ORNITHOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES 237 



their sheaths. Even a kingfisher does not exhibit such long 

 continued sheathing. In the crop was a single, sharp-stud- 

 ded, flattened, circular seed with the flesh all dissolved away. 



]\Iidclle toe 

 I>engtli Bill Wing Tail Tarsus and claw 



3 day nestling :i7 5 9 ~ 10 7 



Adult 110 10.5 5-2.5 3^' ;?0 15 



SEED EATERS 



Whenever one walked through the cultivated fields near 

 Georgetown or through any of the clearings near the coast 

 of Guiana, one was invariably surprised at the great number 

 of little finches that would start up at his approach. They 

 were present in endless numbers wherever the weeds grew 

 rank and the crabgrass went to seed, and that was nearly 

 everywhere. Perhaps the two most common were the little 

 brown-breasted pygmy grosbeak {Oryzoborus angolensis 

 brevirostris) , or twa-twa slave — locally named from its habit 

 of accompanying its elder brother, the twa-twa (O. crassi- 

 rostris), and the tiny chestnut-bellied seedeater (S por'opliila 

 castaneiventris) . They were usually seen in large flocks. 



Familiarity breeds contempt. There could be no truer 

 saying than where these little finches were concerned. In 

 spite of diligent search through all the few reports and ex- 

 cerpts on the subject, no description of the home or eggs 

 of these birds could be found, and yet, in April and May, 

 their nests were everywhere. 



We commenced finding nests of the twa-twa slave about 

 the middle of INIarch. The number gradually increased until 

 in May one could scarcely walk fifty feet through a clearing 

 without seeing one. In June, the number rapidly decreased 

 and in July, we saw none. 



The birds usually chose a low bush or stiff weed-stem 

 with a fork strong enough to bear the light weight of their 

 tiny cup, though one nest was found eight feet from the 

 ground on the low branch of a mango tree. The whole 

 structure was not more than 10 cm. across and contained a 



