HINTERLAND NOTES 477 



It was at Uurata where, also, I heard the white bell-bird 

 for tlie first and the only time. Hummingbirds are plen- 

 tiful; their delicate nests were often seen. In the thickets 

 and tangles, to the south of Kwatata creek, the jacamar 

 (Galhula viridis), breeds. As it somewhat resembles a 

 hummingbird, though it is much larger, the Indians call 

 it Tuku-i yung, or hummingbird's father; just as they call 

 the thumb, thantha yung, the finger's father. This bird 

 must not be confused with the long-toed jacana, which may 

 occasionally be seen, standing upon the immense pads of 

 the Victoria Regia, one of the original homes of which is the 

 Thewarikuru, in its lake-like expanses, at the southern foot 

 of the Mission Hill, from the summit of which hill this water- 

 way is so effectually screened by the thick bush. The Indians 

 name their Reception dance after the hummingbird, Tuku-i; 

 and their Great dance, the Parishara, is called after the prim 

 crimson-headed finch, which is to be seen, flitting from bush 

 to bush, along the banks of the Rapo-nunni, almost anywhere 

 in its course. 



As I have returned to a mention of the river, we may as 

 well take note of the duckla. Some call this the snake-bird, 

 a nickname which should belong to the trumpeter, as I have 

 shown. Singly, in twos, or in threes, it may be seen, perched 

 upon some tacouba, or an overhanging branch, looking for 

 fish. When disturbed, it has the peculiar habit of dropping 

 low and dragging its tail in the water, as if wounded; then 

 it rises and makes off. The duckla with the white collar is 

 rare. The Indian name is saia. Of great beauty is the sun- 

 bittern {Eurypyga helias), also fairly common upon this 

 river. I have not seen more than one at a time. The bird 

 makes a beautiful display of the coloring and marking of its 

 tail and wings, when it alights, spreading the tail and wings 

 so as to form a fan. The shades of browns, golds, and greys, 

 are wonderful. It frequents the sunny banks, and, gener- 

 ally, alights upon an open patch, when the sun is shining. 

 Then it runs and secretes itself where the bushes are thick. 



