1S93.I Cherrie. T.ht of Birth of Sa7{ yosr. Co^t<i Rica. 25 



hiinks suitable for the excavations which are always some distance from 

 any habitation, the bird being quite shj. Senor Alfaro is not entirely 

 sure whether the Eup/tonia makes its own excavations or uses deserted 

 holes of the Kou^g\\-\\'u\^^QA ':iwA\\o\\' {Stelgidoptery:< serripcnnis). The 

 hole ordiiiarilv is about a foot in tlcjith. 'I'he nest proper consists of a 

 few small twigs lined with soft dry grass. The eggs are ovate in form ; 

 white, thickly speckled in a ring about the larger end with light walnut 

 brown and over this some larger spots of seal brown. In two of the five 

 eggs before me, collected May 4, 1S88, the walnut-brown color covers uni- 

 formly the entire larger end of the eggs and there are seal-brown spots 

 above this. In two of the remaining three eggs there is a distinct band 

 about the larger and. In the last egg the band is" broken, the white 

 ground color being cjuite apparent. The five eggs measure as follows : 

 .69X.50; .70X .48; .71X.51 ; .7::X .50 and .73X.51 inch. 



47. Euphonia minuta. — Not uncommon about San Jose, especially dur- 

 ing the latter part of the rainy season from September until November. 



48. Tanagra cana. — .V very abundant resident. Gregarious. P'eeding 

 chieflv on fruits. Usually a rather silent bird, and if it has any song I 

 have never heard it. Breeds abundantly, but while I have laken many 

 voung I have not been fortunate enough to secure a set of eggs. The 

 young differ from the adult only in softer, duller plumage. 



49. Piranga leucoptera. — A rare resident species. 



50. Piranga rubra. — Met with sparingly frttm the beginning of October 

 — first noted in the fall of 1890 on Oct. 7— until about January 10; this is 

 about San Jose. Down near the coasts they are not uncommon until as 

 late as the second week in March. 



In a series of forty-three birds there are only seven males in adult plu- 

 mage; the remainder arc females and young males, many of the latter in 

 mixed plumage. 



51. Piranga bidentata. — A resident, but not common. Young males 

 resemble the adult female, and I am inclined to think that the adult male 

 plumage is not assumed until the beginning of the second year. Birds in 

 mixed plumage are taken onlv in the spring during the breeding season, 

 while young males in the dress of the female are met with for fully nine 

 months of the \ear. 



52. Buarremon gutturalis. — Resident, but except at the beginning of 

 the breeding season (the first of May) very shy and retiring in its habits. 

 Feeding chiefly on the ground, at the first approach of danger they dart 

 into the hedgerows at the sides of the lanes and are out of sight. If the 

 bird has any song I do not remember having heard it. 



This species breeds abundantly about San Jose. It is often compelled 

 to act as foster parent to the Bronzed Cowbird (yCallothrus robustus), its 

 nests seeming to be especially attractive to this bird. The first nest I 

 found of this species was on May 12, 1889. On that date it contained three 

 eggs. On the 17th there were four eggs in the nest and one on the outer 

 rim. the last two eggs being those of the Cowbird. The eggs of B. gut- 

 turalis are ovate in form; before being blown they appeared perfectly 



4 



