THE BIRDS OF HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 263 



fallen over the dizzy edge into the depths below where it was hope- 

 less to search for them. On the wing they seem smaller than they 

 really are. One was observed to make a loop in the air by turning 

 head down and after a descent of a few feet swinging off to the side. 

 In late afternoon when rainclouds obscured the peak little parties 

 darted down the slopes above the pines passing at tremendous speed 

 with a great rush of wings or occasionally swinging three together 

 to sail in close proximity with the wings held stiffly in a V angle 

 above the back. To observe their adroitness and skill in flight is 

 exhilarating to a degree. Their call is high pitched whee whee 

 whee, or a rapid chip chip chip chip. In the hand their form is 

 stocky and solid, while the strong feet armed with curved claws are 

 especially noticeable. The female taken April 14 had the iris bone 

 brown, bill black, and tarsus and toes dark purplish gray. Bones 

 of one of these great swifts found at a nest of the barn owl Tyto 

 glaucops in the Trujin on La Selle must be from an individual pulled 

 from some rock cleft at night as it is impossible to believe that the owl 

 could capture this bird except when it was asleep. 



Danforth in 1927 found a few at Las Cahobes July 12 and a few 

 near the Citadelle above Milot August 2 and 3. James Bond reports 

 these swifts from La Selle, the Massif de la Hotte, Port-au-Prince, 

 Ennery, Port-de-Paix and Tortue Island. Perrygo observed two at 

 L'Atalaye December 29, 1928. 



Peters has described a local race of the cloud swift from specimens 

 that he collected at Sosiia, Dominican Republic, distinguishing it 

 from the bird of Cuba and Jamaica by blacker coloration particu- 

 larly on the sides of the head. Through the courtesy of the Museum 

 of Comparative Zoology we have been permitted to examine his 

 type and other specimens and to compare them with four additional 

 skins secured by Abbott and Wetmore. Though the type and one 

 other bird are blacker than the average the remaining skins may not 

 be successfully separated from the series from Cuba and Jamaica 

 so that it appears that Mr. Peters' type and other skins are marked 

 by individual characters that are not substantiated by further 

 specimens. "We use the name pallidifrons of Hartert for all the 

 birds of the Greater Antilles. 



The cloud swift is the largest of the swifts in Hispaniola and is 

 among the large species in its family for the entire world. The 

 wing spread is about equal to that of the sparrow-hawk but the 

 wings are decidedly narrower. The plumage is sooty black, browner 

 beneath, with a white color extending around the upper breast and 

 hind neck. The bird is 200 mm. or more in length in life and has 

 a wing measuring from 148 to 161 mm. 



