438 A VOYAGE TO Book VI. 



it. Their wing also serves them as a shield, hy 

 ■which they ward off blows, without receiving any 

 hurt. 



The zumbador, or hummer, is a night bird, pe- 

 culiar to tlie mountainous deserts; anrl they are sel- 

 dom seen, thoiigli frequently heard, both h\ the sing- 

 ing, and a strange humming made in the air by the 

 rapidity ot' their tli*i,ht, and which may be heard at the 

 distance of fifty toises; and when near, is louder than 

 that of a rocket. Their singing may indeed be called 

 a kind of cry, reseuibling that of night-birds. In 

 moonlight nights, when tliey more frequently make 

 their appearance, we have often watched to see their 

 sizeand the celerity of their motion ; and though they 

 passed very near us, wc never were able to form any 

 idea of their m.agnitude; ail that we could see, was 

 a white lineM'hich they formed in their flight through 

 the air; and this was plainly perceivable, when at no 

 great distance. We promised the Indians a reward 

 if they would procure us one ; but all they could do 

 Avas to procure a young one, scarce fledged, though 

 it was then of the size of a partridge, and all over 

 speckled \\'ith dark and light brown; the bill was 

 proportionate and strait; tlie aperture of the nostrils 

 much larger than usual, the tail small, and the Mings 

 of a proper size for the body. According to our 

 Indians, it is m ith the nostrils that it makes such a 

 loud humming. This may, in some measure, con- 

 tribute to it; but the efíect seems much too great for 

 such an instrument; especially as at the time of the 

 humming it also uses its voice. 



Among the valleys and plains formed by these 

 mountains,areniany marshy places, occasioned by the 

 great variety of small streams of water; and in these 

 breed great numbers of a bird called canción, a name 

 perfectly expressive of its manner of sing-ing. I£ very 

 much resembles the bandurria, though the species 

 be difíerent : it exceeds the bigness of a large goose, 



