THE ANI. 7 



specimens in tlie United States National Museum collection, taken within the 

 limits of the United States — one from the Dry Tortuyas bv Mr. J. Wurdeman, 

 on June 24, 1S57; tlie other l)y Mr. CI. A. Boanlman, from Cliarlotte Harbor, 

 Florida. 



A small flock of tive of tliese l)irds was seen in July, 1S!)3, at Diamond, 

 Louisiana, opposite Point la Hache, and one of tliese was shot. This is now in 

 the possession of Mr. George E. Beyer, who considers tlie Ani a reg-ular simimer 

 resident in that locality. 



The Ani is most commonly found at altitudes below 1,0()() feet and rarely 

 above 3,000. One of its ])rincipal call notes, according- to Mr. John S. Northrop, 

 who observed this species on Andros Island, one of the Bahamas, is "wee-eep," 

 t]ie«second syllable uttered in a much hig-her key than the first; another common 

 call sounds- like "que-yu." When perched on trees they are said to sit very 

 close together in rows, and being good-natured social birds, the}' are rarely 

 seen alone. 



The most complete account of the general habits of the Ani is that of Mr. 

 Charles B. Taylor, Rae Town, Kingston, Jamaica, in "The Auk" (Vol. TX, 18!l-2, 

 pp. 3G!)-371). 



"The Ani appears to be abundant in all parts of the island. It is one of 

 the coinmonest birds near Kingston, and in most open or sparsely wooded lands 

 or in the vicinity of cultivated clearings little groups or companies ma}- nearly 

 always be seen. Blackliirds are invariablv present wherever cattle are pastured. 

 I can not recollect an instance in which I have noted a herd of cows at ])asture 

 without a flock of these birds appearing in compaii}- with them or in their 

 immediate vicinity. This association is, douJitless, chieflA" for the purpose of 

 feeding on the ticks and other parasites on the animals, a good work largely 

 shared by the Cxrackles (^QniscnJiis erass-irosfris). It is most interesting to watch 

 a company of Blackbinls when thus engaged. Many are perclied on the backs 

 of the cattle (two or three sometimes on one cow); others are on the ground, 

 hopping about fearlessly among the grazing herd, searching for insects at the 

 roots of the herbage, or capturing those disturbed by the feet of the cattle. At 

 this time one or more individuals are stationed on some tree close by, from 

 wdiich they now and again call to those in the open with that remarkalile cr}*, 

 variousl}^ syllabicated by some, but which 1 liave at times thought strangely 

 like the wailing of a young cat. Insects of all orders and tlieir lal•^ a?, ticks, 

 grulis, etc., form their chief food. Occasionally, perhaps, a few small lizards 

 are taken, and, I believe, the eggs of other birds, as I once found in the stomach 

 of a female portions of an egg, apj^arently that of some sniiill l)ird. Gosse 

 records ha^'ing seen these birds eating the ripe l^erries of the iiddle wood, but I 

 have not noticed them at any time eating vegetable food. 



"The Blackbirds at their ])est have a very lean and shabl)}- a])])earan('e, and 

 are slow and awkward in their movements. I have watched an individual make 

 several ineffectual attempts to alight on the frond of a cocoamit paliii: but even 

 among the iM-auclics of other trees their actions appear awkward. Their flight 



