﻿VENEZUELAN ORNITHOLOGY — FRIEDMANN AND SMITH 443 



Family ACCIPITRIDAE: Hawks, Kites, Eagles 



ELANUS LEUCURUS LEUCURU9 (Vieillot) 



Milvus leucurus Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 20, 1818, p. 5G3 (wrongly 

 printed as 556) (Paraguay). 



SPECIMEN COLLECTED 



1 cf, Caicara, November 5, 1947; gonads small; iris dull orange, bill brown 

 with base of mandible and cere dull yellow, feet bright yellow; gizzard contained 

 a rat; an adult in fresh plumage. 



This Idte was rather common in the moist man-made meadows of 

 the Guarapiche River Valley at Caicara. It was customarily en- 

 countered in singles or pairs, generally perched in a small tree or 

 coursing low over the fields. Though recorded only in April, August, 

 and November, this is probably due to the fact that the collector 

 rarely visited the habitat. The species was also recorded once at 

 Cantaura in a similar habitat. 



Local name, "gavilan," hawk, 



ELANOlDES FORFICATUS YETAPA (Vieillot) 



Milvus yetapa Vieillot, Nouv. Dist. Hist. Nat., vol. 20, 1818, p. 5G4 (Paraguay,- 

 ex Azara). 



specimen collected 



1 9 , Caicara, June 12, 1948; gonads slightly enlarged; iris dark brown, bill 

 black w'ith base and cere light blue-gray, feet light blue; gizzard contained large 

 beetles. 



The swallow-tailed kite was recorded over the lowland seasonal 

 forest at Caicara, often in flocks of up to 50 individuals, during the 

 months of April and June through September. It was absent or 

 very rare in the area during the remainder of the year. A pair was 

 recorded once at Cantaura in July. The present specimen was taken 

 by firing the shotgun repeatedly straight up in the air. As the spent 

 wad reached its zenith the bird dropped lower to inspect it, finally 

 coming within range. 



Local name, "gavilan tijereta" ("tij eras" = scissors). 



CHONDROmERAX UNCINATUS UNCINATUS (Temminck) 



Falco uncinatus "Illiger" Temminck, Nouveau recueil de planches colorizes 

 d'oiseaux, livr. 18, 1822, pi. 103, pp. 104, 115 ("vicinity of Rio to the north 

 of Brazil and all of Guiana"). 



SPECIMENS collected 



1 9 , Caicara, July 6, 1947; gonads very small; iris white, patch in front of 

 eye bright yellow, skin around eye and cere bright pea green with a blue cast 

 around eye and yellow cast on cere, maxUla black, mandible dull green, feet 

 bright rich yellow. 



855851—50 3 



