ON THE WOOD RAILS, GENUS ARAIVIIDES, OCCUR- 

 RING NORTH OF PANAMA 



OUTRAM BANGS 



For many years I have been gathering all specimens I could 

 of the splendid, great Wood Rails of the genus Aramides with the 

 hope of some day monographing the group. Unfortunately I 

 have as yet been unable to bring together sufficient material from 

 South America to attempt to include in review the forms of that 

 country. I now have, however, a complete set of the species and 

 subspecies of Middle America from Panama north to the northern 

 limit of the genus in southern ^Mexico. A critical study of this 

 material together with a number of skins kindly lent me by the 

 United States National :\Iuseum, the American IMuseum of 

 Natural History, and the Bureau of Biological Survey of AVashing- 

 ton, which include the types of Aramides flumheicollis Zeledon, 

 A. axillaris Lawr. and A. albiventris Lawr. has induced me to 

 publish now a short synopsis of the forms of Aramides occurring 

 north of Panama. 



My views expressed in the following pages will be found to differ 

 a little from those of recent authors, such as Sharpe in Yoi. XXIII 

 Catalogue of Birds in British Museum 1894 and Biologia Centrali- 

 Americana, Aves, 3, 1897-1904, and I describe as new one form 

 from ]\Iexico, allowing to the region here treated three species 

 and two additional subspecies. 



In all species of Aramides the sexes are alike in color and there 

 are but slight individual or seasonal differences, apart from those 

 caused of the w^holly mechanical processes of fading and wear. 

 Some species have a juvenile plumage, still worn when the bird is 

 nearly full grown, that is quite different in color from tiie livery 

 of the adults — A. axillaris and its allies. Other species, appar- 

 ently (I have seen but one young individnal of .1. alhlrnifris 

 phnnhrlroUis, and none at all of the other subspecies ni alhlrrnfris 



tinctly difi'erent in color from that of tiie adults. 



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