CRESTED CASSIQUE, OR CRESTED ORIOLE. 265 



Supposing, however, that he has successfully overcome his dif- 

 ficulties, and has been able to reach the nest, he still finds him- 

 self in a very awkward position on account of the multitudinous 

 insects which swarm upon tropical trees, and the majority of 

 which can either sting or bite savagely. There are many kinds 

 of wasps, larger, fiercer, and more irritable than the little yellow 

 and black insect which terrifies us so much in this country, and 

 these creatures have a habit of fixing their nests among the 

 branches, where they are concealed by the leaves, and can not be 

 seen by the climber until he nearly strikes them with his hands. 



But the very worst of all his foes are the ants and termites, 

 which infest the trees to a wonderful degree. The ants are of 

 various kinds. There are arboreal ants, which make their nests 

 among the branches, and there are terrestrial ants, which make 

 their homes under the earth, but ascend the trees in search of in- 

 sects or to procure materials for their subterranean abode. 



The termites, again, are found on many trees, and in some in- 

 stances actually hollow out the branches, so that when the climb- 

 er grasps a bough for the purpose of hauling himself up by it, 

 the treacherous branch breaks in his hands, and pours out a flood 

 of angry insects, all provided with means of offense, and anxious 

 to wreak their vengeance on the enemy. Even the natives, ac- 

 customed as they are to these pests of their woods, and versed in 

 every method of foiling them, confess themselves worsted by the 

 ants, and are often forced to yield the point to their tiny foes. 



In some cases, they attack so fiercely that the unlucky climber 

 is perforce obliged to descend the tree with all speed, and envelop 

 himself in smoke in order to rid himself of his adversaries ; or, 

 whenever a river flows beneath the branches, the tortured native 

 is fain to fling himself into it, and to drown off the myriad in- 

 sects who are burying their jaws, or stings, or both, in his flesh. 

 A naturalist's labors in a tropical forest are very pleasant reading 

 at home, but they are not quite so pleasant to perform, even set- 

 ting aside the chances of fever, and snake-bites, and the certainty 

 of being sucked by thousands of musquitoes, sand-flies, and other 

 winged plagues. 



Before leaving the American pensile birds, we must briefly 

 notice one or two other species. The Fly-catchers of all coun- 

 tries are generally notable for the beauty or eccentricity of their 

 nests, one of the oddest being that of the Great - crested Fly- 



