TOUCANS— HUMMING-BIRDS— BELL-BIKDS. 



647 



noisy birds. In rainy weather their clamor is heard at all hours of the day, and in 

 fair weather at morning and evening. The sound which the Bouradi makes is like the 

 clear yelping of a puppy dog, and you fancy he says pia-po-o co," and thus the 

 South American Spaniards call him Piapoco. 



To paint the Humming-bird with colors worthy of its beauty, would be a task as 

 difficult as to fix on canvas the glowing tints of the rainbow, or the glories of the 

 setting sun. The Indians of the Amazon call it "a living sun-beam." Unrivalled 

 in the metallic brilliancy of its plumage, it may truly be called the bird of paradise ; 

 and had it existed in the Old World it would no doubt have claimed the title instead of 

 the splendid bird which has now the honor to bear it. See with what lightning speed 

 it darts from flower to flower ; now hovering for an instant before you, as if to give you an 

 opportunity of admiring its surpassing beauty, and now again vanishing with the ra- 

 pidity of thought. But do not fancy that these winged jewels of the air, buzzing 

 like bees round the blossoms less gorgeous than themselves, live entirely on the honey- 

 dew collected within their petals ; for on opening the stomach of one of them, dead 

 insects are almost always found there, which its long and slender beak, and cloven ex- 

 tensile tongue, like that of the woodpecker, enable it to catch at the very bottom of 

 the tubular corollas. 



The torrid zone is the chief seat of the humming-birds, but in summer they wander 

 far beyond its bounds, and follow the sun in his annual declensions to the poles. Thus, 

 in the north, they appear as flying visitors on the borders of the Canadian lakes, and 

 on the southern coast of the peninsula of Alaska ; while in the southern hemisphere 

 they roam as far as Patagonia, and even as Tierra del Fuego ; visiting in the northern 

 hemisphere the confines of the walrus, and reaching in the south the regions of the 

 penguins and the lion-seal ; advancing towards the higher latitudes with the advance 

 of summer, and again retreating at the approach of autumn. All attempts to trans- 

 port them alive to Europe have hitherto been fruitless. Latham relates that a young 

 man cut ofi" the branch on which a hummino-bird was breedino;, and took it on board 

 the ship which conveyed him to England. The mother soon grew tame, and took the 

 biscuit and honey, that was offered her ; she also continued to breed during the pas- 

 sage, but died as soon as the young crept out of the shell. These came alive to Eng- 

 land, and withstood during two months the uncongenial climate. 



Next to the humming-birds the Cotingas display the gayest plumage. They are, 

 however, not often seen, for they lead a solitary life in the moist and shadowy forests, 

 where they feed on the various seeds and fruits of the woods. One species is attired 

 in burning scarlet, others in purple and blue, but they are all so splendidly adorned 

 that it would be difficult to say which of them deserved the prize for beauty. Most 

 of the Cotingas have no song ; the nearly related snow-white Campanero or Bell-Bird, 

 however, amply makes up for the deficient voice of his cousins, by the singularity and 

 sweetness of his note. He is about the size of a jay. On his forehead rises a singu- 

 lar spiral tube nearly three inches long. It is jet black, dotted all over with small 

 white feathers. It has a communication with the palate, and when filled with air looks 

 like a spire, when empty it becomes pendulous. " His note is loud and clear, like the 

 sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance of three miles," says Waterton. 

 " Three miles ! " exclaims Sydney Smith, dubiously ; " this little bird being more pow- 

 erful than the belfry of a cathedral ringing for a new dean ! It is impossible to con- 



