24 BIRDS OF LA PLATA 



family, with the plumage and some of the habits of 

 a crow, being almost entirely of a uniform black, 

 glossed with bronze, dark green, and purple. Its 

 most peculiar feature is the beak, which is greater 

 in depth than in length, and resembles an immense 

 Roman nose, occupying the whole face, and with the 

 bridge bulging up above the top of the head. The 

 Ani is found only in the northern portion of the 

 Argentine territory. According to Azara it is very 

 common in Paraguay, and goes in flocks, associating 

 with the Guira Cuckoo, which it resembles in its 

 manner of flight, in being gregarious, in feeding on 

 the ground, and in coming a great deal about houses : 

 in all which things these two species differ widely 

 from most Cuckoos. He also says that it has a loud 

 disagreeable voice, follows the cattle about in the 

 pastures like the Cow-bird, and builds a large nest 

 of sticks lined with leaves, in which as many as twenty 

 or thirty eggs are frequently deposited, several 

 females laying together in one nest. His account of 

 these strange and disorderly breeding-habits has 

 been confirmed by independent observers in other 

 parts of the continent. The eggs are oval and out- 

 wardly white, being covered with a soft white 

 cretaceous deposit ; but this can be easily scraped 

 off, and under it is found a smooth hard shell of a 

 clear beautiful blue colour. 



The second species is the Brown Cuckoo, Diplop- 

 terus nsBvius, called Crispin in the vernacular and 

 found throughout the hot portion of South America, 

 and in different districts varying considerably in 



