SOUTH AMERICA. 
271 
to the quail, are known to lay a considerable num- FOURTH 
ber. The foot of this bird is very small in propor-- 
tion, but the back part of the leg bears no resem¬ 
blance to that of the larger tinamou; hence one 
might conclude that it sleeps upon the ground. 
Independent of the hollow trees, the vampires 
have another hiding-place. They clear out the in¬ 
side of the large ants’ nests, and then take posses¬ 
sion of the shell. I had gone about half a day doAvn 
the river, to a part of the forest where the wall aba 
trees were in great plenty. The seeds had ripened, 
and I was in hopes to have got the large scarlet ara, 
which feeds on them. But, unfortunately, the time 
had passed away, and the seeds had fallen. 
While ranging here in the forest, we stopped 
under an ants’ nest; and, by the dirt below, conjec¬ 
tured that it had got new tenants. Thinking it no 
harm to dislodge them, u vi et armis,” an Indian 
boy ascended the tree; but, before he reached the 
nest, out flew above a dozen vampires. 
I have formerly remarked that I wished to have The 
it in my power to say, that I had been sucked by ' ampire * 
the vampire. I gave them many an opportunity, 
but they always fought shy ; and though they now 
sucked a young man of the Indian breed very 
severely, as he was sleeping in his hammock in the 
shed next to mine, they would have nothing to do 
with me. His great toe seemed to have all the at¬ 
tractions. I examined it minutely as he was bathing 
it in the river at daybreak. The midnight surgeon 
had made a hole in it, almost of a triangular shape, 
