Our search for a wilderness : $b An account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British GuianaBeebe, William
History
Our search for a wilderness : $b An account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana
Beebe, William
Birds -- South America; Guyana -- Description and travel; Natural history -- South America; Venezuela -- Description and travel
One nest contained an addled egg; white with brownish spots
chiefly at the larger end.
One nest had one egg containing a week old embryo.
Two nests each had a skeleton of a well grown young bird; one
of which had been caught about the neck, and the other about
the legs by fine flexible tendrils which had caused their
deaths.
There were altogether 28 young birds: 9 full-fledged, 16 with
feathers just appearing, while 3 were recently hatched. They
were distributed as follows:
14 nests contained 1 young bird.
7 nests contained 2 young birds.
The special distribution was as follows:
_Number and Condition of Young._ _Number of Nests._
2 well-fledged young in 2 nests.
1 well-fledged young in 5 nests.
2 partly fledged young in 4 nests.
1 partly fledged young in 8 nests.
2 newly hatched birds in 1 nest.
1 newly hatched bird in 1 nest.
The nests were typically Cassique-like, made of stout rootlets and
grasses, while at the lower end was a cup-shaped lining of very fine
grass and root hairs, forming a soft bedding. The nests varied from
thirteen to eighteen inches in length, and all but five had an upper
roosting chamber, built on above the entrance. These five were built
directly beneath a group of others, and the bases of the ones above
served as protecting roofs. This was a most interesting adaptation to
varying conditions. Just before felling the tree we noticed in several
instances that both parents shared in the work of bringing food to the
young ones. Almost all of the young were uninjured by the fall of the
tree. Three were thrown out of the nests and these we chloroformed in
order to find what their food had been. The stomach of one was crammed
with white seeds of two kinds; one nearly round and about as large as the
head of a pin, while the others were longer, perhaps one-third of an inch
in length. Mingled with these seeds were remains of numerous insects;
beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars. The two other birds, which were
younger, and almost bare of feathers, had received chiefly animal food,
as follows:—
1. A three-inch, smooth caterpillar, medium sized spider, many
small bugs, and a mass of berry seeds.
2. Several one-inch cut-worms; spider; small iridescent beetle;
yellow butterfly; a few berry seeds.
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