TRAVELS IN BRAZIL, 



163 



mirim) * runs heavily through the plain, and, in case 

 af need, lying on its back, threatens its pursuers 

 with its sharp claws. Far from all noise, the slen- 

 der deer t, the black tapir or a pecari |, feed on the 

 skirts of the forest. Elevated above all this, the 

 red-headed vulture ( Urubu) § soars in the higher 

 regions ; the dangerous rattle-snake (Cascaoel) ||, 

 hidden in the grasses, excites terror by its rattle ; 

 the gigantic snake sports suspended from the tree 

 with its head upon the ground ; and the crocodile **, 

 resembling the trunk of a tree, basks in the sun on 

 the banks of the pools. After all this has passed 

 during the day before the eyes of the traveller, the 

 approach of night, with the chirping of the grass- 

 hoppers, the monotonous cry of the goat-sucker 

 (Jodo corta pdo)\\, the barking of the prowling 

 wolf tt, and of the shy fox §§, or the roaring of the 

 ounces || ||, complete the singular picture of the ani- 

 mal kingdom in these peaceful plains. 



* Myrmecophaga jubata, tetradactyla, tridactyla. 



f Cervus campestris, longicaudatus (Catingheiro), tenuicor- 

 nis (Galheiro) nob. 



X Tapir major, minor (Sapateira, Xures) ; Dicotyles Tajassu 

 L., labiatus Cuv., brevipes nob. 



§ Cathartes ruficoUis. (Query, the Turkey buzzard, Catesby?) 



II Crotalus cascavella. (Spix, Serp. Bras. tab. xxiv.) 



^ Boa constrictor. 



** Jacaretinga moschatus ; Crocodilus fissipes nob. (Spix^ 

 Lacertae Bras., tab. i. and ii.) 



ft Caprimulgus albicollis, cayennensis. 



XX Lupus mexicanus, Cuv. §§ Vulpes campestris, nob, 



II II Felis brasiliensis, On9a, concolor. 



M 2 



