THE BIRDS OF HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN - REPUBLIC 347 



ridges and in areas grown with dense rain forest which are not suited 

 to its requirements. It is seen in small numbers in the great valley 

 of Constanza in the Dominican Republic but is not found on the 

 high ridges above. In Haiti it is known on the open mountain slopes 

 at Furcy and was observed by Bond at 1800 meters on the higher 

 mass of La Selle opposite. It is not known to range to Tortue Island. 

 The species is seen so universally that there is no necessity for list- 

 ing points and dates of observation. We have before us an extensive 

 series of skins and the partial synonymy at the head of this section 

 will indicate the many references to the species in literature. 



The palm-chat is a gregarious species that lives in little bands, 

 each group being made up of several pairs, at the proper season 

 accompanied by their young, and having as the center of its activi- 

 ties the communal nest, which serves as a resting place when the 

 birds are not searching for food or otherwise engaged and as a roost 

 at night. Their communal habits and nests have attracted universal 

 attention from early travelers who came to Hispaniola from Oviedo 

 down, so that the species is mentioned frequently in older works of 

 travel. 



Oviedo noted that this species built a communal nest as large as 

 that of the stork in Spain, made of twigs closely interlaced, in which 

 structure each pair had its separate compartment. Vieillot de- 

 scribes the nest in similar words, as does Salle in an account fur- 

 nished to Lafresnaye. The large size of the structure has been 

 truthfully recorded by many observers but the number of individuals 

 that frequent each nest, at least in modern times, is usually only 

 eight to sixteen, and according to Wetmore's observations the largest 

 bands seen did not include more than twenty individuals. State- 

 ments of various travellers that two hundred or three hundred were 

 seen in company seem to be exaggeration. 



The nesting season seems to extend mainly from March to June. 

 At Fonds-des-Negres, Haiti, April 5, 1927, Wetmore, with the as- 

 sistance of Dr. C. H. Arndt, employed a man to climb to several 

 nests and send them to the ground for examination. The method 

 employed in climbing the smooth palm trunks was interesting. A 

 double hitch was made around the trunk of the tree with two sep- 

 arate ropes, the free ends of each being tied together to form a sling. 

 Through one of these the man thrust his leg until he rested on the 

 thigh, while he placed the sole of his bare foot in the other. Stand- 

 ing on this foot he slipped the double hitch up the smooth trunk 

 for two or three feet when he rested on his thigh and loosening the 

 lower rope brought it to the level of the first one. Progressing thus 

 he rapidly ascended the trunk cutting away the seed heads of the 

 palm as he reached them, and in a short time climbed to the nest. 

 Some of these were built entirely around the crown of the palm 



