BIRDS AND THEIR PARLOURS 169 



along streams in the regions of its home, and gen- 

 erally flocks of twenty or thirty consort together. 



"In the early morning or in the late afternoon," 

 says Quelch, "they (hoatzins) will be seen sitting 

 in numbers on the plants, while toward the middle 

 of the day, as the fierce heat of the sun increases, 

 they betake themselves to shelter, either in the dense 

 recesses of the growth, or among the individual trees 

 of denser foliage, or among the tangled masses of 

 creeping and climbing vines, along the very edge 

 of the water. Late in the evening, after feeding, 

 they will be seen settling themselves down in suit- 

 able places for the night." 



These strange climbers feed almost exclusively 

 upon the leaves of trees and shrubs. One of their 

 favourite foods is the leaf of an arum, which gives 

 to their flesh a terrible odour. Hence they have 

 earned for themselves the title of "skunk birds" or 

 "stink birds." This odour seems very pleasing to 

 the hoatzins, and it is perhaps their favourite per- 

 fume ! At any rate it serves to protect them, as no 

 man or animal cares to come in contact with it. In 

 making their toilette they thus have the double ad- 

 vantage of fingers and perfume. 



Herons, bitterns, the tinamous, and some hawks 

 are the possessors of powder-puffs. Patches of 

 feathers that crumble into fine dust are located upon 



