COMMONEST BIRDS OF THE CANAL ZONE 



habits but with heavily streaked plumage, is 

 frequently seen about the trees in Ancon and 

 elsewhere. Several other flycatchers, notably 

 two large, handsomely-colored species of 

 Myiozetetes (M. c. cayanensis and M. similis 

 columbianus) , may be found along the shores 

 of the Canal and Gatun Lake and elsewhere, 

 but chiefly where there is water nearby, and 

 may be recognized by their black and white 

 striped head and the deep yellow abdomen. 

 A very much larger though similarly colored 

 flycatcher with an unusually stout bill, may 

 attract attention, perched on a branch near 

 the top of some tall tree from which he sallies 

 out after insects or to chase away some other 

 bird; this is the Boat-billed Flycatcher (Mega- 

 rynchus pitangua mexicanus), the largest 

 found in Panama. The smaller flycatchers 

 are too numerous to be covered here, though 

 two species might be mentioned ; the Panama 

 Wood Pewee (Myiochanes b. br achy tarsus), 

 whose call is reminiscent of that of the North 

 American Wood Pewee, and the minute Tody 

 Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum finitimum) , 

 a quarrelsome little bird often found in the 

 shrubbery about houses and recognizable by 

 his yellow underparts and black cheeks. The 

 Fork-tailed Flycatcher appears in great num- 

 bers at certain times of the year, sometimes 

 gathering in large flocks and sitting on tele- 

 graph wires in rows, balancing in the wind, 

 their long tails tilting at different angles. 



The antbirds (the smaller species of which 

 are called Ant Wrens) are numerous in species, 

 but the majority of them must be sought in 

 the forest and jungle. One very common 



