THE DESCENT OF THE RIO GY-PARANA 247 



species of Ateles, or spider-monkey, which is very appro- 

 priately named on account of its slender build and long, 

 wiry arms and legs; it also is of a black color, and swings 

 its way through the branches much after the order of a 

 gibbon, although it lacks the latter's agility. The Indians 

 are very fond of this species, both for food and as pets; but 

 whatever epicurean merits may attach to the flesh, in ap- 

 pearance the creatures are most repulsive. The face is 

 pinched and drawn, with a long-suffering expression about 

 the eyes, while a tuft of long, stiff hair extending over the 

 forehead like a ragged cap gives it a greater look of misery 

 and grotesqueness. One specimen which I collected mea- 

 sured six feet two inches from the tips of the fingers to the 

 tip of the tail. 



Birds were not imcommon, but rather hard to observe on 

 accovmt of the density of the vegetation. Near the river 

 stretched a wide band of bamboo, beautiful to look upon 

 but impossible to penetrate without the aid of a machete. 

 Just beyond, the trees grew tall and in close proximity, 

 giant castanhas, heveas, and ironwoods intermingling their 

 branches to form a canopy of deepest green, impervious to 

 sunlight and through which rain filtered slowly; palms, 

 ferns, and thorny shrubbery formed a dense imdergrowth 

 near the streams, so that progress at best was slow. From 

 all sides came the clear, ringing "hoo^whee-whee-hoo" of 

 the gold-bird, or whistling cotinga, often misnamed the 

 bell-bird, and although the sound came from but a few feet 

 overhead, it was usually impossible to locate the dull, slate- 

 colored songster perched motionless on a well-screened 

 branch. The smaller species of birds travelled in large flocks, 

 doubtless deriving some mutual benefit from this mode of 

 living; usually the band was preceded by a few scouting 

 brown wood-hewers, some with slender bills four inches 

 long bent in a half-'circle, flitting silently from trunk to 

 trunk, lighting low down and running up rapidly, while 

 they searched the crevices in the bark for insects; then 

 came the vast host of vireos, warblers, flycatchers, tana- 



