THE GREAT PERICROCOTUS. 
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horn-like structure which grows from its forehead, and rises to a height of some three inches 
when disturbed. This “horn” is jetty black in color, sprinkled very sparingly with little 
tufts of snowy-white down, and as it has a communication with the palate, has probably some- 
thing to do with the bell-like sound of the voice. The song or cry of the Campanero has been 
admirably described by Waterton, in his well-known “ Wanderings in South America ” : — 
“ His note is loud and clear, like the sound of a bell, and may be heard at the distance of 
three miles. In the midst of these extensive wilds, generally on the dried top of an aged 
mora, almost out of your reach, you see the Campanero. No sound or song from any of the 
winged inhabitants of the forest, not even the clearly pronounced ‘ Whip-poor- Will ! ’ from 
the goat-sucker, causes such astonishment as the toll of the Campanero. 
“ With many of the feathered race, he pays the common tribute of a morning and evening 
song ; and even when the meridian sun has shut in silence the mouths of almost the whole of 
animated nature, the Campanero still cheers the forest. You hear his toll, and then a pause 
for a minute,: then another toll, and then a pause again, and then a toll, and again a pause. 
Then he is silent for six or eight minutes, and then another toll, and so on. Acteeon would 
stop in mid-chase, Maria would defer her evening song, and Orpheus himself would drop his 
lute to listen to him, so sweet, so novel and romantic is the toll of the pretty snow-white 
Campanero.” 
The “horn” of the Bell Bird is only erect while the creature is excited and during the 
resonant cry, and when the bird is at rest it hangs loosely on the side of the face. It is sup- 
posed that the Bell Bird builds in Guiana, but its nest and locality of breeding are at present 
unknown. 
THE CATERPILLAR-EATERS. 
To the Chatterers succeed the Campephaginge, or Caterpillar-eaters, which are nearly all 
found in the various countries of the Old World. As their name imports, they live chiefly 
upon caterpillars and other insects, preferring those that are still in the larval state, and 
assiduously examining each leaf and branch in search of their prey. They also eat ants, 
beetles, and other ground-living insects, and are quite as active in chasing them upon the 
earth as in their haunts among the branches. They also eat fruit and berries in the autumn. 
Oxe of the most remarkable birds of this group is the Geeat Pekiceocottjs, the largest 
of its genus. 
This bird is a native of India, where it is found spread over the greater portion of that 
country, and on account of its splendid plumage it attracts great notice even from unscientific 
aud casual observers. It seems to be solitary in its habits, being generally found alone or in 
very small societies, in all probability consisting merely of the parents and their young. It is 
almost exclusively an insect-feeder, eating caterpillars, flies, ants, and various kinds of the 
insect tribe, preferring, however, the beetles, of which it devours very great numbers. It is a 
suspicious and timorous bird, carefully avoiding the presence of human beings, and thus 
ranking as a very scarce bird, although it probably exists in considerable numbers, in its own 
peculiar localities. 
As it is so beautiful a species, it has several times been captured and caged, but it seems 
to defy the powers of the tamer, pines away under confinement, and soon dies. 
The sexes of the Great Pericrocotus are so different in their external appearance, that they 
might easily be mistaken for two distinct species. The adult male is a truly beautiful bird, 
and is thus colored. The ground color of the bird is the deepest imaginable steely-blue, so 
deep, indeed, as to appear black except in certain lights. The head, neck, back, wings, the 
two central tail-feathers, and the base of the remaining tail-feathers, are rich, glowing scarlet. 
