44° BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 2 



conspicuous in their shadowy haunts. Only the greenish blue line 

 on the side of the crown may reflect the dim light, a spot of color 

 that sometimes catches the eye. 



The first record for Panama was a female taken June 7, 1911, by 

 E. A. Goldman from 2 seen at 600 meters on Cerro Bruja, back of 

 Portobelo, Colon. The following year between February and June 

 he secured 2 males and 2 females between 550 and 1,000 meters on 

 Cerro Pirre, Darien. Benson collected others here in March and 

 April 1928. Thomas Barbour (Bangs and Barbour, Bull. Mus. Comp. 

 Zool., vol. 65, 1922, p. 198) obtained a male April 22, 1922, on Cerro 

 Sapo, Darien, brought to him by an aged Negro who "had killed 

 it high on the slopes of Cerro de Sapo." Griscom (idem, vol. 72, 1932, 

 p. 339) lists 1 taken by H. von Wedel, labeled Puerto Obaldia, 

 San Bias. 



In my own field studies I collected my first specimen on April 3, 

 1947, near our camp at the mouth of the Rio Imamado on the upper 

 Rio Jaque, Darien (elevation about 100 meters). Another was 

 taken April 23, 1949, on the Quebrada Carriaso, at about 250 meters 

 in the northern end of the Cerro Azul, Panama. As I followed a 

 small mountain stream in the forest a glint of blue through the 

 leaves in the top of the low undergrowth caught my eye, but only 

 when I examined it with my field glasses did I realize that it came from 

 the head of this bird and not from a butterfly. The following year, 

 on March 14, 1950, we secured another at 500 meters elevation on 

 Cerro Chucanti, in the eastern end of the Province of Panama. More 

 recent records from Darien include 4 secured in 1963 by Dr. Pedro 

 Galindo on the lower slopes of Cerro Tacarcuna, 3 from the ridge 

 at La Laguna at about 900 meters, taken June 6 to 26, and 1 from 

 575 meters on the Rio Tacarcuna, July 18. 



In the stomachs of 3 that I have examined I found remains of a 

 large spider in one, a small snail in another, and a variety of insects 

 in all, among these fragments of beetles, orthoptera, homoptera, sev- 

 eral caterpillars, and a few ants. 



These birds often have clay soil adhering to the bill and staining 

 the end of the tail, with the latter regularly frayed and worn. 

 Though there seems to be nothing recorded of their breeding habits 

 it is apparent that they follow the custom of other species of the 

 family in nesting in holes dug in the earth. 



The subspecies obscnrus differs from typical Hylomanes m. momo- 

 tula in distinctly darker breast, and darker, duller green upper sur- 

 face, with the chestnut of the back of the crown averaging darker. 



