VENEZUELAN ORNITHOLOGY — FRIEDMANN AND SMITH 501 



This specimen is in the pale phase and agrees very closely with one 

 from the Rio Cauaburi in northern Brazil, less so with a darker bird 

 from San Antonio, on the upper Orinoco. 



The giant potoo is a rare bird in the study area as the present ex- 

 ample is the only one seen in approximately 8 years of observing and 

 collecting. It was taken in an open field in the midst of deciduous 

 woods. When shown to experienced local hunters, quite familiar 

 with the smaller NtjcHHus griseus, all were agreed that they had never 

 seen the species before. 



Family Trochilidae: Hummingbirds 



Phaelhomis anthophilus anthophiliis (Bourcier) 



Trochilus anthophilus Bourcier, Rev. Zool., 1843, p. 71 (upper Magdalena Valley, 

 Colombia). 



1 9 J Caicara, June 6, 1950; gonads enlarged, brood patch evident; iris dark; 

 maxilla and tip of mandible black, rest of mandible bright orange. 



1 9 , Caicara, April 26, 1953; gonads somewhat enlarged, brood patch evident; 

 iris dark, maxilla black, mandible dull orange with black tip. 



In our earlier report we commented on the long median rectrices of 

 a specimen from Caicara. Since then, two others from the eastern 

 end of the range of this hummingbird have been examined and 

 measured. The results suggest that in the birds from the eastern part 

 of the range the central tail feathers tend to become longer, but the 

 variation in Colombian birds is so great that untU more abundant 

 Venezuelan material is available it seems unwise to attempt to divide 

 the eastern birds from typical anthophilus. Inasmuch as our three 

 northeastern Venezuelan examples are all females, the measurements 

 of specimens of that sex only are given below. 



Venezuela: Caicara (3), median rectrices 60, 64, and 73.1 mm. Colombia: 

 Lower Magdalena (1), 50 mm.; Magdalena, El Conejo (1), 43 mm.; Bolivar, 

 Norosi (1), 42 mm., and La Raya, Rio Cauca (1), 53 mm.; Guajira, Nazaret (2), 

 47, 50 mm.; Santander del Norte, Petrolea (1), 54.5 mm.; Rio Tarra (1), 54 mm., 

 and Villa Felissa (1), 76 mm. 



The last specimen listed, from Villa Felissa, has the tail even longer 

 than any of the northeast Venezuela birds. If one could discount it 

 as wrongly sexed, the difference between typical anthophilus and the 

 Caicara population would be striking indeed. However, it would be 

 unusually long for males as well. Thus, a male from Santa Marta, 

 Colombia, has the median rectrices 60 mm. long, another from Espinal, 

 Tolima, Colombia, measures 57 mm., and a male from Ocumare de 

 la Costa, central northern Venezuela, has these feathers 62 mm. long. 



Anthracothorax prevostii viridicordatus Cory 



Anthracothorax prevosti viridicordatus Cory, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Publ. Orn. 

 Ser., vol. 1, 1913, p. 286 (El Panorama, Rio Aurare, Venezuela). 

 1 cf , Cantaura, August 15, 1953; gonads small, skull well ossified; bird very 

 fat; bill and feet entirely black; iris dark. 



