MELANEEPES. 419 



The widely separated white bars of the upper plumage, the pure white upper tail- 

 coverts of the adult, and the wholly black exposed portion of the central rectrices 

 distinguish this species. The colour of the nape varies from golden yellow to orange 

 and even red ; the occipital spot is generally isolated, but sometimes almost confluent 

 with the nuchal band. 



7. Melanerpes hoffmanni. 



Centurus hoffmanni, Cab. J. f. Orn. 1862, p. 322 ' ; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. ix. p. 131 ' j v. Frant- 

 zius, J. £. Orn. 1869, p. 364'; Boucard, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 49*; Zeledon, An. Mus. Nac. 

 Costa Rica, 1887, p. 124 ' ; Cherrie, Auk, 1892, p. 327 \ 



Melanerpes hoffmanni, Hargitt, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xviii. p. 181 '. 



Centurus aurifrons hoffmanni, Ridgw. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mvis. iv. p. 110*; v. p. 501°; Nutting, Pr. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus. V. p. 399 '° ; vi. pp. 375 '\ 387 '\ 394 '\ 



M. aurifronti similis, sed multo minor, rostro breviore et magis arcuato ; corpore subtus fuscescentiore, remigibus 

 externis ad basin albo vix transfasciatis, caudas remigibus mediis in pogonio interno regulariter. albo 

 fasciatis. Long, tota circa 7'5, alse 4'5, caudse 2*2, rostri a rictu 1'3, tarsi 0-83, dig. med. absque ungue 

 0-8, dig. oxt. 0-7. 



5 mari similis, pileo toto sordide cinereo, colore coccineo nullo. (Descr. maris et feminse ex Punta Arenas, 

 Costa Eica. Mus. nostr.) 



Hab. Nicaragua, Leon [W. B. Richardson), San Juan del Sur ii, Sucuya ^^, Omotepe ^^ 

 (Kutting); Co&ta B-iCA (Eoffmann, Ellendorf^), Punta Arenas {0. S), La Palma 

 (Nvttirig^^), San Jose (v. Frantzius^, M. J. Calleja, Carmiol^, Boucard^, Zeledon^, 

 Nutting^, C/ierrie% Cartago (Boucard^, Zeledon^), Gxecisi{CanfnioP,v. Frantzius^), 

 Alajuela (Zeledon ^). 



Dr. Cabanis described this species from specimens sent to the Berlin Museum from 

 Costa Rica by Dr. Hoffmann, to whom it was dedicated i. Witli the description 

 Dr. Cabanis added a useful summary of the whole of the members of the genus, in 

 which some valuable notes on their synonymy are to be found. 



The relationship of this species to M. aurifrons is obvious, but the characters 

 separating the two forms seem fairly constant and their respective ranges quite distinct, 

 the intermediate country of Guatemala, Honduras, and Salvador being occupied by 

 M. santacruzi, a bird which, again, differs in several points. 



M. hoffmanni is a common species in Costa Rica. It occurs at Punta Arenas, where 

 Salvin secured some specimens and where M. Boucard also met with it* ; and it is also 

 found in the neighbourhood of San Jose, and to an altitude, according to Mr. Cherrie, 

 of 6500 feet^. The last-named naturalist found two nests near San Jose of this Wood- 

 pecker, one of which was 25 feet from the ground in an old rotton snag, and contained 

 two fresh eggs : the other was only about three feet from the ground, in an old stump, 

 and contained three fresh eggs; the entrance-hole to this nest was two inches in 

 diameter, and there was no lining. The eggs were glossy white, measuring about 



1-03 X 0-7 inch. 



53* 



