278 THE LOWER AMAZONS. Chap. VIL 



to the Icteridse or troupial family, adorned with a rich 

 plumage of black and saffron-yellow. I spent some time 

 watching an assemblage of a species of bird called by 

 the natives Tamburi-para, on the Cecropia trees. It is 

 the Monasa nigrifrons of ornithologists, and has a plain 

 slate-coloured plumage with the beak of an orange hue. 

 It belongs to the family of Barbets, most of whose mem- 

 bers are remarkable for their dull inactive temperament. 

 Those species which are ranged by ornithologists under 

 the genus Bucco are called by the Indians, in the Tupi 

 language, Tai-assu uira, or pig-birds. They remain 

 seated sometimes for hours together on low branches in 

 the shade, and are stimulated to exertion only when 

 attracted by passing insects. This flock of Tamburi-para 

 were the reverse of dull ; they were gambolling and 

 chasing each other amongst the branches. As they 

 sported about, each emitted a few short tuneful notes, 

 which altogether produced a ringing, musical chorus 

 that quite surprised me. 



On the 27th we reached an elevated wooded pro- 

 montory, called Parentins, which now forms the boun- 

 dary between the provinces of Para and the Amazons. 

 Here we met a small canoe descending to Santarem. 

 The owner was a free negro named Lima, who, with 

 his wife, was going down the river to exchange his 

 year's crop of tobacco for European merchandise. The 

 long shallow canoe was laden nearly to the water level. 

 He resided on the banks of the Abacaxi, a river which 

 discharges its waters into the Canoma, a broad interior 

 channel which extends from the river Madeira to the 

 Parentins, a distance of 180 miles. Penna offered him 



