152 Dr. Emil A. Goeldi — Ornithological 



opportunity of making a thorough examination of the 

 stump*. 



A shrub laden with half-a-dozen hanging bag-nests, only 

 a few steps distant from our steamer, was the animated place 

 of exercise for a colony of Cassicus persicus. They were also 

 breeding at this time. I got several eggs from the nests, 

 and among them some slightly different in colour and 

 shape, which evidently belonged to another species with 

 Cuckoo-like habits. I shall return to this subject on a future 

 occasion. 



The Macaws are certainly some of the most brilliant 

 figures of the Equatorial forests of South America, and it 

 will be easily understood that we were surprised to find here, 

 on the coast of Guyana, one of the rarest species, the 

 blue Arara {Ai^a hy acinthina) , under circumstances which 

 allow us to call it quite a common bird in these regions. 

 In a few hours we noted several dozens passing over our 

 steamer. On one occasion we saw eight individuals, forming 

 four couples, together at one time. The natives, without 

 exception Brazilians of the State of Para (at least along the 

 Counany and the northern coast-region), spoke of the blue 

 Arara, which is rather a scarce species in zoological gardens, 

 as a bird of migration (" passaro de arriba9ao^^), common in 

 the dry season and absent during certain months. Soon 

 afterwards I had occasion to convince myself personally that 

 Ara hijacinthina was really breeding at this season in the 

 coast-zone of Southern Guyana. 



What we saw in a few hours on the Lower Counany was, 

 indeed, sufficient to increase our hopes of interesting ornitho- 

 logical results during a few weeks' residence in the higher 

 regions of the river. With the next tide we arrived in the 

 same night at the village of Counany, charmingly situated 



* The nesting and breediug of this Swallow have been observed by 

 Prince Max. zu Wied on the coast between Bahia and Rio [Hii-undo 

 leucoptera, Beitr. iii. p. 364], and more recently by E. Bartlett on the 

 Ucayali River (Sharpe and Wyatt, 'Monograph of the Hirundinidae,' 

 text, page 139). The particulars seem to be the same as those observed 

 hy me. 



