OPISTHOCOMUS, 55 



observes : — " It is the Crested Cecilia, which lives in trees 

 bordering river-edges. Its flight is short and heavy ; it appears 

 to be very clumsy, falling forwards and apparently losing its 

 balance whenever it alights, remaining for a short interval with 

 its wings outspread. 



" On l)ringing the head of a s})ecimen I shot within a few 

 inches of my nose, I inhaled a whiff of its perfume which to me 

 resembled a mixture of bad musk and ammonia." 



Mr. Beebe (Our Seaich for a "Wilderness, p. 28) writes : — 

 " Hoatzins — tlie strange ie})iile-like living fossils, which are 

 found only in this part of the world, and which are closely 

 related to no other living bird. As we draw near, the birds 

 flutter through the foliage as if their wings were broken. "We 

 find that this is their usual mode of progression, and for a most 

 interesting reason. Soon after the young Hoatzins are hatched, 

 and while yec unfledged, they are able to leave the nest and climb 

 about the branches, and in this they are greatly aided by the use 

 of the wings as arms and hands. The three fingers of the wing 

 are each armed with a reptile-like claw, and at the approach of 

 danger the birds climl) actively al)0ut like squirrels or lizards. . . . 

 The}' fed chiefly upon leaves, but fish entered into the bill of fare 

 of at least one individual. '' 



The following notes on this species have been quoted from 

 Dr. C. G. Young (Notes Leyden Mus. x. pp. 1G9-171) : — 



" This bird is known also as the stinking pheasant, anna, 

 stinking anna, and van Batenburg's turkey — after a Dutch 

 Governor of years gone by. It gets the name ' stinking ' from 

 the peculiar smell, like fresh cow-dung, that comes from its 

 crop or stomach or both, for when the skin is preserved it 

 possesses no smell, and the body when the inside luis been 

 removed is quite sweet. Notwithstanding the possibility of 

 removing the smell b}- removing the bouels, it is never used 

 as food ; consequfutly it passes its time in peace and plentv. 



" It is found in only one place in this countiy, viz. the Berbico 

 River and one ot" its branches — the Canje Creek, living together 

 in great numbers on the low bushes that border these waters, 

 especially on a pimpler {JJrepanorarpus hnuthis) that stretches 

 its branches over the muddy water and rises and fails with tlu; 

 tide. Any day in tlie year thoy can be seen sitting side by side 

 Wkc love-birds on the branches of tliis slirub or on the low frees 



