140 WANDERINGS IN 



SECOND an( j t a {\ black and green. Like the manikin, it 



JOURNEY. 



has no song : it depends solely upon a showy gar- 



ment for admiration. 

 TheYawa- Devoid, too, of sous;, and in a still superber 



raciri. 



garb, the Yawaraciri comes to feed on the same 

 tree. It has a bar like black velvet from the 

 eyes to the beak ; its legs are yellow ; its throat, 

 wings, and tail black ; all the rest of the body a 

 charming blue. Chiefly in the dry savannas, and 

 here and there accidentally in the forest, you see a 

 songless yawaraciri still lovelier than the last : his 

 crown is whitish blue, arrayed like a coat of mail ; 

 his tail is black, his wings black and yellow ; legs 

 red; and the whole body a glossy blue. Whilst 

 roving through the forest, ever and anon you see 

 individuals of the wren species, busy amongst the 

 fallen leaves, or seeking insects at the roots of the 

 trees. 



Here, too, you find six or seven species of small 

 birds, whose backs appear to be overloaded with 

 silky plumage. One of these, with a chestnut 

 breast, smoke-coloured back, tail red, white fea- 

 thers like horns on his head, and white narrow- 

 pointed feathers under the jaw, feeds entirely 

 upon ants. When a nest of large, light, brown 

 ants emigrates, one following the other in mean- 

 dering lines above a mile long, you see this bird 

 watching them, and every now and then picking 

 them up. When they disappear, he is seen no 

 more : perhaps this is the only kind of ant he is 



