338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1926 
generally associate with the eggs of birds. The eggs were laid 
on a mat of leaf fragments already in place when the nesting site 
was chosen. It was more or less concealed from above by giant 
leaves of a palm which had fallen to the forest floor. This tinamou 
seemed like a very promising subject and we arose with enthusiasm 
early the next morning to begin our life-history study. When we 
arrived at the place with our cameras and equipment our hopes were 
blasted for we saw a messed-up nesting site and the bird and eggs 
gone. But these misfortunes are a part of our life-history work and 
are to be expected. The birds inside the jungle, especially those 
which nest on the ground, are subject to frequent molestation. The 
struggle for existence is hard and it is a wonder that so many birds 
having similar nesting sites are able to maintain their numbers. 
The Formicariidae, the antbirds, are well represented on the 
island and it was our good fortune to find material for the study of 
several species of this interesting family. These birds spent much of 
their time on the ground, and as the name suggests probably feed 
largely on the ants which are very abundant in all parts of the 
jungle. A nest and two eggs of Slater’s antbird (Myrmeciza exsul) 
was found among the leaves of a low herbaceous plant by Mr. 
Drayton on July 25. The nest was made of coarse stems and roots 
and lined with fine rootlets and vegetable fibers. This bird, like the 
tinamou mentioned above, allowed me to come very near but when 
she finally flushed from the nest she ran along the ground actively, 
fluttering her wings and feigning a wounded creature. I followed 
to encourage her and to see what she would do. After performing in 
this manner for a distance of 20 yards she flew up to one of the 
lower branches of a tree and at once began uttering a loud piercing 
trill. As soon as this note echoed through the woods I heard a 
similar call answering in the distance. It was her mate and as 
soon as he appeared on the scene they produced such a commotion 
that it attracted all the other birds in the neighborhood. They added 
their notes one by one until the monkeys were aroused and soon 
the whole jungle was in a pandemonium, all started by one little 
antbird. During the middle of the day this bird generally sat on 
the edge of the nest guarding her eggs but toward evening as the 
temperature dropped she would nestle down on them for the re- 
mainder of the night. 
On July 6, when returning to the laboratory on the Barbour 
Lathrop trail, I discovered a fine little nest of the spotted-crowned 
antvireo (Dysithamnus puncticeps) located about 6 feet high in a 
small tree. The nest was partially suspended from a forked limb 
and had much the appearance of a poorly constructed red-eyed vireo’s 
nest. In order to study this bird to the best advantage I built a 
