1850.] 
DANCING BIEDS. 
227 
the village returned with farinha, salt, and a few mam- 
mee apples, which were very refreshing. 
We staid here four days longer, with various success : 
some days we had not a bird; others, plenty of game, 
and one or two gallos. What with monkeys, guans, 
and mutuns, we had pretty good fare in the meat way. 
One day I went out alone, and by patiently watching 
under a fruit-treet in a drenching shower, was rewarded 
by obtaining another beautiful gallo. Two were brought 
in alive : one of them I killed and skinned at once, 
knowing the great risk of attempting to keep them 
alive ; the other was kept by the Indian who caught it, 
but a few weeks afterwards it died. They are caught 
by snares at certain places, where the males assemble to 
play. These places are on rocks, or roots of trees, and 
are worn quite smooth and clean. Two or three males 
meet and perform a kind of dance, walking and jigging 
up and down. The females and young are never seen 
at these places, so that you are sure of catching only 
full-grown fine-plumaged males. I am not aware of any 
other bird that has this singular habit. On the last day 
of om: stay, we were rather short of provisions. The 
Indians supped well off a young alligator they had 
caught in a brook near; but the musky odour was so 
strong that I could not stomach it, and, after getting- 
down a bit of the tail, finished my supper with mingau. 
The next day we returned home to the little village. 
With twelve hunters, nine days in the forest, I had ob- 
tained twelve gallos, two of which I had shot myself ; I 
had, besides, two fine trogons, several little blue-capped 
manikins, and some curious barbets, and ant-thrushes. 
Q 2 
