46 
Owls Associate With KatTle-Snakes. 
the boues of a deer, while from a neighbouring tree the Vulture King, 
already crammed with the best of the carcass, looked on in indolent 
stupidity. 
113. The swaml^y grass flat was here and there broken by small patches 
of bush, and covered with the white blossoms of 11 ippcasiriDii ^'o/(/J^(/^^ 
flora 1)1 Herb. Tlie flower-stalk Avas often oO inches long and usually 
carried 2 to 3 blossoms lOiin. long and 6 in. Avide : as with all Amarijllidca 
the leaves appear only after the ilower. Morning und evening they 
spread a lovely perfume. The Macusis called it Manasero: the 
AVapisianas, Guatappu. As to orchids, I found the glorious fJin.sicpJiiuiii 
parvifJoruni Lindl, and CIcisics roaca Lindl, especially in the neighbour- 
hood of the patches of scrub. 
114. I was extremely interested in a small owl which I had already 
noticed for several days past : in its Avay of living it particularly differed 
from all other members of the family- in that unlike them, it did not 
commience its predatory work at nightfall, but carried on the business by 
day. It left the ground but rarely and ducked as soon as it saw us 
approach, to fly a little Avay Avhile we passed, and then settle on the 
ground again, when it always made a piping noise. Only rarely does it 
come within gun"-shot because even at a considerable distance it always 
keeps its ]:)ossible enemy in view, and is artful at dodging his ga/^e. It 
is the Stri.i- cuniculoria Linn., the same species met with on the prairies 
of the western portion of the United States, Avhere it especially enlivens 
the colonies of prairie dogs: it Imilds its nest in their lurking holes at the 
same time living in association with the rattle-snake. From what our 
Indians told us, it nests out here in the spaces and holes that are often 
to be seen at the bott;»m of an ant-hill : the rattle-snake is just as keen on 
these excavations on account of the animal heat derivable from the 
myriads of little insect-folk. 
115. On resuming our course over the savannali we nijet the«e owls 
to-day in greater numbers than ever. Directly they noticed us, they 
stretched their necks up, their big eyes glittering in the sun like stars, 
and then ducked until they believed they recognised a favourable 
opiiortunity for flight. The veiy many goatsuckers which we saw during 
this day's iourney over the savannah likewise played the same trick. 
116. The weariness of the goatsucker, wMch leads the Indians to 
assert that this bird lias another pair of eyes on its back, and the 
smartness it displayed in frustrating our attempts at catching it, 
afforded a lot of sport until our attention was once more drawn to 
something else, the foaming and roaring Watuwau. The river was 
about 150 yards broad, and derived its name from the identical 
Wapisiana term for carrion-crow. Although it suffered from) the same 
dearth of water as the Takutu, and hardly .reached to our waists, its 
passage, owing to the uncommonly strong current and numerously 
scattered granite boulders of all shapes and sizes, was of the most 
difficult nature, especially for mle, because I had just been suddenly 
attacked with a violent attack of fever and was so thoroughly shaken up 
that we had to halt some hours on the opposite bank, before I could get 
along again. The savannah was also here covered Avitl; small nngular 
