A BRAZILIAN FOREST 27 



minutes in our steam launch took us across to 

 Itaparica, where, after passing through a passage 

 in the reef, we landed in a smaU " Berthon " 

 boat. A great part of the island has been cleared, 

 and it required over an hour's walk to reach the 

 nearest patch of virgin forest. The luxuriance 

 of the vegetation in a Brazilian forest is truly- 

 wonderful ; even at mid-day in the thickest part 

 of the forest one might imagine it was twilight, 

 owing to the density of the foliage. Brightly 

 coloured birds and butterflies are met with at 

 every step, and it would seem that in every patch 

 of forest there are different species of birds, while 

 every hour of the day brings forth new forms 

 of butterflies. 



It was on this island that we first saw humming- 

 birds, a large blue species* being the most 

 abundant. We were rather surprised to notice 

 how frequently these birds perch. I had always 

 accepted it as a general belief that humming-birds 

 seldom settled, but were nearly always on the wing. 

 Since this, my first acquaintance with these ex- 

 quisite little birds, I have had the good fortune 

 to meet with examples of many other species of 

 humming-birds in South America and the West 

 Indies, and have noted that they are as often at 

 rest on the trees as hovering round the flowers in 

 search of food. All the specimens obtained were 

 carefuUy examined during the process of skinning, 



* Ewpetomena macrura. 



