120 



INTRODUCTION. 



ness, thougli gorged with prey, as if there were not 

 abundance for his support. But let the call of 

 hunger remind him that exertions are wanted to 

 satisfy his unnatural appetite, and we soon see him 

 upon the wing or wading solitary along the shallow 

 waters, until he finds opportunity to dart with un- 

 erring aim upon his prey; or he awaits patiently 

 the smaller fry, which, driven into shallow water, 

 have only escaped the danger which the larger spe- 

 cies of their own kind threatened them, in order to 

 he devoured by the voracious bird. 



Numerous are the different species of bitterns 

 and smaller herons which aid in committing de- 

 vastation among the fishes ; they are assisted by the 

 roseate spoon-bill, the boat-bill, * and, of all others, 

 by the cormorants and the darters, or carara. t 'The 

 latter are worthy companions of the hanura ; alike 

 indolent and voracious, they share in all its depre- 

 datory habits, ha\Tng moreover the advantage that 

 they can fall on their prey in the deep. The carara, 

 as well as the cormorant, is an excellent diver ; the 

 peculiar formation of the nasal organs of the former 

 qualify it particularly to remain for a length of time 

 under water. 



Large flocks of gulls, chiefly that strange species 

 the darradarra or razor-bill, % frequent the inland 

 rivers ; and although the peculiar formation of their 

 bill gives to them an awkward appearance, scarcely 



* Platalea ajaja, Cancroma eochlearia, 

 t Carbo Brasiliensis, Plotus Americanus. 

 X Rhynchops melanura. 



