after their prey, on which occasions the long tail, continuing the given motion after the body has stopped, is thrown forward in an odd manner, sometimes nearly turning the bird head over heels. It is probably to protect the eyes from the stalks of weeds and blades of grass, in these headlong leaps, that the projecting brows are furnished with a row of very short but stiff bristles; but what purpose was served by the thin and high knife-blade of a beak I was ignorant till informed by Mr. Hill that it enables the bird to open out the soft earth and seek for its insect food; it also facilitates its access to the vermin imbedded in the long hair of animals." "I am assured," he adds, "that if a patch of cow's dung be examined after _Crotophagæ_ have been searching for the larvæ of insects, it will be found furrowed, as if a miniature plough had passed through it. The name of _Crotophaga_ (Tick-eater) is no misnomer, as has been asserted by some who never saw the living bird; almost every one in Jamaica is aware that the Savanna Blackbird feeds on the parasites of cattle. Stationary insects are, however, by no means the only prey of the _Crotophaga_. In December I have seen little groups of them engaged in the evenings leaping up from the pasture about a yard into the air, after flying insects, which they seemed to catch. Upon one occasion I saw that one of these birds had actually made prey of one of our little nimble lizards (_Anolis_). Though its usual mode of progression on the ground is by hopping, or rather bounding, the feet being lifted together, this Blackbird is seen to run in a headlong manner for a short distance, moving the feet alternately. He is fond of basking in the morning sun, or in a low tree, with the wings expanded, remaining perfectly still for a considerable time. In the heat of the day, in July and August, many may be seen in the lowland plains, sitting on the fences and logwood hedges, with their beaks wide open, as if gasping for air; at these times they forget their usual loquacity and wariness. Often two or three will perch in the centre of a thick bush overhung with a matted drapery of convolvulus, whence they utter their singular cry, in a calling tone, as if they were playing at hide-and-seek, and requesting their fellows to come and find them. The statement that this Blackbird builds in company, forming an immense nest of basket-work by the united labours of the flock, is universally maintained by the inhabitants of the colony. This nest is said to be usually placed in a high tree, where many parents bring forth and educate a common family. Mr. Hill, whose statements on Jamaican ornithology are worthy of unlimited confidence, observes, 'Some half-dozen of them together build but one nest, which is large and capacious enough for them to resort to in common and rear their young together. They are extremely attentive to the business of incubation, and never quit the nest