364 BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



bore some resemblance in mannerism to some of the grass finches. 

 When in the open they stood more erect and seemed bolder. This 

 species belies the common name of its family in that it does not wag 

 the tail in walking, a modesty of action that was verified on several 

 occasions. 



On October 3, near Villa Concepcion, Paraguay, a little colony of 

 these pipits, in pairs, was found in the short grass of pasture land 

 behind the town. Males sang a drawn-out song that resembled 

 tsee-ce-ee-a yuh-h-h in a high, thin tone. The ordinary call note 

 given in flight resembled chees chees^ tsu or tsea. 



Family CORVIDAE 



CYANOCORAX CYANOMELAS (Vieillot) 



Pica cyanomelus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 26, 1818, p. 127. 

 (Paraguay.) 



The present species is represented by skins of three adult males, 

 two from Las Palmas, Chaco, July 13, 1920, and one from Kilometer 

 80, west of Puerto Pinasco, September 15. The latter specimen, has a 

 slightly more slender bill than the others and a somewhat shorter 

 wing. These jays were recorded at Las Palmas, Chaco, from July 

 13 to 30, 1920; Riacho Pilaga, Formosa, August 8 to 21; Kilometer 

 25, west of Puerto Pinasco, September 1 ; Kilometer 80, west of the 

 same point, September 6 to 20 ; and the Cerro Lorito opposite Puerto 

 Pinasco, September 30. Old skins of this jay vary much in color 

 through fading, some appearing so different as to suggest another 

 species. 



The birds were found in little bands of five or six, probably family 

 parties from the previous season, that ranged, often in company 

 with CyanoGorax c. chrysops^ through stands of tall trees bordering 

 streams or the groves that dotted the prairies of the Chaco. At any 

 curious sound they glided in on set wings to perch familiarly near 

 at hand and peer about, while if one of their number was killed the 

 others gathered above it for a vociferous wake, their remarks 

 punctuated by vigorous jerks of wings and tail. Their flight, when 

 traveling for any distance, was pecular. While straight and direct 

 like that of other jays, it was accomplished by a number of slow 

 beats of the wings followed by perhaps half a dozen quicker strokes, 

 and every effort at flying ended in a long, upward glide that car- 

 ried the bird to the desired perch. Their ordinary call is a loud 

 car-r-r decidedly crowlike in sound, while at other times they called 

 chah chah or quaw. At times they descended to hop about on the 

 ground in search for food. Occasionally one was encountered that 

 was bold to impudence, as when, in a wild, uninhabited region, in 

 the Formosan Chaco, one came for scraps of cooked meat from my 



