OHNITIIOIOCK AI. I ) IS( OX' 1', H I KS 2"2T 



CINKKKOUS 15USH15IK1) 



Thdiiuioniancs cacshi.s ylaucii.s Cab. 



Tlic cinereous buslibfi'd, tlioiioli one of the coininoiiest 

 inliabitants of the (iiiiana /)imok', like many otliers of its 

 kindred is but h'ttk' known. It liad no pai'tieular ])vl-\'- 

 erenee of h)eality but eoukl be heard a(l(h'n_L>' its xoiee to the 

 general eliorns in any of the small croups of ant-lhnishes 

 that eontinuallv worked their way throu<'h tlie iunu'le. l)ur- 

 ini^' the nesting season — from February to May — each ])aii- 

 selected a certain portion of the forest undergrowth and 

 floor for the home site and hunting gi-ound. A\ this time 

 they ilid not greatly mind the ifu-oads of othei- bii-ds on theii- 

 ])ro])ei-ty and at the voices of a ])assing company would 

 occasionally join in and follow for some distance, but the 

 approach of man was hailed with shrill cries of alaini, an 

 angry flutter of wings, and a fierce sna])})ing of bills. Their 

 food consisted entirely of insects — chiefly ants and beetles. 



Judging from the number of nests found in March and 

 April it would seem as if these were the two main nesting 

 months. The nests were placed in the forks of low bushes, 

 usually in the densest jungle and seldom more than five feet 

 from the ground. They were bowl-shaped and open, but 

 always protected by a roof of dried leaves ])lace(l across the 

 branches six inches above. 



The nest itself w^as composed entirely of more or less 

 rotted leaves, held together by a few hiw root fibres. It 

 was lined with fresh dried leaves and often with a very thin 

 lining of the finest roots. The whole structure had a very 

 flimsy appearance, and looked like a plain mass of leaves 

 accidentally collected in a low bush. The outside diameter 

 was about 11 cm., but the interior cup was only (> cm. across 

 at the top and 4.5 cm. deep. 



The birds sometimes gathered their building material 

 a hundred yards or more from the nest. It was interesting 

 to w^atch them carefully select a leaf from the thousands 



