100 BULLETIN: MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 
Crotophaga sulcirostris Swains. 
GROOVE-BILLED ANI. 
Crotophaga sulcirostris BELpING, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., V. 1883, 546 (San José del 
Cabo; breeding; descr. nest). Bryant, Proc. Calif. Acad Sci., 2d ser., II. 
1889, 285 (San José del Cabo) ; Zoe, II. 1891, 191, 192 (San José del Cabo). 
BenpireE, Life Hist. N. Amer Birds, pt. II. 1895, 13, pl. 1, fig. 7 (descr. egg 
from near San José del Cabo, “an unscratched specimen ”’). 
Mr. Frazar met with the Groove-billed Ani only at San José del Cabo, 
where a flock of about thirty frequented some thick brush about pools of water 
near the mouth of the river. On August 28 a nest, empty, but apparently 
just finished, was found, and a perfect egg was taken from a female bird shot 
near at hand, and probably the owner of this nest. On September 3 another 
nest, containing three fresh eggs, was taken. These dates indicate either a very 
extended breeding season or great irregularity of breeding in different years, 
for at the same place in 1882 Mr. Belding found a nest which contained eight 
eggs on April 29. The latter observer also met with Groove-billed Anis 
“among tules at Santiago and at San Pedro on the western coast near Todos 
Santos,” according to Mr. Bryant. 
The nest found by Mr. Belding ‘‘ was fastened to upright reeds, and was 
composed of coarse weed stalks and mesquit twigs, lined with green leaves.” 
That taken by Mr. Frazar was in a willow about twenty feet above the 
ground. It isa flat, loose, but withal rather neat structure, formed outwardly 
of dead twigs and very substantially lined with cottonwood and willow leaves, 
which look as if they must have been dry when gathered. Mr. Frazar is very 
sure that such was the case, although he has no distinct recollection of their 
condition at the time the nest was found. This nest measures about six 
inches across the top, and the cavity is nearly an inch in depth. The egys 
measure respectively : 1.22 X .95, 1.24 X .98 and 1.25 X .97. They are ver- 
diter blue, but this color becomes visible only on scraping off the whitish, 
calcareous substance with which their shells are uniformly and rather thickly 
covered. One side of each egg is stained with light reddish brown, evidently 
from contact with something in the nest. The egg already referred to as taken 
from the oviduct of a bird shot on August 23 is without any trace of this stain, 
but it has a calcareous coating like the others. It measures 1.25 X .98. 
The Groove-billed Ani also inhabits the valley of the Lower Rio Grande in 
Texas as well as Mexico, Central America and northern South America. As 
it is not known to occur in central or northern Lower California, it seems 
probable that the colonies which have become established in the Cape Region 
were originated by birds which came from western Mexico. 
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