ir.o 
Some Colony Birds. 
" of the town and keeps tlie other birils in order, going aliout as if the 
" whole phice belonged to it , it is never seen in docks but always 
" ill twos or families. It is a domestic bird and holds all family ties sacred. 
" As I say, it owns the place, and its nest a big affair, roofed in, is built 
" high on some tree without any attempt at concealment The 
" Kiskadee will eat anything that any other bird will eat, or nearly so. 
" He may be seen hovering over the water like a hawk to filch fishes from 
" their watery element. He will dart into the air and catch beetles on the 
"wing. He will gorge himself with palm fruit. He will haunt your back 
"yard for kitchen stuff .... there are about forty species of Tyrants in 
" the colony and cjuite five other species that might be taken for our friend." 
Gkky-headeu Tyk.^nt-bikd {Ti/rarinus inclancholicu-s) . 
Mr. Da^\'^^on next refers to thi.s species, which he tells 
us is like a iviskadee in mufti. 
" He is a bird of lighter build and feels like a liaiidful of feathers in the 
"hand. HiKS head and neck are grey, his tail is longer and is forked. He 
" has a more varied and more musical note. He seems to say " Scissors in 
" it, scissors in it, scissors in it! its absurd, its absurd, its absurd ' . . . He 
" is a shy and melancholy bird as his specific name indicates. 1 kept one 
" for several weeks ; but he moped in a cage and had all the bearing of a 
" person much injured and offended. So I let him go again . . , . he is a 
" perfect catcher of insects and may often be seen, generally alone, plying 
" his craft from the telephone wires." 
Mr. Duwson tells us that there are some twenty -one 
species of Finches found in Demerara. He only refers in the 
present article to one species as under. 
TwA-TwA {Ori/zohoriis crassirostris) . This species, 
is known to English avi;'ulture as the Thick-billed Seed-Finch. 
I kept the species in my aviary, for some months, and though 
lookin;,' like a formidable Grosbeak, it was amiable (so far as 
I can speak of it, from so short an acquaintance of a single 
pair). I am quoting Mr. Dawson in extcnso re this species. 
"At the head of the Finches we will place the Twa-Twa ((J. crassir- 
" otilri.'i), a typical cage bird. It is the size of a large canary, but it is black, 
" with just a narrow bar of white upon the wings, just below what is called 
"the ' bastard-wing,' reminding one of the ribbon of a military decoration, 
" except that the bird wears it on both sides. And certainly the bird has 
"a military bearing with its great Welliiigtoiiiaii beak. Its beak, as its name 
" implies, is a very formidable instrument. It is wedge-shaped and broad- 
" er at its base than it is long, the head in conse(iuence looks flat. The 
" beak being slaty white, is very conspicious. I know by experience that 
" the bird can give a sharp nip with this vice-like weapon, and it hangs 
" on with all the tenacity of a bull-dog. The hen bird is uniform brown 
" as are also the young until the fii'st moult. The Twa-twa never 
