ORNITHOLOGICAL Dl:>euVERIES -23:3 



climbed with most amazing speed. The little parrots gazed 

 silentlv down at him with twistino^ necks and with lonoTjior 

 last looks at the luscious meal they must now forsake, they 

 flew screaming away. 



I placed my hand against a small sapling to steadv 

 myself . while watching fiu-ther developments, and carelessly 

 gave it a little shake. The flash of a tiny pair of wings al- 

 most in my face was the result, and the view of a httle brown 

 bird as it rapidly disappeared into the undergrowth. I 

 looked at the sapling and saw a small bundle of leaves rest- 

 ing upon a small branch about foiu- feet from the ground. 

 It had passed imnoticed in the excitement of watching the 

 parrots and the monkey. Then from the bushes came a few 

 cheerful notes from the most wonderful musical instrument 

 of all. the throat of the quadrille-bird and I felt that I really 

 had discovered somethinor worth while. 



As my hiding place was too close to the nest. I chose 

 another position and sat down to aivait what w^ould happen. 

 From behind a friendly screening bush the nest looked like a 

 leafy vase held by a twist of the funnel-shaped neck over a 

 supporting branch. The wily little bird was fully two hours 

 in making up its mind to enter its curious home, but it could 

 be seen dodging in and out among the bushes close by, al- 

 ways too warv to take anv chances while the enemv was 



• • • • 



about. It did not scold as they usually do, but every few 

 minutes biu^ into song as if thus to find a vent for its in- 

 creasing excitement. Finallv. about noon, when a heaw 

 shower of rain commenced, it entered to protect the eggs 

 from a wetting. 



The nest was composed almost entirely of leaf skele- 

 tons bound tightly together with fine fibres and a few blades 

 of coarse grass. The entrance passage was quite large and 

 opened upon the small inner cavity near the top. The cavitr 

 in which the eggs lay, was lined with several big feathers 

 of the large Guiana great tinamou and the Guiana partridge. 



