A NATURALIST IN BRAZIL 



(Smiths) because their "song" sounds like the noise made by a 

 knife-grinder, were described in Chapter VII as among the charac- 

 teristic birds of the Sertao. They are, however, common throughout 

 Brazil (Plates 21 and 28). I often saw the species which is found in 

 northern Brazil, and which constructs enormous bundles of brush- 

 wood, at work upon its nest. (This is the bird which the Indians call 

 Turucuhe.) First a twig is laid in the crotch of a bough ; and the 

 next few twigs are carefully fitted together. If one falls to the ground 

 the bird utters its call, trip, trip, trip, trip in rapid crescendo, retrieves 

 the twig, and replaces it among the others. Finally a great bundle of 

 brushwood, often as long as a man's body, hangs from the bough, 

 pulling this down with its weight (Plate 21). I have known two 

 pairs of birds build such a nest in complete agreement. There were 

 two separate entrances ; one pair slipped into the upper part of the 

 nest, while the other entered a little lower down. Once, when I 

 picked such a nest to pieces, which I was able to do without difficulty, 

 except that I had to beware of thorns, I found three nests, one over 

 another; they were lined with poultry-feathers, and a number of 

 cast snake-skins were woven into the structure. 



These little brown birds have thus contrived a nest which is a 

 fortress impregnable to the attacks of birds and beasts of prey; 

 and its security is increased by the fact that a new nest is built 

 every year, while the old nest is left hanging, and holds together 

 for years, so that one never knows which nest is inhabited. These 

 great bundles give the landscape of north-eastern Brazil, and 

 especially that of the Sertao, a definite and most individual character. 



Another nest which is visible from a great distance is built by the 

 Potter-bird, Joao de barro or "Clay Johnny." This coffee-coloured 

 bird, of the size of a thrush, first attracted my attention at Petropolis. 

 He had built his clay pot, with the rounded bottom uppermost, 

 on a bare, horizontal bough. The side entrance led into a vestibule, 

 which was divided from the nest proper by a low partition. This 

 nest was visible from a considerable distance ; the birds were flying 

 to and from it quite openly, and now and again the cock emitted 

 his prolonged, wooden-sounding trill. In the park of Palermo in 

 Buenos Aires the potter-bird is a conspicuous inhabitant, hopping 

 all over the lawns. 



For nesting-material the Brazilian birds have an ampler choice of 

 material than is available in Europe. Many palm-leaves, when they 

 are withered, split into long fibres, and these, which are exploited 

 by our human industries also, yield a strong textile material. I once 



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