288 Mr. Percy 11. Lowe : 



Margarita, Mr. Austin Clark ('Auk/ xix. 1902, p. 261) 

 observes : — " The natives tokl me that this bird was conimou 

 ou the mountains ; but I did not succeed in getting any 

 there, altliougli I found several nests which my guide 

 attributed* to this species. They were all about twenty-five 

 or thirty feet from the ground and were large and bulky. 

 One contained a fresh egg (July 9) which was unfortunately 

 broken in being brought down to tiie ground." 



Mr. Claude Grant, in a note on the habits of Orla/is 

 cauJcoUis in liis paper on the Birds of Paraguay (' Ibi^,' 

 1911, ]). 4G1), remarks: — "On two occasions I saw the 

 nest, which was placed in the topmost branches of a tailish 

 tree and was a fair structure of sticks. According to the 

 natives, tiie eggs are of about the size and colour of those 

 of the domestic fowl.'' 



Thirdly, referring to the young and nest of Ortalis leuco- 

 (jasira, Sclater and Salvin quote the following (' Ibis,' 1859, 

 p. 224) : — '' The chicks appear to run about almost as soon 

 as they are hatcJied and display great agility in avoiding 

 capture btj cVuirjing f io the branches of the underwood, 

 (Italics ours.) The nest, composed entirely of small twigs, 

 is usually placed in a low bush and contains two creamy- 

 white eggs with rough shells." 



To this very suggestive passage 1 shall refer later. 



Finally, Mr. Ccllingwood Ingram, as the result of a recent 

 visit to Tobago, has kindly furnished me with the following 

 notes on Ortalis rujicauda, which, at my request, he took 

 great pains to collect from various sources on the spot : — 

 " The nest is usually placed in a tangled thicket of creepers 



* I luive myself seen Guans, which had been caught alive, in 

 Margarita. The bird is well known to the n.atives there, and is 

 domesticated. It is therefore very unlikely that Mr. Clark's guide 

 could liave made any mistake, more especially as there are no birds 

 on the island (in the high woods where the Guan occurs) likely to 

 build a similar nest. The lai'ge size and colour of the egg found would 

 also preclude an}' mistake. — P. R. L. 



t The Avord " clhiyiiuj " used b\' the field-observer is worth noting. — 



r.p.L. 



