1848.] 



HABITS OF BIRDS. 



59 



which they catch on the wing, and then return to their former 

 station to devour them. Then there are the trogons, with a 

 strong serrated bill, which have similar habits ; and the little 

 humming-birds, though they generally procure insects from 

 the flowers, often take them on the wing, like any other fissi- 

 rostral bird. 



What birds can have their bills more peculiarly formed than 

 the ibis, the spoonbill, and the heron ? Yet they may be seen 

 side by side, picking up the same food from the shallow 

 water on the beach ; and on opening their stomachs, we find 

 the same little Crustacea and shell-fish in them all. Then 

 among the fruit-eating birds, there are pigeons, parrots, toucans, 

 and chatterers, — families as distinct and widely separated as 

 possible, — which yet may be often seen feeding all together on 

 the same tree; for in the forests of South America, certain 

 fruits are favourites with almost every kind of fruit-eating bird. 

 It has been assumed by some writers on Natural History, that 

 every wild fruit is the food of some bird or animal, and that 

 the varied forms and structure of their mouths may be neces- 

 sitated by the peculiar character of the fruits they are to feed 

 on ; but there is more of imagination than fact in this 

 statement : the number of wild fruits furnishing food for birds 

 is very limited, and birds of the most varied structure and of 

 every size will be found visiting the same tree. 



Insects were now more abundant than ever, and new kinds 

 were met with almost every day. Lovely little butterflies, 

 spangled with gold, or glittering with the most splendid 

 metallic tints, hid themselves under leaves or expanded their 

 wings in the morning sun ; while the larger and more majestic 

 kinds flew lazily along the shaded forest paths. The more 

 sombre HesperidcB were the most abundant, and it would often 

 happen that, of a dozen specimens taken in a day's excursion, 

 no two were alike. 



At length the canoe, for which I had been waiting, was 

 ready to sail ; and on the 3rd of November we left Para for 

 the island of Mexiana, situated in the main stream of the 

 Amazon, between the great island of Marajo and the northern 

 shore. We had to go down the Para river, and round the 

 eastern point of Marajo, where we were quite exposed to the 

 ocean ; and, though most of the time in fresh water, I was very 

 sea-sick all the voyage, which lasted four days. The canoe was 



