A New Subspecies of Diglossa Gloriosissima (aves: Thraupinae) from the Western Andes of Colombia

—A new subspecies of flower-piercer, Diglossa gloriosissima boylei, is described from two localities at the northern end of the Western Cordillera of the Colombian Andes in the Department of Antioquia. The nominate race is apparently restricted to the highest part of the Western Cordillera west of Popayan, Department of Cauca. The Chestnut-bellied Flower-Piercer, Diglossa gloriosissima (Chapman 1912), an allospecies of the Diglossa lafresnayii superspecies (Vuilleumier 1969), is known from only three isolated paramos in the Western Cordillera of the Colombian Andes (Hilty & Brown 1986) (Fig. 1). Specimens are scarce in collections and those reported in the literature were collected on two expeditions sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in the early part of this century. Leo E. Miller and W. B. Richardson collected the type series often specimens (six adults) in July 1911 on the crest of the coast range west of Popayan (Chapman 1912), and Miller and Howarth Boyle collected a series some 500 km north of that locale on Cerro Paramillo in January 1915 (Chapman 1917, Zimmer 1929). The species was discovered at a third Locality in August 1951 by Melbourne A. Carriker, Jr., who collected a series of six adults on Paramo Frontino for the National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Smithsonian Institution. In a systematic review of the D. lafresnayii superspecies. Zimmer (1929:30) noted that, "specimens of gloriosissima from the western Andes near Popayan show considerable black along the flanks, and in this respect approach closer to lafresnayii than do birds from Paramillo. .. ." Contrary to his penchant for attaching subspecific names to the most subtly marked populations, Zimmer declined to designate the specimens from Cerro Paramillo as a new subspecies. With the exception of the type, the adult specimens from Popayan were dispersed to other museums soon after Chapman's description of the species. 1 was able to examine three of these, most of the adults from Paramo Paramillo, and all of Carriker's specimens from Paramo Frontino. My analyses confirm Zimmer's observations and indicate that the northern populations from Paramo Frontino and Cerro Paramillo represent an undescribed subspecies. Materials and methods. — Measurements of wing chord, tail from point of insertion of central rectrices to tip of longest rectrix, tarsus, and bill from anterior edge of nostril, were taken with digital calipers (Table 1). Wing and tail measurements were rounded to the nearest millimeter, those of tarsus and bill to the nearest 0.1 mm. T-tests were performed on uniransformed data with SYSTAT software. Diglossa gloriosissima boylei, new subspecies Holotype. — National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM) No. 436792; male in adult plumage from Paramo Frontino, 11,850 ft (ca. 3613 m), VOLUME 103, NUMBER 4 963 Department of Antioquia, Colombia, collected 25 Aug 1951 by Melbourne A. Carriker, Jr. (original number 21013). Diagnosis. —Diglossa gloriosissima boylei differs from D. g. gloriosissima in having uniformly chestnut flanks, sides, and undertail coverts, these regions in D. g. gloriosissima being sooty black or chestnut with black markings and spots. Measurements of Holotype (mm).—Wing (chord) 68; tail 60; tarsus 22.9; bill 10.5. Geographic range. —As far as known, re* stricted to elfin forest at timberline and patches of shrubbery in paramo on Paramo Frontino and Cerro Paramillo, Department of Antioquia, Colombia. Specimens examined.—Diglossa g. gloriosissima: Coast range west of Popayan. Department of Cauca (AMNH Holotype, 3; USNM 3; FMNH $ MCZ 3). D. g. boylei: Paramo Frontino, Department of Antioquia (USNM including Holotype, 6 33); Cerro Paramillo (AMNH 4 33, 2 £9; USNM 1 3; MCZ 3). Specimens of D. gloriosissima were compared directly with series of all named taxa of the D. lafresnayii (Vuilleumier 1969) and D. carbonaria superspecies (Graves 1982). Etymology. — I am pleased to name this flower-piercer for Howarth S. Boyle, who with Leo Miller, made the first collections of D. glorisissima boylei. Fig. 1, Distribution or specimens of D. gloriosissima examined in this study from the Western Cordillera of the Colombian Andes. D. g. gloriosissima: W. Popayan (circle), D. g. boylei: Paramo Frontino (diamond); Cerro Paramillo (triangle). Degrees ofnorlh latitude are labeled along the y-axis. Doited lines outline the J00O m contour interval. Hatching indicates areas above 3000 m elevation. Table 1. —Ranges and means of measurements (mm) of Diglossa gloriosissima. Subspecies Sc% n win& chotti Tail Tarsus Bill