136 THE STORY OF BIRD-LIFE. 



growing being etiolated from want of light . . . 

 forming a singular feature of the gloomy scene 

 which these places present. . . . The young 

 [gaachoros] soon after they are hatched become a 

 perfect mass of fat, and w'hile yet in the nest are 

 sought by the Indians, w^ho, at Caripe , . . make 

 a special business of taking them and extracting 

 the oil they contain. This is done about mid- 

 summer, when by the aid of torches and long 

 poles many thousands of the young birds are 

 slaughtered, while the parents in alarm and rage 

 hover over the destroyers' heads, uttering harsh 

 and deafening cries. The grease is melted over 

 fires kindled at the cavern's mouth, run into 

 earthen pots, and preserved for use in working 

 as well as for the lighting of lamps. It is said 

 to be pure and limpid, free from any disagreeable 

 taste or smell, and capable of being kept for a 

 year without turning rancid. In Trinidad the 

 young are esteemed a great delicacy for the 

 table by many, though some persons object to 

 their peculiar scent, which . . . resembles that 

 of a cockroach. ..." For a tale of horror and 

 Satanic treatment, this slaughter of the innocents 

 accompanied by the helpless wailing of the be- 

 reaved parents -would be hard to beat. 



The last of our mud-builders is that of the 

 oven-bird of South America. The nest of this 

 bird certainly merits the term " w^onderful," 

 which has often been accorded it. Placed 

 in a most conspicuous position — the tip of a 

 post or bare bough of a tree, — it is a very 

 massive structure, — weighing as much as eight 

 or nine pounds, and is composed of mud and 



