320 



ZOOLOGY OF 



by driving a wooden plug up its nostrils. The Indian fills his 

 canoe full of water, and sinks it beneath the body ; he then 

 bales out the water, and paddles home with a load which 

 requires a dozen men to move on shore. The meat is very 

 good, and both for it and for the oil the animal is much sought 

 after. It ascends most of the tributaries of the Amazon, but 

 does not pass the falls or rapids. 



B. Birds. 



The birds of the Amazon district are so numerous and 

 striking, that it is impossible here to do more than mention a 

 few of the most interesting and beautiful, so as to give some 

 general idea of the ornithology of the district. 



Among the birds of prey, the most conspicuous are the 

 King Vulture {Sarcorhamphus papa), and the Harpy Eagle 

 (Thrasaetos harpy ia), both of which are found in the whole 

 district of the lower Amazon. There is also a great variety of 

 eagles, hawks, kites, and owls, and probably betw^een twenty 

 and thirty species may be obtained in the country around 

 Para. 



Those two fine eagles, the Spizaetus ornatus and the 

 Morphnus Gutanensis, inhabit the Upper Amazon. 



Among the smaller perching-birds, the yellow-breasted tyrant 

 shrikes immediately attract attention, perched upon dead trees 

 in the open grounds. In the forests the curious notes of the 

 bush-shrikes {ThamnophilincE) are often heard, and the ever- 

 recurring vociferous cries of the great grey tyrant-flycatcher 

 (Lipaugus st7nplex). 



Several pretty little tanagers are found about Pard ; but the 

 exquisite little seven-coloured tanager {Calospiza tatad), and 

 the scarcely less beautiful scarlet and black one {Rha77iphocelis 

 mgrogularis,) do not occur till we reach the Rio Negro and 

 the Upper Amazon. 



The Chatterers form one of the most splendid families of 

 birds, and we have on the Amazon some of the finest species, 

 such as the Cotinga cayana, C, coerulea, Fhcemciirus carnifex, 

 and F. militaris, which are found at Para, and the C. Fompa- 

 doura, and F ^wogularis on the Upper Amazon and Rio 

 Negro, 



