332 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. 



laying from two to ten or more eggs, which in the words of the 

 describers are white, dirty-white, or green! 



I questioned Francis at various times and could never 

 get him to vary his answers. He said that the Trumpeter 

 nested in the hollow of a tree and laid three, four or five 

 white eggs. 



On another occasion I questioned the Indian who hunted 

 for Mr. Nicholson at Matope and he said the Warracabra 

 builds a nest of leaves well up in a tree and lays five white 

 eggs. 



While waiting for the Trumpeters we heard the strange 

 Bare-headed Cotinga 117 or Calf -bird. The note has been 

 compared to the lowing of a cow, but to me it seemed much 

 more musical, resembling the humming of a goblet when 

 one's moistened finger is rubbed around the rim. The 

 bird is yellowish brown with a bare head and keeps to the 

 tops of the trees. It is not shy however and can easily be 

 approached and watched with the glass. 



The most interesting discovery I made to-day was the 

 elaborate courtship and challenge performance of the Crested 

 Curassow. 4 In a low bit of valley with thick underbrush 

 we put up a deer which dashed off before we could catch 

 more than a glimpse of it. It was followed by two agoutis, 

 one of which we gathered in for dinner. The note of alarm 

 of these rodents is a loud nasal WaSa&hl Then Francis 

 clutched my arm and by listening intently I could just hear a 

 faint low mumbling. It might have been a bumble bee a few 

 feet away, but the Indian pointed to the east and said " Pow- 

 ies Warracabras! Me go shootum labba." Which very 

 plainly meant that there were Curassows ancl Trumpeters 

 near me and that he would leave me to stalk and study them, 

 while he went to secure a toothsome paca for dinner. 



I cached my gun, in fact everything but my glasses, and 

 began creeping as silently as possible down the course of 



