Page:A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro.djvu/115

 returned it to the owner, who had warranted it steady and adapted for my purpose, but, after much trouble and annoyance, I was obliged to lose the £10 I had given in part payment. In the beginning of July my younger brother H. came out to Para to assist me; and by the return of the vessel in which he arrived, I sent off my collections of fish and insects up to this time.

We had the good fortune one day to fall in with a small flock of the rare and curious bell-bird (Chasmorhynchus carunculatus), but they were on a very thick lofty tree, and took flight before we could get a shot at them. Though it was about four miles off in the forest, we went again the next day, and found them feeding on the same tree, but had no better success. On the third day we went to the same spot, but from that time saw them no more. The bird is of a pure white colour, the size of a blackbird, has a broad bill, and feeds on fruits. From the base of the bill above grows a fleshy tubercle, two to three inches long, and as thick as a quill, sparingly clothed with minute feathers: it is quite lax, and hangs down on one side of the bird's head, not stuck up like a horn, as we see it placed in some stuffed specimens. This bird is remarkable for its loud clear ringing note, like a bell, which it utters at midday, when most other birds are silent.

A few days after, we found feeding on the same tree some beautiful yellow parrots. 'They are called here imperial parrots, and are much esteemed because their colours are those of the Brazilian flag—yellow and green. I had long been seeking them, and was much pleased when my brother shot one. It is the Conurus Carolinæ, and is figured by Spix in his expensive work on the birds of Brazil.