l6 BANGS CHIRIQUI BIRDS [ ^i.^H ' 



hard for one who has collected only in the North to realize how 

 local many of the species are in their distribution, and to under- 

 stand all the difficulties that beset the path of the collector in 

 the tropics. 



During this trip Mr. Brown collected chiefly on the Volcan de 

 Chiriqui itself, at various altitudes, covering the different life 

 zones to the very top. The largest part of the collection was 

 made at Boquete — a small village on the southern slope of the 

 volcano, in the mountain forest zone, about 3000 to 5000 feet 

 altitude. He also collected for a short time in June on the north- 

 ern or Caribbean exposure of the volcano, and he took some spe- 

 cies there that he did not find on the southern slope. Small col- 

 lections were made also at Bogaba, altitude 600 feet, in the foot- 

 hills, and at Sona and Pedregal, on the Pacific coast, and a few 

 specimens were collected at David during a day or two that Mr. 

 Brown had to stop there again. 



At every station Mr. Brown took the altitude with an aneroid 

 barometer, and this is marked on each label. Thus the range of 

 any species can be very well established, and the life zones of the 

 mountain are clearly indicated from the birds alone. In the fol- 

 lowing list I give the altitudes at which the various species were 

 found. 



A large proportion of the mountain species are not different 

 from the birds of the high Costa Kican mountains, although there 

 are some striking exceptions ; and the Volcan de Chiriqui is 

 probably too near to have a mountain fauna wholly its own. 

 Those birds that do differ usually have larger bills than their 

 Costa Rican representatives. 



Mr. Brown wrote a careful itinerary of his trip, and from it 1 

 take the following extracts — all that space will allow me — which 

 may be of interest to the student of the biota of Central America. 



"Leaving the town of David on horseback one rides over 'a 

 level savanna for about an hour before coming to the southern 

 slope of the Cordillera de Chiriqui. The characteristic species of 

 this savanna are the scissor-tailed flycatcher and the meadow- 

 lark. The scissor-tail is usually seen sitting on the ground, which 

 is its normal habit on the plain. I often saw at one time as many 



