PITANGUS. 201 



three eg^s with blackish-brown spots which are concentrated 

 towards the larger end (C A. Lloyd). 



Range in British Guiana. Upper Takatu Mountains, Supenaam 

 River, Bartica, Abary River (McConnell collection) ; Bartica 

 [Whitely); Georgetown (Qwefc/i: Beebe). 



Extralimital Range. Cayenne [Linne) ; North Brazil, Peru, 

 Ecuador. 



Habits. Schombnrgk gives the following note in regard to this 

 bird (Reis. Gruian. ii. p. 435): — " It had scarcely dawned before I 

 heard a sound as though it came from a ' Gras-concertina/ it 

 was so beautiful and clear, the intervals were also in perfect time 

 which made it a complete melody. I listened to it perfectly spell- 

 bound and -yvas at a loss to know whether it was a fairy or a bird. 

 My Indian told me that it was the ' Flageolet-bird or Singing 

 Frenchman.' " 



According to Schombnrgk (Reis. Guian. iii. p. 698) this bird 

 is one of the commonest species in the Colony. It is found in 

 plimtations where one can see it on almost every tree and hear its 

 loud peculiar voice. It is distributed throughout the settlement. 

 People on their first arrival are immediately attracted by it and, 

 in many cases inquire, in a police-like manner, ' Qu-est-ce-que- 

 dit.' " 



In Volume I. of his travels, Schombnrgk also writes : — " It is 

 a c5.ntankerous bird and is always on the ' war-path ' with its 

 fellow species. As soon as it sees a hawk it immediately starts 

 off in pursuit of it, all the time uttering its loud cries. I have 

 been assujed that it takes nestlings from their nest and devours 

 them, but I have never been able to convince myself as to the 

 correctness of this statement. I have, however, noticed that small 

 birds, as soon as they see it, start in pursuit of it as though it had 

 committed some such crime. 



- " 'L'he nest, which is built of dry grass and lined with feathers, 

 is usually jilaced in the fork of an outer branch of a small tree/ or 

 tail bush growing near a river, but I have iilso seen it in trees on 

 the outskirts of the woods and those in the fields cultivated by 

 natives. The nest is very deep." 



Lloyd Price (Timehri (2) iv. p. 61), writing on the nests and 

 eggs of some common Guiana birds, remarks : — " One of the most 

 common of birds, and certainly the first to be noticed, is a brown 

 and yellow Tyrant-shrike called the Keskeedie {Pitangus sulr 



