544 Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 



This beautiful species, which has a wide geographical distribution 

 elsewhere, also has a wide range in Costa Rica. It is found over the 

 entire Caribbean lowlands and slopes up to at least 4,000 feet, and 

 throughout the Pacific lowlands, but does not ascend on that side to 

 more than 1,000 or 1,500 feet above sea-level. It is most abundant 

 on the Caribbean side between 1,000 and 2,500 feet, frequents only 

 the heavy forests, and as a rule feeds among the tree-tops, on flowering 

 vines and parasitic orchids. It is. as a rule, very shy and difficult to 

 shoot, being rapid in movement and keeping well up among the trees. 



266. Floricola superba superba (G. Shaw). 



Oisean-Mouche a long Bee Audebert & Vieillot, Ois. dor., I, 1802, 128, pi. 59. 

 Trochilus superbus G. Shaw (& Nodder), Nat. Miscel., XIII, pi. 517. 

 Heliomaster longiroslris Salvin, Ibis, 1869, 316 (Costa Rica). — Lawrence, 



Ann. Lye. N. Y., I X, 1868, 126 (Costa Rica [Enrique Arce], Coll. O. Salvin.). 



— Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Ill, 1880, 313 (Costa Rica). 

 Floricola longiroslris Elliot, Syn. Troch., 83. — Salvin, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., 



XVI, 1892, 229 (no Costa Rican specimens). — Salvin and Godman, Biol. 



Centr.-Am., Aves, II, 1892, 304 (Bebedero and Tucurriqui [Arce]; C. R. ref- 

 erences). — Cherrie, Auk, IX, 1892, 324 (San Jose); Expl. Zool. en C. R., 



1 89 1-2, 1893, 45 (Boruca and Terraba). 

 Heliomaster sclaleri Lawrence, Ann. Lye. N. Y., IX, 1868, 126 (San Jose 



[Frantzius], Angostura [J. Carmiol]). 

 Heliomaster pallidiceps, Lawrence, Ann. Lye. N. Y., IX, 1868, 126 (Gulf of 



Nicoya [Arce], Coll. O. Salvin). 

 Floricola superba (typica) Hartert, Tierr., 1900, 192 (Central America south 



to the Amazons). — Bangs, Auk, XXIV, 1907, 296 (Boruca, Paso Real, 



and Barranca [Underwood]). 



Bangs Collection : San Pedro, Cerro de Candelaria, Pozo Azul de 



Pirris, San Jose (Underwood). 

 C. H. Lankester Collection: Cachi. 

 Carnegie Museum: Guapiles (Carriker & Crawford), Escazu, La 



Hondura, El Pozo de Terraba, Boruca (Carriker). Eleven skins. 



Costa Rican specimens of F. superba show no signs of the bright 

 green crown of F. superba pallidiceps as found in Mexican specimens, 

 the crown being brilliant blue of almost the same shade as is found in 

 birds from Santa Marta. There is a slight tendency to a paler shade 

 of blue than in typical superba, but again some Costa Rican birds have 

 as vivid a blue crown as the southern specimens. There is a tendency 

 in a few birds towards a lilac-tinged throat, and a paler crown, which 

 may be a slight intergradation between F. superba and F. pallidiceps, 



