J. J. QUELCH. 123 
totheres will be found to contain snakes and lizards, and 
Rostrhamus the soft parts, picked out by their long, curved 
and sharp beaks, from the shells of the apple-snails (Ampu/- 
laria glauca and A. amazonica), The vultures (Cathartes), 
in the forest districts, contain almost invariably a preponder- 
ance of fruit and leaves; while A/ycteria, the giant Stork, 
seems to prefer, or at any rate is only able to secure, in the 
depth of the dry and wet seasons, the commonest beetles, 
grasshoppers and locusts. The most marked diet, however, 
is that of the Hoatzin (Ofisthocomus cristatus), which 
feeds only on the young leaves and the fruit of two plants 
that grow along the swampy margins of the rivers and 
small streams, Drepanocarpus lunatus and Montrichardia 
arborescens. 
The periodic migration of birds presents also some 
curious point of interest in Guiana, Thus genera such as 
Charadrius, Gambetta, Totanus, Symphemia, etc., which pass 
through our districts in enormous numbers on their down- 
ward journey from the temperate districts in September and 
October, are never seen by us in the spring on their return 
journey northward. Curious, too, is the fact that while these 
are only chance visitors once a year, other migratory birds, 
like the Yellow-bird (Dendraca), which become extremely 
plentiful in the months of October, November, December, 
January, February and March, yet remain in diminished 
numbers the year round, and even nest and rear their off- 
spring in the tropics. 
Local migration, too, is noteworthy—dependent on the 
seasons, the dryness or flooding of the savannahs, and the 
flowering and fruiting of certain trees, shrubs or grasses, as 
well as on the consequent abundance of insects. Food 
relations such as these are most marked in such cases as 
those of Wild Ducks, Cotingas, Parrots and great numbers 
of the Grailla. 
One characteristic of our birds that strikes the beholder 
most forcibly is their astonishing brilliance and vividness of 
