Letters, Announcements, ^r. 331 



Christi, Texas, recording ninety-four species observed in 

 March and April 1884. — April 2nd. A specimen of Swain- 

 son's Warbler {Helmintherus sivainsoni) , lent by Mr. Brewster, 

 was exhibited. A paper was read by Dr, Gibbs on the Wood- 

 peckers of Michigan. Mr. H. K. Coale gave a bird-skinning 

 exposition. — May 15th, Mr. Coale read a paper containing 

 notes on the Birds of Arizona. 



Birds breeding in Ants' Nests. — Two interesting letters on 

 this subject have lately appeared in ^ Nature.' These, with 

 the kind permission of the Editor of ' Nature,' we reproduce. 

 The first is from Mr. W. Davison, who writes from Ootaca- 

 mund, Jan. 18th, and says, in reply to inquiries from Mr. 

 Grant Duff {' Nature,' vol. xxxi. p. 438) :— 



" The Southern Chestnut Woodpecker {Micropternus gu- 

 laris) always, as far as I have observed, uses an ants' nest 

 to nest in, and Mr. Gammie, the Superintendent of the 

 Government Cinchona Estates at Mongphoo, .near Darjee- 

 ling, has noticed the same thing with regard to the allied 

 northern species, Micropternus jjhaioceps ; and the peculiarity 

 probably extends also to the allied species found in Burmah, 

 Siam, &c. 



" Mr. Gammie thinks that when an ants' nest has been 

 taken possession of by the bird the ants desert the nest. 

 This is a point on which I cannot speak with certainty. 

 Mr. Gammie has taken nests of the northern species in 

 which, although the bird had laid, the ants remained, and 

 he has taken other nests where not a single ant remained; 

 but there is nothing to show that these nests were not de- 

 serted before the bird took possession. I myself have taken 

 nests of the southern form, in which, though the eggs were 

 partially incubated, the ants remained, showing that some 

 considerable time must have elapsed since the bird took pos- 

 session. This is a point that I hope to be able to elucidate 

 within the next few months, when the birds will be breeding. 



'^ When Micropternus is breeding the feathers of the head, 

 tail, and primaries of the wings get covered with a viscid 

 matter, having a strong resinous smell, and this substance is 



