102 DEL AGO A BAY. 



long, and kept dashing the poor thing against 

 a branch and then attempting to swallow it ; 

 but it took a long time before the grasshopper 

 was sufficiently macerated to allow him to do 

 so ; in the end, however, it was accomplished in 

 one gulp. I once found a very pretty bird just 

 dead choked by trying to swallow a large 

 grasshopper. 



I noticed some very handsome birds among 

 the ant-feeders, about the size of a starling, like 

 animated black velvet, and some dear little brown 

 fellows with red hoods tied under their chins 

 (Estrelda granatina ?) ; swallows were there in 

 numbers. Below the birds were myriads of large 

 dragon-flies, also eagerly devouring the ants, 

 their beautiful bodies and wings shining with 

 metallic lustre in the gleams of sunlight through 

 the leaves. They were most expert in catching 

 the ants, and I could distinctly hear the snap of 

 their jaws as they closed on the unfortunate in- 

 sects. Often a bright-coloured butterfly would 

 add to the beauty of the scene by flitting 

 through the group, but was quite unheeded by 



