The TICK-EATERS (Crotophagæ), a small but remarkable family, inhabiting Southern and Central America, possess a slender body and very decidedly arched beak, powerful feet, with the toes placed in pairs, moderate-sized wings, and a long, broad, rounded tail, composed of eight feathers. The thick, small-feathered plumage is of sombre hue, and takes the form of bristles in the region of the beak; the cheek-stripes and region of the eyes are bare.
"These birds," says Brown, in his "History of Jamaica," "prefer cultivated places, and more especially land in the neighbourhood of pastures or low shrubberies and swamps. They easily make their way amongst the thickest foliage or grass, by means of their sharp-edged bills, with which they scatter the herbage on each side, in search of grasshoppers and other insects. They have been seen on the dead carcase of a sheep, but whether attracted by the flesh or by the larvæ of insects is uncertain. In the daytime they often associate in flocks of twenty or thirty individuals near small rivulets, seeking for tadpoles, which they greedily devour. At other times they may be seen flying from shrub to shrub, uttering their peculiar note. They live chiefly upon ticks and other small vermin, and constantly jump about cows and oxen in the fields, and the cattle will frequently lie down to benefit by their good offices, if much infested by ticks; but if the beast appear heedless of their proffered attentions, they hop once or twice around it, looking it very earnestly in the face every time they pass, as if they knew it was only necessary for them to be seen to be indulged. They are very noisy birds, and very common in all the pastures of Jamaica. The nests of the Tick-eaters are built in the fork of a tree, or in a bush covered with mistletoe, and made rudely of some coarse materials, chiefly small sticks, totally destitute of any soft lining. The eggs are from five to seven or more in number. The young evince much activity in hopping from branch to branch; long before they are able to fly they leave their nests, and may be seen perched on the top of a shrub or thicket of vines, in company with a congregation of adult birds. When the parents escape from an intruder by taking flight, the young, by long and rapid leaps, reach the ground, and run off very quickly."
The TRUE TICK-EATERS (Crotophaga) have a slender body, small head, short wings, long tail, and high tarsi. The high, much-raised beak is sharp at its margin, and very decidedly hooked at its tip. The outer toe of the high, powerful foot is twice as long as the innermost, whilst the toe that turns backwards is of equal size with the real hinder toe.
THE COROYA.
The COROYA (Crotophaga major) is about the size of a Jay, but more slender, and possessed of a far stronger beak; the latter is longer than the head, and slightly hooked at its extremity; the sides of the bill are not so compressed as in other species; the feathers on the head and nape are very long and pointed, while those on the breast are very broad. The plumage is of a deep steel-blue, shading into violet on the tail and on the breast. The eye is bright light green, its iris surrounded by a narrow circle of yellow; the beak and bare skin about the eye are black, and the feet blackish brown. This species is eighteen inches and two-thirds long, and twenty-two inches and a quarter broad; the wing measures seven inches and two-thirds, and the tail nine inches and five-sixths. The female is not quite so large.
THE ANI, OR SAVANNA BLACKBIRD.
The ANI, or SAVANNA BLACKBIRD (Crotophaga ani), is scarcely larger than the Common Cuckoo. The beak of this bird equals the head in length, and the raised portion of the bill extends over the whole of the upper mandible, which terminates in a decided hook. The entire plumage is blueish black, the feathers on the fore part of the body being enlivened by a violet gloss. The eye is grey, the beak and feet black. The length is thirteen inches and a half, and breadth fifteen inches and a half; the wing measures five inches, and the tail six inches and two-thirds.
"In all open places, particularly savannas which are occupied by cattle or horses," says Gosse, "these birds are seen all day long and all the year round. Familiar and impudent, though very wary, they permit a considerable acquaintance with their manœuvres, while an approach within a limited distance in a moment sets the whole flock upon the wing, with a singular cry, which the negroes please to express by the words 'going awa-a-y,' but which may as well be described, according to the fancy of the hearer, as 'how d'ye,' or 'ani.' The appearance of the bird in its gliding flight is unusual, as in flying it assumes a perfectly straight form, with the long tail in the same line, without flapping the wing, so that it takes the aspect, on a side view, rather of a fish than of a bird. The food of this species, though consisting entirely of insects, is not confined to them; the stomach is usually distended with caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, and beetles to such a degree that it is wonderful how the mass can have been forced in. I have found these contents mixed up with and stained by the berries of the snake-withe, and in July I have found the stomach crammed with the berries of the fiddle-wood (Cytharaxylon), which had stained the whole inner surface bright crimson. Flocks of these birds were at that time feeding on the glowing clusters, profusely ripe, upon the trees. Stationary insects are their staple food; to obtain these they hop about grassy places, and are often seen to jump or run eagerly 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 while sitting without covering the eggs with leaves, to preserve them at an equal temperature.'" "The only instance I ever met with," continues Gosse, "while not conclusive, is rather in favour of this opinion than opposed to it. In July I found a Blackbird's nest in a Bastard Cedar (Guazuma); it was a rather large mass of interwoven twigs, lined with leaves, eight crimson eggs were in the nest, and the shells of many more broken, and scattered beneath the tree. The eggs were about as large as a pullet's, very regularly oval, of a greenish blue, but covered with a coating of white chalky substance, which was much scratched and eroded on them all, and which was displaced with but little force."