THE SCISSOR-BEAK 



145 



of any object, such as the blade of an oar or the fishing-Hne, 

 with the strong spine both of its pectoral and dorsal fin. In 

 the evening the weather was quite tropical, the thermometer 

 standing at 79°. Numbers of fireflies were hovering about, 

 and the musquitoes were very troublesome. I exposed my 

 hand for five minutes, and it was soon black with them ; I do 

 not suppose there could have been less than fift)', all busy 

 sucking. 



October i 5///. — We got under way and passed Punta Gorda, 



HEAD OF SCISSOR-BEAK. 



RHYNCHOPS NIGRA, OR SCISSOR-BEAK. 



where there is a colon\- of tame Indians from the province of 

 Missiones. We sailed rapidly down the current, but before 

 sunset, from a sill\' fear of bad weather, we brought- to in a 

 narrow arm of the river. I took the boat and rowed some 

 distance up this creek. It was very narrow, winding, and deep; 

 on each side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed b}' trees 

 intwined with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy 

 appearance. I here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the 

 Scissor-beak (Rhynchops nigra). It has short legs, web feet, 

 extremely long-pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. 

 II 



