VENEZUELAN ORNITHOLOGY — FRIEDMANN AND SMITH 495 



Family Psittacidae: Parrots 



Ara manilata (Boddaert) 



Psittacus manilatus Boddaert, Table des planches enlumin^ez d'histoire naturelle, 

 1783, p. 52 (Cayenne; ex Daubenton, pi. 864). 

 1 9 El Tlgre, August 20, 1950; gonads somewhat enlarged; feet and bill black; 

 iris dark brown; facial skin lemon yellow; feeding on fruit of moriche palm, 

 Mauritia minor (fide H. Pittier, La Mesa de Guanipe, ensayo de fitogeograffa, 

 Caracas, 1942). 



This little macaw is found near groves of the "moriche" palm 

 {Mauritia minor) on the savanna between El Tigre, Anzoategui, and 

 Ciudad Bolivar on the Orinoco River, often in flocks of well over 100 

 individuals. Small flocks were occasionally recorded near Cantaura. 

 The call was very similar to that of Aratinga acuticauda, quite different 

 from that of Aratinga leucophthalmus . The slightly larger size is not 

 easily discernible in the field; this Ara looked very much like the 

 larger Aratinga, only the relatively longer wings and somewhat differ- 

 ent wingbeat aroused the collector's suspicions enough for him to take 

 one as the flock passed by. Obviously, the yellow facial skin sets 

 this bird off from the Aratinga, but this is not often visible when the 

 bird is flying. When perched in the tops of the palms these macaws 

 are, in spite of their size, often very difficult to find. 



Aratinga leucophthalmus leucophthalmus (P. L. S. Miiller) 



Psittacus leucophthalmus P. L. S. Miiller, Natursystem, Suppl., 1776, p. 75 

 (Guiana). 



Upon better acquaintance, the collector was able to distinguish this 

 bird quite readily from the very similar acuticaudata by a dry che-chek 

 note often, but not always, given by the present species. A flock was 

 seen at Caicara, feeding on the flowers of the tree Erythrina glauca. 



Forpus passerinus viridissimus (Lafresnaye) 



Psittacula viridissima Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., 1848, p. 172 (Caracas, Venezuela). 



During the last week of July, a pair of these parrotlets was found 

 nesting in the end of a piece of 3-inch pipe used as the cross arm of a 

 clothesline support, 6 feet above the ground, while a pair of Sicalis 

 flaveola nested in the other cross arm, 30 feet away. The nest was 

 composed of twigs which, however, may have been rearranged by the 

 inhabitants from a previous Sicalis nest. The pair had a well- 

 established morning ritual. Within a very few minutes before or 

 after 6:30 a. m. the incubating bird would leave the nest, and, accom- 

 panied by its mate, would circle the area at top speed, with much 

 twittering. The pair would then disappear, returning in about ten 

 minutes. One bird entered the nest hole immediately, while the other 

 remained beside the entrance for a short period and then also entered, 



