rocky mountain antcatcher. 
101 
o he antcatchers never soar high in the air, nor do 
ex tend their flight to any great distance, without 
„ (Jttinw to rest, in consequence of the shortness of 
em'i ' v ’ n o s and tail, which, in fact, seem to be seldom 
f(l[ | . yed for any other purpose, than to assist them in 
hr» U1 u° a ^ ou " the ground, or in leaping from branch to 
tli,,,? °f hushes and low trees, — an exercise in which 
,'hsplay remarkable activity. Some species, like the 
ins,® ckers, climb on the trunks of trees in pursuit of 
iticM 8 ’ ar| h 't would appear, from their restless habits 
a re al ®ost constant motion, that their limited excursions 
tn-o ■ r ! til 'ely attributable to the want of more ample 
iu , Vls ' 0a for flight. The antcatchers are never found 
g e . Sett,e< l districts, where their favourite insects are 
fem rally less abundant ; but they live in the dense and 
c > vdP te P arts of Crests, far from the abodes of man and 
‘Nation. They also dislike open and wet countries, 
soo ,e n °f° °f t' ie antcatchers is as various as the 
a : i) . c ' es are different ; but it is always very remarkable 
tho ? ecu har. Their flesh is oily and disagreeable to 
0 j tas .te ; and, when the bird is opened, a very offensive 
ail ," r is diffused, from the remains of half-digested ants 
other insects, contained in the stomach. 
g 0 , le Plumage of the antcatchers very probably under- 
set c ?nsiderable changes in colour. The size ot the 
tf* ' s different, the female being much larger than 
to Such variations may have induced naturalists 
Su „/ >ns ider many as species, that really do not exist, as 
nature. 
H, ao ,he nest of these birds is hemispherical, varying in 
of j^J^de, according to the size of the species, composed 
tre' ff'' ass ) rudely interwoven; it is fixed to small 
O or attached by each side to a branch, at the 
f‘n, r ' UU ' ( ' °f two or three feet from the ground. The 
;u ' (1 nearly round, and three or four in number, 
ol.l * e discovery of any species of this genus in the 
"' 0, 'ld, is quite recent, and it had previously been 
a !'“ v< 'd, that the genus was peculiar to South America; 
sm f^ough the existence of ant-destroying birds was 
Pecteci i n other tropical regions, they were supposed 
