226 



Cory on the Birds of the West Indies. 



ing numerous hair-like lines on the surface of the plumage; legs 

 and feet greenish yellow; upper mandible black; under mandible 

 green at the base, shading into black at the tip. 



The sexes appear to be similar. 



Length, 14.50; wing, 8. 50; tail, 3.75; tarsus, 3.75; bill, 1.50. 

 Habitat. San Domingo. 



This peculiar 

 species is ap- 

 parently re- 

 stricted to the 

 eastern portion 

 of the island of 

 Santo Domin- 

 go. Mr. M. A. 

 Frazar, who dis- 

 co V e r e d the 

 species, says, 

 "Although I 

 found it feed- 

 ing during the 

 day, it seems 

 somewhat noc- 

 turnal in its 

 habits, as I saw 

 them in com- 

 parative abun- 

 dance in the 

 large savanna 



Oedicnemus dominicensis Cory. through wllich 



I passed at midnight on my return from La Vega. . . . Their note 

 is a repetition of the syllable ' tu ' repeated very rapidly." He also 

 says the natives tame the birds and keep them in the houses for 

 the purpose of killing the spiders and bugs which abound in large 

 numbers, and which it greedily kills and eats. It is known to the 

 natives by the name of Boukera. 



