PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



by the 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Vol. 104 Washington: 1955 No. 3345 



A FURTHER CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY 

 OF NORTHEASTERN VENEZUELA 



By Herbert Friedmann and Foster D. Smith, Jr. 



In 1950 we published an account of the bhds collected by the 

 junior author in northeastern Venezuela. The present paper contains 

 a report on additional forms collected by him in the same region, 

 with his field notes on them and additional notes on birds previously 

 reported. At the same time, we include a complete list of the avifauna 

 recorded from the region, with a summary of the months in which 

 the forms were observed as present or as breeding. Although other 

 forms may have to be added from time to time, this regional list is 

 now reasonably complete. We have no illusions as to the completeness 

 of the data on monthly occurrence and breeding. Part-time observa- 

 tions by one man, even over a period of approximately 8 years, 

 cannot equal the accumulated work of the number of observers who 

 have been available for the northeastern United States. Nevertheless, 

 we believe the data are of interest, for information based on year- 

 round observations over a period of years is still all too scarce in the 

 scientific literature of tropical faunas. The reported presence or 

 nonpresence of the commoner or more conspicuous birds within a 

 given month is probably quite correct, but a form that is rare within 

 the area, of difficult field identification, or shy and retiring, may be 

 reported in only one, two, or more scattered months without implying 

 absence from the study area during the remaining months. 



The breeding dates have been based as far as possible on the time 

 of egg-laying although, in addition to the actual discovery of nests 

 and eggs, they have also been based on such evidence as female 



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