476 Dr. E. A. Gochli — Ornithological Results 



in nine hours, a very good perform ance, due to an efficacious 

 full-moon tide, as ordinarily the steamers take twelve hours. 

 At Sao Domingos we passed a spot interesting as shewing in 

 a most striking manner the corroding action of a "pororoca" 

 (bore) on the earth-wall of the river ; it is situated just at 

 the confluence of the rivers Guama and Capim. We reached, 

 at 1.40 p.m., Approaga, formerly a very important agri- 

 cultural domain, belonging to our hospitable friends the 

 family Vicente Chermont de Miranda. It is situated on the 

 Capim some hours journey higher up, being separated from 

 the small village of St. Anna do Capim by about the same 

 distance — that is, more or less, an hour's journey — as the 

 Fazenda Calixto, where Mr. Wallace stayed in 1849, further 

 up the river. We arrived between 4 and 5 p.m., and sent 

 back our steam-launch to Para the same evening. 



During this first day's course few zoological observations 

 of any importance were made, for reasons easily understood. 

 In the forests on the left and on the right bank animal-life 

 is the same as elsewhere in the vicinity of Para under 

 similar circumstances. But during the hot hours of the day 

 there is naturally very little chance of getting even a glance 

 at animal or vegetable life, which is hidden from human 

 eyes by the silent shade of the virgin forest. Animal life is 

 certainly not absent, but is latent during these hours, and, if 

 its presence is to be ascertained, requires to be searched for 

 patiently. This is the reason that the mere tourist generally 

 gets a rather meagre idea of the celebrated luxuriance of 

 animal life in equatorial regions — an idea that I have often 

 found apt to induce a want of belief in the veracity of the 

 brilliant sketches of tropical nature contained in the works 

 of some of our best authors. To understand an equatorial 

 fauna and to know how to investigate it need some training. 



The first bird we saw on this occasion was a large bird-of- 

 prey describing magnificent circles in the height above us, 

 which was easily recognised as Urubitinga schistacea. Soon 

 afterwards we saw two other specimens at the same time 

 acting in a similar manner, evidently in reconnaissance of 

 some dainty bit for breakfast. This was about 9 o'clock. 



