HOLOQUISCALUS. 585 



Ghlorophanes minor ( 2 ) Cab. in Scliomb. Eeis. Guian. iii. p. 683, 



1848. 

 Rologuiscalus lugulris Brabourne & Chubb, B. S. Amer. i. p. 440, 



no. 4530, 1912 ; Beebe, Tropical Wild Life in British Guiana, 



p. 137, 1917 (Bartica). 



Adult male. Crown of bead, sides o£ face, throat, neck all 

 round, entire back, breast, abdomen, and sides of body glossy 

 blae-black ; wings and tail, long upper tail-coverts and under 

 tail-coverts glossy steel-green ; under surface of flight-quills and 

 lower aspect of tail shining black. 



Total length 235 mm., exposed culmen 25, wing 112, tail 93, 

 tarsus 36. 



Adult female. Differs from the adult male in being dull soot- 

 ,black with very little gloss. Wing 103 mm. 



The specimens described were collected on the Abary Eiver in 

 July 1906. 



.Breeding -season. Unknown in British Guiana. 



Nest. "This species makes a flat nest" (QuelcK). 



Eggs. Undescribed from British Guiana, 



Range in British .Guiana. Abary River, Lamaca (McConnell 

 collection); Georgetown {Brown, Quelch); Bartica (Beehe). 



Extralimital Range. Trinidad, Venezuela, 



Habits. According to Schpmburgk (Reis. Guian. iii. p. 683) 

 tliis species is found near the coast, where it is met with chiefly on 

 the roads, grass-plots, and footpaths,' and in the neighbourhood oE 

 tlio settlers' town. It also visits in smaller numbers farms and 

 houses. The tail, which is peculiar, is nearly always much worn 

 owing to the fact that the bird always runs about on the ground 

 in search of food. 



Mr. J. J. Quelch (Timehri f2) v. p. 87), who observed this 

 species in Georgetown, remiirks : — " The so-called Black-bii-ds 

 {Quiscalus lugubris), which are so often seen in large flocks in the 

 roads and the open grassy spaces around the town, are also 

 members of the Icterine group, though unlike the typical species, 

 they do not make pendent but flat nests — a character in which 

 they resemble the preceding form (Leistes guianensis). They feed 

 largely on grains, seeds, and insects. 



" So far the species which have been under notice are members 

 of the Acromyodian group of the perching birds, that is, those 

 which from the structure of their vocar organs are known as the 



