80 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VOL. 95 
mainly not far from the water. On October 20 I shot an adult male 
in breeding condition, and occasionally I recorded other single birds 
that may have been nesting. Most, however, were gathered in little 
bands that sometimes included a dozen individuals, evidently post- 
breeding-season gatherings as they included young of the year. While 
I could call them up from the ground to low perches, they remained 
under cover and were so shy that they soon disappeared and could not 
be found again. The long tail is moved even more actively than that 
of a cardinal. At this season they were silent. 
AIMOPHILA RUFESCENS HYPAETHRUS Bangs 
Aimophila rufescens hypaethrus Banas, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, vol. 22, Mar. 
10, 1909, p. 37 (Cerro Santa Maria, Guanacaste, Costa Rica). 
On the Hacienda Santa Maria these large sparrows were scattered 
through little thickets growing in the pastures. They flushed from 
the grass at the border of the bushes and went at once into dense cover, 
where I seldom saw them except so near at hand that I could not shoot 
them without destroying them. Possibly their shyness was due to 
the season, as they were evidently molting. I located one place near 
the trail leading to Los Cuadros where I could always find one or two, 
and here, after search each time that I passed, I finally secured an 
adult male in worn plumage on November 11. 
They suggest towhees (Prpilo or Oberholseria) somewhat in appear- 
ance because of their size and form and are not unlike those birds in 
habits. In November they were silent. 
This was a species of the upland grasslands, while Aimophila rufi- 
cauda ruficauda ranged lower down on the level lands near Liberia. 
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1944 
