2 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. Ill 



else to assemble an adequate corpus of data to elucidate them. The 

 illustrations show representative samples of both races, including in 

 each case immature as well as adult birds, and males as well as fe- 

 males. To show more examples in each picture would have reduced 

 their scale too much without in any way adding to the demonstration 

 of the distinctness of their racial characters. 



The races and their ranges are as follows : 



Micrastur mirandollei extimus is characterized by having the pale 

 bands on the dorsal surface of the rectrices narrow, white or almost 

 white with a medial dusky band. This is true of young and old birds 

 alike. The series studied does not uphold the supposed character of 

 a richer buffy wash on the white underparts. This race ranges from 

 Costa Rica (Talamanca) and Panama (scattered records from the 

 Caribbean slope, one from the Pacific slope, Perme, Obaldia, Panama 

 Railway Line), south to the Choco area of western Colombia (Rio 

 Jurado, Rio Baudo, Rio Yarubida, where a series of lo specimens 

 was collected by von Sneidern). 



Micrastur mirandollei mirandollei has the pale bands on the dorsal 

 surface of the rectrices somewhat broader and much duskier — grayish 

 brown, becoming whitish on the inner webs of the lateral tail feathers, 

 and, in young birds, the dusky margins of the feathers of the throat 

 and breast paler, more washed out than in corresponding examples 

 of extimus. This form ranges from Colombia east of the eastern 

 Andes (Meta (Quenane) and Caqueta)^ to Venezuela (Cerro Yapa- 

 cana, Upper Orinoco; Cerro Duida), and the Amazonian basin of 



1 Unfortunately, I have not seen either of these eastern Colombian specimens, 

 and Niceforo Maria's example from Meta is figured (Caldasia, vol. 4, No. 19, 

 p. 321, May 30, 1947) from the underside and consequently does not show the 

 dorsal appearance of the tail bands. It is, however, a young bird, and, as far 

 as may be judged from the photograph, has fairly pale edges to the pectoral 

 and upper abdominal feathers, which would suggest its being of the nominate 

 race. This is not clarified or too well borne out by the accompanying descrip- 

 tion, wherein it is said that the tail feathers are tipped with white, but have 

 the other bars grayish brown, with white edges, which might even seem to 

 suggest extimus! I understand that during the recent uprising in Bogota, 

 Brother Niceforo's collections were lost in the destruction of the building that 

 housed them. No eastern Colombian examples are known in any collection 

 outside of Colombia. Fortunately, in response to my inquiry. Dr. Armando 

 Dugand has supplied the necessary information to enable me to place the 

 Caqueta bird (and hence, by inference, the Meta example) as typical mirandollei. 

 He writes me that the specimen from Morelia, Caqueta, has the two central 

 rectrices with "three bars plus one terminal; the bars are grayish brown, only 

 very slightly paler than the dark brown of the feathers ... the other rectrices 

 show white bars only on the inner webs. . . ." 



