^Tso^''] PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 493 



sparse, markings of dark brown, chiefly at the larger end, sometimes 

 forming a wreath, and mixed with occasional tine black spots. Two 

 eggs measure 0.77 by 0.53, 0.74: by 0.53; another, 0.73 by 0.50. 



73. Volatinia splendens (Vieill. )• 



One specimen, taken July li, found in the tall grass on the river 



bank. 



74. Passerina cyanea (Liun.). 



Occasionally observed during the fall on the Escondido. First col- 

 lected September 30, and a flock noticed October 23. All were in the 

 lilumage of the female. 



75. Embernagra striaticeps Lafr. 



Very common. Found in clearings, banana plantations, and similar 

 l^laces, where it prefers the vicinity of bushes, vine-covered banana 

 plants, and other hiding places, to which it can retire if disturbed. 

 The bird spends much of its time upon the ground, searching for food; 

 and individuals were sometimes caught in traps set for small mammals. 

 I have not heard this bird sing, but it has a low and rather plaintive 

 chirp. A nest found May G Avas in a fan palm leaf, about 3 feet from 

 the ground. It was (juite a bulky aftair, roofed over and composed 

 of strips of dead leaves and weed stalks, lined with fine stems and 

 grasses. The base of the nest was tenanted by a colony of black ants. 

 Several visits were made to the nest before the bird could be identi- 

 fied, owing to its retiring way. The eggs were two, ovate, pure white, 

 measuring 0.93 by 0.69, 0.96 by 0.69. Another nest, found the same 

 day, contained small young, and was in a citrus tree, about 5 feet from 

 the ground. It was not so bulky as the first. 



Famity ICTEEID^. 

 76. Eucorystes wagleri (Gray). 



Noted at various places on the San Juan and Rio Frio; one speci- 

 men shot on the Escondido. 



A colony observed nest-building on the Rio Frio early in March. 

 The actual work of securing material and constructing the nests seemed 

 to fall upon the females, the males merely accompanying them back 

 and forth on these oc(;asions. A dead tree standing in the open, con- 

 taining a hornet's next, had been selected by the birds, and about fifty 

 nests were suspended from the extremities of the branches. These 

 were nearly finished, and various nests on the ground testified to the 

 overburdening of some of the smaller branches. I did not hear any 

 song, but the birds kept up a low chuckling note as they flew to and 

 from the tree. The amount of energy and diligence displayed by the 

 birds in building these nests is truly remarkable, when one considers 

 the time wasted by many birds in nest-building. 



