CHERRIE: ORNITHOLOGY OF THE ORINOCO REGION. 327 
In the neighborhood of Caicara there were several barrancas 
(ravines) whose steep sides afforded nesting places for these king- 
hshers. At such points the)"- were found most frequently associating 
in little colonies of four or five pairs. But at a point on the main 
river (the Orinoco) some eight miles above Caicara, there is a high 
sand bank facing the river. At this point there is a colony of about 
one hundred and fifty pairs of these birds. The nest cavity is from 
one to three metres back from the face of the bluff; the tunnel runs 
horizontally straight back and is from 8 to 12 cm. in diameter. The 
breeding season lasts from June to August. 
ChloroceRvle .\m.\zon.-\ (Latham). 
Alccdo amacona Lath., Ind. Orn. L 1790. p. 257. 
Ceryle americana Berlepsch & Hartert, p. 105. 
Eye dark seal brown; bill and feet black. 
Not uncommon. Noted at all points visited on the Orinoco and 
recorded from the Caura. 
ChlOROCERYLE AMERICANA AMERICANA (Gmelin). 
Alcedo americana Gm., Syst. Nat. I. 1788. p. 451. 
Ceryle americana Berlepsch & Hartert, p. 105. 
Eye dark seal brown ; bill black ; feet dusky blackish. 
Common at all points visited. 
MOMOTIDAE— THE MOTMOTS. 
There are only two species known to me from our region. Both 
were collected on the upper Orinoco be3'ond the second falls, and were 
not observed below that point. 
MoMOTus MOMOTA (Liunaeus). 
Ramphastos moniota, L., Syst. Nat. ed. 12. 1766. p. 152. 
Momohts momota Berlepsch & Hartert, p. 105. 
Eye vermilion; bill black, smoke grey at base of mandible; feet 
dark smoke grey. 
Rare. One specimen taken on the upper river at Nericagua. 
Probably not uncommon on the Caura River, as it was collected by 
both Andre and Klages, and recorded by Berlepsch and Hartert from 
Suapure, Nicare and La Pricion. 
