FAMILY ICTERIDAE 



369 



Juvenile, crown and nape yellowish olive; back buffy olive; rump 

 greenish olive; wings dusky; tail dusky, with feathers edged buffy 

 olive; side of face, undersurface pale yellow, brighter greenish wash 

 across breast; bend of wing and underwing coverts yellow. 



A male collected at El Real, Darien, on March 21, 1964, had the iris 

 wood brown; bill black; tarsus and toes dark neutral gray; claws black. 



Measurements. — Males (10 from Panama and Colombia), wing 

 87.2-95.1 (91.0), tail 74.2-91.0 (83.3), oilmen from base 19.2-21.0 

 (20.1), tarsus 19.6-23.3 (21.4) mm. 



Females (10 from Panama and Colombia), wing 84.4-89.0 (86.8), 

 tail 80.4-85.7 (83.2), culmen from base 18.2-19.8 (19.0), tarsus 20.1- 

 22.8 (21.6) mm. 



Resident. Fairly common in the lowlands of eastern Province of 

 Panama and in Darien. Found also in Colombia and northern Vene- 

 zuela. In Panama, it has been recorded in the hills east of Chepo, on 

 the Platanares-Jesus Maria road, eastward (Ridgely, 1976, p. 310) . In 

 Darien, it has been collected along the Rio Tuira up to the mouth of the 

 Rio Pucro (Griscom, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 78, 1935, p. 372), 

 at Garachine and the Rio Sambu (Bond and de Schauensee, Acad. Nat. 

 Sci. Philadelphia, Mon. no. 6, 1944, p. 43). I found the species at El 

 Real and at the mouths of the Rio Tuquesa and Rio Paya. It seems 

 especially common along rivers and streams, but is found elsewhere as 

 well in woodland borders and shrubby clearings. It often feeds high in 

 flowering trees. A male collected by Strauch (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 

 1977, p. 64) weighed 33.5 g. The song of this oriole consists of a 

 whistled phrase repeated over and over, often for 15 or 20 minutes. 

 The song period is especially long in early morning. I know of no in- 

 formation on its nesting habits. 



ICTERUS MESOMELAS (Wagler): Yellow-tailed Oriole, 

 Parao Coliamarillo 



Figure 31 



Ps. [arocolius] mesomelas Wagler, 1829, Isis von Oken, 22, heft. 7, col. 755. (Chal- 

 caltianges, Veracruz, Mexico.) 



Medium size; bright yellow, with black throat, wings, upper back, 

 and central tail feathers. 



Description. — Length 200-230 mm. Adult (sexes alike), lores, or- 

 bital region, throat, and center of upper breast black; rest of head 

 orange-yellow, rest of undersurface, lower back, and rump lighter 

 orange-yellow; upper back, greater wing coverts, remiges, and three 

 central pairs of rectrices black; lesser and middle wing coverts and 



