A Collecting Trip on the Abary. 365 
a house, if one may make a distinction. Tiger Island 
consists of a small tra6t of slightly elevated land, on 
which there are a few large forest trees, on the left bank, 
a few miles below the pumping engine house of Plantation 
Bath. In the wet season, it is said to be stri6tly an island, 
since the surrounding savannah is flooded with water ; 
but in the dry weather it is a splendid camping ground, 
giving extensive views of the savannah on both sides of 
the creek — on the left bank bounded by a high ridge of 
.^Eta palms (Mauritia jlexuosa) and on the right stretch- 
ing away as far as the eye can reach, with occasional 
clumps of trees like forest islands on the plain. The 
house is beautifully situated on the top of the high land, 
and fully exposed to the delightful breeze from across the 
savannah. 
Here the Toco bill-bird (Ramphastos toco) having 
an inordinately long and indescribably rich orange- 
coloured bill, with a large ovoid black patch at the tip, 
occurs, together with the common red-billed species 
(R. erythrorhynchus) . They are, however, very shy and 
were difficult to obtain. The blue and yellow macaw 
(Ara ararauna) is sometimes found here also, and a 
dried skin of one which had been shot a short time 
before, was hung up inside the house. In the rainy season, 
the large Waders, such as the negrocop (Mycteria 
americana) and the Heeri (Ardea cocoi ?), are said to 
be plentiful in the surrounding savannah; but in the dry 
weather they are difficult to find, and even more so to 
obtain. 
This first Sunday evening at Tiger Island was ex- 
tremely beautiful. The young moon, about two days 
old, was sinking as a pale crescent on the star spangled 
ZZ2 
