WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 319 



roosts in trees ; but the feet are so small in proportion 

 to the body of this bulky bird, that they can be of no 

 use to it in grasping the branch ; and, moreover, the hind 

 toe is so short, that it does not touch the ground when the 

 bird is walldng. The back part of the leg, just below the 

 knee, is quite flat, and somewhat concave. On it are 

 strong pointed scales, which are very rough, and catch 

 your finger as you move it along from the knee to the toe. 

 Now, by means of these scales, and the particular flatness 

 of that part of the leg, the bird is enabled to sleep in safety 

 upon the branch of a tree. 



At the close of day, the great tinamou gives a loud, 

 monotonous, plaintive whistle, and then immediately 

 springs into the tree. By the light of the full moon, the 

 vigilant and cautious naturalist may see him sitting in the 

 position already described. 



The small Tinamou has nothing that can be called a 

 tail. It never lays more than one egg, which is of a 

 chocolate colour. It makes no nests, but merely scratches 

 a little hollow in the sand, generally at the foot of a tree. 



Here we have an instance of a bird, the size of a partridge, 

 and of the same tribe, laying only one egg, while the rest 

 of the family, from the peahen to the quail, are known to 

 lay a considerable number. The foot of this bird is very 

 small in proportion, but the back part of the leg bears no 

 resemblance to that of the larger tinamou; hence one 

 might conclude that it sleeps upon the ground. 



Independent of the hollow trees, the Vampires have 

 another hiding-place. They clear out the inside of the 

 large ants' nests, and then take possession of the shell. 

 I had gone about half a day down the river, to a part 

 of the forest where the wallaba-trees were in great 

 plenty. The seeds had ripened, and I was in hopes to have 

 got the large scarlet ara, which feeds on them. But, 



