1914] Crandall: Notes on Costa Rican Birds. 333 



not far from the ground providing an excellent opportunity 

 for observation. They were male and female and busily engaged 

 in what appeared to be courtship manoeuvres. The voice of 

 this species is intermediate between those of Curucujiis mas- 

 sena and Ch^^ysotrogon caligatus, in every point — tone, volume 

 and time. The notes of the male are slightly higher and clearer 

 than those of the female. The former would start off with his 



"ku-ku-ku k^i," raising his tail high over his back, but 



not spreading it. Sometimes he ducked his head and slightly 

 opened his wings. The female would at once respond, raising 

 her head and calling her more guttural "kuk-kuk-kuk" but not 

 raising the wings or ducking. There was an evident attempt at 

 alternation, but sometimes one would not wait for the other to 

 finish and often they became so mixed that both were calling 

 at once. This seemed an almost endless performance. Some- 

 times the birds sat side hy side, their feathers touching, at 

 others as much as ten feet separated them. At intervals the 

 male would make short flights to a distance of fifty or one 

 hundred feet. At these times he was. silent. Soon he would 

 return, flying very swiftly, with a loud buzzing of wings, to 

 renew his love song. 



Crotophaga sulcirostris Swains. Groove-Billed Anl 



Although the country about Guapiles is largely given to 

 stock breeding, Anis were not nearly so numerous as this spe- 

 cies and C ajii have been observed in other countries. A few 

 are usually in attendance on the cattle but they are far from 

 abundant, as compared with former experiences. 



There has been much controversy concerning the nesting 

 habits of these birds. So much evidence has been advanced to 

 demonstrate a communal sj^'stem, under which several females 

 lay in a single nest, that there is no denying the fact. This 

 habit is not, however, invariable. Near our headquarters was 

 a small orange tree, a favorite nesting place throughout the 

 tropics, the sharp spines affording perfect protection. Here 

 a pair of Anis had built their nest of sticks and were incubating. 

 The female was first seen on the nest on April 2nd. Other Anis 

 were in the vicinity, but we watched carefully day after day, 

 and no other was ever seen in the tree. If ever a strange bird 



