150 J. Delacou'i — Notes of a Bird-lover in Tropical America


else. They never leave the trees they live on ; they feed on leaves and

nest over the water ; their flight is heavy ; they can’t walk, but they

climb easily among the branches. Their habits have been completely

described by Mr. W. Beebe, who studied the young ones. These have

prehensile claws on their wings (young Touracos also have them, but

less developed and useless) which they use to climb ; they also swim

and dive like reptiles, their near ancestors. Hoatzins are most plentiful

in the Apure district. During my visit at San Fernando I was able to

go and see some of the Egrets colonies. They can be found at a

distance of about 30 miles from the town, and are very far distant

from each other. They only include the Great Egret (Herodias egretta),

but these number thousands and thousands. Their breeding places are

known as “ garceros ’’ and the sleeping stations as “ dormitorios

Both are situated on marshy land, along the river and lagoons, where

low and thick trees grow. They are private properties and carefully

kept, as a big income is obtained from picking up the ornamental

feathers. It is a wonderful sight to watch the Egrets coming back

at night. From all directions great white birds are flying towards

the dormitorio ”, where they alight with hoarse croaks. The aspect

of a “ garcero ” with nests touching each other and thousands of young

ones is also very striking.


We left San Fernando, taking with us a Ford lorry to carry our

live animals : Agoutis (of the new species that I have described as

Dasyprocta apurensis), Tiger Cats, Capybaras, Parrots, Macaws and

Parrakeets, Curassows and Guans, King Vulture, Adjutant Stork,

Tree-ducks, Orinoco Geese, Owls, Sun-bitterns, Purple Gallinules,

Snake Birds, Jacanas. At Camoguans we took the small birds we had

left behind : Black-cheeked Cardinals. Tanagers, Parrakeets, etc. The

return to the coast through the Llanos was very difficult, as there are

no roads. Anyhow, all animals arrived in good condition, except for

a few Avaders whose legs got broken.


At Caracas Ave took the birds Ave had left : Calliste arthuri,

cyanoptera , atricapilla, cyanescens, guttata, desmaresti, Chlorophonia

frontalis, Euphonia ccerulcocephala, Tanagra cana, olivicyanea, Cassicus

persicus, Icterus vulgaris, chrysocephalus, Cardinalis pliceniceus, Spinus

cucullatus, chrysogaster, Pitangus rufipennis, Columbida talpacoti,



