ROCKY MOUNTAIN ANTCATCHER. 
101 
The antcatcliers never soar high in the air, nor do 
they extend their flight to any great distance, without 
alighting to rest, in consequence of the shortness of 
their wings and tail, which, in fact, seem to be seldom 
employed for any other purpose, than to assist them in 
running along the ground, or in leaping from branch to 
branch of bushes and low trees, — an exercise in which 
they display remarkable activity. Some species, like the 
woodpeckers, climb on the trunks of trees in pursuit of 
insects ; and it would appear, from their restless habits 
and almost constant motion, that their limited excursions 
are entirely attributable to the want of more ample 
provision for flight. The antcatchers are never found 
in settled districts, where their favourite insects are 
generally less abundant; but they live in the dense and 
remote parts of forests, far from the abodes of man and 
civilization. They also dislike open and wet countries. 
The note of the antcatchers is as various as the 
species are different ; but it is always very remarkable 
and peculiar. Their flesh is oily and disagreeable to 
the taste ; and, when the bird is opened, a very offensive 
odour is diffused, from the remains of half-digested ants 
and other insects, contained in the stomach. 
The plumage of the antcatchers very probably under- 
goes considerable changes in colour. The size of the 
sexes is different, the female being much larger than 
the male. Such variations may have induced naturalists 
to consider many as species, that really do not exist, as 
such, in nature. 
The nest of these birds is hemispherical, varying in 
magnitude, according to the size of the species, composed 
of dried grass, rudely interwoven; it is fixed to small 
trees, or attached by each side to a branch, at the 
distance of two or three feet from the ground. The 
eggs are nearly round, and three or four in number. 
The discovery of any species of this genus in the 
old world, is quite recent, and it had previously been 
believed, that the genus was peculiar to South America ; 
and though the existence of ant-destroying birds was 
suspected in other tropical regions, they were supposed 
