FAMILY FRINGILLIDAE 



555 



rest of undersurface red; female, upper surface bright olive-green; 

 undersurface yellowish buff. 



Description. — Length 120-132 mm. Adult male, ring around iris 

 red; crown, nape, sides of throat and of breast bluish violet; upper 

 back bright yellow-green; rest of upper surface and undersurface red, 

 slightly deeper on breast; lesser and middle wing coverts dark red; 

 greater wing coverts and outer webs of tertials bright green; remiges 

 and rectrices dusky dark brown, with outer webs edged dark red; un- 

 derwing coverts grayish pink. 



Adult female and immature male, entire upper surface, including 

 wing coverts, bright olive-green, slightly brighter on rump; remiges 

 and rectrices dusky, with outer webs edged olive-green; undersurface 

 yellowish buff, tinged olive across center of breast and on sides and 

 flanks; underwing coverts whitish. 



The Painted Bunting is an uncommon to rare winter visitant, re- 

 corded only west of the Canal Zone. Most of the population winters 

 north of Panama in Central America and Mexico and in Florida and 

 the Greater Antilles. As several of the few Panama records are sight 

 reports, it is not possible to determine the relative frequency of oc- 

 currence of each race in Panama. The species has been found as far 

 east as Playa Coronado, Province of Panama, where on two occasions 

 Eisenmann had excellent observations in shrubbery or overgrown 

 fields: November 25, 1962, an adult male and another bird in green 

 plumage, and on March 25, 1967, an adult male. One was netted at 

 Aguadulce, Code, on February 12, 1971, by Richard Cooke (Eisen- 

 mann, in litt.). Most records are from Almirante, Bocas del Toro, 

 where the birds were netted by personnel of the Gorgas Memorial 

 Laboratory, and from the area of Volcan de Chiriqui, where Arce and 

 Hicks collected specimens in the 19th century (Salvin and Godman, 

 Biol. Centr.-Amer., Aves, vol. 1, pt. 48, 1886, p. 365). 



This species has been found in Panama from October 23 to April 22 

 (Eisenmann, in litt.). It frequents undergrowth in shrubby areas and 

 woodland borders, where it may be found in small groups (Ridgely, 

 1976, p. 331). 



In his review of the Painted Bunting, Storer (Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. 

 U. Mich., no. 532, 1951, pp. 1-11) identified three populations, a small, 

 bright eastern one, ciris, a larger, pale, western one, pallidior, and a 

 central population that is intermediate in size. The last does not differ 

 sufficiently to be treated as a separate subspecies, although Storer 

 claimed to be able to recognize it on both the breeding and wintering 

 grounds. 



