°i*8q7 1 Nelson, Nczv Birds from Mexico and Guatemala. c^^ 



Description. — -The males of this bird are distinguishable from chrysolcema 

 of the southern table-lands of Mexico by the greater extension of the 

 vinaceous coloration on both upper and lower surfaces of the body. It is 

 a lighter and brighter shade of this color than on chrysohvma and extends 

 over the crown, nape, sides of neck, shoulders, rump, lesser and middle 

 wing-coverts and sides of chest and flanks. In addition, the greater wing- 

 coverts are more or less broadly bordered with the same. The exposed 

 portion of the feathers of the folded wings as well as the back has the pale 

 brown ground color suffused with a wash of this color, thus shading the 

 entire upper surface behind the black area on the head. This general 

 suffusion of vinaceous affords the readiest means of distinguishing this 

 bird from chrysolcema. The yellow on the throat is paler in oaxaccB than 

 in chrysolcema. The females differ from those of chrysolcEma by being 

 lighter brown above with a greater suffusion of pale vinaceous on the 

 dorsal surface and along the flanks. The Oaxacan form averages a little 

 smaller than chrysolcema. 



Unfortunately my series of sixteen adult Oaxacan birds are all 

 in summer plumage and more or less worn. A comparison of well 

 plumaged birds with the fine series of chrysokema would, no doubt, 

 emphasize the differences noted. Otocoris peregrina of Bogota is 

 very similar in coloration to chrysolcema oi the table-lands of central 

 Mexico. Judging from the two specimens from Bogotd in the 

 U. S. National Museum collection, it is a smaller form than either 

 oaxacce or chrysolcema. While on the highlands of Chiapas and 

 Guatemala I looked carefully for Horned Larks but did not see a 

 single individual. 



O. alpestrls oaxaae was found breeding rather commonly in the 

 Valley of Oaxaca and also along the salt flats near the sea about 

 San Mateo del Mar. So far as known, its range is limited to parts 

 of the State of Oaxaca. To the north its range meets that of 

 chrysolcema. So far as our collections show, none of the several 

 forms of Otocoris found in winter along the northern border of 

 Mexico range south to the southern highlands about the Valley of 

 Mexico and Plains of Puebla where true chrysohvma abounds. 



/ f Calocitta formosa azurea, new subspecies. Blue-backed 



Calocitta. 



Type,T>io. 144529, U. S.Nat. Museum, Dept. Agric. coll., $ , lluehuetan, 

 Chiapas, Mexico, February 24, 1S96. Collected by E. W. Nelson and E. 

 A. Goldman (Orig. No. 3559). 



Distribution. — The Pacific coast of Chiapas and thence southeasterly 

 through Guatemala and other parts of Central America. 



