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."
[Illustration: THE ANI, OR SAVANNA BLACKBIRD (_Crotophaga ani_).]
[Illustration: THE WRINKLED-BEAKED TICK-EATER (_Crotophaga rugirostris_).]