go BANGS — NEW SANTA MARTA BIRDS |~ P \^j E jfv C- 



On the morning of Feb. 27, 1899, while Mr. Brown was out 

 shooting on the Pass of Chiruqua, at the great height of 15,000 ft., 

 a flock of small birds flew past him. He fired into it and killed 

 one individual, an adult female. This curious little bird bears a 

 striking superficial resemblance to the pine siskin (Spiuus pinus) 

 in its full autumnal plumage. Its feathers are exceedingly long, 

 and the whole plumage has the soft, dense look of a bird adapted 

 to extreme cold. I was wholly unable to identify it at the time, 

 but, because it was a female, refrained from naming it. It cannot, 

 however, be referred to any known species. I have examined 

 many specimens, including Lafresnaye's types, of Catamenia ana- 

 loides, from all of which the Santa Marta bird differs enormously ; 

 I am not even sure that it is a true Catame?iia. 



The Santa Marta Mountain bird, differs from the female of C. analoides in 

 being rather larger, with much weaker bill — shorter and narrower, with the cul- 

 men straight and less bulging above nostril. The plumage is much more striped 

 both above and below — especially so on top of head and on breast. There 

 is no gray on back or rump. The plumage is very much longer, denser and 

 looser. 



The type may be described as follows : Head and back soft wood brown, 

 shaded with russet on interscapulum, heavily streaked with dark blackish 

 brown, the streaks on top of head and interscapulum very broad and conspic- 

 uous, on cervix narrower and less intense in color; rump and upper tail cov- 

 erts broccoli brown, faintly streaked with darker; wings dusky, all the feathers, 

 except primaries, broadly edged with russet ; primaries narrowly edged with 

 isabella color ; no white spot at base of primaries, the inner webs very nar- 

 rowly bordered with grayish ; sides of head and whole under parts isabella 

 color, darkest on throat, breast, sides and under tail coverts (approaching on 

 these parts to wood brown), and palest on middle of belly, heavily streaked 

 throughout with broad stripes of dusky brown, except a small area in middle 

 of belly, which is plain, pale isabella color; tail dusky, the outer rectrices 

 narrowly tipped with white on inner webs, all the rectrices with white cen- 

 tral spots on inner webs, except the middle two pairs which are plain ; outer 

 edges of rectrices narrowly fringed with isabella color ; bill (in dried skin) pale 

 horn color, yellowish at base of lower mandible ; foot and tarsus blackish. 



Measurements. — Adult female, type: wing, 66.; tail 52.; tarsus, 18.; 

 exposed culmen, 8. mm. 



