256 TROPICAL WILD LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA 



]'h<)l<) hi/ \y. li. 

 FIG. 81. ROUGH TARSUS OF TINAMUS 



worth while; the question, Why? The names l^inarnus and 

 Crypturus, became naught but names. All significance fell 

 from them, and running my fingers over the rough tarsus 

 of one bird and the smooth, shining scales of another, I asked 

 again and again, "Why?" 



I noticed that in every instance the rough-backed tarsus 

 was coated with dirt. Often the interstices were completely 

 choked with fine mud and debris or with fibrous mold. The 

 legs of the smaller birds were as clean as they were smooth. 

 With only a half-framed theory in mind I thoroughly washed 

 off the dirt from the tarsi of several birds and sprinkled it 

 on a pot of earth, which previously I had thoroughly baked. 

 In the course of the following weeks I reared an interesting 

 little assortment of mosses and small arboreal plants, but 

 which, after all, formed only circumstantial evidence. 



Nupee, the Akawai hunter, was an excellent observer 

 and, as I had tested on a number of occasions, a truthful 

 reporter of what he observed. But to make more certain 

 of the result, I put my questions indirectly and negatively, 

 so that to tell the truth he would have to go against my 

 apparent assumption. All but strictly honest natives and 

 savages will readil}^ fall into this little snare, and will offer 



