FAMILY VIREONIDAE 



233 



in the tops of the smaller trees, ranging from tree growth back of a 

 mangrove swamp to the fringe of woodland bordering the course of 

 streams, or the bases of hills rising in open savanna lands. I saw this 

 species in shade trees in the clearings adjacent to the river, and Gold- 

 man in 1911 recorded one in partly cleared jungle near Frijoles. The 

 birds move about rather actively, suggesting small warblers in their 

 movements, but usually remain behind the cover of leaves. Once I 

 found one in company with a little group of the Lesser Greenlet. The 

 song is not loud, but is interesting, usually a repetition of two notes, 

 the second being stressed. Eisenmann (Condor, 1962, p. 507) describes 

 the song as "distinctly vireonine, resembling that of H. decurtatus, but 

 it is even less varied, most often with a four-syllabled whistled phrase, 

 sliding down at the end — cheetsacheeyou or itsacheeyou — and with 

 two-to-five second pauses between each repetition." He reports also 

 having heard a shorter wltsachew, and a more elaborate itsocheet cheet- 

 sacheeyou, less musical than the vocalizations of H. decurtatus or of 

 Vireo flavoviridis. This species also has a nasal scold, much like that of 

 H. ochraceiceps, nyaah,nyaah,nyaah,nyaah, given in excitement. 



Eisenmann found the Golden-fronted Greenlet ecologically sym- 

 patric with Vireo flavoviridis, although much more restricted in range 

 and habitat, but tending to keep lower and avoiding the more humid 

 second-growth areas. He adds that, as to other greenlets, in localities 

 and habitats where he has found this species in Panama he has also 

 found H. flavipes viridiflavus, and in localities with greater rainfall or 

 better soil and taller tree growth or extensive woodland nearby (as in 

 the Canal Zone and eastern Province of Panama) he has also found H. 

 decurtatus, which avoids the drier areas and favors forest, just as H. 

 aurantiifrons avoids the more humid regions and favors scrub. E. S. 

 Morton writes that in his experience, where the Golden- fronted Green- 

 let and the Lesser Greenlet occur together, they often are found in the 

 same group, and, although their songs, while of similar style, are 

 readily separable, they have very similar or identical alarm and ago- 

 nistic notes. 



On March 24, 1966, I watched 2 of these birds feeding on small 

 berries at Chiva Chiva, Canal Zone. E. A. Goldman collected 1 at 

 Corozal on June 15, 1911, whose stomach contained 2 or more ants 

 60%, arachnid remains 30%, jassoid fragments 10%. Two collected 

 by Strauch (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 1977, p. 64) weighed 9.6 and 10.1 g. 



Eisenmann found a bird building a nest in a small tree on a grassy 

 slope with bushy vegetation while another sang nearby on June 17, 

 1953, in the Juan Franco suburb of Panama City. 



