THE AMAZON DISTRICT, 



321 



The hang-nest Orioles, species of Cassicus, are numerous, 

 and by their brilliant plumage of yellow or red and black, and 

 their curious pendulous nests, give a character to the ornitho- 

 logy of the country. 



Woodpeckers, kingfishers, and splendid metallic jacamars 

 and trogons, are numerous in species and individuals. But of 

 all the families of birds that inhabit this country, the parrots 

 and the toucans are perhaps the most characteristic; they 

 abound in species and individuals, and are much more fre- 

 quently seen than any other birds. 



From Para to the Rio Negro I met with sixteen species 

 of toucans, the most curious and beautiful of which is the 

 Pteroglossus Beauharnasii^ or "curl-crested Aragari,'' whose 

 glossy crest of horny black curls is unique among birds. 



Of parrots and paroquets I found at least thirty distinct 

 species, varying in size from the little Fsittaculus passeriims, 

 scarcely larger than a sparrow, to the magnificent crimson 

 macaws. In ascending the Amazon, large flocks of parrots 

 are seen, every morning and evening, crossing the river to 

 their feeding- or resting-places ; and however many there may 

 be, they constantly fly in pairs, as do also the macaws, — while 

 the noisy Httle paroquets associate indiscriminately in flocks, 

 and fly from tree to tree with a rapidity which few birds can 

 surpass. 



Though humming-birds are almost entirely confined to 

 tropical America, they appear to abound most in the hilly and 

 mountainous districts, and those of the level forests of the 

 Amazon are comparatively few and inconspicuous. The whole 

 number of species I met with in the Lower Amazon and Rio 

 Negro, does not exceed twenty, and few of them are very hand- 

 some. The beautiful little Lophornis Goiildi^ found rarely at 

 Para, and the magnificent Topaza pyra^ which is not uncommon 

 on the Upper Rio Negro, are, however, exceptions, and will 

 bear comparison with any species in this wonderful family. 



Probably no country in the world contains a greater variety 

 of birds than the Amazon valley. Though I did not collect 

 them very assiduously, I obtained upwards of five hundred 

 species, a greater number than can be found all over Europe ; 

 and I have little hesitation in saying that any one collecting 

 industriously for five or six years might obtain near a thousand 

 different; kinds. 



