remains on the upper portions of the trees without descending to the lower branches or to the earth: it 
sits a long time motionless, watching for insects which may pass within its reach, and which it seizes with 
adroitness ; it is not gregarious, but dwells either in solitude or in pairs ; its flight, which is rapid and per¬ 
formed in vertical undulations, is not prolonged. These birds are so tame as to admit of a near approach ; 
I have seen them killed with a stick. They do not migrate, and they are never heard except in the love 
season ; their note then consists but of the frequent repetition of the syllables pio in a strong, sonorous, and 
melancholy voice: the male and female answer each other. They form their nests on the trees by digging 
into the lower part of the nest of a species of ant known by the name of cupiy, until they have made a cavity 
sufficiently large, in which the female deposits in the month of September two white eggs according to 
some, and four according to others. I have seen the male clinging to a tree, after the manner of the Wood¬ 
peckers, and occupied in digging a nest with his beak, while the female remained tranquil on a neigh¬ 
bouring tree.” 
Azara states that he has only seen this bird from Paraguay; I have, however, received it from the southern 
parts of Brazil; and the late John Natterer obtained examples at Mattodentro in November and December, 
and at Ypanema in February, May, June, July, and August; I am inclined, therefore, to believe that it has 
a more extensive range than is generally supposed. 
The Plate represents the two sexes, of the size of life. The Plant is the Chamcedorea Ernesti-Augusti (foem.). 
