68 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



of Cassiques presents one of the most animated and attractive 

 sights in the bird-Hfe of our tropical forests. Following the rule 

 that fewer eggs are laid by tropical than by northern birds, the 

 Cassique lays but two eggs, while our Oriole lays four or five. 



The Cassique possesses a great variety of loud calls and 

 whistles, some of which are very musical. In the nesting season 

 the male, which is noticeably larger than the female, has the 

 singular habit of bending low his head while uttering a long-drawn 

 creaking call, which he follows by flapping his wings violently 

 together over his back. A bird in the upper part of the group 

 is represented in this act. 



The present species of Cassique is found throughout South 

 America from southern Brazil northward to Panama, an allied 

 species extending northward to Me?cico. 



Poised before the orchid (Miltonia Candida) which appears 

 in this group is a Hummingbird {Florisuga mellivora), while on 

 the ground an Ant-Thrush (Formicarius analis saturatus) may 

 be seen. The positions of the Cassiques, the Hummingbird and 

 the Ant-Thrush in relation to their surroundings, illustrate the 

 facts that brightly marked birds are, as a rule, found in the 

 trees among leaves and blossoms, while the dull-colored species 

 usually live on or near the ground. 



The nests here shown w^re collected in Trinidad by Mr. 

 A. B. Carr. The group was prepared at the Museum under the 

 direction of Mr. J. D. Figgins and has been placed in the general 

 collection of birds, Hall No. 208 of the second-floor. North Wing. 



MUSEUM NEWS NOTES. 



]HE Library has received as a gift a copy of the 

 catalogue of the Heber R. Bishop collection of 

 jade. This unrivaled collection was presented by 

 Mr. Heber R. Bishop during his life time to the 

 Metropolitan Museum of Art where it has been 

 installed in a room prepared for it at the expense of the donor. 

 This catalogue is the most thorough investigation of the subject 

 of jade and jade implements which has been undertaken, and it 

 is considered to be the most magnificent example of the art of 

 book-making which has been attempted in modern times. The 



