Results of a Visit to South Guyana. 165 



Ardras I saw in Amapa only once ; a couple flew over the 

 village on the morning of 7th November. But the number 

 of the Amazonian Parrots {Chrysotis amazonica) which passed 

 twice every day over the village exceeds belief. In the 

 morning they came from the siriuba-forests on the mouth of 

 the Amapa River. Hungry as they were, I always saw some 

 small groups settle on the high trees in the before-mentioned 

 '' bosque." But they were certainly in search of the fruit- 

 trees scattered over the forests on the upper course of the 

 river. All the individuals I shot had, at that time, the crop 

 filled with a bluish, pulpy mass, which we easily recog- 

 nized as formed by the pericarp of the U miry-cherries {Humi- 

 riuni floribundum) . In the evening they returned in the 

 contrary direction, in search of sleeping-quarters in the 

 siriuba. Between 5 and 6 o'clock in the evening conversation 

 was sometimes impossible in the village until the clouds of 

 Parrots had passed out of sight. If one Parrot is able to 

 produce an infernal clamour, think of the noise produced by 

 an uninterrupted chain of hundreds and thousands of these 

 criers ! 



Our collection, and these pages, which are written after 

 a study of it and of ray field-notes, may give a tolerable 

 idea of the ornithological features of this part of Southern 

 Guyana, which had never before been visited by any 

 naturalist. From Counany I brought home to Para 50 

 skins of birds, representing 30 species ; from Araapd 63 

 bird-skins, representing 42 species — making a total number 

 of 113 individuals and 72 species. 



But I cannot look on this result, relatively successful, 

 without profound grief. The young man who had the 

 principal share in making it — Max Tanner, my countryman 

 and the taxidermist of the Fard, Museum — died from the 

 effects of the Amapa fever on the 14th of November, 1895, 

 on board our steamer ^ Adjudante,' when we were just in 

 sight of the city of Para. 

 October. 1896. 



