FAMILY VIREONIDAE 



203 



p. 282) noted in mangroves near Tocumen, eastern Province of Pan- 

 ama, on July 10, 1975, were probably representative of this race. More 

 recently others have been seen at Juan Diaz; these are almost certainly 

 flavens, spreading from farther east in the Province of Panama. 



CYCLARHIS GUJANENSIS COIBAE Hartert 



Cyclorhis coibae Hartert, 1901, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 12, p. 33. (Coiba Island, 

 off Panama.) 



Characters. — Darker above than either subflavescens or perry goi; 

 chin light neutral gray; upper throat to abdomen pale lemon yellow, 

 brightest just above abdomen, then fading to white on abdomen and 

 undertail coverts. 



A male collected on February 1, 1956, had the iris wax yellow; 

 maxilla mouse brown; mandible neutral gray; tarsus and toes avil- 

 laneous. 



Measurements. — Males (4 from Isla Coiba), wing 69.0-71.2 (70.6), 

 tail 50.5-53.5 (52.6), culmen from base 16.4-17.6 (17.1), tarsus 21.0- 

 22.4 (21.6) mm. 



I have found no female specimens in collections. 



Resident. During my stay on Coiba in January and February 1956 

 the peppershrike was fairly common, but this was the beginning of the 

 dry season and their songs had become infrequent; without these notes 

 as a guide they are difficult to find. While they are robust in body, they 

 move about behind leafy cover in such a leisurely manner, resting for 

 minutes with only slight movements of the head, that it is only casually 

 that one is seen. They are birds of the high forest crown, but come also 

 about clearings, even into the low second growth called rastrojo, or to 

 the borders of mangrove swamps. At the Maria work camp I found 1 

 feeding in mango trees and coconut palms standing isolated in the ex- 

 tensive clearing. 



The song is loud with strongly accented notes, and ends abruptly, 

 when there is a pause of varying length, often of several minutes, be- 

 fore it is repeated. The first two or three syllables are uttered rather 

 slowly, followed by a rapidly given louder phrase. The notes carry for 

 several hundred yards, and, if the song is continued, eventually the bird 

 may be located, though the process of finding one may require half an 

 hour. The 3 males that I collected represent many hours of search, 

 since, as already stated, during January the birds were not singing 

 steadily. 



