A new Venezuelan honey creeper

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M32

ZOOLOGICAL SERIES

OF

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 24 CHICAGO, JUNE 29, 1940 No. 14

A NEW VENEZUELAN HONEY CREEPER

BY EMMET R. BLAKE

ASSISTANT CURATOR, DIVISION OF BIRDS

Among birds collected by the Mandel Venezuelan Expedition
of Field Museum on the upper slopes of Mount Turumiquire are
five specimens representing an undescribed race of Diglossa baritula.
The range of the species is thus extended eastward approximately
250 miles from the north coast mountains of Venezuela in the vicinity
of Caracas, eastern limit of D. b. hyperythra, the closest geographical
representative.

For the loan of comparative material I am indebted to Mr.
James L. Peters, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Mr.
John T. Zimmer, of the American Museum of Natural His-
tory, Mr. James Bond, of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences,
Dr. Herbert Friedmann, of the United States National Museum,
and Mr. W. E. Clyde Todd, of the Carnegie Museum.

Diglossa baritula mandeli1 subsp. nov.

Type from Mount Turumiquire, Sucre, Venezuela. Alt. 6,000
feet. No. 92646 Field Museum of Natural History. Adult male.
Collected February 19, 1932, by Emmet R. Blake. Orig. No. 85.

Diagnosis.— Resembles Diglossa baritula d'orbignyi Boissonneau
in size and color pattern, but under parts much deeper ochraceous;
crown and sides of head darker, the former being distinct from
the upper back. Nape, back, and upper tail coverts darker than
in d'orbignyi, but more clearly blue, with less gray-blue inter-
mixture. Under carpal coverts Slate-Gray.2

Description of type. — Crown Bluish-Black, becoming darker on
forehead and auriculars; lores black; nape, back, and upper tail

1 Named for Mr. Leon Mandel, of Chicago.

2 Capitalized names of colors are from Ridgway's Color Standards and
Nomenclature, 1912.

No. 474 155

Natural History Library

156 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

coverts Slate-Gray; wing coverts, tectrices, and rectrices black,
edged externally with Slate-Gray; entire under parts, including
flanks and under wing coverts Tawny-Olive; under tail coverts
slightly darker; under carpal coverts Slate-Gray; tibia dull Slate-
Gray. Wing, 57; tail, 46; culmen, 10.

Range. — Known only from the subtropical forests of the type
locality, on the basis of four males and one female (subadult).

Remarks. — The female is known from a single specimen (sub-
adult) which differs from the female of D. b. d'orbignyi in being
yellower.

Discovery of a distinct new species, Diglossa venezuelensis, in
the Subtropical zone of Mount Turumiquire by Mr. G. H. H. Tate,
of the American Museum of Natural History, in 1925 extended the
known range of the genus eastward from the Silla de Caracas by
approximately 250 miles. The more recent discovery of a geo-
graphical representative of Diglossa baritula in northeastern Vene-
zuela not only extends similarly the range of that widespread species,
but also strengthens the close faunal relationship between the two
subtropical regions that has been noted by Dr. Chapman (Amer.
Mus. Nov., 191, pp. 1-15, 1925). Geographically, mandeli is nearest
hyperythra of north-central Venezuela but in physical appearance
it quite unexpectedly shows closer affinity with d'orbignyi of the
more distant Me"ridan Andes.

The following specimens have been examined :

Diglossa b. baritula. — 9: MEXICO (Contreras, Mexico, 1;
Desierto de Leones, Mexico, 1; Mirador, Vera Cruz, 5;
San Bartolo, San Luis Potosi, 1; Valley of Mexico, Dis-
trito Federal, 1).

Diglossa b. montana. — 9: GUATEMALA (Sierra Santa Elena,
Chimaltenango, 2;1 Tecpan, Chimaltenango, 1; Volcan
Tajumulco, San Marcos, 3). EL SALVADOR (Los Eses-
miles, Chalatenango, 3).

Diglossa b. parva. — 9: HONDURAS (Alto Cantoral, Teguci-
galpa, 4; Tegucigalpa, Tegucigalpa, 5).

Diglossa b. plumbea. — 30: COSTA RICA (Coliblanco, Car-
tago, 16; Volcan Irazu, Cartago, 3; Volcan Turrialba,
Cartago, 11).

Diglossa b. veraguensis. — 5: PANAMA (Chitra, Veragua, 5).1

1 Including the type.

i4

4

1940 A NEW HONEY CREEPER — BLAKE 157

Diglossa b. hyperythra. — 13: COLOMBIA (El Mamon, Mag-
dalena, 2; Pueblo Viejo, Magdalena, 2; San Antonio,
Magdalena, 1; San Sebastian, Magdalena, 1; Santa Cruz,
Magdalena, 1). VENEZUELA (Colonia Tovar, Aragua, 5;
Pico Naiguate", Miranda, 1).

Diglossa b. d'orbignyi. — 52: COLOMBIA (Cerro Munchique,
Cauca, 1 ; El Roble, Cundinamarca, 1 ; La Candela, Huila,
1; La Honda, Cundinamarca, 1; San Agustin, Huila, 2;
San Antonio, Cauca, 5; Quetame, Meta, 2; Rio Toche,
Tolima, 1; also 7 "Bogota" trade skins). VENEZUELA
(Culata, MeYida, 7; Escorial, MeYida, 1; Me>ida, MeYida,
10; Valle, M<§rida, 13).

Diglossa b. mandeli. — 5: VENEZUELA (Mount Turumiquire,
Sucre, 5).1

Diglossa b. decorata. — 7: PERU (Cajamarca, Cajamarca, 2;1
Chinchao, Huanuco, 4; Huachipa, Huanuco, 1).

Diglossa b. sittoides. — 2: BOLIVIA (Tiraqui, Cochabamba, 2).
1 Including the type.

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