Cuap. VIII. ITS FAUNA AND FLORA. 193 
and profitable in the months from January to March, before the rains 
became too continuous. The sandy beach beyond the town is very 
irregular ; in some places forming long spits, on which, when the east 
wind is blowing, the waves break in a line of foam; at others receding 
to shape out quiet little bays and pools. On the outskirts of the town 
a few scattered huts of Indians and coloured people are passed, prettily 
situated on the margin of the white beach, with a background of glorious 
foliage ; the cabin of the pure-blood Indian being distinguished from 
the mud hovels of the free negroes and mulattoes by its light construction, 
half of it being an open shed, where the dusky tenants are seen at all 
hours of the day lounging in their open-meshed grass hammocks. About 
two miles on the road we come to a series of shallow pools, called the 
Laguinhos, which are connected with the river in the wet season, but 
separated from it by a high bank of sand topped with bushes at other 
times. There is a break here in the fringe of wood, and a glimpse is 
obtained of the grassy campo. When the waters have risen to the level 
of the pools, this place is frequented by many kinds of wading birds. 
Snow-white egrets of two species stand about the margins of the water, 
and dusky-striped herons may be seen half hidden under the shade of 
the bushes. The pools are covered with a small kind of water-lily, and 
surrounded by a dense thicket. Amongst the birds which inhabit 
this spot is the rosy-breasted Troupial (Trupialis Guianensis), a bird 
resembling our starling in size and habits, and not unlike it in colour, 
with the exception of the rich rosy vest. The water at this time of the 
year overflows a large level tract of campo bordering the pools, and the 
Troupials come to feed on the larve of insects which then abound in 
the moist soil. 
Beyond the Laguinhos there succeeds a tract of level beach, covered 
with trees, which form a beautiful grove. About the month of April, 
when the water rises to this level, the trees are covered with blossom, 
and a handsome orchid, an Epidendron with large white flowers, which 
clothes thickly the trunks, is profusely in bloom. Several kinds of king- 
fisher resort to the place: four species may be seen within a small 
space ; the largest as big as a crow, of a mottled-grey hue, and with an 
enormous beak ; the smallest not larger than a sparrow. The large one 
makes its nest in clay cliffs, three or four miles distant from this place. 
None of the kingfishers are so brilliant in colour as our English species. 
The blossoms on the trees attract two or three species of humming- 
birds, the most conspicuous of which is a large swallow-tailed kind 
(Eupetomena macroura), with a brilliant livery of emerald green and 
steel blue. I noticed that it did not remain so long poised in the air 
before the flowers as the other smaller species ; it perched more fre- 
quently, and sometimes darted after small insects on the wing. Emerging 
from the grove there is a long stretch of sandy beach ; the land is high 
and rocky, and the belt of wood which skirts the river banks is much 
broader than it is elsewhere. At length, after rounding a projecting 
bluff, the bay of Mapirf is reached. The river view is characteristic of 
the Tapajos: the shores are wooded, and on the opposite side is a line 
of clay cliffs, with hills in the background clothed with a rolling forest. 
A long spit of sand extends into mid-river, beyond which is an immense 
13 
