ORDER PASSERES. 505 



only object of their little voyages is to arrive in certain places 

 at the epoch in which the fruits they subsist on are mature. 

 In Guiana, the spots in which they most delight, in those 

 seasons when they are seen near habitations, are humid places. 

 It is an error to suppose that they are destructive to the rice- 

 grounds. From the peculiar conformation and absence of 

 solidity in their bill, it is impossible that they can be granivo- 

 rous birds. According to Sonnini the inhabitants do not eat 

 their flesh, and if the stuffed specimens often arrive in Europe 

 in a bad state, this is not the reason. It is rather, because the 

 feathers not being very adherent, the tender skin requires a 

 degree of care in its preparation, which is not always bestowed 

 upon it in America. The size of the cotingas varies from 

 that of the raven to that of the song thrush. The colours of the 

 females are, in general, much less rich than those of the males ; 

 their plumage is, indeed, frequently dull and dusky. The 

 habits of these birds and the facts concerning their reproduc- 

 tion are very imperfectly known ; many species, however, are 

 known to make their nests on the loftiest trees, and lay four 

 or five eggs. Mauduyt, in the ' Encyclopedic M^thodique, 

 testifies his surprise that no attempt has been yet made to 

 bring those beautiful birds alive to Europe. He thinks this 

 might be done by substituting for the berries, which constitute 

 their ordinary food, crumbs of bread moistened, sap of the 

 sugar-cane, and even half melted and softened sugar. But the 

 probability is that this plan would not succeed, as the great 

 majority of these birds are both insectivorous and frugivorous, 

 and it is very likely that such experiments have been made in 

 their native country without effect, as they are never seen there 

 in a state of captivity. 



Among the cotingas, the most remarkable is one belonging 

 ♦o the division of procnias ; the Carunculated Chatterer, Lath. 

 Ampelis Carunculata, Gml. This singular species, says M . Le 

 Vaillant, is known at first sight by a sort of feathered caruncle 

 which it has on the forehead (not on the beak, as Buffon 



