282 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



The subspecific determination of this series has been until very re- 

 cently an open question, depending on what the type of Dendroco- 

 laptes multistrigatus might turn out to be. Messrs. Hartert and Good- 

 son (Novitates Zoologicce, XXIV, 1917, 416) now report that the type 

 in question agrees absolutely with Colombian skins from Bogota collec- 

 tions, and they accordingly describe as new the form from the north 

 coast of Venezuela, the characters of which had already been indicated 

 by Messrs. Hellmayr and von Seilern. This disposition of the case is 

 supported by the series in the collection of the Carnegie Museum. In 

 addition to the characters claimed for seilerni it may be added that the 

 bill (in the skin) is much lighter in color, and the upper parts are a 

 shade browner, than in multistrigatus. Santa Marta specimens prove 

 to be inseparable from those from northern Venezuela, although their 

 bills average a little longer. 



This bird is found only in the highlands of the Subtropical Zone, be- 

 tween about 4,500 and 7,000 feet. Since it is confined to the heavy 

 forest, it is rarely seen in those parts of the Sierra Nevada worked 

 by Mr. Brown and the writer, for the reason that there is very little 

 heavy forest left at these elevations. It is not abundant anywhere, 

 and is a solitary, noiseless bird. 



Family FURNARIIDyE. Ovenbirds. 

 232. Thripadectes flammulatus (Eyton). 



Thripadecies flammulatus Ai.len, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1900, 15b 



(El Libano). 



One specimen : Heights of Chirua. 



So few specimens of this species have thus far found their way into 

 collections that it is impossible to determine whether or not there 

 is geographic variation. Scarcely any two examples of those ex- 

 amined in this connection are exactly alike in color and markings, but 

 the difference may well be- individual rather than geographical. In the 

 above specimen the pileum and nape are black, distinctly different from 

 the color of the back. 



Evidently this is an extremely rare bird. Mr. Smith got but one 

 specimen, at El Libano, at about 6,000 feet altitude, while the single, 

 bird secured by the writer was taken at about 5,000 feet above Chirua, 

 in dense, humid forest. It seems to be a bird of the Subtropical Zone. 



