FAMILY HIRUNDINIDAE 



35 



The first published record for Panama is by Chapman (Bull. Amer. 

 Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 55, 1926, p. 558) of an adult male in the Prince- 

 ton Museum collected by "J. P. Chapin at Juan Mina, Rio Chagres, 

 Panama, July 17, 1923, while a member of the Charles Rogers Prince- 

 ton Expedition." In the British Museum there are 4 earlier specimens 

 from Panama — 3 immature birds marked as taken by McLeannan and 

 the fourth, an adult, though not labeled, from its style of preparation 

 evidently also from this collector. One of the immature individuals is 

 marked Lion Hill Station, the others are indicated only as from Pan- 

 ama. It is probable that these were sent by the collector to Salvin fol- 

 lowing McLeannan's visit to Panama in 1873, as they were received in 

 the Salvin and Godman collection, the 3 immature birds having been 

 presented in 1885, the adult in 1888. 



A male and female in the Academy of Natural Sciences collected by 

 Jewel on July 7 and 16, 1911, from flocks at Gatun, Canal Zone, were 

 attributed to the nominate form, but proved to be undoubtedly of the 

 migratory southern race patagonica when reexamined by James Bond 

 and R. Meyer de Schauensee (Bond to Eisenmann, in litt.). 



At Cana, on Cerro Pirre, Darien, on May 22, 1912, E. A. Goldman 

 recorded "a flock containing hundreds seen perched on wires. Later in 

 the day at least 100 were sitting close together on a spot where the 

 ground was bare, and where I was unable to find anything to attract 

 them." The 2 specimens that he collected are of the present race. 



On April 5, 1954, I saw a swallow resting on high wires opposite the 

 fire station at Pedro Miguel, Canal Zone, that appeared definitely to be 

 patagonica. From its elevated position facing me, I had clear view of 

 the undertail coverts, which showed the restriction of the black color 

 to the lower area that marks this subspecies. Guy Tudor saw one over 

 the Bayano River below Chepo on April 2, 1971 (Ridgely, in litt.). 



Farther north, migrant individuals of patagonica have been collected 

 from groups of other swallows by Howell, July 9, 1954, at El Recreo, 

 Depto. Zelaya, southeastern Nicaragua (Condor, 1955, p. 188), and by 

 Alvarez del Toro, May 24, 1954, at Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico 

 (Condor, 1957, p. 268). 



On June 17, 1971, Eisenmann, with J. J. Pujals, carefully examined 

 a group of swallows on a lowland roadside telegraph wire between 

 Chepo and La Capetana, eastern Province of Panama, that included 1 

 South American migrant P. tapera fusca, T. albilinea albilinea, and 11 

 N. c. patagonica. Ridgely reports seeing what he believes were pata- 

 gonica at El Llano, eastern Province of Panama, on August 2, 1972, 

 (6 birds, adults and immatures) and 2 on August 5 at Empire Range 



