﻿VENEZUELAN ORNITHOLOGY — FRIEDMANN AND SMITH 509 



Phelps and Phelps (Bol. Soc. Venez. Cienc. Nat., vol. 11, 1948, 

 p. 199) have found venezuelensis to be a valid race. 



EUSCARTHMUS MELORYPHUS MELORYPHUS WIed 



Euscarthmus melorypphus Wied, Beitr. Naturg. Bras., vol. 3, pt. 2, 1831, p. 947 

 (boundary line of Minas Geraes and Bahia). 



SPECIMEN COLLECTED 



IcT, Cantaura, July 19, 1947; gonads enlarged; iris brown; gizzard contained 

 tiny insects. 



This specimen was one of what seemed to be a pair. It is in worn 

 plumage, which may account for the fact that it lacks the dusky- 

 lateral and posterior edges to the orange coronal-occipital area, which, 

 in turn, makes it appear to have a larger, more extensive orange area 

 than any other example examined: 15 from Colombia, 1 from Vene- 

 zuela, 1 from Brazil, and 2 from Argentina. 



This little bird customarily remained hidden in weedy overgrown 

 patches, with special preference for downed trees and piles of brush. 

 It was recorded both at Cantaura and Caicara during April, July, 

 August, September, and December. 



The bird had a twittering call and a little chattering song, quite loud 

 but extremely hard to place. It might be written as chedereee and 

 cheedier, accented on the last and on the first syllables, respectively. 



XENOPSARIS ALBINUCHA MINOB Hellmayr 



Xenopsaris albinucha minor Hellmate, Anz. Orn. Ges. Bay., vol. 3, 1920, p. 17 

 (Quiribana de Caicara, Rf o Orinoco, Venezuela) . 



specimen collected 

 1 c? imm., Cantaura, December 29, 1947; gonads small; iris dark. 



This specimen, kindly identified by Dr. J. T. Zimmer on the basis 

 of the great collection of Neotropical birds under his care, constitutes 

 a definite extension of range northeastward. The bird is common in 

 the Orinoco Basin. 



Xenopsaris is one of those genera whose family relationships are 

 not yet settled. Years ago E-idgway placed it in the Cotingidae, 

 while Hellmayr has put it in the Tyrannidae. As Dr. Zimmer has 

 pointed out (in litt.), the lack of rictal bristles and the scutellation of 

 the tarsus are cotingine, and it may well be that the birds really belong 

 with the chatterers and not with the flycatchers. 



The present example was collected in the deciduous seasonal woods- 

 edge habitat. It was the only one seen by the collector. 



ELAENIA PARVIROSTRIS Pelzein 



Elainea parvirostris Pblzeln, Zur Ornithologie Brasiliens, vol. 2, 1868, pp. 107, 

 178 (Curityba, Parand). 



