580 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 2 



On the eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula I found scattered 

 pairs in stands of trees back of the shore line, often in swampy 

 localities. At Alvina, below Parita, where the manzanillo (Hippomane 

 mancinella), with its irritant, milky sap was prevalent in the scrub 

 border back of the beach, the birds ranged through these trees as 

 they did in others, though I did not see the woodpeckers boring in 

 the trunks or branches of the poisonous species. Although they are 

 forest birds in the main, they come out also into trees standing in 

 clearings. Generally they are encountered in pairs that frequently 

 move about in close company, often displaying to one another with 

 rapid movements of the head, accompanied by repetitions of their 

 usual note chis seek, chis seek. In crossing open areas the flight is 

 strongly undulating. 



The drumming, heard regularly, is a single strong blow followed 

 by other strokes, two to several in number, made rather slowly, and 

 with less force. Occasionally I saw them at nesting holes, well ele- 

 vated in dead branches or stubs. On Barro Colorado Island in the 

 Canal Zone they have been reported as breeding from December to 

 February. Chapman recorded that young left a nest on February 

 20, 1925. Goldman collected a juvenile bird on the Rio Gatun in the 

 Canal Zone on January 24, 1911. I have seen no record of the eggs. 



The tongue in this species has a short, narrow, sharp tip that forms 

 a stiffened spear point. The salivary glands are small, short, and of 

 slight development. Stomachs that I have examined have held beetle 

 larvae, evidently of wood-boring species. In one I noted small bits 

 of wood, evidently taken with the food. 



These are strong, heavily muscled birds, with the skin so closely 

 attached to the body that in preparation of specimens it has to be 

 detached inch by inch, often with use of the scalpel. In spite of this, 

 on the Rio Jaque I saw one killed and eaten by a Choco Indian family. 



Beyond P'anama to the south this subspecies extends across north- 

 ern Colombia to northwestern Venezuela. There is some variation 

 in size, as indicated by length of wing, but from material available 

 this appears to be individual. 



The bird was named for Alfred Malherbe in recognition of his 

 studies of the woodpeckers. Other races recognized in this species 

 in the area from southern Colombia, southern Venezuela, and the 

 Guianas southward all have lighter colored bills. 



