110 TROPICAL WILD LIFE IN BRITISH GUIANA 



As in the jungles of the Far East, the uplands of Bur- 

 ma and the coastlands of Ceylon and Java, termites or white 

 ants formed the dominant food of many of the insect-eaters. 

 And at the beginning of the rains when the toothsome, slow- 

 flying winged males and queens came forth in their myriads, 

 bird life seemed to increase many fold, and the anis and fly- 

 catchers and wrens forgot all fear in their excitement at the 

 new found manna. 



I have already mentioned the remarkable food migra- 

 tions, both local and on a large scale. When we have more 

 carefully correlated data we shall find that this phase of 

 life the search for food well deserves the first place in 

 the three great objects of organic existence on the earth. 



Problems were opened up in every direction. For ex- 

 ample, the vulture's search for food: These birds were ex- 

 ceedingly rare and never by any chance did careful search 

 of the sky reveal one. But when we had killed and skinned 

 sloth or howling monkey or hacka tiger, deep in the jungle, 

 within two or three days the vultures would be gathered to- 

 gether in the dimness of the jungle floor. If a king vulture 

 were present, even in the juvenile black plumage, all the oth- 

 ers waited patiently. If he were absent, two or three yellow- 

 necked birds would be pulling at the carcass. Experiments 

 which I have made in the past ' seemed to prove conclusively 

 that these birds practically lack the sense of smell. But in 

 these cases the carcasses were absolutely invisible from any 

 angle of the sky. Did the birds hear the buzzing of flies? 

 Did they mark the direct droning flight of the great blue 

 scarabs? This year's observations revealed no clue. 



I have noticed no such friendly association of birds and 

 animals in the South American tropics as exists between the 

 pheasants of the Far East and the small deer and other 

 harmless jungle creatures. Even the trumpeters kept to 

 themselves and the agoutis those rabbits of the jungle 

 were solitary feeders. The friendly flocking of different 



1 New World Vultures, Zoological Society Bulletin, No. 32, 1908, p. 467. 





