1909] Beebe: Birds of Northeastern Venezuela. 99 



T achy cineta alhiv enter (Bodd.). White-rumped Tree 



Swallow. 



These beautiful birds were common everywhere flying over 

 the water, from the mouth of the Cano San Juan to the pools 

 scattered over the pitch at La Brea. They were tame and occa- 

 sionally alighted on the sloop's mast or bowsprit. 



(Two other species of martins or swallows were seen but 

 not identified.) 



Family TROGLODYTIDAE. 



Troglodytes musculus clarus Berl. and Hart. Venezuelan 



House Wren. 



A pair of these wrens had a nest at our very door-step at 

 Guanoco in the hole of a tree some twenty feet from the ground, 

 and on April 4th both parents were carrying small spiders to their 

 young. The song is less buoyant and elaborate than that of our 

 northern house wren. 



On April 12th a wren was seen and heard in full song at the 

 Guanoco pitch wharf. 



Family MIMIDAE. 

 Donacobius atricapillus (Linn.). Black-capped Mocking- 



THRUSH. 



A pair of these handsome, active birds was nesting or pre- 

 paring to nest in a clump of dense undergrowth at the edge of 

 the pitch lake. Their song was very loud and was uttered from 

 the topmost twig of some low bush. It was a simple reiteration 

 of the syllables chew! chew! cheiv! chew! for thirty or forty 

 times, uttered rapidly but at regular intervals. 



Several birds were seen in thickets along the railroad track 

 near Guanoco and a female which I secured on April 11th had 

 been feeding on small hymenoptera, and was in breeding condi- 

 tion. In no bird of this species which came under our observa- 

 tion was there any trace of the white superciliary streak charac- 

 terizing Donacobius albovittatus. 



Several times I was struck by the general superficial resem- 

 blance between this bird and the cuckoo, Coccyzus melanocory- 

 phus. When seen at a distance, the general color scheme and 

 the white-tipped rectrices made a second look necessary to dif- 

 ferentiate the two. 



