136 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



pigmy squirrels played in the top of the palms, or clung 

 like lichens to the tree-trunks. 



Some of the trees bore ripe fruit, and to them many ani- 

 mals ca,me which are hard or even impossible to find imder 

 other conditions, thus makmg an ideal spot for the natural- 

 ist. A few seeds of the alligator-pear cast away by a 

 hunter years before had taken root and grown into good- 

 sized trees; the fruit dropped to the ground as it matured, 

 attracting agoutis, which collected, apparently from some 

 distance, to feed on the rich morsels. Other trees were 

 laden with small berries. Although there was no soimd to 

 indicate the presence of a living thing, we usually discov- 

 ered that first impressions were deceptive. If we waited a 

 short time, a gentle patter on the leaves at our feet re- 

 warded our patience; and then a close scrutiny of the leafy 

 vault revealed silent, dark forms carefully moving among 

 the tops of the branches and reaching out to pick the fruit 

 upon which they were feeding. Gradually the shadowy 

 forms assumed the shape of toucans, parrots, or macaws; 

 the latter two birds are very wasteful and drop far more 

 food than they eat. 



The presence of an ant army is invariably advertised by 

 the sharp chirp of the ant-wrens attending it. We encoun- 

 tered one, and spent an exciting half-hour securing two 

 species of ant-birds, one black with white shoulders (Myrme- 

 lastes), and the other of a brown color with a white line run- 

 ning through the centre of the vmderparts (Anoplops) ; they 

 had been feeding on beetles and spiders, and examination 

 of the stomach contents revealed also a few ants. After 

 shooting a bird it was necessary to enter into the thick of 

 the voracious insects to hunt for it; but before the trophy 

 could be recovered swarms of ants had climbed up our legs 

 and clung with a bulldog grip. 



Occasionally we saw a flock of manakins — ^brilUant Httle 

 sprites of the forest, always found in the densest thickets. 

 Some are black with golden heads; others, also black, have 

 yeUow breasts and long tufts of feathers on the throat, giv- 



