JUNGLE LIFE AT AREMU. 331 



distinguished the low booming note amid all the other jungle 

 sounds. I had studied specimens for months in the north and 

 had searched in vain for any definite account of their habits. 

 And now, although the briefness of my stay would permit of 

 almost no chance for real investigation, yet here at any rate 

 were the birds themselves in their native haunts. At last we 

 flushed two which flew down from their perch with a sudden 

 whirr of wings and ran swiftly out of sight. As they flew 

 they uttered the familiar Chock! chack! 



These interesting birds have no near relations, but form 

 a Sub-order by themselves. They run very swiftly but sel- 

 dom use their wings, and although they swim quite well, 

 rivers of any size are never crossed. Large flocks are some- 

 times met with, but the birds travel more often in small 

 parties. They feed on the ground and roost in the tall trees. 

 The voice has many variations but the sound from which the 

 name is derived is very loud and sonorous, and can be heard 

 at a great distance. Trumpeters are very common pets 

 among the Indians, to whom they become greatly attached, 

 and although given full liberty in the midst of the dense bush 

 they never attempt to return to their former homes. \Yhen 

 standing upright, the Trumpeter reaches a height of from 

 18 to 20 inches. The head and neck are black and covered 

 with soft velvety feathers, about a quarter of an inch in length, 

 and slightly recurved. On the upper part of the breast and 

 the lower part of the neck a purplish iridescence appears on 

 the feathers while the rest of the plumage is entirely black, 

 with the- exception of a brownish band across the back, and 

 the grayish plume-like secondaries. The tail is very soft 

 and does not exceed four inches in length and is indeed 

 hidden by the wing feathers. 



I made careful inquiry concerning the nesting of the 

 Common Trumpeter. So-called biographers have credited 

 it with nesting on the ground or in a hole high up a tree; of 



