PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 393 



prove constant, the Costa Eican bird might form a local race, for which 

 the name given above would be exceedingly appropriate. — R. E.] 



A specimen of this beautiful Oriole was kept in a cage at La Palma, 

 and as it hung near the place where I daily prepared my bird-skins, 1 

 had an excellent opportunity to observe its notes, and, in part, its 

 habits. 



He was the most accomplished vocalist I ever heard, had perfect 

 command of every note in the scale, and apparently took great delight 

 in his accomplishment. 



Thinking him to be a promising subject, I undertook to instruct him 

 in the art of whistling, but he scorned my services and went off into 

 trills and harmonies of his own composition which put to shame the 

 sample I had given in the shape of classic "Yankee Doodle." I 

 did succeed in teaching him to run the scale perfectly, an exercise in 

 which he reached great perfection, and gained the admiration of his 

 hearers. He would whistle by the hour, not in a monotonous repetition 

 of the same strain, but constantly varying his music from loud and 

 lively to soft and sweet, reminding me of a flute-player running over 

 bits of harmony from memory. He was an expert fly-catcher, though 

 all sorts of food seemed to suit his taste. His greatest delight seemed 

 to be in sitting on my finger and being "teetered" up and down. I 

 afterward secured two specimens, which 1 shot in a wild state. Iris 

 yellow. 



No. 258. $ ad. April 17. 



No. 259. 5 ad. April 17. 



19. Ocyalus -wagleri (Gray & Mitch.). 



A remarkable colony of these curious birds was observed on the road 

 from San Jose to Punta Arenas. A very large dead tree standing in 

 the road had been taken possession of, and from every limb their purse- 

 like nests were suspended. There must have been over two hundred 

 of these curious structures, and their occupants were swarming around 

 them making a great clatter. A remarkable fact was noticed upon this 

 occasion and greatly excited the curiosity both of the Spanish gentle- 

 men of the party and myself. These birds had the novel habit of get- 

 ting inside their nests and shaking them violently so as to produce a 

 loud rattling noise. This we saw them do repeatedly, but could arrive 

 at no satisfactory conclusion as to the object of so strange a perform- 

 ance. 



20. Calocitta formosa (Swains.). 



This fine Jay is not common, so far as my experience goes. Like all 

 the rest of its kind it seems to like to make itself conspicuous, and is 

 usually seen in the top of a tree calling loudly in a harsh voice. Its 

 recurved crest is a prominent characteristic. It is said by the natives 

 to talk like a parrot {^'■habla como loro"), but I never had an oppor- 



