DOWN THE AMAZONS. 367 
a forest of inonocotyledonous trees with a dicotyledonous 
undergrowth ; the inferior plants thus towering above and 
sheltering the superior ones. Among the lower trees were 
many Leguminosag,- -one of the most striking, called Fava, 
having a colossal pod. The whole mass of vegetation was 
woven together by innumerable lianas and creeping vines, 
in the midst of which the flowers of the Bignonia, with 
its open, trumpet-shaped corolla, were conspicuous. The 
capim was bright with the blossoms of the mallow, grow- 
ing in its midst ; and was often edged with the broad-leaved 
Aninga, a large aquatic Arum. 
" Through such a forest, where the animal life was no 
less rich and varied than the vegetation, our boat glided 
slowly for hours. The number and variety of birds struck 
me with astonishment. The coarse, sedgy grasses on either 
side were full of water birds, one of the most common of 
which was a small chestnut-brown wading bird, the Jacana 
(Parra), whose toes are immensely long in proportion to its 
size, enabling it to run upon the surface of the aquatic vege- 
tation, as if it were solid ground. It was now the month 
/ o 
of January, their breeding season ; and at every turn of 
the boat we started them up in pairs. Their flat, open 
nests generally contained five flesh-colored eggs, streaked 
in zigzag with dark brown lines. The other waders were 
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a snow-white heron, another ash-colored, smaller species, 
and a large white stork. The ash-colored herons were 
o 
always in pairs ; the white ones always single, standing 
quiet and alone on the edge of the water, or half hidden 
in the green capim. The trees and bushes were full of 
small warbler-like birds, which it would be difficult to 
characterize separately. To the ordinary observer they 
might seem like the small birds of our woods ; but tl' ere 
