404 The Bell-birds of America. 



them. The resemblance of these to the sound of an. anvil is 

 most extraordinary. The clear metallic ring, repeated at about 

 the same rate that a blacksmith strikes upon the anvil, is so per- 

 fect that many persons upon hearing it are unwilling to 

 believe the sound could be produced by the delicate organs 

 forming the vocal apparatus of so small a bird." 



I may add that the bird also makes the most extraordinary 

 gesticulations when producing these sounds. When commenc- 

 ing its song it usually stands upright with its bill aloft, as re- 

 presented in the coloured plate herewith given. Subsequently it- 

 lowers its bill and throws itself violently forward and down- 

 ward, seeming to assist itself in this manner to pour forth its 

 final notes. 



The Araponga lost the brilliant green colour of its face and 

 throat at the conclusion of the love-season, and those parts 

 became of a dull grey or lead-colour, as they now remain. 

 Later in the summer a second example of the same species 

 was purchased for the Society. It was a young male, which, 

 as is usually the case with young birds, was clad in the plumage 

 of the female, but is now gradually assuming its adult dress. 

 "We are in great hopes, therefore, of having both these birds 

 in full song during the ensuing summer. 



In the forests of Cayenne, British Guiana, and Surinam, the 

 Araponga is replaced by a second bird of the same genus, the 

 " Campanero," or Ghasmorhynchus nireus of naturalists. In this 

 species the adult male is pure white, as in its Brazilian represen- 

 tative, but there is no deficiency of feathers on the throat, and a 

 long straight caruncle issues from the base of the bill, which at 

 once distinguishes it from the preceding. This curious 

 caruncle in a specimen of a young male in my collection is 

 about three and a half inches long, but is often longer in 

 adults. It is scantily clothed with small feathers throughout. 

 In the breeding-season it is probably carried erect, as figured 

 by Buffon in his Planches Enluminees, No. 793, at any rate 

 when the bird is in song. The female has no caruncle, and 

 much resembles the same sex in the preceding species. The 

 Bell-bird of Cayenne was well-known to the older authors, but 

 our best account of its habits is derived from the Wanderings 

 of the late Mr. Waterton, who, speaking of the Cotingas, of 

 Demerara, says : — 



" The fifth species is the celebrated f Campanero' of the 

 Spaniards, called ' Dara ; by the Indians, and ' Bell-bird ' by 

 the English. He is about the size of the jay. His plumage 

 is white as snow. On his forehead rises a spiral tube, nearly 

 three inches long. It is jet black, dotted all over with small 

 white feathers. It has a communication with the palate, and 

 when filled with air looks like a sjrirc ; when empty it becomes 



