140 Zoological Society. 



swift rapid of Twansinki, lat. 5'^, on the Essequibo. It is very rarely 

 seen on the lower parts of the rivers. The manner of its death was 

 as follows, as I find on referring to my journal of the trip: — 10th 

 November. An exciting day's journey in the descent of the rapids 

 between Twansinki and Waraputa. Some of these we did not ven- 

 ture to shoot, as it is called, but had to let the boat down, by means 

 of the tow-line, most ignominiously, stern foremost. We had, how- 

 ever, the satisfaction of being very nearly swamped in descending a 

 long rapid in the lower Twansinki range, which made up somewhat 

 for the slight we considered had been put upon our courage by our 

 coxswain, Hermanus, refusing to shoot down those rapids he con- 

 sidered to be dangerous. Our indignation against the noble captain 

 was considerably cooled. The great danger in the descent of these 

 long rapids is from the boat being carried down by the rush of the 

 torrent, and the bow being at the same time more or less submerged 

 by the curling back of the water, when it meets the resistance of the 

 rocks in its passage. Thus the descent, although very swift, is in a 

 succession of violent plunges, at each of which the boat, if not 

 built with a sufficient spring in the bow, which was unfortunately the 

 case with us, takes in a large quantity of water, and is in great dan- 

 ger of being swamped before it reaches the foot of the rapid. Every- 

 thing depends of course on the way the boat has on it, and our crew, 

 on this occasion, urged by the frantic gestures and shouting of the 

 steersman and bowman, pulled with amazing vigour and energy. In 

 the very midst of the hurly-burly of this descent, a Large Blue Hawk 

 flew rapidly across our bow and alighted on a high dry tree. My 

 soul had long yearned after a " Blue Hawk " of the Cataracts. Be- 

 fore I could fairly cover it, the bird was eighty yards behind us. The 

 report of the gun was scarcely audible in the tremendous noise, and 

 the Hawk for a second remained immoveable and apparently unhurt, 

 when his head sunk, his body svning forward, and the powerful grasp 

 of his talons relaxing in death, he fell plumb down. 



There are three species of Ibycter, or " Carracarra Hawks," as 

 they are called by the Creoles. These are very numerous on the 

 banks of the rivers and creeks, and appear to be continually on the 

 alert, flying from tree to tree, alighting and scratching on the sands, 

 and indeed being the only specimens of the bird kind on the higher 

 rivers which are always to be met vdth during the whole day. The 

 first is 



The Laughing Hawk. 



A well-known bird, which has been described by Waterton, Schom- 

 burgk and others. It is remarkably noisy, and is generally seen in 

 company with three or four others of the same species flying about 

 and perching on the high trees on the borders of creeks, uttering 

 almost constantly a discordant loud gabbling, from whence it has got 

 the name of the "Laughing Hawk." This bird feeds on eggs, young 

 birds, insects, and does not despise certain sorts of fruit. It is, in 

 fact, omnivorous. 



