Dr. E. A. Goeldi un Myiopatis semifusca. 175 



me to affirm, with Curac'ma scutata, Chasmorhyuchiis nudi- 

 collis, Tijuca nigra, Phcenicocercus carnifex, Xipholcna lamelli- 

 pennis, Iodopleura isabella?, and Tityra cay ana. 



Of not less interest, however, is the fact that certain other 

 small species of the Tyrant-family play exactly the same 

 role in Southern Brazil as Myiopatis semifusca does here 

 in Para. I have before me an unedited article written in 

 Portuguese by my cousin Andreas Goeldi in November 

 1900, in which he treats in detail of the propagation of 

 " herva de passarinho'" by means of very small birds, popu- 

 larly called " Caga-sebos " *. The following is a translation 

 from the article in question : — " All farmers and other owners 

 of fruit-trees are well acquainted with the accursed tree- 

 parasite called ' herva de passarinho.' The destruction of 

 this parasite requires unremitting vigilance everywhere. 

 However, not everybody knows just how certain birds plant 

 and scatter the seeds. 



" I had always supposed that the birds ate the fruit of 

 the parasite and scattered the undigested seeds about in their 

 excrements on the branches on which they perched. But 

 some interesting observations which I had recently occasion 

 to make have changed my opinion. Early one morning my 

 attention was attracted to a small flock of five or six little 

 birds hopping about our orchard upon some small fruit-trees. 

 1 noticed that on the different branches which I had recently 

 cut, and on which I knew there were no seeds or young plants 

 of the ' herva de passarinho ' before, the quantity of seeds 

 glued was constantly increasing day by day. The branches 

 were already well covered with them, some still fresh and re- 

 cently deposited and others in all stages of germination. On 

 carefully watching the branches and the small birds perched 

 on them, I noticed certain peculiar movements which further 

 attracted my attention. I saw that one of them vomited up 

 something that looked like a seed of ' herva de passarinho.' 

 Continuing my observations, I made the following dis- 

 coveries : — The bird in question was Serpophaga sudcristata, 



* This is the popular terra there used for Certhiola chloroyyya, and also 

 for l'hyllomyias bur/neistcri and Serpophaya subcristata. 



