114 THE TIITNIDAD GOAT-SUCKER 



The singular })ir(l wliiuli is known by tlie name of the Trinidad Goat-sucker or 

 GUACHARO is remavkaljle for tliu peculiarity from wliicli it derives its name of Steatornis 

 or Fat-Bird. 



The Guacharos congregate in vast multitudes within the shelter of certain dark caverns, 

 the greater portions of which remain unexplored owing to the superstitions fear of the 

 natives, who fancy that the spirits of their ancestors hold their gloomy state in the innermost 

 recesses of the caverns where the Guacliaros reside. So strongly is this idea imprinted in 

 their minds, that to "join the Guacharos" is, in the native language, an expression which 

 signifies the death of the person of whom it is said. In these caverns the Guacharos 

 build their nests, choosing for that purpose certain holes which exist in the roof, some 

 forty or fifty feet in height. 



During the breeding season, the Indians arm themselves with long bamboo poles, and 

 entering the caves as far as they dare to penetrate, strike the young liirds from their nests 

 in spite of the outcries of the afflicted parents, which dash to and fro over their lieads, 

 emitting their strange hoarse cries. When a sufficient number of young birds has been 

 felled, they are collected and taken to little temporary huts near the entrance of the cave. 

 The young birds are then stripped of their fat, which lies in extraordinary volume on the 

 abdominal regions, and the fat is melted down in clay pots, whence a peculiarly soft and 

 limpid oil is produced. This oil has the useful j^roperty of remaining pure for a very long 

 time, and even after the lapse of a year is found to he inodorous and free from rancidity. 

 These birds are killed annually in such vast numbers tliat they would have long since been 

 extirpated but for the religious scruples of the Indians, who are afraid to venture for any 

 great distance into the caves, and can therefore only injure those iinfortunate novices 

 which have made their nests near the entrance. 



The Guacharos remain in the caverns during the entire day, and issue forth at niglit 

 in search of food. Contrary to the general habit of the Goat-suckers, the Guacharo feeds 

 largely on fruits of various kinds, especially those of a hard and dry nature. Some persons 

 suppose that the bird is strictly frugivorous in its habits, but this opinion has not been 

 sufficiently strengthened to bear much value. It is certainly true that in the crop of the 

 young birds Avhich are annually slain, nothing is found except hard and dry fruits, which are 

 carefully preserved by the natives and emplo3'ed medicinally as a remedy against fever. 

 The noise which these birds make in the recesses of their caverns, however, is quite 

 deafening, and from the strange unearthly character of the cries uttered by the Guacharo, 

 there is good reason for the superstitious terror of the Indians, who, like all heathens, have 

 a very doleful idea of the spiritual condition, and when they hear by night a loud wailing 

 ciy, set it down at once as proceeding from some wi-etched wraith longing to resume the 

 body in which it had been clothed, and piteously lamenting its sad doom. 



Among other peculiarities of this bird may be reckoned the structure of the vocal 

 organs, by means of which it is enabled to utter the unearthly sounds which have given 

 to its residence so evil a reputation. It must first be mentioned that whereas in the 

 mammals the chief part which the trachea or windpipe plays in the production of sound, 

 is that it conveys the air towards the larynx where the voice is produced ; in birds, 

 however, the voice is produced at some distance down the trachea ; in our vocal organ it 

 is situated just at the spot where the trachea divides into the two bronchi which supply 

 the lungs of each side with air. On dissecting the throat of the Guacharo, it is found 

 that the " inferior larynx," as this curious organ is ratlier wrongly termed, is double, each 

 of the bronchi being fiu'nished with one of these structures at some distance below the 

 division. 



These birds have a very unpleasant smell, of a powerful a,nd fish-like nature, compared 

 by some persons to the odour of the cockroach. This smell, however, disappears M'hen the 

 bird is cooked, and secjns to aid in conveying to the palate a peculiarly agreeable flavour. 

 They are very awkward sulijects for the taxidermist, as the fat is so plentiful and so 

 adherent to the skin, that it liquifies under the touch and runs over the feathers, ruining 

 their beautiful colours, and can hardly be separated from the skin without causing some 

 damage to its delicate texture. 



The colour of this curious bird is a ruddy fawn, mottled witli dark lirown, and 



