NO. 6 RECORDS OF BIRDS FROM PANAMA — WETMORE 3 



AMAZILIA HANDLEYI, new species "^ 



Characters. — In general appearance similar to Amasilia tzacatl 

 tsacatl ^ but much larger, and darker in color ; bill decidedly heavier ; 

 feet larger ; brown of tail, upper and under tail coverts, and lores, 

 darker; back and wing coverts decidedly darker and duller. 



Description.— Ty^e, ^ ad., U. S. Nat. Mus. 477282. from Isla 

 Escudo de Veraguas, collected March 22, 1962, by C. O. Handley, 

 Jr., and F. M. Greenwell (orig. no. 1188). Crown, hindneck, back, 

 and wing coverts (except the primary coverts) deep green, with a 

 sheen of dull bronze that changes on lower back and rump to a 

 darker shade with an iridescence of dull russet; upper tail coverts 

 liver brown ; tail chocolate, edged and tipped with dull black ; pri- 

 maries, secondaries, and primary coverts dull black with a faint 

 sheen of violet ; a narrow line of chocolate on the lores ; foreneck, 

 sides of neck, upper breast, and sides clear bright green, with some 

 of the throat feathers edged narrowly with dull white ; a small tuft 

 of white feathers on the upper line of the sides near center ; lower 

 breast and upper abdomen hair brown ; lower abdomen and tibial 

 tufts white ; under tail coverts walnut brown ; edge of wing lined 

 narrowly with chocolate. Tips and sides of maxilla and tip of 

 mandible dull black ; rest of bill dull reddish brown ; bare lower 

 end of tarsus, toes, and claws dull black. (From dried skin.) 



Measurements. — Males (4 specimens), wing 67.5-68.7 (68.1), 

 tail 40.0-41.5 (40.6), culmen from base 24.4-27.6 (24.5) mm. 



Female (one specimen), wing 67.1, tail 41.1, culmen from base 

 25.8 mm. 



Type, male, wing 67.5, tail 40.0, culmen from base 27.6 mm. 



Range. — Confined to Isla Escudo de Veraguas, off the base of 

 Peninsula Valiente, Bocas del Toro, Panama. 



Remarks. — During my visit to Escudo de Veraguas early in 

 March 1958 I had brief glimpses of hummingbirds at flowers among 

 low bushes back of the beach, but none came sufficiently near to 

 allow me to shoot any for specimens. As they turned in flight I had 

 brief glimpses of brown in the tail as in Rieffer's hummingbird 

 (Amasilia t. tsacatl) common on the mainland, and these Escudo 

 birds were so identified and recorded (Wetmore, 1959, p. 6). During 

 the work of Dr. Handley five were captured in mist nets set for bats, 

 and with these in hand it was obvious immediately that while they 



1 Trochiliis Tzacatl De la Llave, Registro Trimestre, vol. 2, no. 5, Jan. 1833, 

 p. 48. (Mexico.) 



