Birds and Beetles 99 
ran or flew with great swiftness; in others, leaf-cutting ants 
in endless trains carried aloft their burdens of foliage, looking 
as they marched along with the segments of leaves, held up 
vertically, like green butterflies, or a mimic representation of 
a moving Birnam wood. Sometimes the chirping of the ant- 
thrushes drew attention to where a great body of army-ants 
were foraging amongst the fallen branches, sending the spiders, 
cockroaches, and grasshoppers fleeing for their lives, only to 
fall victims to the surrounding birds. On the fallen branches 
and logs I obtained many longicorn beetles; the woodcutters 
brought me many more, and from this valley were obtained 
some of the rarest and finest species in my collection. On 
the myrtle-like flowers of some of the shrubs, large green 
cockchafers were to be found during the dry season, and a 
bright green rosechafer was alsocommon. I was surprised to 
find on two occasions a green and brown bug (Pentatoma 
punicea) sucking the juices from dead specimens of this 
species. The bug has weak limbs, and the beetle is more 
than twice its size and weight, and is very active, quickly 
taking wing; so that the only way in which it could be over- 
come that I can think of is by the bug creeping up when it 
is sleeping, quietly introducing the point of its sharp pro- 
boscis between the rings of its body, and injecting some 
stupefying poison. In both instances that I witnessed, the 
bug was on a leaf up a shrub, with the bulky beetle hanging 
over suspended on its proboscis. Other species of bugs 
certainly inject poisonous fluids. One black and red species 
in the forest, if taken in the hand, would thrust its sharp 
proboscis into the skin, and produce a pain worse than the 
sting of a wasp. Amongst the bushes were always to be 
found the beautiful scarlet and black tanager (Rhamphocelus 
passerinit, Bp.), and more rarely another species (R. san- 
guinolentus, Less.). Along with these, a brownish-coloured 
bird, reddish on the breast and top of the head (Phanzco- 
thraupis fusicauda, Cab.), flew sociably; whilst generally 
somewhere in the vicinity, as evening drew on, a brown hawk 
might be seen up some of the low trees, watching the thought- 
less chirping birds, and ready to pounce down when oppor- 
tunity offered. Higher up the valley more trees were left 
standing, and amongst these small flocks of other birds might 
often be found, one green with red head (Calliste lavinie, 
G 
