﻿VENEZUELAN ORNITHOLOGY — FRIEDMANN AND SMITH 457 



Family JACANIDAE: Jaganas 



JACANA SPINOSA INTERMEDIA (Sclater) 



Parra intermedia P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1856 (1857), p. 282 

 (Venezuela) . 



SPECIMEN COLLECTED 



1 cf, Cantaura, May 7, 1945; gonads not enlarged; iris brown, frontal lobes red, 

 bill yellow, feet dark with bluish cast. 



The chestnut back of this example is not quite so dark as in the 

 single available comparative specimen of this subspecies (a female 

 from Ocumare de la Costa). The difference is very slight and may be 

 either individual or sexual. The present bird is in fresh plumage. 



This bird, abundant on the savanna lagoon, was also recorded un- 

 commonly on woodland ponds. Its laughing, chattering call reminded 

 the collector of a Florida gallinula (Gallinula galeata). Flocks of 

 10 to 50 were counted on the savanna lagoons during each month of 

 the year. 



Local name, "gallito de agua." 



Family HELIORNITHIDAE: Finfoots 



HELIORNIS FUUCA (Boddaert) 



Colymhus fuUca Boddaeut, Table des planches enlumin6ez, 1783, p. 54 (Cayenne, 

 ex Daubenton, pi. 803). 



SPECIMEN COLLECTED 



1 9 , Caicara, November 5, 1947, gonads enlarged; iris dull brown, feet black 

 with very pale tan markings, bill black with mandible bluish at base; gizzard 

 contained large arachnid; plumage fairly fresh. 



At different times during the first week of November 1947 singles 

 and pairs of finfoots were seen on the Guarapiche River at Caicara, 

 probably the same birds being encountered again and again. Gener- 

 ally the birds flushed, pattering along the water before taking to the 

 air. One was seen to dive. 



Family CHARADRIIDAE: Plovers 



BELONOPTERUS CHILENSIS CAYENNENSIS (Gmelin) 



Para cayennensis Gmelin, Systema naturae, vol. 1, pt. 2, 1789, p. 706 (Cayenne). 



SPECIMEN COLLECTED 



1 9 , Cantaura, February 5, 1946, gonads enlarged; iris red, bill dull red at base, 

 iris black, eye ring dull red, feet black. 



The bird collected is in molt, agreeing in that respect with one taken 

 in January in Amazonas by another collector. 



This plover was exclusively a bird of the open savanna, where it 

 was commonly found in small flocks of 6 to 10 individuals. Concen- 



