(BLACK ANI.)
+Crotophaga ani+, _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 107; _White, P. Z. S._
1882, p. 619 (Salta).
_Description._--Black, glossed with bronzy and purplish; bill and
feet black; bill with the culmen much elevated, compressed and
cultrate: whole length 13·0 inches, wing 5·5, tail 7·0. _Female_
similar.
_Hab._ Veragua and South America down to Northern Argentina.
This strange Cuckoo, with the plumage and some of the habits of a Crow,
is of a nearly uniform black, glossed with bronze, dark green, and
purple. Its most peculiar feature is the beak, which is greater in depth
than in length, and resembles an immense Roman nose, occupying the whole
face, and with the bridge bulging up above the top of the head. The
Ani is found only in the northern portion of the Argentine territory.
According to Azara it is very common in Paraguay, and goes in flocks,
associating with the Guira Cuckoo, which it resembles in its manner of
flight, in being gregarious, in feeding on the ground, and in coming a
great deal about houses; in all which things these two species differ
widely from most Cuckoos. He also says that it has a loud disagreeable
voice, follows the cattle about in the pastures like the Cow-bird, and
builds a large nest of sticks lined with leaves, in which as many as
twenty or thirty eggs are frequently deposited, several females laying
together in one nest. His account of these strange and disorderly
breeding-habits has been confirmed by independent observers in other
parts of the continent. The eggs are oval and outwardly white, being
covered with a soft white cretaceous deposit; but this can be easily
scraped off, and under it is found a smooth hard shell of a clear
beautiful blue colour.