422 Walter Goodfellow—Some Reminiscences of a Collector


long forked tails extended to their utmost capacity. Where they

nested (if at all with us) I never found out, but certainly much courting

went on in the air.


When our people (Indians and half-cast Indians) knew of my

fondness for birds, they brought me many nestlings during the season,

so in the end I had a great variety of pets about the place : in fact,

I often thought that without some such hobby one would have gone

mad down there, or taken to drink, or some other vice, as had my

predecessor. Such birds as Curassows, Penelopes, and Guans and a

few others, had their full liberty. At one time I had no less than eight

White-crested Penelopes (Pijpile cristata), which I find particularly

decorative birds, all hand-reared. To see them stretched out on the

floor of the verandah sunning themselves was a beautiful sight, the

sheen on their plumage showing to full advantage, but then they are

grace itself at all times, with large, appealing eyes. The wall of forest

which enclosed the clearing was not far off, and whenever I went out

and whistled they flew to me at once in a long line like small planes

without a movement of the wings and alighted on my shoulders and

outstretched arms. This is certainly one of the most delightful birds

to have at liberty around a house, and it is a pity they are not more

often imported here and better known, as I am sure they would not

fail to become popular especially with those who have country homes.

They are by no means rare, and have a wide range in South America.

The same applies to the smaller Guans, although they are not so

beautiful. On the Rio Napo, one of the headwaters of the Amazon,

I once had an adult Guan (Ortalis guttata) brought to me which was

so wild I had for my own peace of mind to let it go after about a week.

The Indian house where I was living was on the bank of the river,

but at the back was a large clearing more or less. In the evening I was

in the habit of walking round here with my gun, and, when watching

some birds in a high tree, a large bird flew from somewhere and settled

on a nearby stump. This was no less than my untamable Guan, which

I recognized at once by one curiously-twisted feather in the tail. It

had then been at liberty for some days and had certainly not forgotten

who fed it, and no doubt missed its bananas, so I hurried back to

fetch some. It would not take them from my hand, but as soon as



