BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



Undersurface mostly yellow or greenish 13 



13. Forecrown definitely brown. 



Tawny-crowned Greenlet, Hylophilus ochraceiceps. p. 234 

 Crown greenish 14 



14. Lores yellow, crown mainly light olive-brown. 



Golden- fronted Greenlet, Hylophilus aurantiifrons aurantiifrons. p. 231 

 Lores and crown entirely olive-green. 



Scrub Greenlet, Hylophilus flavipes. p. 237 



CYCLARHIS GUJANENSIS (Gmelin): Rufous-browed Peppershrike, 



Pajaro Perico 



Figure 18 



Tanagra gujanensis Gmelin, 1789, Syst. Nat., 1(2), p. 893. (French Guiana.) 



Large for a vireo; bill stout; head gray with rufous brow; rest of 

 upper surface green; undersurface yellow and white. 



Description. — Length 134-148 mm. Adult (sexes alike), broad ru- 

 fous stripe from forehead, above eye to rear of crown, thin line under 

 eye rufous; crown and nape brownish gray, usually tinged with rusty, 

 rest of upper surface olive-green; sides of head and hind neck gray; 

 undersurface variable, with upper throat white or light neutral gray, 

 rest of undersurface bright yellow becoming white below; underwing 

 coverts and edge of wing yellow; inner webs of primaries edged with 

 yellow. 



Immature similar, but superciliary stripe paler. 



The peppershrike is a variable species that ranges from eastern 

 Mexico to central Argentina; 21 races are currently recognized (Blake, 

 Checklist Birds World, 1968, pp. 103-107), of which 4 occur in the 

 Republic. This is evidently an adaptable bird, since it dwells in quite 

 different habitats in various parts of Panama, from forest borders in 

 foothills and highlands of Chiriqui, at 840 to 2460 m, to light and scrub- 

 by woodlands in lowlands on the Pacific slope in Veraguas and the 

 eastern side of the Azuero Peninsula, and in mangroves on Isla Coiba. 

 Although fairly common where it occurs, the peppershrike is always a 

 hard bird to see, even when singing, as it perches among or moves 

 slowly through the dense foliage, searching for its insect prey by eye 

 rather than by the frequent hops of the smaller insectivores with which 

 it sometimes travels. Were it not for its loud song, the peppershrike 

 might be impossible to find altogether, as is evidenced by the vast pre- 

 ponderance of males in museum series. The song is usually given re- 

 peatedly, although I have also searched for individuals that paused for 

 more than a half hour between songs. The song is a series of short, 



