12 



WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



whistle from the depth of the forest, and then stops ; 

 whilst the yelping of the toucan, and the shrill voice 

 of the bird called pi-pi-yo^ are heard during the interval. 

 The canipanero never fails to attract the attention of 

 the passenger : at a distance of nearly three miles, you 

 may hear this snow-white bird tolling every four or 

 five minutes like the distant convent-bell. From six 

 to nine in the morning, the forests resound with the 

 mingled cries and strains of the feathered race ; after 

 this they gradually die away. From eleven to three all 

 nature is hushed as in a midnight silence, and scarce a 

 note is heard, saving that of the campanero and the 

 pi-pi-yo ; it is then that, oppressed by the solar heat, 

 the birds retire to the thickest shade, and wait for the 

 refreshing cool of evening. 



At sundown the vampires, bats, and goat-suckers 

 dart from their lonely retreat, and skim along the trees 

 •on the river's bank. The different kinds of frogs almost 

 stun the ear with their hoarse and hollow-sounding 

 croaking, while the owls and goat-suckers lament and 

 mourn all night long. 



About two hours before daybreak you will hear the 

 red monkey moaning as though in deep distress ; the 

 houtou, a solitary bird, and only found in the thickest 

 recesses of the forest, distinctly articulates " houtou, 

 houtou," in a low and plaintive tone, an hour before 

 sunrise ; the maam whistles about the same hour ; the 

 hannaquoi, pataca, and maroudi announce his near ap- 

 proach to the eastern horizon, and the parrots and the 

 parroquets confirm his arrival there. 



The crickets chirp from sunset to sunrise, and often 

 during the day when the weather is cloudy. The 

 beterouge is extremely numerous in these extensive 



