552 BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



PASSERINA CAERULEA CAERULEA (Linnaeus): Blue Grosbeak, 

 Piquigrueso Azulado 



Loxia caerulea Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1, p. 175. (South Carolina.) 



Medium size; male dark violet-blue with two reddish brown bars 

 on wing; female, upper surface warm brown, sometimes tinged blue on 

 rump and upper tail coverts; undersurface duller, lighter brown or 

 grayish buff. 



Description. — Length 150-156 mm. Adult male, lores, lower rim of 

 eye, and base of mandible black; entire upper and lower surfaces violet- 

 blue, with feathers of upper back black, edged violet-blue; lesser wing 

 coverts violet-blue; middle ones reddish brown; greater coverts black, 

 tipped reddish brown and with outer webs edged violet-blue; remiges 

 and rectrices black with outer webs edged violet-blue; rectrices nar- 

 rowly tipped white; underwing coverts black. 



Adult female, crown and upper back warm, slightly reddish brown 

 or drabber, more grayish brown; lower back through upper tail coverts 

 duller, sometimes washed with blue; lesser wing coverts as upper back; 

 middle and greater coverts dark brown, tipped reddish brown, forming 

 two bars; rectrices and remiges dark brown; rectrices narrowly tipped 

 white; undersurface varies from pinkish buff to tawny olive, usually 

 darkest on breast; underwing coverts pinkish to cinnamon-buff. 



Measurements. — Males (10 from the breeding range, taken in May ) , 

 wing 82.2-90.4 (86.9), tail 62.3-67.6 (65.3), oilmen from base 16.6- 

 18.7 (17.6), tarsus 18.9-20.6 (19.8) mm. 



Females (10 from the breeding range, taken in May), wing 78.0- 

 84.0 (81.5), tail 59.2-67.5 (64.7), oilmen from base 16.8-18.2 (17.5), 

 tarsus 17.9-20.1 (19.0) mm. 



Winter visitor from the north. Rare and local, but probably regular, 

 known primarily from Almirante, Bocas del Toro, and Playa Coronado, 

 western Province of Panama. There are 4 sight records from the Canal 

 Zone: 1 at Gamboa on March 15, 1979 (Ridgely in litt.), 1 at Gatun 

 Locks on March 18, 1973 (D. Engleman and J. Schwartz), another 

 there on January 22, 1981 (V. Emanuel, R. A. Rowlett, et al.), and an 

 immature male at Frijoles on March 16, 1974 (Eisenmann) (Ridgely, 

 1976, p. 331) . Other birds seen by Ridgely include a group of 6 south 

 of El Rincon, on January 23, 1976 (all were in female or immature 

 plumage) and an adult male near Alanje, Chiriqui, on March 6, 1976. 



Panama seems to be the normal southern limit of this race's winter 

 range, which extends north to Mexico; other migrant and resident 

 races are found south to Costa Rica. There are 2 specimens records of 

 this bird from South America: a female taken at El Eden on the Napo 



