288 Bangs, Birds from Western Costa Rica. [July 



interstes, Gymnocichla nudiceps erratilis, Synallaxis albescens latit- 

 ahunda, Dendrocolaptes sancti-thomce hesperius, Leptopogon pileatus 

 faustus, Cyanerpes lucid us isthmicus, and Buarremon costaricensis. 

 One overlooked, but well marked subspecies, Glaucis hirsute census 

 (Lawrence) is reinstated, and twelve birds are recorded, for the first 

 time, I believe, from Costa Rica — Asturina nitida, Cataptrophorus 

 semipalmata, Ereunetes occidentalis, Chcemepella minuta, Elainea 

 chiriquensis, Myiarchus lawrencei bangsi, Catharus griseiceps, Tro- 

 glodytes musculus inquietus, Eucometis spodocephala stictothorax, 

 Emberizoides sphenura hypochondriacus, Sporophila gutturalis, and 

 Saltator magnoides intermedins. 



Original conditions still prevail in western Costa Rica, and there 

 are enormous stretches of virgin forest and perfectly wild country, 

 and the lowland forest birds are safe for a time at least. I have, 

 however, grave fears that many of the very rare and still but little 

 known species of the Atlantic lowland forest are doomed. The 

 banana industry is sweeping away the forest at a terrible rate, and 

 in the few years since the United Fruit Company established itself 

 at Port Limon the forest has been entirely cleared away not only 

 directly about that place, but way south into the famous Talamanca 

 District. Very few of the forest birds take kindly to banana planta- 

 tions, and as the forest goes they go with it. 



The great difference between the lowland forest ornis of the Atlan- 

 tic and Pacific sides of the main Cordillera in Costa Rica is too well 

 known to need special comment here, but the sliding past each 

 other of northern and southern forms is very remarkable — instance 

 after instance could be given of a bird whose Central American form 

 extends down the Atlantic lowlands, and whose Panaman form 

 pushes north up the Pacific slope, often passing each other, the 

 mountains, however, between their respective ranges preventing 

 them from intergrading or even meeting. It is largely to this 

 cause that Costa Rica owes its very extensive bird fauna, number- 

 ing well over 700 species and subspecies, and that in a country 

 scarcely bigger than the state of Florida. 



In connection with the making and identifying of the present 

 collection, I beg to express my sincerest thanks to many of my 

 friends — in the first place to John E. Thayer, Esq., who generously 

 furnished the necessary funds for Underwood's expedition, and 



