ORDER PASSERES. 115 



Stomach of a dozen of them, young and old, no other species 

 of food whatever but the fruit of the palm appeared. The 

 collector in ornithology will find a very troublesome task in 

 preserving this bird, as the skin adheres with uncommon 

 closeness and tenacity to the granular fat, which every where 

 covers the body, and which liquifies under the touch. 



This, or a species greatly similar, is mentioned by M. de 

 Humboldt, as inhabiting a dark cavern, formed by rocks, 

 thrown together by the hand of nature, in the Cordilleras- 

 " Numberless flights of nocturnal birds," says he, " haunt the 

 crevice, and which we were led at first to mistake for bats of 

 a gigantic size ; thousands of them are seen flying over the 

 surface of the water. The Indians assured us that they are 

 the size of a fowl, with a curved beak, and an owl's eye. 

 They are called cacas, and the uniform colour of their plu- 

 mage, which is brownish gray, leads me to think that they 

 belong to the genus Caprimulgus, the species of which is so 

 various in the Cordilleras. It is impossible to catch them, 

 on account of the depth of the valley, and they can be ex- 

 amined only by throwing down rockets to illuminate the sides 

 of the rock." 



We have inserted a figure, from a specimen brought from 

 South America by the Rev. Mr. Hennah, which we cannot 

 with certainty refer to either of the described species. It may 

 possibly be the female of Dr. Latham. 



I 2 



