"icSr ' 1 Ritli.MOM). Ifahils of Porzaiia ci)/rrc/rcf>s. IQ 



blotched and spotted, especially about the larger end, with clove 

 and sepia brown, and lighter shades of drab and olive gray. 

 They bear no resemblance to the known eggs of any of our 

 Warblers. They measure .65 by .49, .65 by .49, .65 by .48, and 

 63 by .48 inches. 



A CONTRIBUTION TO THE LIFE HISTORY OF 



PORZANA CINEREICEPS LAWRENCE, WITH 



CRITICAL NOTES ON SOME 



OF ITS ALLIES. 



BY CHARLES W. RICHMOND. 



During a year's rambling in Nicaragua after natural history 

 specimens in general, and birds in particular, I had many oppor- 

 tunities for observing this trim and neatly attired little bird in its 

 home surroundings, not only through its abundance and perfect 

 fearlessness, but also because the conditions favorable to its daily 

 life existed on all sides. Upon landing at Greytown, our party 

 cast about for lodgings convenient to the woods, and shortly 

 decided upon a small house at the edge of town, where we spent 

 the remainder of the day unpacking and arranging our extensive 

 outfit. Next morning, February i, 1892, the various members 

 of the party sauntered forth to learn something of the surround- 

 ing country, and incidentally to collect anything of interest. My 

 walk led me along a narrow, sandy roadway, flanked by impene- 

 trable bushy thickets, with occasional open spaces and marshy 

 spots, and branch paths leading to neighboring haciendas. 



My first impressions of tropical bird-life were anything but 

 satisfactory. There was no dearth of birds, but the thickets 

 were so dense that without a- machete it would have been impos- 

 sible to reach them. With a single exception all the birds seen 

 on this occasion belonged to families represented in North 

 America by from six to nearly one hundred species. This 

 scarcity of purely tropical forms was due mainly to the fact that 



