114 



WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



languish and die in a cage. They soon become very 

 familiar ; and if you allow them the liberty of the house, 

 they liv€ longer than in a cage, and appear in better 

 spirits ; but, when you least expect it, they drop down 

 and die in epilepsy. 



Smaller in size, and of colour not so rich, 

 cies^^o?T?ou- and somewhat differently arranged, another 

 species of troupiale sings melodiously in 

 Demerara. The woodcutter is particularly favoured 

 by him ; for while the hen is sitting on her nest built 

 in the roaf of the woodcutter s house, he sings for hours 

 together close by : he prefers the forests ta the culti- 

 vated parts. 



You would not grudge to stop for a few minutes as 

 you are walkinsj in the plantations, to ob- 



Third spe- . 



cies of Trou- scrvc a third species of troupiale : his wings, 

 tail, and throat are black, all the rest of the 

 body is a bright yellow. There is something very sweet 

 and plaintive in his song, though much shorter than 

 that of the troupiale in the interior. 



A fourth species sjoes in flocks from place 

 cies of Trou- to place in the cultivated parts at the time 

 the Indian corn is ripe ; he is all black, 

 except the head and throat, which are yellow ; his 

 attempt at song is not worth attending to. 



Wherever there is a wild fig-tree ripe, a 

 ci^s^^^^^^^^" 11™^^^^'^^^ species of birds, called Tangara, is 

 sure to be on it. There are eighteen beau- 

 tiful species here. Their plumage is very rich and 

 diversified ; some of them boast six separate colours ; 

 others have the blue, purple, green, and black so kindly 

 blended into each other, that it would be impossible to 

 mark their boundaries ; while others again exhibit them 



