CCEEEBA. 249 



Lanquin, Choctum {0. S. & F. D. G.) ; Honduras, San Pedro {G. M. Whitely''); 

 Nicaragua, Chontales {Belt); Costa Rica(w. Frantzius % Bebedero {Arce ^); Panama, 

 David (i^^■c^s i^), Bugaba, Volcan de Chiriqui, Chitra, Castillo, Cordillera del Chucu, 

 Cordillera de Tole, Calovevora, Santiago, Santa Fe {Arce ^o 21)^ Hne of Railway 

 {M'Leannan ^^ ^^ i8j_ — South America generally to Bolivia ^ and Brazil ^ 4 9 ; Cuba ". 



Coereba cyanea is found over nearly the whole of the continental portion of the 

 Neotropical region, being an inhabitant of the low-lying country up to an elevation of 

 about 3000 or 4000 feet. We once observed it at Duenas in Guatemala at a height 

 of nearly 5000 feet ; but its occurrence so high must be considered exceptional. So 

 far as our experience goes, it is not a bird of the open savannas, but resorts to the edges 

 of the forests and second-growth woods, and may even be seen in the hedgerows of 

 villages in such situations. It is absent from the West-Indian islands with the 

 exception of Cuba, where, singularly enough, it occurs to the exclusion of all species 

 of Certhiola, whose place it seems to take. This is the more remarkable, as the Antilles 

 foster Certhiola to such an extent that nearly every island has its distinct race. 



In 1859 Mr. Sclater separated Mexican specimens of C. cyanea under the name of 

 C. carneipes ^2, at the same time doubting whether the minute differential characters 

 to which he drew attention were really of specific value.. The receipt of a large series 

 of specimens from a wide unbroken range has convinced us that no such separation 

 can be maintained ; the bird, in fact, being unusually constant in its coloration, con- 

 sidering the vast area over which it is spread. 



In its habits C. cyanea is restless in search of insects, climbing over every twig and 

 examining every leaf in its way. We never met with its nest or eggs. 



2. Coereba lucida. 



Cc^eba lucida, Scl. & Salv. Ibis, 1859, p. 14'; Moore, P. Z. S. 1859, p. 53'; Lawr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 



vii. pp. 291 \ 318 * ; Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 349 ' ; Salv. P. Z. S. 1867, p. 137 ' ; 1870, 



p. 185 ^ 

 Coereba carulea, Sel. P. Z. S, 1856, p. 140 ». 



Indigotico-csernlea ; capite paulo dilutiore, fronte, loris, gula usque ad pectus, alis et cauda nigris ; rostro nigro, 

 pedibus camels. Long, tota 4-0, alee 2-3, caudae 1-3, rostri a rietu 0-85, tarsi 5-5. (Descr. maris ex 

 Choctum, Guatemala. Mmb. nostr.) 



5 viridis ; subtus sordide albicans, pectore toto viride striato, hypochondriis viridibus. (Descr. feminse ex 

 Choctum, Guatemala. Mus. nostr.) 



Hab. Guatemala {Skinner^), Choctum {0. S. & F. B. G.); Honduras {Leyland^); 

 Panama, David {Bridges % Bugaba {Arce ''), line of Eailway {M'Leannan ^ ^ ^). 



This Central-American species seems fairly separable from C. coerulea of the Southern 

 continent ; not only does the colour of the male differ in being of a less dense purplish- 

 blue, but the black of the throat extends further on to the breast. These differences 

 are very apparent when Central-American and Guiana birds are compared. The range 



BIOL, centr.-amee., Aves, Vol. I., November 1883, 32 



