OHNITHOIOCirCAI, I) [SCOVKK TKS 23T 



their slieatlis. Kveii a kin^lislR-r does not exhibit sueli long 

 continued slieathino-. In the ei-op was a single, sliar])-stud- 

 ded, flattened, eireidar seed with tlie Mesh all dissoh e(l away. 



.Mi<l<llf toe 

 Lengtli l^ill Wina- Tail 'l";irsiis mikI claw 



:} (la\ nestling :{7 :> !) — 10 7 



Adult 110 10..-, 5^.5 3;^ -20 15 



SEED EATERS 



Whenever one walked throu<>h the cultivated fields near 

 (xCorgetoMii or through any of the clearings near the coast 

 of Cxuiana, one was invariably surprised at the great number 

 of little finches that would start up at his approach. They 

 were present in endless numbers wherever the weeds grew 

 rank and the crabgrass went to seed, and that was nearly 

 everywhere. Perhaps the two most common were the little 

 brown-breasted pygmy grosbeak {Oryzohorns angolensis 

 hrevirostris) , or twa-twa slave — locally named from its habit 

 of accompanying its elder brother, the twa-twa (O. crasm- 

 rostris), and the tiny chestnut-bellied seedeater (S porophila 

 castaneiventris) . They were usually seen in large flocks. 



Familiarity breeds contempt. There could be no truer 

 saying than where these little finches were concerned. In 

 spite of diligent search through all the few reports and ex- 

 cerpts on the subject, no description of the home or eggs 

 of these birds could be found, and yet, in April and May, 

 their nests were everywhere. 



We commenced finding nests of the twa-twa slave about 

 the middle of ]March. The number gradually increased until 

 in ]May one could scarcely walk fifty feet through a clearing 

 without seeing one. In June, the number rapidly decreased 

 and in July, we saw none. 



The birds usually chose a low bush or stiff weed-stem 

 with a fork strong enough to bear the light weight of their 

 tiny cup, though one nest was found eight feet from the 

 ground on the low branch of a mango tree. The whole 

 structure was not more than 10 cm. across and contained a 



