peters: birds of the dominkan republic. 413 



the cactus brush where it forms nest-cavities in the post cactus. 

 P\irther eastward, in the humid portion of the island these wood- 

 peckers confine their attention almost entirely to the palmettos 

 and royal palms. It is not unusual to see fully half a dozen holes 

 in a single tree. They are often found together in some numVjers; 

 on one occasion I counted over twenty-five birds in a single azama 

 tree scattered over the trunk and branches. 



Oviedo gives a very accurate description of the Haitian Wood- 

 pecker, together with the following account of their nesting habits. . . . 

 "These birds make a deep hole with their bill in palms and other 

 trees, which they work out from the inside and hew to a convenient 

 size, and here they have their nest. ..." 



57. Temnotrogon roseigaster (Vieillot). 



This Trogon is rare along the north coast although according to 

 Cory (Birds of Haiti and San Domingo, p. 95-96) it is locally com- 

 mon in certain stations, notably La Vega. The only bird seen during^ 

 my stay on the island was near Choco on March 25. The specimen, 

 after being shot, managed to escape and was not recovered. A Cuban 

 at Choco to whom I mentioned the occurrence told me that in fifteen 

 years of residence in the Dominican Republic he had met with this 

 species but twice. 



58. Streptoprocne zonaris melanotis Peters. 



Proc. New Engl. zool. club, 1916, 6, p. 37. 



Golandrina. 



Four, both sexes, Sosiia. 



The Black-collared Swift is not uncommon although the altitude 

 at which it flies, together with its almost bullet-like velocity when on 

 the wing makes it rather difficult to secure. Its occurrence at Sosiia 

 (where I saw it most frequently) was irregular; sometimes none were 

 noted for a week at a time. It was usually seen just before sundown 

 when a flock would appear from the northward, the individuals 

 widely scattered but all approaching gradually in wide sweeping 

 circles, the birds slowly drifting over and passing southward, still 

 feeding as they went. 



The species was also noted at Monte Cristi, Choco, and Rio San Juan, 



