BIRDS OF NORTHERN VENEZUELA — WETMORE 237 



Family CORVIDAE 



XANTHOUBA YNCAS CAERULEOCEPHALA (Dubois) 



Cyanocorax yncas var. caeruleocephala Dubois, Bull. Acad. Roy. Belgique, vol. 

 38, 1874, p. 493 (Caracas, Venezuela). 



In the mountain forests at Rancho Grande this jay was fairly com- 

 mon and was seen to 3,600 feet elevation. They ranged in heavy 

 cover and were secretive but usually could be decoyed out into the 

 open by an imitation of their notes. They were found here and 

 elsewhere in Uttle flocks of 6 to 10. One morning at sunrise such a 

 band came into the lower garden at the house, where I could watch 

 them from above as they worked through low bushes or came out to 

 hop about on the ground, a beautiful and attractive sight. One was 

 taken here on November 2. They were also noted near El Sombrero, 

 one flock being seen in the scrub 12 miles south, which must be near 

 the southern limit of their range. Another was shot near the town 

 on November 18. In this area they frequented dense growths of 

 the larger trees, often in locahties where the ground was open under- 

 neath. Sometimes through curiosity they came within a few feet of 

 me, and frequently two or three perched near together on the same 

 branch. While some of their notes were peculiar other calls resembled 

 those of the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) of the Eastern United 

 States. They were known as kinkin from one of their common notes. 



Family TROGLODYTIDAE 



HELEODYTES NUCHAUS BREVIPENNIS (Lawrence) 



Campylorhynchus brevipennis Lawrence, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. 

 8, 1866, p. 344 (Venezuela). 



At Maracay these birds were seen on November 11; at Cagua, 

 Estado Aragua, one was taken on November 12; and at El Sombrero, 

 where the birds were common, one was collected on November 14. 

 They were observed at Hato Paya on November 21. These wrens 

 are found in dense thickets or in tangles of vines and branches, 

 ranging from near the ground to the tops of tall trees. Attention is 

 called to them ordinarily by their explosive, grating, croaking notes, 

 so grotesque in sound as to be most amusing, and so unusual in type 

 as to suggest some strange frog rather than a bird. The wrens move 

 about actively but when alarmed remain motionless and hide so that 

 a little flock seen in vines in some treetop may disappear completely. 



The barred, spotted plumage of black and white, with gray on the 

 crown and more or less brown on the hind neck and upper back, is 

 subject to considerable variation in these birds. After examining 



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