186 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM Yol. 87 



hillsides above the lagoon. Others were observed near El Sombrero 

 from November 17 to 20. Once a bird in partly adult plumage 

 screamed shrilly at me from the branches of a low tree but did not 

 fly as I approached, though finally I shot a small bird within 50 

 yards of it, merely hopping and walldng through the limbs to the 

 farther side of the tree. 



GEBANOSPIZA CAERULESCENS (VIeiUot) 



Spartdus caerulescens Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 10, 1817, p. 318 

 (Cayenne) . 



Near El Sombrero this hawk was fairly common. On November 

 13, 12 miles south, as Ventura Barnes and I were examining some 

 birds we had just shot in a dense growth of scrub, one alighted on a 

 limb near us and was taken. This was a male. Others were seen on 

 November 15 and 18. 



While it has been proposed to consider all the forms of Geranospiza 

 conspecific it appears to me that they should be separated into three 

 distinct species as follows: 

 Geranospiza gracilis (Temminck): 



With buff to nearly white under tail coverts, and underparts barred 

 narrowly with black and white. Two races gracilis smdjlexipes. 

 Geranospiza caerulescens (Vieillot): 



Slate gray below, including the under tail coverts. When white 

 bars are present these are narrow, separated by wide spaces of slaty 

 gray. 

 Geranospiza nigra (Du Bus): 



Dark neutral gray to almost black below. White cross bars almost 

 obsolete separated widely by the darker color. Three races, nigra, 

 livens, and balzarensis. 



Family FALCONIDAE 



MICRASTUR RUFICOLUS ZONOTHORAX (Cabanis) 



Climacocercus zonothorax Cabanis, Journ. ftir Orn., 1865, p. 406 (Puerto Cabello, 

 Venezuela) . 



On November 9 at an elevation of 3,300 feet below Rancho Grande 

 I heard a loud, squalling call coming from heavy woods near the high- 

 way. After I had "squeaked" a time or two this beautiful hawk 

 came flying to a branch in heavy shade where I shot it. Apparently 

 this was a regular perch as the ground beneath was covered with 

 droppings. The specimen is in the rufescent color phase and had 



