354 ' ANI. 



CROTOPHAGA ANI, 

 Ani. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sp. Cu. Size, medium. Bill either smooth or ridged transverselj. Cjlor, dull black, lustrous on the 

 edge of the feathers, especiall)' on the head and neck behind. 



OBSERVATIONS. 



Known at once from all other birds of our section by the unif jrm dirk c >ljrs and singular bill. From the 

 other two species of this genus, the Ani may be distinguished as follows : the Grooved-billed Ani has the 

 upper mandible always roughened by longitudinal ridge? and the bill is a little smaller than that of the Ani, 

 although the bird is much the same size. The Grooved-billed Ani is found in Te.'cas and southward. The 

 Great Ani, which inhabits northern South America may be distinguished from the other two by its large 

 size. The Ani occurs in the Bahamas, and others of the West Indies, in northern Smth America and acci- 

 dentally in Florida and Pennsylvania. 



NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, placed in trees, and are built by several pairs of birds, the females of which lay in the same nest. 

 The nests are composed of sticks lined with grass. They are bulky structures twelve inches in diameter but 

 shallow, being only about four inches deep. Eggs, elliptical in f jrm, pale greenish blue, but this color is 

 nearly or quite concealed by a white calcaneous deposit. Dimensions, 1.20 by l.;>j to 1.22 by 1.(30. 



HABITS. 



Of all the birds with which I am acquainted I consider the Ani one of tlie most 

 singular. Its somber colors, oddly formed beak, startling, al)ru]itly-giveu cries, disagree- 

 able odor, and nnbirdlike habits render it so different from all other bird species that it 

 stands out clearly from among its fellows with a silhouette-like distinctness, which 

 impresses itself upon the mind of all who have ever become familiar with it. Even the 

 Creoles of the Bahamas, one of the most unobservant peoples under the sun, know this 

 bird. It is remarkable as being the only bird on the Bahamas whicli has received attention 

 enough from these preeminently superstitious and unimaginative people to have become 

 interwoven into their folk lore tales. Unfortunately, however, the chief characteristics of 

 the bird, enumerated above, are not of a nature to render it a favorite with any race, 

 and all of the Creole legends connected with it are decidedly u;ii)leasant. The Ani is one of 

 the principal agents of the evil spirits. It is called the De'vil's Bird, and its master caiises 

 it to visit new made graves in order to catch the souls of the occupants. The gardener 

 does not like to see if about his fields and sets the boys to stoning it whenever it appears. 



On account of this harsh treatment the Ani has learned to regard man .as his 

 natural enemy, and I was always greeted, whenever I attempted to approach one, with 

 their harsh and melanchol_y notes, and the birds would dash aw,i_\- from me to hide in the 

 nearest thicket. 



So different are the Anis from all others of the order to which they belong, that it is 

 difficult to believe that they are Cuckoos. Neither in general form, color, note, nor in 

 habit do they resemble Cuckoos, and the only thing about them that proclaims their 

 relationship is the feet. 



