370 Scott: on ike Birds of yamaica. [October 



ate vicinitj. Tliis association is doubtless chieflj for the purpose of feed - 

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

 shared hy the Crackles (^^uiscdlus crassiroslris}. It is most interesting 

 to watch a company of Blackbirds when thus engaged. Many are 

 perched 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 which they now and again call to 

 those in the open with that remarkable cry, variously syllabicated by 

 some, but which I have at times thought strangely like the wailing of a 

 young cat. Insects of all orders and their larvae, ticks, grubs, 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 fe- 

 male portions of an egg, apparently that of some small bird. Gosse re- 

 cords having seen these birds eating the ripe berries of the fiddle wood, 

 but I have not noticed them at anytime eating vegetable food. 



The Blackbirds at their best have a very lean and shabby appearance, and 

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

 make several ineffectual attempts to alight on the frond of a cocoanut palm ; 

 but even among the branches of other trees their actions appear awkward. 

 Their flight is slow and gliding, somewhat labored, and of little duration, 

 the birds often appearing to fall short of the point originally aimed at. 

 Yet they. will chase the large yellow butterflies, and I was shown a large 

 green locust that one of these birds was seen to capture in flight and after- 

 wards drop. In the progress of a flock from place to place they do not 

 usually fly all together, but move away in straggling groups or couples. 

 One or more individuals first start off" with their wailingcall, followed soon 

 after by two or three; after a little delay then two more go; another 

 pause, then one, then three, and so on. If a tree has very dense foliage 

 they alight (with much awkward scrambling) on the tops or extremi- 

 ties of the highest branches, where they may gain a clear and uninter- 

 rupted view, and this is usually the case when they are traversing very 

 open country. 



Their nesting habits are exceedingly curious and interesting. Many indi- 

 viduals (possibly members of one flock) work together in the construction 

 of a lai-ge nest in which all the females of the company lay their eggs. The 

 number of eggs deposited in diflferent nests varies greatly but is of course 

 dependent on the number of birds in a company. Six and eight eggs are 

 commonly found. I once took eleven, and in August last year I saw a clutch 

 of twenty-one that had been taken from a single nest! It is probable 

 that normally not more than two eggs are deposited by each bird, but 

 nothing definite can be said on this point. The nest, which is usually 

 placed high up in a tall tree, very frequently in a clump of mistletoe on a 

 bastard cedar,' is a large, loosely constructed mass of twigs, entirely lined 

 vith dried leaves. But the most remarkable circumstance in connection 



