240 



STAY AT MORRO d'aRARA, 



negroes, and used for the tobacco pipes, which are called canudo de 

 samamhaya. 



It was not merely in a botanical, but in a zoological view also, that 

 we found the forests about Vicoza interesting. The cold season 

 causing the forest birds to come down in great numbers, from the in- 

 terior to the coast, enabled our hunters to shoot abundance of parrots, 

 especially maitacas, fpsittacus menstruus, Linn.) toucans, &c. which 

 served us for food. The flesh of the parrot makes very strong broth, 

 but I no where found any confirmation of what Southey says, 

 that it is used as a medicine. The beautiful dark purple chatterer 

 ( ampelis atro-purpurea ) was frequent in these forests ; the beautiful 

 blue kirud or crejod, ( ampelis cotinga. Linn.) which is distinguished 

 by its splendid blue plumage among all the birds of Brazil, was less 

 frequent on the Mucuri, as also a new species of parrot*, &c. The 

 incomparable plumage of the kirua is employed by the nuns of Bahia, 

 in making their beautiful flowers composed of feathers. The skins of 

 these birds have been sometimes sent in considerable numbers to the 

 capital. Among the smaller birds we may remark the nectarinea 

 cyanea^ (certhia cya?iea. Linn.) and spiza, to which the general 

 name of fai is given. We procured also some beautiful serpents, 

 among which were several specimens of the jararacca and a skin of 

 the Jiboya, (boa constrictor of Daudin,) which does not live in Africa 

 as that writer afErms, but is the most common species of this genus 

 in Brazil, 



On the 11th of June I left Vicoza, and proceeded to Caravellas, 

 where I waited for the arrival of the Casqueiro from Rio de Janeiro. 



* Five inches nine lines long ; tail short ; green : the breast, belly, and sides inclining to 

 blue ; the back dark cofFee-colour ; rump almost entirely black : two middle tail feathers 

 green, the lower half red, the others a beautiful red, with broad black tips. In the 

 Berlin Museum, this bird is classed by the name of psittacus melanonotus. The chief charac- 

 teristic of this species, but which is only to be distinguished when in a fresh state, is a naked 

 vermilion-coloured skin round the eye. 



