Todd-Carriker : Birds of Santa Marta Region, Colombia. 359 



Myiozetetes similis columbianus Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXI, 

 1905, 284 (Bonda; descr. nest and eggs). — Chapman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. 

 Hist., XXXVI, 1917, 460 (Bonda; crit.). 



Additional records: Chirua (Brown). 



Fourteen specimens : Minca, Buritaca, Mamatoco, Don Diego, Tu- 

 curinca, and Fundacion. 



We agree with Dr. Chapman that this form is too close to M. similis 

 to stand otherwise than as a subspecies of that form. 



According to the writer's experience this flycatcher ranges over 

 the whole of the region from sea-level up to about 2,506 feet, although 

 Mr. Brown recorded it at Palomina, which lies at an elevation of 5,000 

 feet, and at Chirua. It was more abundant around the marshes at 

 Fundacion than at any other point visited. It prefers the edges of 

 marshes or streams, often perching at no great height over the water. 

 It is always seen in pairs or family groups, and is noisy and active, 

 feeding on the wing a great deal, like others of the group. Mr. Smith 

 sent in no less than thirteen nests, all from Bonda, and all but one 

 taken between April 7 and 27. Dr. Allen describes the nest as " a 

 domed structure, large for the size of the bird, placed in the fork of a 

 branch. It is composed of dead grass, usually of a reddish brown 

 color, with numerous conspicuous tufts of white cotton woven into the 

 base and sides. In some cases cotton forms the greater part of the 

 exterior, while in other nests very little is used, but usually it is a con- 

 spicuous feature of the structure. In one case, the soft downy sub- 

 stance is not cotton, but is of a silky texture, very soft, and more or less 

 yellow, or even reddish, in color, it being the soft down of some other 

 plant than cotton. The inside or lining of the nest is fine vegetable 

 fibers, without any plant down, which is all applied to the outside of 

 the nest instead of being utilized as a soft lining. The opening is 

 large, circular, and occupies the greater part of one side of the nest. 

 The general form of the nest is nearly spherical or globular. The 

 vertical diameter of the nest is about 6 to 8 inches, with a transverse 

 diameter of about 4 to 6 inches, the size varying considerably in dif- 

 ferent nests. 



" The eggs are ovate to elliptical ovate, with the ground-color nearly 

 clear white, sparingly marked with small spots of brown and lavender, 

 the spots being larger and more crowded about the larger end. They 

 vary considerably in size and form, even in eggs of the same set." 



