A Day with the Birds on a Guiana Savanna 



239 



In the evening, the creatures inhabiting the water of the lagoon begin to stir 

 into action. There is one crocodile of large size, not less than nine feet, and a 

 host of others two or three feet in length, and these bellow and grunt loudly at 

 intervals. The most noisy creatures are the otters, some of which are six feet 

 from head to tail, and which slip through the water almost as rapidly as the fish. 

 There are a few capybaras here, but we see nothing of them except their foot- 

 prints. 



A half-dozen trees on the island afford nesting-places for many species of 

 birds. Yellow Orioles'^ nests are common, and the Gray-breasted Martins" have 

 already built among the rafters. Three kinds of Tyrant Flycatchers and two 

 pairs of the little Todirostrums,^ have their homes here, while a pair of Guiana 

 House Wrens* are nesting in a hollow stub at the very steps of the porch. A Cotton 

 bird,^ or Pied Ground Flycatcher, and a White-headed Tyrant® both have half- 

 finished nests in the nearest trees, and a pair of Great Rufous Kingfishers" have 

 bored into a very poor apology for a bank nearby. At dusk, two species of Goat- 



HO.A.TZIN 



suckers begin to call. One kind says very distinctly "Who are you?" with the 

 accent on the first and last syllables, while the other species we recognize as the 

 Parauque^, from its liquid double note. Through the night, as a background 

 of sound, for the occasional noises of crocodiles and night-birds, is the never- 



^ Icterus xanlhornus 



^Progne tapcra 



' Todiroslrum cinereiim 



^Troglodytes muscjilus clams 



^ Fluvicola pica 



'■'.'1 rttndinicola leucocc pliata 



''Ceryle torquala 



i Nvctidro in us alhicollis 



