i58 



BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



base of Tacarcuna in Colombia are similar to those seen from Panama. 



Some form of C. fuscater occurs in the mountainous Cerro Azul- 

 Cerro Jefe area of eastern Province of Panama, not far east of the 

 Canal Zone. E. S. Morton writes of its song there, heard on May 29, 

 1966, "a clear series of whistles like a solitaire in quality but slightly 

 similar to a Wood Thrush in phrasing. A minor tone — each series of 

 three whistles followed by two whistles, each whistle a single pure tone: 

 tu tee tu (last note a half tone lower than first) followed by tu tee; then 

 a longer pause (3 seconds), and it starts all over again. It was an ex- 

 ceedingly beautiful sound coming out of the mist on Cerro Azul." E. O. 

 Willis, present at the time, considered the song pleasing, but rather 

 simple, in fact, much simpler than that of C. frantzii. Ridgely, on 

 Cerro Jefe on July 24, 1975, heard one singing with the same rhythm, 

 but he syllabized it as to-to-tee, tee-too. 



Willis believes that similarity in song suggests that C. fuscater may 

 be a representative of the spotted C. dryas, which is absent from south- 

 ern Middle America, but reappears in South America. Eisenmann 

 feels the evanescent yellowish tones and vague grayish to olive mottling 

 below also suggest the relationship. 



CATHARUS FRANTZII WETMOREI Phillips: Ruddy-capped Nightingale- 

 Thrush, Zorzal Cabecirrojizo 



Catharus frantzii wetmorei Phillips, Auk, vol. 86, no. 4, October 30, 1969, p. 615. 

 (Boquete, Chiriqui.) 



Rather small; upper surface brown; throat and abdomen white, rest 

 of undersurface gray. 



Description. — Length 145-170 mm. Adult. Male, crown russet- 

 brown; back, rump, and wing coverts somewhat duller; outer webs of 

 wings grayer; side of head grayish olive, with area in front of eye in- 

 definitely black; throat dull white, becoming gray streaked with white 

 centrally on upper foreneck; lower foreneck and upper breast dull gray, 

 changing to lighter gray on breast and sides, and to white on lower 

 breast, abdomen and undertail coverts; undersurface of wings dull 

 dark gray; tibia dull dark gray. 



Female, somewhat paler russet-brown above. 



A male, taken at 2300 m on the north slope of Volcan de Chiriqui, 

 Chiriqui, February 24, 1965, had the iris dark brown; maxilla black; 

 mandible yellowish orange, becoming brighter orange along the com- 

 missure, yellower elsewhere; inside of mouth, including the tongue, 



