BIRDS OF CUBA 83 



Provinces except Havana. I have seen them in western Pinar del Rio, 

 about the Cienaga de Zapata, at San Juan de los Perros, Trinidad, Jucaro 

 and Palo Alto. There are still many bands in the Isle of Pines. They 

 nest from late March until well into the summer. Their flesh is excellent, 

 so good indeed that they sometimes are killed for food when occasionally 

 they invade the populated districts to eat ripe cultivated fruits — a very 

 rare happening today, to be sure. In a few years more Parrots will be 

 excessively rare in Cuba and its dependency. 



144. Crotophaga ani Linne. 

 Ani; Judio. 



Whether the Spanish name of Judio or Jew is given to the Ani because 

 of its hooked beak or because its oft-repeated cry sounds so like the word, 

 is hard to say. Any visitor to Cuba may decide for himself, because the 

 Jews will be the most conspicuous birds he will see in every pasture lot, 

 even in the very suburbs. They walk about among the cattle, stand upon 

 their backs, and hop clumsily through the underbrush. Their flight is a 

 sort of clumsy volplaning, unlike that of all other birds except the Toucans. 

 They abound wherever cattle are raised, over the whole Island, but are 

 not now seen in the forests or inhabited areas. They are to some extent 

 tick-eaters but forage more among the insects which the cattle disturb 

 into movement as they walk about. 



The large, shapeless communal nest, usually placed in a thorny l«mon 

 tree or bamboo thicket, is very rarely seen considering the abundance of 

 Anis everywhere. They roost at night not only each band in its wonted 

 resort but the individuals snuggling so closely one to another that every 

 Cuban countryman will declare that they pile up into a heap, several layers 

 sleeping one upon another. 



145. Saurothera merlini d'Orbigny. 

 Cuban Lizard Cuckoo; Arriero. 



The Cuban Lizard Cuckoo is common, widespread and rather tame, 

 far more so than many of its allies upon other Antilles. The Isle of Pines 



