ij3 APPENDIX, 



not a little furprifed at feeing my hands covered and tinged 

 with yellow powder or dull. Upon turning him upon his 

 belly, and examining the feathers of his back, they produced 

 a brown drift, the colour of the feathers there. This dull 

 was not in fmall quantities, for, upon linking his breall, the 

 yellow powder flew in fully greater quantity than from a 

 hair-drefier's powder puff. The feathers of the belly and breall, 

 which were of a gold colour, did not appear to have any thing 

 extraordinary in their formation, but the large feathers in the 

 moulder and wings feemed apparently to be fine tubes,which 

 upon preffure Scattered this dull upon the finer part of thefea- 

 ther,but this was brown , the colour of the feathers of the back. 

 Upon the fide of the wing, the ribs, or hard part of the fea- 

 ther, feemed to be bare as if worn, or, I rather think, were 

 renewing themfelves, having before failed in their func- 

 tion, 



What is the reafon of this extraordinary provifion of na- 

 ture is not in my power to determine. As it is an unufual 

 one, it is probably meant for a defence againll the climate 

 in favour of thofe birds which live in thofe almoll inaccef- 

 fible heights of a country, doomed, even in its lower parts, 

 to feveral months of exceffive rain. The pigeons we faw 

 upon Lamalmon, had not this dull in their feathers, nor 

 had the quails ; from which I guefs thefe to be flrangers, or 

 birds of pafTage, that had no need of this provifion, created 

 for the wants of the indigenous, fuch as this eagle is, for 

 he is unknown in the low country. That fame day I lhot 

 a heron, in nothing different from ours, only that he was 

 fmaller, who had upon his bread and back a blue pow- 

 der, in full as great quantity as that of the eagle. 



BLACK 



