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236 BULLETIN 133, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
LEPIDOCOLAPTES ANGUSTIROSTRIS ANGUSTIROSTRIS (Vieillot)
Dendrocopus angustirostris Vieillot, Nouv. Diet. Hist. Nat., vol. 26. 1818,
p. 116. (Paraguay.)
An adult male shot at Resistencia, Chaco, on July 10, 1920, and
an immature female taken at Las Palmas, Chaco, July 13, are supposed
to represent the typical form of the present species. These
two have the undersurface definitely but not heavily streaked and
give the following measurements for wing and culmen : Male, wing,
98.2 ; culmen from base, 32.7 ; female, wing, 92.3 ; culmen from base,
31 mm. Two males secured at Tapia, Tucuman, on April 9 and 11,
1921, have the streaks on the ventral surface blacker and much
heavier, and are referred to this form with reservation as it is
probable that they represent a distinct subspecies. The specimens
in question (in molt) have the following measurements: Wing, 94.4
and 99.6 mm. ; culmen from base, 34 and 35.7 mm. In coloration of
the dorsal surface they are rather close to the birds from Chaco.
At Resistencia, Chaco, this bird was recorded only on July 10,
1920, when a male was taken. Near Las Palmas, where forests were
more extensive, they were found in fair numbers from July 13 to 31,
while near the Riacho Pilaga they were recorded on August 11 and
18. No specimens were taken here, and it is possible that the birds
noted were L. a. ceHhiolus found in the Paraguayan Chaco. At
Tapia, Tucuman, they were fairly common from April 7 to 13.
This wood hewer in the Chaco frequented the heavier growths of
timber that grew in swampy localities, where it ranged in pairs that
frequently joined company with little traveling bands of other
brush and forest hunting birds, and accompanied them on their
rounds in search for food. The flight of the bird under discussion
is undulating, and is seldom continued for any long distance. They
alight on a tree trunk, to which they cling with sharp claws and
firmly braced tail, and begin immediately to hitch upward, often
assisting their progress by a rapid flit of the wing. They continue
up the trimk and over the larger branches and then fly to another
tree or drop to the base of the trunk they have just examined and
cover the ground once more. Their long bills were frequently thrust
into the recesses of small air plants, or under moss and loose bark,
which was pried away with a quick twist of the head to. expose any
animal life concealed beneath. The call notes of the present species
in all its forms are loud and musical.
The tongue is small and undeveloped in proportion to the size
of the bill, in contrast to what is found in such long-billed groups
as humming birds, honey creepers, and honey eaters.