520 



BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



fuscous; base of mandible dull grayish brown; paler brown on lower 

 surface of rami; tarsus light brown; toes dark brown; claws fuscous. 



Measurements. — Males (10 from Chiriqui), wing 58.5-64.1 (61.8), 

 tail 39.5-53.9 (41.4), culmen from base 12.9-14.0 (13.4), tarsus 13.2- 

 16.1 (15.0) mm. 



Females (5 from Chiriqui and Costa Rica), wing 59.7-63.0 (61.8), 

 tail 39.5-43.9 (41.4), culmen from base 12.9-14.0 (13.4), tarsus 13.2- 

 16.7 (15.5) mm. 



Resident. Fairly common in lowlands and foothills of Chiriqui and 

 Veraguas. I have collected it at Puerto Armuelles in Chiriqui and at 

 Sona in Veraguas. The American Museum has specimens from Chiri- 

 qui taken at Bogava [=Bugaba] and Boqueron. A specimen in that 

 museum labeled from Coiba Island, off Veraguas, approaches ultra- 

 marina (fide Eisenmann). It inhabits forest borders and second- 

 growth woodland. 



Skutch (Condor, 1962, pp. 98-104) has observed the breeding be- 

 havior of this race in Costa Rica. Two nests that he found were con- 

 structed in mid-May. The work was done entirely by the female, al- 

 though the male often escorted her. The nests were placed amid leaves 

 in thin branches of trees 6 to 8 m from the ground. The nest Skutch 

 examined was a deep cup suspended from two twigs. From top to bot- 

 tom it measured 8 cm and its outside diameter was 6 by 5 cm. The in- 

 terior was 2 by 3 cm in diameter and less than 2.5 cm in depth. The 

 suspending structure of the nest was made of well-twisted bast fibers 

 and rachides of a Mimosa; the interior was of fine bast fibers and soft 

 seed down. 



Two eggs formed the clutch in the one nest that was not deserted. 

 They were white or whitish with dark markings. Only one of the eggs 

 hatched and, curiously, this young bird was attended by a female and 



2 males; Skutch believed the second male was an unmated helper. All 



3 birds brought food to the young one; all the items Skutch could 

 identify were berries and arils. At 12 days the nestling fluttered down 

 from the nest. The breeding season in Costa Rica is evidently long, 

 since Skutch has seen young being fed by their parents in early No- 

 vember. 



DACNIS CAYANA ULTRAMARINA Lawrence 



Dacnis ultramarina Lawrence, 1864, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, p. 106. 

 (Lion Hill, Panama Railroad, Panama.) 



Characters. — Male bright ultramarine-blue; female, throat gray. 

 A male collected at Juan Mina, Canal Zone, on January 16, 1961, had 



