1896.] EXPEDITION ON THE LOWER AMAZON. 773 



8lugp;ish beast ; at nny rate a small specimen which I saw in the 

 Public Gardens at Para was particularly so. 



Birds. — With regard to the Birds we met with I need say but 

 little, as most of them belonged to well-known species. Iloazins 

 {Opistliocomus cristatm) were extremely numerous in the bushes 

 fringing the Parana de Buyassu, and could be seen flapping about, 

 balancing themselves on twigs, and uttering their harsh cries in all 

 directions. In the fiiro leading to Monte Alegre we also foiind 

 them abundant, and here they appeared to be in better plumage, 

 if not to belong to a finer race than the Buyassu birds. On the 

 Parana de Buyassu and in the Monte Alegre furo a beautiful little 

 Heron (Butorides cyanunis) was common and was often flushed 

 out of the bushes. I may add that large white Herons, Egrets, 

 and a bird closely resembling Avdea c'merea were frequently seen 

 at various points along the shores of the river. Black Cuckoos 

 {Orotopliat/a major) were another species common everywhere; 

 these birds often associate in small flocks of half a dozen or more. 

 At Monte Alegre I obtained a yellowish-brown Woodpecker 

 (Celeiis ochraceus) which is possibly of some value, as I find that 

 we have only two other specimens of the species in the Museum 

 collection. The only other bird to which I need refer is a 

 beautilul little Goatsucker, which was one of two that I met 

 ■with on the llio Negro, hawking in the air about three miles below 

 Manaos and on the opposite sliore to the city. I did not observe 

 this species anywhere else. The specimen, -which is unfortunately 

 a young bird, has been referred provisionally by Mr. Ogilvie Grant 

 \:o Nyctiprogne Jeiicopygia ; however, it certainly belongs to a much 

 smaller race than the typical form. 



Eeptiles and Amphibians. — I have already stated that among 

 Reptiles and Amphibians, with a single exception (a small Frog), 

 we met with nothing of any special interest. Sirange to say we 

 encountered no poisonous Snakes, and although constantly on the 

 look out for tlie " hideous Sucuruju," as Bates calls the Anaconda 

 (Eunectes miirinvs), we were never so fortunate as to see one, 

 although wherever we enquired about it the natives invariably 

 assured us that it occurred. Of Alligators, too, we only met with 

 two or three small specimens. These creatures, though doubtless 

 common enough, are, on (he course followed by the steamers, 

 extremely shy and seldom seen, although on a lagoon near 

 Santarem I believe Mr. Pickard Cambridge observed a number of 

 them. 



The little Frog above alluded to {Prosihernpis femoralis, Blgr.) 

 was captured at Monte Alegre on Jan. 26th, and is the only 

 specimen that has hitherto been obtained in Brazil. The species 

 was described by Mr. Boulenger in 1894 from two specimens from 

 Yurimaguas, on the Rio Huallaga, in Peru, and has until now 

 been represented in the Museum collection only by the types and 

 two other individuals from Ecuador. 



