ANIMAL KINGDOM. 91 



their indomitable courage, and even the Gavilans and Corbeaux 

 yield to their repeated attacks ; also, minute and apparently frail 

 as it is, the Humming-bird attacks all other birds, and ultimately 

 succeeds in driving them away from the tree whereon it has 

 built its nest. Our Tanagers are not only conspicuous for their 

 gorgeous plumage, but several of them are excellent warblers ; a 

 wren (Troglodytes eudon) is known here as the Rossignol, or 

 Nightingale, on account of its note; it is very familiar, and 

 frequently builds under the eaves of houses. The Averano, or 

 Campanero (Cotinga variegata), has a very remarkable cry, as 

 being of a purely metallic sound; hence its Spanish appellation of 

 Campanero , or Bell-ringer, and its equally common name, among 

 the peasantry, of the Blacksmith. The French call it Capucin, 

 from a number of dark capillary appendages which hang from 

 the throat of the male, and bear some resemblance to a beard. 

 One of our Cassiques has gained the name of the Mocking-bird, 

 which it really deserves, as it imitates the songs of many of the 

 feathered tribes, and even the sounds made by other animals. 

 Several species are gregarious, and one (Cassicus cristatus) par- 

 ticularly so, numbers of the latter constructing their nests close 

 together ; these are in the form of long cylindrical bags, made of 

 thready fibres, which the birds generally procure from the balisier. 

 The upper extremity of the nest is formed first, the threads 

 being, meanwhile, allowed to remain pendent; the architect, 

 from within, then draws them up and interweaves them, so as 

 to form a very close and strong shelter, the lower extremity 

 being hemispherical, and thicker than the other parts. It is a 

 curious sight to observe some forty or fifty of these aerial con- 

 structions hanging at the extremity of the branches of a large 

 tree, and swinging to and fro with each undulation of the breeze* 

 Several of our Creepers, or Grimpereaux, are remarkable for 

 their brilliant colours, and out of nineteen species of Humming- 

 birds, not a few exhibit the most dazzling plumage. They extract 

 the nectar from the flowers of the highest trees — the Erythrina, 

 the Inga, and others — or are seen culling their honeyed food 

 from the Curassavica, or the blossoms of our garden-plants ; but 

 the habits and beauty of the Humming-birds are too well known 

 to require any further illustration. Amongst several species of 

 Picucules (Dendrocolaptes) , one is known by the name of Cacao- 

 eater. With its long and strong bill, it pierces a hole in the 



