BOLBORHYNCHUS MONACHUS. 



45 



in the woods, all the Parrakeets rising in a crowd and hovering about 

 it with angry screams. 



The nests are suspended from the extremities of the branches, to 

 which they are firmly woven. New nests consist of only two chambers, 

 the porch and the nest proper, and are inhabited by a single pair of 

 birds. Successive nests are added, until some of them come to weigh 

 a quarter of a ton, and contain material enough to fill a large cart. 

 Thorny twigs, firmly interwoven, form the only material, and there is 

 no lining in the breeding-chamber, even in the breeding-season. Some 

 old forest trees have seven or eight of these huge structures suspended 

 from the branches, while the ground underneath is covered with twigs 

 and remains of fallen nests. The entrance to the chamber is generally 

 underneath, or if at the side is protected by an overhanging eave to 

 prevent the intrusion of opossums. These entrances lead into the 

 porch or outer chamber, and the latter communicates with the breeding- 

 chamber. The breeding-chambers are not connected with each other, 

 and each set is used by one pair of birds. 



The number of pairs does not exceed a dozen, even with the largest 

 nests. Repairs are carried on all the year round, but new nests ar,e 

 only added at the approach of spring. Opossums are frequently found 

 in one of the higher chambers, when the entrance has been made too 

 high, but though they take up their abode there they cannot reach the 

 other chambers, and the Parrakeets refuse to go away. A species of 

 Teal (probably Querquedula brasiliensis) also sometimes] occupies and 

 breeds in their chambers, and in one case Mr. Gibson found an opossum 

 domiciled in an upper chamber, Parrakeets occupying all the others 

 except one, in which a Teal was sitting on eggs. 



The breeding-season begins about November 1, and as many as 

 seven or eight eggs are laid ; these are dull white, very thin-shelled, 

 elongated, and have the greatest diameter exactly equidistant from the 

 two ends. 



Mr. Barrows speaks as follows of this species in Entrerios : " An 

 abundant and familiar bird in the neighbourhood of Concepcion through 

 the entire year. It is commonly seen in flocks of twenty and upwards, 

 visiting grain-fields, gardens, &c., and sometimes, if I was correclly 

 informed, it has appeared in flocks of tens of thousands, completely 

 stripping the grain-fields. They nest in communities, many pairs 

 uniting in the building of a large common nest or mass of nests. I 

 only saw these nests on two occasions, and had no opportunity of ex- 

 amining their structure. They were placed on high trees, and appeared 

 from below to be simply irregular masses, six or eight feet in diameter, 

 formed of small sticks and twigs. Where the nests are abundant the 



