442 



BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



forest. On Isla Cebaco, off Veraguas, I once found several dozen 

 gathered in a communal roost in a stand of Heliconia; some birds 

 rested on the tops of the leaves while others were sheltered below. By 

 day, these tanagers are usually found in smaller, noisy groups of 3 to 6 

 individuals. Their calls include a variety of nasal, hoarse, and plaintive 

 notes; the male also has a sweeter, three- or four-note song deliv- 

 ered mainly at dawn. Moynihan (Auk, 1962, pp. 650-680) ana- 

 lyzes the calls and associated behavior patterns. The stomach of 1 col- 

 lected by Goldman at Corozal, Canal Zone, held bits of caterpillar skin 

 57%, spider remains 3%, bits of a pentatomid 5%, about 75 seeds of 

 Miconia sp. 30%, vegetable rubbish 5%. Twelve collected by Burton 

 (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 1975, p. 86) and Strauch (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 

 1977, p. 65) ranged in weight from 23.8 to 34.0 g. 



RAMPHOCELUS DIMIDIATUS DIMIDIATUS Lafresnaye 



Ramphocelus dimidiatus Lafresnaye, 1837, Mag. Zool. [Paris], 7, cl. 2, p. 2, pi. 81 

 and text. (Cartagena, Colombia.) 



Ramphocelus dimidiatus isthmicus Ridgway, 1901, Proc. Washington Acad. Sci., 

 3, p. 150. (Frijole Station, Panama R.R.) 



Ramphocelus dimidiatus albirostris Griscom, 1933, Auk, 50, p. 307. (Divala, Pa- 

 cific slope of western Chiriqui.) 



Ramphocelus dimidiatus pallidirostris Hellmayr, 1936, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ. 

 Zool. Ser., 13, pt. 9, p. 256; new name for Ramphocelus dimidiatus albirostris 

 Griscom, preoccupied by Tanagra albirostris Boddaert, 1783. 



Characters. — Very similar to the insular races, but in the male the 

 black of the belly is more extensive, and the reds, particularly of the 

 rump, are lighter, more orange, and less scarlet. 



A male collected at Las Palmitas, Los Santos, on January 28, 1962, 

 had the iris reddish brown; maxilla and tip of mandible black; base of 

 mandible white, shading to neutral gray at base, gonys, and sides ad- 

 jacent; tarsus, toes, and claws black. A female taken there on January 

 22 had the iris reddish brown; base of maxilla and mandible dull 

 brownish dark neutral gray, slightly paler on swollen base of mandible; 

 rest of maxilla dusky neutral gray; tarsus and toes dusky neutral gray; 

 claws black. 



Measurements. — Males (10 from Panama), wing 75.5-81.5 (78.8), 

 tail 64.8-74.6 (71.6), culmen from base 15.7-18.1 (16.5, average of 9), 

 tarsus 17.4-20.7 (19.2) mm. 



Females (10 from Panama), wing 74.0-82.0 (76.5), tail 64.4-74.4 

 (68.8), culmen from base 16.4-18.6 (17.3), tarsus 17.9-20.8 (19.8) 

 mm. 



