FAUNA OF VENEZUELA. 103 



furnislied with formidable fore-claws; the cavy, cahiai or clngidri [cavia capyhara), 

 a timid rodent which swims well but runs badly ; the graceful cuchi-cuchi 

 [cercoleptes caudivolrulus), which when tamed makes a most delightful pet ; the 

 ûoih. '{hradypus fridacti/lus), which, after devouring the foliage of a cecropia, 

 utters long plaintive cries at having to climb another ; the frog-fisher (chironectcs 

 rariegatus), which lives on fish, and is often captured in the rivers with the prey 

 he was pursuing. Two species of cetaceans ascend the Orinoco, the manatee and 

 porpoise. 



The avifauna is even richer than the order of mammals. The guachnro 

 {steatonm caripcnsis), at one time supposed to be peculiar to a smally hilly 

 district west of the Gulf of Pai-ia, has since been met in a few other places, and 

 especially in the islands of the Dragon's Mouth between Trinidad and the main- 

 land, as well as in the caves and gloomy gorges of Colombia, where it takes the 

 name of guapaco. The guacharo resembles the bat in its habits, and is one of the 

 rare nocturnal birds that are frugivorous. Its fat yields a semi-liquid, trans- 

 parent, odourless oil which keeps for over a year without becoming rancid, and 

 which makes an excellent condiment. 



One of the most easily tamed Venezuelan birds is the gallifo de laguna 

 [porphyrio martinica), a species of rail noted for the graceful dances performed 

 by the male in presence of his mate. The trupial (icterus), foremost warbler of 

 the woodlands, suspends its nest from a branch by a long thread to avoid the 

 attacks of snakes. Countless myriads of aquatic fowl frequent the labyrinthine 

 waters about the Arauca, Apure, and Apurito confluences of the Orinoco. A 

 cavalry regiment encamped near a lagoon in this region is stated to have lived 

 for a fortnight on wild duck without appreciably reducing their numbers. 



The reptile world also is extremely rich, especially on the llanos, where 

 multitudes of snakes glide about beneath the herbage. In the Yenezuelan rivers 

 and lakes there are at least three species of saurians — the bava {aUigator punctatus), 

 which never exceeds 6 feet, and never attacks bathers ; the cayman, infesting 

 the streams of tlie llanos ; and the crocodile properly so called, met in the large 

 affluents of the Orinoco, and, according to nutive report, sometimes exceeding 

 22 or 23 feet in length. In some places they are little feared, in others much 

 dreaded; but all that have once tasted human flesh, known as cnimanes cehados, 

 never fail to attack man, even out of the water. During the dry season the 

 crocodiles migrate southwards to the large affluents of the Orinoco, following 

 the muddy bed of the streams ; when these become quite dry they bury them- 

 selves in the mud, which hardens above their long summer sleep. The curito 

 (/epidosireii jxiradoxa), a fish inhabiting the Rio Apure, has acquired the same 

 habit of passing the summer in a torpid state under the hardened bed of the 

 stream. Other fishes, especially certain species of dorados, are able to live for 

 hours out of the water. 



On the upper and lower Orinoco the turtles lay their eggs singly on the 

 river-banks, but in certain parts of the middle course, between the Meta and 

 Apure confluences, they form process! 3ns of tens and even hundreds of thous:\nds, 



