

 not range in heavily forested areas. They are only fairly common, 

 often seen feeding at flowers in the tree tops, and regularly hawking 

 for gnats in bands of these insects that circle fairly high in air. 

 Occasionally one has scolded me with low notes, especially when I 

 have called small birds with squeaking sounds. As this species 



