390 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA — PART 2 



iris was orange-red ; tip of gonys and a narrow line on either side 

 orange-yellow, with the rest of the bill black. Two from El Volcan 

 resembled it and one from Santa Clara, Chiriqui, had the bill wholly 

 black. 



Immature males that I have examined have had the bill like the 

 usual pattern in the adult female. 



Measurements. — Males (19 from Panama) wing 165-174 (170.3), 

 tail 154-168 (161.0), oilmen from base 24.8-27.7 (25.9), tarsus 

 16.2-18.3 (17.3) mm. 



Females, (17 from Panama), wing 164-175 (168.8), tail 154-169 

 (162.0), culmen from base 24.1-27.1 (25.2), tarsus 16.1-18.5 

 (17.4) mm. 



Resident. Common throughout the Tropical Zone ; found regularly 

 in the lower Subtropical Zone in Chiriqui and Darien. 



The Massena trogon primarily is a forest bird, but one adaptable 

 to the degree that it may range in the shade trees over coffee, in the 

 taller trees that border streams on the savannas and grow in narrow 

 stands in lowland marshes, and it may even range in mangroves. 

 It is fairly common to 1,400 meters near El Volcan and Santa Clara 

 in western Chiriqui. I recorded it also at about 900 meters on Cerro 

 Campana. In Darien we encountered it on the mountain slopes on 

 the Rio Tacarcuna at 575 meters, and at La Laguna at about 

 900 meters. Goldman collected 1 near 1,100 meters on Cerro Pirre. 



The far-reaching call of the male — a repetition of a single note 

 that begins slowly, increases in rapidity until it reaches a rattling 

 cadence, and then terminates abruptly — is one of the jungle voices 

 heard constantly in forested country. The birds are especially 

 vociferous in early morning, when their constantly repeated notes 

 give a measure of abundance of the species. As they rest usually 

 among leafy branches, and are not active except when feeding, they 

 may be seen infrequently though heard regularly. Usually they are 

 above such a heavy screen of leaves that careful search may be 

 necessary to detect them. On the other hand, occasionally they have 

 come out on open perches to watch curiously when I have searched 

 for birds that have fallen in undergrowth, or when I have been 

 resting quietly to observe the life of the forest. Their flight is rapid 

 and strongly undulating. 



The common nesting site is a tunnel excavated in one of the 

 arboreal termite nests that are so common in the forest. As the walls 

 of the termite runs that are broken are sealed immediately by the 

 insects, the cavity forms a suitable home. I have observed pairs 



