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we found it to be quite common on both sides of the Andes,

chiefly at the foot of the mountains in the forest clearings, but

never in the forests themselves. The males looked remarkably

brilliant as they flashed past the hut in the sunlight. On the

Western side we often shot them on the bananas, and I also saw

them eating the young and tender shoots of bushes ; but on the

Napo side, several that we shot had been feeding on a hard green

fruit like a sloe. Although they have a very wide gape, it

seemed a large fruit for a bird of that size to swallow. The male

is about five inches long, and, if held facing the light, is a curious

shade of bright shining green ; but, if turned back to the light,

the whole plumage at once looks a lovely ccerulean blue. The

face is black, and so are the flight feathers, but edged with blue.

The vent and centre of the breast are pure white, and the flanks

are very finely barred with black. The bill, which is very short,

flat, and wide, is also black. The female is entirely of a rich

green, and 3^ellow where the male is white on the under parts.

As may be imagined, the female is much more seldom seen than

the male, as her plumage, assimilating with the foliage, affords

her more protection. The young take after the female ; and

some we procured, which have partially changed their plumage,

look very curious, mottled with the combination of male and

female colours. I should somehow imagine these birds would

not be at all difficult to keep in captivity ; neither should the

glorious Cotingas be, of which we also obtained specimens on the

Napo. The Cotinga maynana is realty about the same colour as

the Procnias tersa, but somehow looks still richer and more

beautiful, which is partially due to the scale-like plumage, and

also to the curious purple and white base all the feathers have.


No one who has heard the song of Turdiis ignobilis would

again think that tropical birds lacked the sweet voices of some

of our Northern ones. Even making allowance for the fact that

the majority of the birds from the lowlands of Ecuador have no

song worth mentioning, and therefore when we came across

a bird which did sing it was doubty appreciated, still I have

seldom heard anywhere a bird with richer or more ringing notes

than the Turdus ignobilis. We first met with them around

Popayan, in Colombia, but I never remember hearing them sing

there : probably it was not the time of the year for them to do

so. We did not see them again until we got down to the Napo,

where we found them very common at the Coca, in May and June

of last 3^ear. I have two skins before me now, both males, one

from Popayan, and the other from the Coca: and I find there is



