VOICES OP TpOPICAL BIRDS FUERTES. 813 



hard to work up imich of an interest in the great mass of dull-colored 

 brown and gray birds that form such a large proportion of the whole. 

 In a case of South American birds the eye alights on the brilliant 

 tanagers, callistes, trogons, cotingas, and hummingbirds, and 

 ignores all the myriad flycatchers, ant-thrushes, furnarian birds, 

 and other dullish and negative-colored things. But in the field the 

 sense of sound enters and combines with the very interesting habits 

 of the more obscure species. I can hardly subscribe to the popular 

 idea that tropical birds are as a rule bright-colored and devoid of 

 song after listening with an appreciative ear to the morning chorus 

 in a Mexican or South American forest. 



One of the most extensive and typical families is that of the Den- 

 drocolaptida3, or woodhewers. They are, in actions, overgrown brown 

 creepers. There are many genera and almost endless species. As a 

 family it is nearly as extensive and varied as the family of finches, 

 though all have a single general type of coloring that is hardly de- 

 parted from. The great, flicker-sized Dendrocolaj)tes, the tiny 

 Xenojjs^ and all between, are mainly wood-brown varying from rusty 

 to olive, and streaked or not, but never boldly marked. They are also 

 fairly unanimous in their songs, though of course there is considerable 

 variation. Most that I have heard have a harsh, raspy note of alarm 

 or displeasure, and many species sing a loud, ringing song that 

 strongly recalls our canyon wren — " tee, twee, tui, tui, tool, tool," a 

 descending series of whistles, which, pure and piercing in the lesser 

 species, becomes coarse and " woodpeckery " in the larger. There are 

 really no fine singers in this group, although several make pleasant 

 sounds in the spicy-scented slashings, and all are interesting. They 

 are rather silent birds, as a rule, and, as the family contains many 

 rare and curious types, which are elusive and tricky, they are a never- 

 ending source of interest and curiosity. 



The woodpeckers may be dismissed in a sentence. Their calls and 

 notes are all perfectly typical of the group as we Imow it in this coun- 

 try, and I recall no species that deviate noticeably from the well- 

 known types of cries and calls by which we recognize our own species. 



v.— TOUCANS, CUCKOOS, TROGONS, MOTMOTS, AND THEIR ALLIES. 



The principal sensation one gets in the tropical forests is the 

 mystery of the unknown voices. Many of these remain forever 

 mysteries unless one stays long and seeks diligently. I am very 

 sure that many sounds I now tentatively attribute to certain birds 

 really belong to others, though several are among the striking sounds. 



The toucans are all noisy birds, and for the most part they are all 

 very boldly marked with strongly contrasting colors, all but the 

 small green members of the genus Aulacorhaiivphus being brightly 



