NATURALIST IN BRAZIL 



and all the air smelt of it, and on every side the sparrows chirped 

 from the trees and housetops ! 



The European starling has unfortunately naturalized itself not 

 only in Rio, but also in Southern Brazil, Montevideo, Buenos Aires 

 and Chile, and is everywhere a pest. In Rio a few pairs were released 

 in the Park of the Republic, and they proceeded to spread over 

 the country. Since the note of the starling is a discord in the symphony 

 of Brazilian bird-song, it is all the more regrettable that this bird 

 is gradually ousting the pretty native Bunting, the "Ticotico." But 

 in the neighbourhood of Rio at all events this brown and white 

 speckled bird with the yellow patch on the throat still outnumbers 

 all other birds, and in November I heard its rather peevish little 

 song on every side : 



W 



the bird bristling its crest as it sang. In Pernambuco the sparrow 

 is replaced by a prettier bird, the "Canario." This little bird resembles 

 the familiar canary in appearance, except that its yellow plumage 

 is set off by an orange-red forehead. Whole flocks of these "canaries" 

 descend upon the streets and meadows ; in north-eastern Brazil the 

 people say that they are increasing, since they are becoming more 

 and more accustomed to man, and nest under the tiles of a roof, 

 if a tile is loose, or under the gables. I cannot represent the song 

 in musical notation, for it has no real pitch ; it is simply a metallic, 

 staccato zip, zip, zip, zulip, zulip, zipzipzip- 



When the rumour of man and his machines dies away, then the 

 voice of Nature comes into its own. As in a concert the solo voices 

 and choruses rise above the orchestral accompaniment, so in the 

 symphony of Nature there is a leading melody, and an accompani- 

 ment which expresses the mood of the countryside. The instruments 

 of the orchestra are the seething waves, the wind, the rain, the 

 rustling leaves; the soloists and singers are the birds, frogs and 

 insects ; but even Nature does not bind herself to hard and fast 

 rules, and the frogs and insects may often take over the accompani- 

 ment, which runs on indefatigably, sinking and swcUing. 



Like the scents and colours, the tones of Nature blend into a 

 harmonious unity; every concert in the woods and fields utters the 

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