﻿VENEZUELAN ORNITHOLOGY — FRIEDMANN AND SMITH 483 



smallest of the Colombiaa examples. Less difference was found in the 

 males, although here also the Venezuelan birds were no bigger than 

 the smallest Colombian ones; wing length in two Venezuelan males 

 165, 169, in 11 Colombian males 160-182 (average 178.8 mm.). 



This was the commonest nighthawk of the study area, recorded over 

 the deciduous seasonal woods, the edge, and, more rarely, the savanna, 

 during the months of May through October, generally in flocks of 10 

 to 20 individuals. 



The May example was apparently approaching breeding condition. 



The September example was taken from a flock roosting in a grove 

 of trees at the edge of a small pond. 



Local name, "aguaitacamino." 



PODAGER NACUNDA (VieUlot) 



Caprimulgus nacunda Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 10, 1817, p. 240 

 (Paraguay). 



SPECIMEN COLLECTED 



1 cf, Cantaura, May 25, 1948; gonads small; iris brown; gizzard contained 



beetles. 



On geographic grounds this specimen should belong to the northern 

 smaller subspecies minor Cory. However, it is as large (wing 240 

 mm.) as any specimens seen from Paraguay and Argentina. This 

 has led to a review of the material available, 15 birds, and this, in turn, 

 indicates that the northern race cannot be maintained. In the original 

 description of minor (Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., orn. ser., vol. 1, 

 1915, p. 300) from Boa Vista, Kio Branco, Brazil, the only char- 

 acters given are "similar to Podager nacunda but smaller, and the black 

 markings on crown and scapulars much smaller . . . wing 223; tail 

 114; tarsus 24 mm." An Argentine male has a wing of 241 mm.; 

 one from Pernambuco, Brazil, 228 mm., and another from "Brazil" 

 240 mm.; four males from Colombia have \vings 221, 232, 233, and 242 

 mm. long, respectively, and the present Venezuelan male 240 mm. 

 Not enough females have been seen to tell if they show any constant 

 differences, but the few seen do not indicate any such. The char- 

 acter of the size of the black marldngs on the crown and scapulars 

 does not hold in the series studied. 



The Cantaura example is slightly darker than any of the others 

 studied, but the difference is not strildng. It also is the least ruf escent 

 on the breast and on the upper v\dng coverts. The species is, how- 

 ever, more or less dicliromatic, both ruf escent and cinereous birds 

 being found in the same areas. 



This large nighthawk is exclusively a bird of the open savanna. 

 It was recorded from May through September. There was great 

 seasonal fluctuation in numbers; while generally encountered in 

 small groups, it attained concentrations of at least 500 birds in June. 



