Todd-Carriker : Birds of Santa Marta Region^ Colombia. 501 



bamboo-grass always more or less in evidence in the nest of the for- 

 mer being lacking. Two of these nests contained three eggs each, 

 while the third contained six eggs. All were slightly incubated. Ap- 

 parently this clutch of six eggs was laid by two birds (a most unusual 

 circumstance if correct), since it was composed of two lots of three 

 eggs, each lot agreeing well among themselves, but differing from 

 each other both in size and markings. The ground-color of the eggs 

 is pure white, rather thickly and finely speckled with chestnut, more 

 prominently at the larger end. They, are very similar to those of 

 Tanagra crassirostris. 



Family FRINGILLID^E. Finches. 



481. Saltator striatipictus striatipictus Lafresnaye. 



Saltator albicollis (not of Vieillot) Salvin and Godman, Ibis, 1880, 122 



(Minca). — Sclater^ Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XI, 1886, 294 (Minca). 1 

 Saltator striatipictus Bangs, Proc. Biol. Soc. -Washington, Xil, 1898, 140 



("Santa Marta"). — Allen, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, 1900, 166 



(Bonda and Minca). — von Berlepsch, Verh. V. Int. Orn.-Kong., 1911, 1117 



(" Santa Marta," in range). 

 Saltator striatipictus striatipictus Bangs and Penard, Bull. Mus. Comp. Z06I., 



LXIII, 1919, 33 (" Santa Marta," in range). 



Thirteen specimens : Bonda, Valparaiso, Cincinnati, Minca, and La 

 Tigrera. 



This species is subject to a great deal of variation, affecting mainly 

 the amount and intensity of the streaking on the under parts, but it is 

 a question if a subdivision based on this character can profitably be 

 recognized. In any case, however, Santa Marta birds are referable 

 to the typical form, described from western Colombia. The effect of 

 wear is to dull the green color of the upper parts and to brinjg out the 

 streaking on the under surface. 



This Saltator has a very curious local distribution. There is abso- 

 lutely no record of its occurrence in the region under discussion out- 

 side of the northern foothills of the San Lorenzo, from an altitude of 

 about 500 up to about 4,500 feet, or through the Tropical Zone. It 

 is most common at about 1,000 feet. It frequents open places where 

 scattering trees are found, and in habits resembles some of the fruit- 

 eating Tyrannida, keeping well up in the larger trees. 



