A SWAMP 33 



parts. I think, however, that most likely it is 

 confused with another bird of the same genus, 

 viz., M. ferox, which is most abundant in Brazil, 

 and closely resembles it when seen at a distance. 



Every morning, about half an hour before dawn, 

 we left our tent and walked through the woods 

 to a large swamp about a mile away, where we 

 had some fairly good shooting. A large flock 

 of teal* was sometimes feeding on the mud sur- 

 rounding a large pool of water, and a few snipef 

 were bagged, but, unlike snipe in general, they 

 offered the easiest of shots. They behaved much 

 like the jack snipe, rarely flying more than a few 

 yards at a time, and always allowing of a close 

 approach. The most numerous birds were, how- 

 ever, the jacanas, which were in enormous numbers, 

 and as soon as we appeared on the spot they rose 

 in large flocks and circled round us high overhead. 



Many delightful hours in the early morning were 

 spent in this way among the numerous different 

 forms of bird and insect life. Daybreak in the 

 tropics is undoubtedly the best time out of the 

 twenty-four hours, for then the air is cool and in- 

 vigorating a great contrast to the rest of the day, 

 when the heat becomes almost unbearable. The 

 hottest part of the morning we usually spent 

 in the thick forest, where, under the deep shade 

 of the trees, it was possible to collect specimens 

 without feeling the effects of the heat. 



* Nettion braziliensis. f Gallinago delicata. 



