LIFE IN THE GUIANA WILDS 183 



rounding country. We made headquarters in a comfortable 

 bungalow provided by Sproston's. A good trail leads through 

 the tall forest, a distance of many miles, with numerous 

 side trails branching off in various directions. Along the 

 latter we immediately began to prosecute our work. On 

 our very first excursions we heard the enchanting song of 

 the Guiana solitaire, or quadrille-bird as it is locally known. 

 From the depths of the dark forest there arose a low, mourn- 

 ful note, so liquid and melancholy that the music of no in- 

 strument made by the hand of man could equal it in ethereal 

 beauty; gradually it swelled louder and louder, but always 

 preserving the same exquisite quality until the eight notes 

 had been uttered and the song died with a wistful sob. To 

 hear this song is to experience one of the most enchanting 

 of earthly delights, the memory of which will remain as long 

 as life itself and gild the other reminiscences of sweltering 

 days spent in tropical lowlands, of plagues of insects, of 

 fever, and even the hard-fought battles against odds that 

 seemed overwhelming. The bird is a shy little creature, 

 and is obscurely colored; among the deep shadows where it 

 spends its lonely existence the brown and gray of its modest 

 attire blend so well with its surroundings that it is rare in- 

 deed to have even a fleeting glimpse of the captivating 

 songster. 



Perched in the dead tops of some of the tallest trees, we 

 found a bird which, seen from below, resembled a giant long- 

 tailed hummer; but a short time spent in observation soon 

 disclosed the fact that it belonged to another family, so 

 different were its habits. It sat motionless many minutes 

 at a time, and darted off a short distance, presumably in 

 pursuit of an insect, at infrequent intervals, only to quickly 

 return to its perch. This was the paradise jacamar, a re- 

 splendent bird with a metallic green back and black under- 

 parts. The jacamars form a peculiar family, and have been 

 frequently called "forest-kingfishers" because of their super- 

 ficial resemblance to the Alcyones. The greater number of 

 species are gorgeously colored and inhabit the lower branches 



