586 



BIRDS OF THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA PART 4 



jacent Bocas del Toro, and Costa Rica. On the Volcan de Chiriqui, 

 Monniche (Blake, Fieldiana: Zool., vol. 36, no. 5, 1958, p. 572) col- 

 lected it between 1500 and 2940 m and W. W. Brown, Jr., took several 

 there between 3000 and 3300 m (Bangs, Proc. New England Zool. 

 Club, vol. 3, 1902, p. 69). Around Boquete, it had been taken between 

 2100 and 2550 m by M. E. Davidson and Frank Hartman. I have found 

 it at Cerro Punta from 2040 to 2160 m. 



This finch inhabits the undergrowth of clearings and forest borders, 

 occasionally venturing into the open. It feeds on insects and spiders 

 that it finds on the ground by scratching the leaves with both feet at 

 once. Berries from shrubs a few yards above the ground are also taken. 

 The song as described by Skutch (Publ. Nutt. Orn. Club, no. 7, 1967, 

 p. 185) is distinctive: "a unique medley, consisting of a series of widely 

 separated whistled notes, now high, now low in pitch, sometimes double 

 or slurred, and often suggesting a thrush or an oriole (Icterus) with 

 a slightly hoarse voice. From time to time, the songster unexpectedly 

 interjected among his disjoined whistles a dry rattle, a loud chatter, or 

 a trill that was almost soft and clear . . ." Skutch found this species to 

 sing most energetically in April, and only sparingly by the end of June. 

 Ridgely (in lift.) notes that it also gives a psee call note. 



A female I collected at Cerro Punta on March 1, 1955, was laying, 

 but I have no other information on the nesting of this species in Pan- 

 ama. Carriker (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. 6, 1910, p. 895-896) found 

 several nests in Costa Rica, where he believed breeding began in early 

 April. Of four nests, three had one egg, the last had two. "The nest is 

 bulky, loosely built, and constructed of weeds stalks and bamboo leaves, 

 lined with soft blades of grass and placed in a thick bush or on a bamboo 

 spray not far above the ground. The eggs vary from dull white, with 

 a faint tinge of blue, to pale bluish, sparsely speckled and dotted over 

 the whole surface with a few markings of lilac and heavier blotches of 

 burnt umber or sooty, thicker at the larger end, and sometimes entirely 

 wanting at the smaller. Average measurements: 29 X 19.4 mm." 



PSELLIOPHORUS TIBIALIS (Lawrence): Yellow-thighed Finch, 

 Pinzon Patiamarillo 



Tachyphonus tibialis Lawrence, 1864, Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, 8, p. 41. 

 (San Jose, Costa Rica.) 



Medium size; dark gray with black crown, wings, and tail, and yellow 

 thighs. 



Description. — Length 158-185 mm. Adult (sexes alike), crown 

 black, rest of body dark gray, slightly blackish on throat, and tinged 



