SCREAMING COW-BIRD IOI 
and resumed possession. Four days later the Bay- 
wings also came back; but on finding the nest still 
occupied they took possession of an unfinished oven 
of an Oven-bird on another tree within twenty yards 
of the first, and immediately began carrying in 
materials with which to line it. When they had fin- 
ished laying I took their five eggs, at the same time 
throwing down the oven, and waited to see what their 
next move would be. They remained on the spot, 
singing incessantly, and still manifesting anxiety 
when approached. I observed them four days, and 
then was absent from home as many more; on 
returning I found that the Lefiateros had once more 
disappeared, and that the nest was now held by the 
Bay-wings. I also noticed that they had opened an 
entrance very low down at the side of the nest which 
they were using; no doubt they had killed and 
thrown out the young birds. 
It was now early in November, the height of the 
breeding-season, and numbers of Common Cow- 
birds constantly visited the nest; but I was parti- 
cularly interested in a pair of Screaming Cow-birds 
that had also begun to grow fond of it, and I resolved 
to watch them closely. As they spent so much of 
their time near the nest, showing great solicitude 
when I approached it, I strongly hoped to see 
them breed in it, if the Bay-wings could only 
be got rid of. The Screaming Cow-birds would 
not, or dare not, attack them. I therefore re- 
solved to take the Bay-wings’ eggs, hoping that 
that would cause them to leave in disgust. 
