96 The Naturalist in Nicaragua 
and a dark blue collar round the neck. Both species take 
short, quick, jerky flights, and are often met with along with 
flocks of other birds—fly-catchers, tanagers, creepers, wood- 
peckers, etc., that hunt together, traversing the forests in 
flocks of hundreds together, belonging to more than a score 
different species; so that whilst they are passing over, the 
trees seem alive with them. Mr. Bates has mentioned similar 
gregarious flocks met with by him in Brazil; and I never went 
any distance into the woods around Santo Domingo without 
seeing them. The reason of their association together may 
be partly for protection, as no rapacious bird or mammal 
could approach the flock without being discovered by one or 
other of them, but the principal reason appears to be that 
they play into each other’s hands in their search for food. 
The creepers and woodpeckers and others drive the insects 
out of their hiding-places under bark, amongst moss, and in 
withered leaves. The fly-catchers and trogons sit on branches 
and fly after the larger insects, the fly-catchers taking them 
on the wing, the trogons from off the leaves on which they 
have settled. In the breeding season, the trogons are con- 
tinually calling out to each other, and are thus easily dis- 
covered. They are called “ viduas,”’ that is, “‘ widows,” by 
the Spaniards. 
Woodpeckers are often seen along with the hunting flocks 
of birds, especially a small one (Centrurus pucherani, Mahl), 
with red and yellow head and speckled back. This species 
feeds on fruits, as well as on grubs taken out of dead trees. 
A large red-crested species is common near recently-made 
clearings, and I successively met with one of an elegant 
chocolate-brown colour, and another brown with black spots 
on the back and breast, with a lighter-coloured crested head 
(Celeus castaneus, Wag).). 
Of the mot-mots, I met with four species in the forest, all 
more or less olive green in colour (Momotus marti and lessont, 
and Prionyrhynchus carinatus and platyrhynchus), having 
two of the tail-feathers very long, with the shafts denuded 
about an inch from the end. The mot-mots have all hoarse 
croak-like cries, heard at a great distance in the forest, and 
fed on large beetles and other insects. 
The toucans are very curious-looking birds, with their 
enormous bills. They hop with great agility amongst the 
