534 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



the writer strongly inclines to the opinion that the great variation ob- 

 servable in regard to the amount of white on the tail is purely individ- 

 ual in character, contrary to his opinion previously expressed (Annals 

 Carnegie Museum, VI, 1910, 1913). No two birds in this series are 

 exactly alike in the development of the white, although all are ap- 

 parently fully adult. Some have very large white spots, reaching the 

 base of the rectrices, almost as in A. p. hesperophilus; and from this 

 condition there is every gradation down to no spots at all. In numer- 

 ous cases it is asymmetrically developed. The white tips to the 

 tertiaries also vary considerably in size, aside from the circumstance 

 that they are so readily susceptible to wear, and the size of the white 

 spot at the base of the primaries is another variable character. Under 

 the circumstances it is exceedingly unlikely that A. p. croceus can be 

 maintained as distinct. 



The Colombian Goldfinch is a bird of the Upper Tropical Zone, rang- 

 ing over the foothills and lower " cordillera " slopes, between 1,500 

 and 5,000 feet. It was reported from Bonda by both Mr. Smith and 

 Mr. Brown, but the writer is inclined to believe that their specimens 

 really came from the foothills above this point, along the road to the 

 coffee-haciendas lying at a higher altitude. He has never seen this 

 bird below 1,500 feet, and it is unusual to find it below 2,000 feet. 

 It is not common at any altitude, however, nor at any locality visited. 

 It is invariably seen in pairs, or (when not breeding) in small flocks, 

 and is very restless and shy, taking fright at the slightest alarm and 

 flying far away before alighting again. A nest was found at Cincin- 

 nati which was ready for eggs, but apparently abandoned. Like so 

 many of the tropical birds, this species has learned to put a roof over 

 its nest, building a neat, domed affair. This one was built in a coffee- 

 tree, about eight feet above the ground, and near a laborer's hut. 



513. Spinus spinescens capitaneus Bangs. 



Chrysomitris spinescens (not of Bonaparte) Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., 

 XII, 1888. 199 (San Sebastian and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta). 



Spinus spinescens capitaneus Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, XII, 1898, 

 178 (San Miguel; orig. descr. ; type now in Mus. Comp. Zool. ; meas. ; critj. 

 Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. Club, I, 1899, 79 (San Sebastian). — 

 Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1900, 121, 165 (Sharpe's and Bangs' 

 references). — Chapman, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXI, 1912, 160, in text 

 (San Miguel; crit. ; meas.). 



