626 



THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS. 



The majority of the birds we saw were small 

 and obscurely colored ; they were indeed 

 similar, in general appearance, to such as are 

 met with in country places in England. Oc- 

 casionally a flock of small paroquets, green, 

 with a patch of yellow on the forehead, 

 would come at early morning to the trees 

 near the Estrada. They would feed quietly, 

 sometimes chattering in subdued tones, but 

 setting up a harsh scream, and flying off, on 

 being disturbed. Humming-birds we did 

 net see at this time, although 1 afterward 

 found them by hundreds when certain trees j 

 were in flower. Vultures we only saw at a 

 distance, sweeping round at a great height, 

 over the public slaughter-houses. Several 

 fly-catchers, finches, ant-thrushes, a tribe of 

 plainly-colored birds, intermediate in struc- 

 ture between fly-catchers and thrushes, some 

 of which startle the new-comer by their ex- 

 traordinary notes emitted from their places 

 of concealment in the dense thickets ; and 

 also tanagers, and other small birds, inhabit- 

 ed the neighborhood. None of these had a 

 pleasing song, except a little brown wren 

 (Troglodytes furvus), whose voice and melody 

 resemble those of our English robin. It is 

 often seen, hopping and climbing about the 

 walls and roofs of houses and on trees in 

 their vicinity. Its song is more frequently 

 heard in the rainy season, when the monguba- 

 trees shed their leaves. At those times the 

 Estrada das Mongubeiras has an appearance 

 quite unusual in a tropical country. The 

 tree is one of the few in the Amazons region 

 which sheds all its foliage before any of the 

 new leaf-buds expand. The naked branches, 

 the sodden ground matted with dead leaves, 

 the gray mist veiling the surrounding vege- 

 tation, and the cool atmosphere soon after 

 sunrise, all combine to remind one of au- 

 tumnal mornings in England. While loiter- 

 ing about at such times in a half-oblivious 

 mood, thinking of home, the song of this 

 bird would create for the moment a perfect 

 illusion. Numbers of tanagers frequented the 

 fruit and other trees in our garden. The 

 two principal kinds which atti acted our at- 

 tention were the Rhamphocoelus jacapa and 

 the Tanagra episcopus. The females of 

 both are dull iu color, but the male of Jacapa 

 has a beautiful velvety purple and black 

 plumage, the beak being paitly white, while 

 the same sex in Episcopus is of a pale blue 

 color, with white spots on the wings. In 

 their habits they both resemble the common 

 house parrow of Europe, which does not ex- 

 ist in S Jiilh America, its place be'ng in some 

 measure filled by these familiar tanagers. 

 They are just as li/ely, restless, bold, and 

 wary ; their notes are very similar, chirping 

 and inharmonious, and they seem to be 

 almost as foiid of the n ighborhood of man. 

 They do not, however, build their nests OQ 

 houses. 



Another interesting and common bird was 

 the Japim, a species of Cassicus (C. icterono- 

 tus). It belongs to the same family of birds 

 as our starling, magpie, and rook, and has a 

 rich yellow and black plumage, remarkably 



compact and velvety in texture. The shape 

 of its head and its physiognomy are very 

 similar to those of the magpie ; it has light 

 gray eyes, which give it the Same knowing 

 expression. It is social in its habits, and 

 builds its nest, like the English rook, on trees 

 in the neighborhood of habitations. But the 

 nests are quite differently constructed, being 

 shaped like purses, two feet in length, and 

 suspended from the slender branches all round 

 the tree, some of them very near the ground. 

 The entrance is on the side near the bottom 

 of the nest. The bird is a great favorite 

 with the Brazilians of Para : it is a noisy, 

 stirring, babbling creature, passing constantly 

 to and fro, chattering to its comrades, and is 

 very ready at imitating other birds, especially 

 the domestic poultry of the vicinity. There 

 was at one time a weekly newspaper pub- 

 lished at Para, called The Japim ; the namt 

 being chosen, I suppose, on account of the 

 babbling propensities of the bird. Its eggs 

 are nearly round, and of a bluish-white color, 

 speckled with brown. 



Of other vertebrate animals we saw very 

 little, except of the lizards. They are sure 

 to attract the attention of the new-comer 

 from Northern Europe, by reason of their 

 strange appearance, great numbers and vari- 

 ety. The species which are seen crawling 

 over the walls of buildings in the city are 

 different from those found in the forest or in 

 the interior of houses. They are unpleasant- 

 looking animals, with colors assimilated to 

 those of the dilapidated stone and mud walls 

 on which they are seen. The house lizards 

 belong to a peculiar family, the Geckos, and 

 are found even in the best-kept chambers, 

 most frequently on the walls and ceilings, to 

 which they cling motionless by day, being- 

 active only at night. They are of speckled 

 gray or ashy colors. The structure of their 

 feet is beautifully adapted for clinging to 

 and running over smooth surfaces ; the 

 under side of their toes being expanded into 

 cushions, beneath which folds of skin form a 

 series of flexible plates. By means of this 

 appaiatus they can walk or run across a 

 smooth ceiliug with their backs downward ; 

 the plated soles, by quick muscular action, 

 exhausting and admitting air alternately. 

 The Geckos are very repulsive in appearance. 

 The Brazilians give them the name of Osgas, 

 and firmly believe them to be poisonous; 

 they are, however, harmless creatures. Those 

 found in houses are small ; but I have seen 

 others of great size, in crevices of tree trunks 

 in the forests. Sometimes Geckos ate found 

 with forked tails ; this results from the bud- 

 ding of a rudimentary tail at the side, from 

 an injurv done to the member. A slight rap 

 will cause their tails to snap off, the loss 

 being afterward partially repaired by a new 

 ,TOwth. The tails of lizards seem to be 

 almost useless appendages to the animals, i 

 usei often to amuse myself in the suburbs, 

 whi'e resting in the verandah of our house 

 during the heat of midday, by watching the 

 varityated green, brown, and yellow ground- 

 ijzarck. They would come nimbly forward- 



