1308 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



On the whole, however^ I was too much absorbed 

 in the novelt)^ of the method of work and its 

 unexpected results to give any thought to the 

 annoyances. 



The principal jungle flower was the heliconia, 

 whose scarlet, jagged spikes glowed brightly 

 against the dark foliage. Variegated leaves 

 were abundant and Avhen the slanting sun struck 

 through the jungle, it often appeared vivid with 

 color. Black capuchin monkeys of more than 

 one species were occasionally seen and I saw 

 as many as nine in a band. Three-toed sloths 

 were common as were agoutis and small squir- 

 rels. But during my periods of watching, no 

 mammal came near the tree. The more common 

 sounds were the usual ones of light jungle. 

 Tinamou called and answered one another, gold- 

 birds lifted their wonderful voices far away 

 in the forest, toucans yelped, caciques squeaked 

 and gurgled overhead, cicadas shrilled and buz- 

 zed and great bees and hummingbirds whirred 

 past. After the daily rain, tiniest of frogs 

 would each strike up a single, shrill note, un- 

 ceasingly reiterated. 



My business was chiefly with the birds which 

 I could observe from my canvas seat. I spent 

 from two to six hours each day for a period 

 of one week in the immediate vicinity of the 

 tree and during that time identified ninety-seven 

 species of birds, none of which were more than 

 a few yards from the trail. A further division 

 of these is as follows : 



Aerial species flying overhead 7 



Birds of the surrounding jungle... 14 

 Birds observed in the tree 76 



Of the seven aerial species, one was a vulture, 

 one a nighthawk, one a swift and four were 

 swallows. These all came into view at one time 

 or another across the patch of sky visible be- 

 yond the upper branches of the tree. Now and 

 then birds of prey appeared, but at such great 

 elevations that I was unable to identify them. 



The fourteen birds of the surrounding jungle 

 may be divided thus: One tinamou, dove, wood- 

 pecker, kingfisher, trogon, ani and woodhewer ; 

 two antbirds, two flycatchers and three finches. 

 In one or two instances these were birds of 

 adjoining fields which had strayed a little waj' 

 into the undergrowth. The majority, however, 

 were typical of the lower jungle strata, either 

 terrestrial or living in the low undergrowth. 



This series of strata of bird life visible to 

 me as I sat quietly, hour after hour, was very 

 striking, a phenomenon which would never come 

 to one while moving about through the jungle. 

 Bound to the ground were the tinamou, and 



almost as terrestrial were the rustling ground 

 doves. In the lower underbrush finches, synal- 

 laxis and antbirds moved restlessly ; a little 

 higher, manakins whirred about and woodhewers 

 hitched up the trunks. Then came the birds of 

 the upper branches — callistes, tanagers, fly- 

 catchers, toucans and parrakeets. Then the low 

 fliers — the swallows, martins, swifts and night- 

 hawks and finally the vultures, hanging like the 

 faintest of motes in the sunlight high above the 

 earth. 



The tree was smooth-barked, richly decorated 

 with lichens and while only about fifteen inches 

 in diameter at a man's height above the ground, 

 it was very tall in proportion. The first branch- 

 es were small, mostly dead and about sixty feet 

 up. From this point the trunk split into lesser 

 divisions and lifted its topmost foliage into the 

 full tropical light and heat a hundred and ten 

 feet above the ground. The berries were small, 

 round and three-parted and, like the leaves, 

 slightly acrid, with a spicy, aromatic flavor. 



A few minutes after dawn I have counted 

 eight birds in the tree and a half dozen would 

 sometimes linger until dusk. As a rule, however, 

 there were few in sight until 7:30 or 8:00 A. M., 

 after which there would be a continual coming 

 and going until the heat of mid-day drove all 

 to shelter. The larger number of afternoon 

 visitors came after the rain was over. Sunshin:.-. 

 had much to do with the presence of the birds, 

 and a cloudy half-hour meant but scant notes 

 as I sat beneath. With the reappearing of the 

 sun, the birds would again begin to flock from 

 the surrounding jungle. 



Abundance of species and relative fewness of 

 individuals is a pronounced characteristic of any 

 tropical fauna. This was beautifulh^ shown by 

 my first two days' collection from the tree, col- 

 lecting, too, which was quite indiscriminate in 

 character, very different from the more careful 

 picking and choosing with which I shot on suc- 

 ceeding days. The first day I secured sixteen 

 birds, all of different species. The second morn- 

 ing I got fourteen, all different, and only one 

 of which was represented in the lot of the pre- 

 vious day. Thus in five hours' time I secured 

 thirty specimens of twenty-nine species. From 

 the entire district of Para, three hundred and 

 seventy-nine birds have been recorded. In this 

 single tree within a week's time and during a 

 ]ieriod of intermittent observation I found sev- 

 enty-six species. 



The bird visitors to the tree arrived in one 

 of two characteristic ways. Many came direct 

 and SAviftly, singly or in pairs, flying straight 

 and with decision as if from a distance. A 



