Page:A narrative of travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro.djvu/360

 320 ZOOLOGY OF

by driving a wooden plug up its nostrils. The Indian fills hii canoe full of water, and sinks it beneath the body ; he then bales out the water, and paddles home with a load which requires a dozen men to move on shore. The meat is very good, and both for it and for the oil the animal is much sought after. It ascends most of the tributaries of the Amazon, but does not pass the falls or rapids.

B. Birds.

The birds of the Amazon district are so numerous and striking, that it is impossible here to do more than mention a few of the most interesting and beautiful, so as to give some general idea of the ornithology of the district.

Among the birds of prey, the most conspicuous are the King Vulture (Sarcorhamphus papa), and the Harpy Eagle {Thrasaetos harpyia), both of which are found in the whole district of the lower Amazon. There is also a great variety of eagles, hawks, kites, and owls, and probably between twenty and thirty species may be obtained in the country around Pari

Those two fine eagles, the Spiza'etus ornatus and the Morphnus Guianensis, inhabit the Upper Amazon.

Among the smaller perching-birds, the yellow-breasted tyrant shrikes immediately attract attention, perched upon dead trees in the open grounds. In the forests the curious notes of the bush-shrikes (Thamnophilince) are often heard, and the ever- recurring vociferous cries of the great grey tyrant-flycatcher {Lipaugus simplex).

Several pretty little tanagers are found about Para" ; but the exquisite little seven-coloured tanager {Calospiza tatad), and the scarcely less beautiful scarlet and black one (Rhamphocelis nigrogularis^) do not occur till we reach the Rio Negro and the Upper Amazon.

The Chatterers form one of the most splendid families of birds, and we have on the Amazon some of the finest species, such as the Cotinga cayana, C. ccerulea, Phxnicurus camifex, and P. militaris, which are found at Para, and the C. Ponipa- doura, and P. nigrogularis on the Upper Amazon and Rio Negro.