514 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



eastern Province of Panama, or in the Tuira Valley of Darien. Mori- 

 niche (Blake, Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, no. 5, 1958, p. 556) collected 

 it on the Volcan de Chiriqui at 1590 m, and Brown (Bangs, Proc. New 

 England Zool. Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 63) collected it at Boquete, Chiri- 

 qui, between 900 and 1500 m. On the western side of the Azuero Penin- 

 sula, Aldrich and Bole (Scient. Publ. Cleveland Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 

 7, 1937, p. 25) found it common in rain forest between 300 and 900 m. 

 This is the only honeycreeper besides the Bananaquit that is found on 

 Isla Coiba and the Pearl Islands, where it is very common. 



The Red-legged Honeycreeper is common in residential areas, where 

 it frequently comes to feeding trays for fruit. It is, however, no less 

 abundant in the wild, where it inhabits clearings, shrubby areas, second- 

 growth woodland, and forest borders. Like other species of Cyanerpes, 

 this honeycreeper probes blossoms for their nectar and the insects and 

 spiders that may be at their center. It also sucks juices from fruit and 

 eats small berries and pulpy seeds. At Cerro Chame, Province of Pan- 

 ama, I saw at least 50 gathered in a berry tree on March 26, 1955. 

 Eisenmann (in litt.) has observed this species feeding on the small, 

 greenish fruit of Miconia argentea. Ridgely on Isla Coiba saw them 

 come to the ground to feed on fallen fruit of Clusia. At times, how- 

 ever, insects may make up the bulk of their diet; E. A. Goldman col- 

 lected 2 honeycreepers in the Canal Zone in 1911 and 1912 that each 

 had full stomachs: 1 contained remains of three icheneumon flies 60% 

 and bits of two ants 40%; the other held the elytron of a curculionid 

 near Centrimis 6%, jaws and bits of skin of a caterpillar 35%, spider 

 remains 49%, 9 seeds of Miconia sp. 10%. The weights of 5 collected 

 by Strauch (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 1977, p. 64) ranged from 13.0 to 

 14.7 g. 



The Red-legged Honeycreeper is often seen in flocks, either of its 

 own species or with other honeycreepers and tanagers. At Barro Colo- 

 rado Island, Canal Zone, Moynihan (Smiths. Misc. Coll., vol. 143, no. 

 7, 1962, pp. 58-59) found that they tended to ignore most of their as- 

 sociates in mixed flocks and are more often joined by other species than 

 they themselves join mixed groups. Migrant warblers seem particu- 

 larly attracted to flocks containing Red-legged Honeycreepers. Male 

 honeycreepers are more gregarious with both intra- and interspecifics 

 than are females. When they are not examining flowers or foliage for 

 food, I have often seen honeycreepers of this species perched for sev- 

 eral minutes at a time on exposed branches at the tops of trees where 

 they seem to be enjoying the sun or the breeze. 



Red-legged Honeycreepers are noisier than their congeners; when 



