154 TYRANNID^E. 



uttered by day. About a week after the birds have arrived, when the 

 trees are only beginning to display their tender leaves, the nest is com- 

 menced. Strange to say, the female is the sole builder ; for she now 

 lays by her indifferent mien, and the art and industry she displays more 

 than compensate for the absence of those beauties and accomplishments 

 that make her mate so pleasing to the sight and ear. The materials of 

 which the nest is composed are almost all gathered on trees ; they are 

 lichens, webs, and thistle-down : and the dexterity and rapidity with 

 which they are gathered, the skill with which she disposes them, the 

 tireless industry of the little bird, who visits her nest a hundred times 

 an hour with invisible webs in her bill, are truly interesting to the 

 observer. The lichens firmly held together with webs, and smoothly 

 disposed with the tops outside, give to the nest the colour of the bark 

 it is built on. 



After the Churinche's nest is completed, the Bienteveo (Pitangus 

 bolivianus) and the Common Cow-bird (Molothrus bonariensis) are the 

 troublers of its peace. The first of these sometimes carries off the 

 nest bodily to use it as material in building its own ; the female Cow- 

 bird is ever on the look out for a receptacle for her eggs. Seldom, 

 however, does she succeed in gaining admittance to the Churinche's 

 nest, as he is extremely vigilant and violent in repelling intruders. 

 But his vigilance at times avails not ; the subtle bird has watched and 

 waited till, seizing a moment when the little Scarlet Tyrant is off 

 his guard, she drops her surreptitious egg into his nest. When this 

 happens, the Churinches immediately leave their nest. The nest is 

 sometimes lined with feathers, but usually with thistle-down ; the eggs 

 are four, pointed, and spotted at the broad end with black ; usually 

 each egg has also a few large grey spots. The young are at first grey, 

 marked with pale rufous, but soon become entirely grey, like the 

 female. In about a month's time the belly of the males begins to 

 assume a pale mauve-red; this spreads upwards towards the breast and 

 throat ; and finally the crest also takes on this colour. The Churinches 

 raise two broods in a season but if the nest is destroyed, will lay as 

 many as four times. 



The Scarlet Tyrant is the first of our summer visitors to leave us. As 

 early as the end of January, and so soon as the young of the second 

 brood are able to feed themselves, the adults disappear. Their going is 

 not gradual, but they all vanish at once. The departure of all other 

 migratory species takes place after a very sensible change in the tem- 

 perature ; but at the end of January the heat is unmitigated it is, in 

 fact, often greater than during December. 



When the adults have gone, the silent young birds remain. Within 



