ipS BROOKLYN INSTITUTE MUSEUM. SCIENCE BULLETIN 2. 6. 



Spiza AMERICANA (Gmelin). 



Bmberiza americana Gm., Syst. Nat. I. 1788. p. 918. 

 Spiza americana Berlepsch & Hartert, p. 29. 



During my stay at Ciudad Bolivar from April ist to 17th, 1905, 

 the dickcissel was very abundant in open patches of timber on the 

 savannas and along the v^'ater courses. Large flocks containing 

 many males and females were flitting about in the tree-tops. All 

 w^ere singing, and mating seemed to be going on. On my previous 

 expedition I noted the dickcissel at Altagracia and Caicara from the 

 29th of December until May loth. 



Paroaria nigrogenys (Lafresnaye). 



Nemosia nigrogenys Lafr., Rev. Zool. 1846. p. 273. 

 Paroaria nigrogenys Berlepsch & Hartert, p. 29. 



Abundant. The Gorro Colorado of the natives is one of the 

 characteristic birds of the Orinoco region. It is found everywhere 

 but is not common in heavy timber. Often seen about the door 

 yards of the native houses and in the houses themselves where the 

 birds do not hesitate to enter if the openings at the gables and eaves 

 afiford an easy means of escape. They are fond of bits of meat and 

 may be frequently seen helping themselves from the strings of fresh 

 meat that are hung out in the sun to dry, whenever an animal is 

 butchered at a native house. 



The colors of fresh birds are : eye light brick red ; bill black, grayish 

 at base of the mandible; feet slate color. 



The nest is usually placed among the thick branches in the top of 

 some low shrub or tree, or in a tangle of vines, and is ordinarily in 

 the area that is flooded during the rainy season. A nest found at 

 Caicara August 6th, 1898, was in a tree top, but only about eight 

 inches above the surrounding water. The nearest dry land was prob- 

 ably 500 yards from the nest site. This nest was not in any way 

 attached to the surrounding twigs but set loosely in. among them. "It 

 is a shallow cup of dry twigs and rootlets, lined with fine smooth grass. 

 The eggs are smooth almost glossless greenish white, covered with 

 blotches and small patches of greenish brown, with a few underlying 

 mauve spots, the markings being more frequent about the thick end. 

 They measure 18.9 x 14.5 and 20.5 x 15 mm.^" The nest contained three 



^Berlepsch & Hartert, p. 30. 



