136 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO BULLETIN. [XX. 2. 3 6- 4, 



I have no record of their food, but in the Bull. Dept. Agr~ 

 Trinidad. Ill p. 29 they are recorded as opening the pods of Lima 

 beans {Phaseolus) just before sundown and extracting and eating the 

 beans. The record says that the bird catches the pod in its feet and 

 opens it and extracts the half ripe seeds. 



29. Icteris xanthornis. Gmel. Common Corn Bird. 

 Leotaud No. 148. 



This brilHant golden-yellow and black bird is the commonest 

 of the Trinidad Icterids and the nests are frequently met with. It 

 is particularly noticeable in the more open sugar growing districts, 

 where it nests in trees and bamboos in the small copses and on banks 

 of streams. 



The nest is like a stocking about one foot long and four inches 

 across, made of finely woven grass and fibres. They are usually . 

 high above the ground, but on one occasion I found one only about 

 SIX feet from the ground. 



Nests have been found as follows : 



(1) On June 18, 1918 at Craignish, a solitary nest at end of tall 

 bamboo, containing two young and one egg. 



(2) On June 22, 1 91 8 on Patos Island attached to underside of 

 midrib of coconut leaf near the end. 



(3) On July 11, 1918 on the end of a branch of Hog plum at 

 La Fortunee about ten feet from ground containing three eggs. 



(4) On July 1, 1918 at Harmony Hall about seven feet from the 

 ground in an isolated bush in the middle of a cane field. It contained 

 three eggs one of which was taken and found to contain a small 

 embryo. On July 6 both the remaining eggs had hatched. On 

 July 23 the nest was empty and apparently abandoned. 



(5) On August 13 another nest was just begun on the same tree 

 within a few inches of the last and I believe by the same pair of birds. 

 On August 18 about three inches of the neck was completed with 

 longer hanging vertical grass stemsjn which to interlace the circular 

 ones. On August 25 the nest was complete but empty. The old 

 nest (4) was still intact alongside. On September 8 the new nest 

 contained three eggs, but the old nest was almost destroyed. On 

 October 7 the parent birds were still at the nest, but it was empty. 

 On December 9 the birds were still at the nest. 



(6) On July 8, 1920 a nest just finished in a bamboo clump only 

 about seven feet from ground at Tarouba. 



(7) At end of July 1920 a bird was seen constructing its nest at 

 Gasparee by Mr. G. Thompson. 



