THE LIFE OF THE ABARY SAVANNAS. 381 



ing whiter and more ghostly than ever, against the darl< 

 clouds; flock after flock flapping silenUy over: a score of 

 Egrets ^^ in an irregidar line, then a dozen more smaller 

 troops; Wood Ibises'" higher up and beating heavily, then 

 — and our pulses quicken — a half dozen great Jabirus '"' — 

 slowly throbbing toward the sunset. The Ducks prefer the 

 river, and above the fluid tide a living river of birds sets up- 

 stream, hosts passing until long after dark. We paddle in 

 the early dusk to mid-stream and the whistling stream of 

 Ducks curves gracefully upward, descending again when 

 beyond us. As we go up or down river, we find the bend 

 always overhead ; when we leave the river, the host resumes 

 its horizontal flow again. Faintly from behind the house, 

 from the edge of the distant eta bush itself, comes in the 

 evenings a low sound, gaining in volume until the syllables 

 may be framed to human speech — Mo-h'oo-ca! Mo-hbo-ca! 

 and we are listening to the evening call of the Horned 

 Screamer,'" a bird known to us only from books. 



The night sounds from the lagoon are full of mystery. 

 Sea-cows souse and roll in the river and apparently at the 

 very landing. Otters play and cough and utter gasping 

 sighs which make one's flesh creep until we learn what they 

 are. The legend of the Warracabra Tigers, which Water- 

 ton and ah after him recount, may well have had its origin 

 in these great river mammals, who are noisy, fearless and 

 sometimes reach a length of six feet. A beautiful skin which 

 I brought home measures five and a half feet from nose to 

 tip of tail. Water-haas, or capybaras, probably add their 

 share to the confusion, but the major part of the medley is 

 due to crocodiles, who wait until night before beginning 

 their active, noisy business of life, which, be it concerned 

 with food, mate or play, requires a vast deal of splashing 

 and bellowing. This latter is a deep abrupt roaring like 

 the final roars of a lion's cadence. An eight-foot croco- 



