Todd-Carriker : Birds of Santa Marta Region, Colombia. 475 



Simons secured a specimen of this species at Valle de Upar, and 

 later on another at some point on the south slope of the Sierra Nevada, 

 and these two records have up to date been the only ones for this 

 entire region. It was found by the writer to be fairly common in 

 the Goajira Peninsula, although rather scarce in the immediate vicin- 

 ity of Rio Hacha, being so much sought after by the natives for a 

 cage bird. It is much prized for this purpose, having a natural whist- 

 ling song, and is capable of being taught many notes. In a wild 

 state it loves the giant cactus and perches on it a great deal, feeding 

 almost entirely upon its fruit when in season. It has recently been 

 traced into the Rio Cesar Valley as far as Valencia, where three indi- 

 viduals were seen in August, 1920. 



455. Megaquiscalus major assimilis (Sclater). 



Quiscalus assimilis Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1900, 162 (Cien- 



aga). 

 Megaquiscalus major assimilis Chapman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXVI, 



T 9i7, 635 ("Santa Marta"). 



Nineteen specimens : Buritaca, Don Diego, Gaira, Mamatoco, Tro- 

 jas de Cataca, Dibulla, and Rio Hacha. 



Megaquiscalus major is one of the species which has fared ill at 

 the hands of the so-called " splitters," but, oddly enough, the status 

 of the Colombian form has been challenged by no less an authority 

 than Mr. Ridgway — evidently, however, on insufficient data. The 

 present fine series, together with ten additional skins from Cartagena 

 and Punto Zapote, Bolivar, Colombia, show that assimilis is perfectly 

 distinct from macrourus. Males of the two forms, it is true, are 

 scarcely distinguishable, for while those of macrourus average rather 

 more violaceous, less steel blue, than those of assimilis, this is not a 

 constant feature. Females, however, are very different, those of 

 assimilis being decidedly more buffy (between tawny olive and isabella- 

 color) below, and more suffused with brownish above, than in ma- 

 crourus. There is considerable seasonal variation, winter birds being 

 much deeper and richer in color than those shot in May, but after al- 

 lowing for all this the form is readily distinguished from macrourus 

 as well as from the Mexican races, some of which, however, are much 

 more closely related. It is true that Sclater's type of assimilis was a 

 '* Bogota " skin, but that it came from that vicinity is exceedingly 

 unlikely in view of the fact that the species is a bird of the Tropical 



