3G5 TROPICAL BIRD LIFE IN BOTH HEMISPHERES 



purple, green, and black so finely blended into each other that 

 it would be impossible to mark their boundaries ; while others 

 again exhibit them strong, distinct, and abrupt. The flight of 

 the Tangaras is rapid, their manners lively. They live upon 

 insects, seeds, berries, and many of them have a fine song. 

 Among their numerous species, spread over all the warmer 

 regions of America, the scarlet Piranga is pre-eminent for beauty, 

 and when in the blooming thickets, along the woody river's 

 banks, the meridian sun shows off his plumage in all its splen- 

 dour, the huntsman pauses to admire the magnificent bird, and 

 delays his murderous aim. 



In the deep forests, which they never quit for the open plains, 

 reside the Manakins {Pipra), pretty little birds, whose largest 

 species scarcely attain the dimensions of the sparrow, while the 

 smallest are hardly equal to the wren. The plumage of the 

 full-grown male is always black, enlivened by brilliant colours, 

 that of the female and of the young birds greenish. Their 

 flight is rapid but short, and they generally roost on the middle 

 branches of the trees. In the morning they unite in little troops, 

 and seek their food, which consists of insects, and small fruit, 

 uttering at the same time their weak but melodious notes. As 

 the day advances they separate and seek the deepest forest- 

 shades, where they live in solitude and silence. 



The famous orange-coloured Cock of the Rock of Guiana 

 (Rupicola aurantia), which owes its name to its comb-like crest, 

 is nearly related to the manakins. It is a great rarity, even in 

 its own country, and as it dwells in the most secluded forests, is 

 but seldom seen by travellers. Richard Schomburgk relates the 

 following wonderful story of the bird, which, if not proceed- 

 ing from so trustworthy a source, might almost be considered 

 fabulous. " A troop of these beautiful birds was celebrating 

 its dances on the smooth surface of a rock; about a score of 

 them were seated on the branches as spectators, while one of 

 the male birds, with proud self-confidence, and spreading tail and 

 wings, was dancing on the rock. He scratched the ground or 

 leaped vertically into the air, continuing these saltatory move- 

 ments until he was tired, when another male took his place. 

 The females, meanwhile, looked on attentively, and applauded, 

 the performance of the dancers with laudatory cries. As the 



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