FAMILY TYRANNIDAE 419 



look about, or occasionally twitching the wings. Regularly their 

 loud calls repeat the common name kis-ka-dce-cc-ce, with various 

 other loud, strident sounds. It is usual to see two or three resting 

 near one another, a number increased occasionally to ten or a dozen. 

 Frequently they come down to the ground where they rest quietly, 

 moving about by hopping. Following a heavy rain, I saw one on a 

 low perch where it could reach the ground, watching for earthworms. 

 When a worm appeared, the bird seized it by one end, carried it 

 to a higher perch, beat it against this branch several times before 

 starting at one end to gulp it down. They eat many insects, small 

 lizards, and are also reported to seize small minnows occasionally. 

 Berries and drupes of various kinds are a regular part of the diet. 

 It is common to see a bird regurgitate the seeds of these, especially 

 when the pits are large. At our house in Almirante, two came to 

 the ground to investigate a ripe banana that I had peeled and laid in 

 the grass for the numerous orioles. Though after some watching the 

 Kiskadees moved nearer in long hops, they were suspicious, until 

 finally one made a quick stab at the fruit and then with bill full flew 

 to a perch and swallowed. 



Males displayed by raising the body erect, spreading the wings 

 widely and moving them tremulously while calling loudly. The 

 nest is a fairly compact, globular mass of vegetable fibers, partly 

 stems and straws of dried grasses, held together by long filaments 

 of fine rootlets. The entrance, in the upper part of one side, allows 

 a view of the finer material of the lining. A nest collected by Dr. 

 Pedro Galindo May 15, 1962, near Almirante, measured 250 by 

 220 mm with a height of 130 mm. The inner chamber was 125 mm 

 in diameter. Another secured June 13, less bulky than the one 

 described, was made almost entirely of long, fibrous rootlets, with 

 only scattered bits of dried grasses. The inner lining also was of 

 finer materials. It measured approximately 180 by 200 mm, with a 

 height of about 120 mm. The eggs, of attractive appearance, are 

 pale cream-colored, varying somewhat in depth of tint, with scattered 

 blotches and smaller spots of dark reddish brown varying to bluish 

 gray where overlaid lightly by a deposit of shell. Often the markings 

 form a wreath around the larger end. 



Kiskadees seem to show little belligerence toward smaller birds. 

 Once I saw a Baltimore Oriole come to rest almost within reach of 

 one. but with no reaction on the part of the Kiskadee. 



The form under discussion ranges north to northern Guatemala. 



