obtained at Caripe he found the seed of a tree which he believed did not grow nearer than 80 leagues. The hard, indigestible seed swallowed by the guacharo are found in quantities on the floor and the ledges of the caverns it frequents, where many of them for a time vegetate, the plants thus growing being etiolated from want of light, and, according to travellers, forming a singular feature of the gloomy scene which these places present. The guacharo is said to build a bowl-like nest of clay, in which it lays from two to four white eggs, with a smooth but lustreless surface, resembling those of some owls. The young soon after they are hatched become a perfect mass of fat, and while yet in the nest are sought by the Indians, who at Caripe, and perhaps elsewhere, make a special business of taking them and extracting the oil they contain. This is done about midsummer, when by the aid of torches and long poles many thousands of the young birds are slaughtered, while their parents in alarm and rage hover over the destroyers' heads, uttering harsh and deafening cries. The grease is melted over fires kindled at the cavern's mouth, run into earthen pots, and preserved for use in cooking as well as for the lighting of lamps. It is said to be pure and limpid, free from any disagreeable taste or smell, and capable of being kept for a year without turning rancid. In Trinidad the young are esteemed s great delicacy for the table by many, though some persons object to their peculiar scent, which resembles that of a cockroach (_Blatta_), and consequently refuse to eat them. The old birds also, according to E. C. Taylor (_Ibis_, 1864, p. 90), have a strong crow-like odour. But one species of the genus _Steatornis_ is known. In addition to the works above quoted valuable information about this curious bird may be found under the following references: L'Herminier, _Ann. Sc. Nat._ (1836), p. 60, and _Nouv. Ann. Mus._ (1838), p. 321; Hautessier, Rev. Zool. (1838), p. 164; J. Muller, _Monatsb. Berl. Acad._ (1841), p. 172, and _Archiv fur Anat._ (1862), pp. 1-11; des Murs, _Rev. zool._ (1843), p. 32, and _Ool. Orn._ pp. 260-263; Blanchard, _Ann. Mus._ (1859), xi. pl. 4, fig. 30; Konig-Warthausen, _Journ. fur Orn._ (1868), pp. 384-387; Goering, _Vargasia_ (1869), pp. 124-128; Murie, _Ibis_ (1873), pp. 81-86. (A. N.) FOOTNOTE: [1] Not to be confounded with the bird so called in the French Antilles, which is a petrel (_Oestrelata_).