144 JUNGLE ISLAND 



northern birds of the same sort. The great blue 

 heron, standing patiently on his stiltlike wading 

 legs, his stout, stabbing beak poised four feet 

 above his wide toes, is a sight to remember 

 whether he is seen beside the Panama Canal or 

 on the weedy edge of the Wabash River. 



When we went up the hill back of the camp 

 I sometimes caught a feeHng of being at home as 

 a long **whir-r" announced the rising of a par- 

 tridge-like bird from the forest floor at my feet. 

 This was the tinamou, called by the natives 

 ''paradise bird," for what reason I do not know. 

 It is not the brilHant bird of paradise whose 

 feathers women used to wear on their hats, but 

 a dull-colored bird, whose plumage conceals it 

 well among the dead leaves where it lives and 

 whose flesh is very good to eat. 



Of evenings I was pleased to have my camp 

 visited by a relative of the whippoorwill. Some- 

 times he is called a goat sucker on account of his 

 large mouth, though there is no reason whatever 

 to think that any goat ever attracted his attention. 

 The wide mouth strains insects from the air like 

 a net as the bird flies along. Sometimes he is 

 named poor-me-one because of his mournful wail. 



He used to come out hunting insects just as 

 I was arranging my headHght to see what I could 

 see in the darkening forest. This headlight was 

 a hot and heavy but useful acetylene lamp that 

 I wore on the front of my hatband. It gave a 



