1726 Animals of Peru. 



strong flank the army, and look out for prey. These swarms, called by the natives 

 chacus, sometimes enter a hut and clear it of all insects, Amphibia, and other dis- 

 agreeable guests. This work being accomplished, they again form themselves into a 

 long train, and move onwards. The united force of these small creatures is vast, and 

 there is no approach to the fabulous, when it is related that not only snakes, but also 

 large Mammalia, such as agoutis, armadillos, &c, on being surprised by them are 

 soon killed. On the light dry parts of the higher montanas we find the large conical 

 dwellings of the Termes so firmly built, that they are impenetrable even to rifle-shot. 

 They sometimes stand singly, sometimes together, in long lines. In form they 

 strongly resemble the simple, conical Puna hats. 



" Before leaving the animal kingdom of these forest regions, which I have here 

 sketched only briefly and fragmentally, I must notice two insects, the cucaracha and 

 the chilicabra, species of the cockroach (Blatta.). They are exceedingly numerous 

 and troublesome. The cucaracha, which more particularly infests the deep regions of 

 the forest, is an inch and a half long, and above half an inch broad ; it is reddish- 

 brown, with a yellow neck. The chilicabra, though smaller, is more mischievous, by 

 reason of its greater numbers. They settle in the huts, where they destroy provisions, 

 gnaw clothes, get into beds, and into the dishes at meal-time. These insects defy 

 every precaution that can be taken against their tormenting attacks. Luckily, nature 

 has provided enemies for their destruction. Among these is a small reddish-yellow 

 ant, called by the Indians the pucchu-gigi, a useful member of the ant family, for it 

 pursues and destroys the mischievous cockroaches. There is also a very elegant little 

 bird, called the cucarachero {Troglodytes audax, Tsch.), which wages war against these 

 insects. On seizing one of them it first bites off the head, then devours the body, and 

 throws away the tough wings. These operations being completed, it hops to the near- 

 est bush, and tunes its melodious song, the sounds of which closely resemble the words 

 Acabe la tarea ! a name which the Indians give to this bird.* I could yet fill many 

 pages with descriptions of insects which are dangerous or troublesome, and among 

 them are included the jalus, measuring six inches in length, the large black and red 

 scorpion, not forgetting the numerous poisonous wasps and the cicadas. However, 

 those which have been noticed will suffice to afford an idea of the ever-active move- 

 ments of animal life in the forests. 



" Guano, (or according to the more correct orthography, huanu,f) is found on the 

 islands in enormous layers of from thirty-five to forty feet thick. The upper strata 

 are of a grayish-brown colour, which lower down becomes darker. In the lower strata 

 the colour is a rusty red, as if tinged by oxide of iron. The guano becomes progres- 



* Acabe la tarea, may be translated ' My task is finished.' But the Indians 

 are not very consistent in their interpretations of the song of the cucarachero ; for in 

 some districts, they contend that it repeats the words, Cam te, soltera, — ' Go and 

 get married, maiden.' 



f The original word is huanu, which is a term in the Quichua dialect meaning 

 ' animal dung ; ' for example, huanacuhuana, ' excrement of the huanacu.' As the 

 word is now generally used, it is an abbreviation of pishu huana, ' bird dung.' The 

 Spaniards have converted the final syllable nu into no, as they do in all the words 

 adopted from the Quichua which have the like termination. The European ortho- 



