126 
WANDERINGS IN 
SECOND 
JOURNEY 
The Ya- 
varaciri. 
belles and dandies, it lias a gaudy vest to veil an ill- 
shaped body: the throat, and part of the head, are 
a bright red; the breast and belly have black spots 
on a yellow ground; the wings are a dark green, 
black, and white; and the rump and tail black 
and green. Like the manikin, it has no song : it 
depends solely upon a showy garment for admiration. 
Devoid, too, of song, and in a still superber 
garb, the Yawaraciri comes to feed on the same 
tree. It has a bar like black velvet from the eyes 
to the beak; its legs are yellow; its throat, wings, 
and tail black; all the rest of the body a charming 
blue. Chiefly in the dry savannas, and here and 
there accidentally in the forest, you see a songless 
yawaraciri still lovelier than the last: his crown is 
whitish blue, arrayed like a coat of mail; his tail 
is black, his wings black and yellow; legs red; 
and the whole body a glossy blue. Whilst roving 
through the forest, ever and anon you see individuals 
of the wren species, busy amongst the fallen leaves, 
or seeking insects at the roots of the trees. 
Here, too, you find six or seven species of small 
birds, whose backs appear to be overloaded with 
silky plumage. One of these, with a chestnut 
breast, smoke-coloured back, tail red, white feathers 
like horns on his head, and white narrow-pointed 
feathers under the jaw, feeds entirely upon ants. 
When a nest of large light brown ants emigrates, 
one following the other in meandering lines above a 
mile long, you see this bird watching them, and 
every now and then picking them up. When they 
