462 
ZOOLOGY OF 
species, sucli as the Cotinga cayana, C. ccerulea, Thceni- 
cums carnifex, and P. militaris, which are found at 
Para, and the C. Pompadoura and P. nigrogularis on the 
Upper Amazon and Rio Negro. 
The hang-nest Orioles, species of Cassicus^ are nume- 
rous, and by their brilliant plumage of yellow or red 
and black, and their curious pendulous nests, give a 
character to the ornithology of the country. 
Woodpeckers, kingfishers, and splendid metallic jaca- 
mars and trogons, are numerous in species and indi- 
viduals. But of all the famihes of birds that inhabit this 
country, the parrots and the toucans are perhaps the 
most characteristic ; they abound in species and indi- 
viduals, and are much more frequently seen than any 
other birds. 
Prom Para to the Rio Negro I met with sixteen spe- 
cies of toucans, the most curious and beautiful of which 
is the Fteroglossus Peauliarnasii^ or ‘‘curl-crested Ara- 
9ari,’’ whose glossy crest of horny black curls is unique 
. among birds. 
Of parrots and paroquets I found at least thirty dis- 
tinct species, varying in size from the little Psittaculus 
passerinus, scarcely larger than a sparrow, to the magni- 
ficent crimson macaws. In ascending the Amazon, large 
flocks of parrots are seen, every morning and evening, 
crossing the river to their feeding- or resting-places ; and 
however many there may be, they constantly fly in pairs, 
as do also the macaws,— while the noisy little paroquets 
associate indiscriminately in flocks, and fly from tree to 
tree with a rapidity which few birds can surpass. 
Though humming-birds are almost entirely confined 
