362 Dr. Emil A. Goeldi on the 



to be fouud, and travellers who do not devote much time to 

 the subject will generally see very little of the birds' breeding- 

 habits. There are, however, exceptions, and one of these is 

 offered by Cassicus persicus. This is by far the most pre- 

 dominant Cassique in Lower Amazonia and Guiana, and 

 colonies of it, consisting of a more or less considerable 

 number of pendent nests dangling on the branch-ends of 

 the trees, are to be seen everywhere, and are sure to strike 

 even the most casual tourist's attention on board the Ama- 

 zonian steamers. Here, in Para, Cassicus persicus is a daily 

 visitor in every large orchard, and though the suburb of 

 Nazareth is to-day much more densely inhabited than it was 

 when Mr. Wallace wrote his most interesting book, I know of 

 a colony of " Japiims " with a dozen nests on a high tree near 

 the course of two of the most frequented roads of this suburb, 

 and only some 60 steps distant from our museum. 



The bag-nests of Cassicus persicus are, in comparison with 

 those of Ostinops decumanus, shorter and more cylindrical. 

 Two specimens brought by me from Amapa in 1895 are only 

 from 40 to 42 cm, long and 12 cm. wide in the upper part, 

 and 15 cm. in width in the lower part. The entrance-hole 

 is stirrup-shaped and situated on the upper portion. It 

 measures 15 cm. in length and about 10 cm. in breadth. 



The material of these bag-nests consists exclusively of dry 

 fibres of the assay -palm -tree-leaves {Euterpe oleracea),^'\\\c\\ 

 are woven by the bird into a fabric of very great strength, 

 so that it is almost impossible to tear it. The fact that in 

 Amazonia the material usually employed consists of assfiy- 

 leaves is very well known to everybody in the country. 

 This fact becomes specially interesting to naturalists who 

 remember that the range of Cassicus persicus reaches south- 

 ward to Bahia, i. e. into a region where the assry-palm 

 does not grow. We know, from the description given by 

 Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (Beitr. iii. p. 1239), 

 that the material employed by this bird in the coast-zone of 

 Bahia consists of threads of Tillandsia (" Barba de velho ") 

 and of similar 5rome/i c-fibres. This statement agrees 

 entirely with my observations in Southern Brazil as regards 



