849.] 



IMPERIAL PARROTS. 



91 



returned it to the owner, who had warranted it steady and 

 adapted for my purpose, but, after much trouble and annoy- 

 ance, I was obliged to lose the £,\o I had given in part 

 payment. In the beginning of July my younger brother H. 

 came out to Para to assist me ; and by the return of the vessel 

 in which he arrived, I sent off my collections of fish and 

 insects up to this time. 



We had the good fortune one day to fall in with a small 

 flock of the rare and curious bell-bird {Chasmorhynchus carun- 

 culatus)^ but they were on a very thick lofty tree, and took 

 flight before we could get a shot at them. Though it was 

 about four miles ofl" in the forest, we went again the next day, 

 and found them feeding on the same tree, but had no better 

 success. On the third day we went to the same spot, but 

 from that time saw them no more. The bird is of a pure 

 white colour, the size of a blackbird, has a broad bill, and 

 feeds on fruits. From the base of the bill above grows a 

 fleshy tubercle, two to three inches long, and as thick as a 

 quill, sparingly clothed with minute feathers : it is quite lax, 

 and hangs down on one side of the bird's head, not stuck up 

 like a horn, as we see it placed in some stuffed specimens. 

 This bird is remarkable for its loud clear ringing note, like a 

 bell, which it utters at midday, when most other birds are 

 silent. 



A few days after, we found feeding on the same tree some 

 beautiful yellow parrots. They are called here imperial parrots, 

 and are much esteemed because their colours are those of the 

 Brazilian flag — yellow ::cnd green. I had long been seeking 

 them, and was much pleased when my brother shot one. It is 

 the Conurus CarolinecB, and is figured by Spix in his expensive 

 work on the birds of Brazil. 



