GROOVE-BILLED ANI 33 



At Mr. Haymond's plautatiou, on tlie Escondido Kiver, above Bluefields, this 

 species was uuusually plentiful, owing, no doubt, to a large number of cattle 

 kept tliere. The birds follow these animals as they meander over the pastures, 

 hopping along on each side of an animal, catching grasshoppers and other 

 insects which the cov/ disturbs as it moves along. Frequently the cow moves 

 too rapidly and the birds lag behind, when they make short flights to the front 

 again, passing over one another after the manner of the Grackles when feeding 

 in a field. Only half a dozen birds or so follow a cow usually, and not many 

 congregate in a flock, except when roosting. On this plantation, where the 

 species is more abundant than usual, the birds appear to roost in numbers. 

 An orange tree near the house was a favorite place where thirty or forty 

 birds came to pass the night, flying in from the surrounding pasture about dusk, 

 and after a few short flights from one tree to another, passed into the roost 

 one or two at a time, hopping about as if seeking a favorable perch, uttering 

 their peculiar note meanwhile. Out of this roost I shot seventeen birds one 

 evening, and the males greatly predominated ; there were only five females in 

 the lot. The note of this species reminds one somewhat of the Flicker, Colaptes 

 atiratus, but may be better represented by the combination "plee-co," rapidly 

 repeated, with the accent usually on the first syllable, but sometimes on the 

 last. I have frequently found one of the small flocks resting on a bush or 

 bamboo along the water's edge, perfectly silent, until my near approach started 

 them off, one or two at a time, scolding as they went. Their flight is ev-en, 

 slow, as short as possible, and consists of a few flaps of the wings, followed 

 by a short sail, then a few more flaps, etc. 



Mr. Skutcli writes (MS.) : "Their flight is as perfectly character- 

 istic of the birds as any other of their peculiar habits. A long 

 journey, say anything much in excess of a hundred yards, is seldom 

 made by a continuous flight, but the bird advances with frequent 

 pauses in conveniently situated trees and bushes. As he alights on 

 one of the lower branches, the momentum of the long tail carries 

 it forward above the head with an abrupt jerk. Recovering his 

 balance, he remains here for some moments, looking around with 

 caution and calling in his high-pitched voice. Then, satisfied that 

 the path ahead is clear, with a tuc tuc tuc, pihuy pihuy pihuy, he 

 launches himself upon the next stage of his journey. A few rapid 

 beats of his short wings serve to impart the requisite momentum, 

 and he sets them for a long glide. In this manner he can cover sur- 

 prisingly long distances, on a slightly descending course, without 

 further muscular effort. If his ultimate destination is a certain 

 perch in a tree or bush, he will often arrest his flight on another con- 

 siderably below it. By a few queer, rapid, sideways hops along the 

 branch, and some bounds, or better bounces, from limb to limb, he 

 gains the desired position where, as likely as not, he spreads his 

 wings to the morning sun." 



Mr. van Eossem (1938) says: "They feed side by side with never 

 a sign of friction or argument over the choicer insects, and at night 

 roost in low trees or bushes, pressed shoulder to shoulder to the 

 limit of available space. We not infrequently found them thus when 



