CHAPTER III.

The Houtou.--Curious habit of trimming the tail and feathers-its habits. -The Guianan Jay.-The Boclora.-Slight attachment of the feathers. -The Cuia. - Rice-birds.— Cassiques—their habit of mockery.— Pendulous nests.-Gregarious nesting of different species.-Woodpeckers of America and England.-Kingfishers.-Jacamars and their fly-catching habits.-Troupiales and their songs.-Tangaras.—Manikins.-Tiger-birds.-Yawaraciri.-Ant Thrushes.-Parrot of the Sun. -Aras, or Macaws.-Bitterns.-Egret, Herons, etc.-Goatsuckers. — Whip-poor-Will.-Superstitions.-Tinamous.-Powis and Maroudi.Horned Screamer.-Trumpeter.-King Vulture.-Anhinga.-Dangers of travel.-Quartan ague.

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The

Houtou.

THE Houtou ranks high in beauty amongst the birds of SECOND Demerara—his whole body is green, with a bluish cast in the wings and tail; his crown, which he erects at pleasure, consists of black in the centre, surrounded with lovely blue of two different shades: he has a triangular black spot, edged with blue, behind the eye extending to the ear; and on his breast a sable tuft, consisting of nine feathers edged also with blue. This bird seems to suppose that its beauty can be increased by trimming the tail, which undergoes the same operation as our hair in a barber's shop, only with this difference, that it uses its own beak, which is serrated, in lieu of a pair of scissors; as soon as his tail is full grown, he begins about an inch from the extremity of the two longest feathers in it, and cuts away the web on both sides of the shaft, making a gap about an inch long: both

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Its

Haunts.

SECOND male and female Adonise their tails in this manner, which gives them a remarkable appearance amongst all other birds. While we consider the tail of the houtou blemished and defective, were he to come amongst us, he would probably consider our heads, cropped and bald, in no better light. He who wishes to observe this handsome bird in his native haunts, must be in the forest at the morning's dawn. The houtou shuns the society of man: the plantations and cultivated parts are too much disturbed to engage it to settle there; the thick and gloomy forests are the places preferred by the solitary houtou. In those far-extending wilds, about daybreak, you hear him articulate, in a distinct and mournful tone, "Houtou, houtou." Move cautious on to where the sound proceeds from, and you will see him. sitting in the underwood, about a couple of yards from the ground, his tail moving up and down every time he articulates "houtou." He lives on insects and the berries amongst the underwood, and very rarely is seen in the lofty trees, except the bastard-siloabali tree, the fruit of which is grateful to him. He makes no nest, but rears his young in a hole in the sand, generally on the side of a hill.

Guiana.

While in quest of the houtou, you will now and then The Jay of fall in with the Jay of Guiana, called by the Indians Ibibirou. Its forehead is black, the rest of the head white; the throat and breast like the English magpie: about an inch of the extremity of the tail is white, the other part of it, together with the back and wings, a greyish changing purple; the belly is white: there are generally six or eight of them in company; they are shy and garrulous, and tarry a very short time in one place; they are never seen in the cultivated parts.

The Boclora.

Through the whole extent of the forest, chiefly from sunrise till nine o'clock in the morning, you hear a sound. of "Wow, wow, wow, wow." This is the bird called Boclora

by the Indians. It is smaller than the common pigeon, and SECOND seems, in some measure, to partake of its nature: its head JOURNEY. and breast are blue; the back and rump somewhat resemble the colour on the peacock's neck; its belly is a bright yellow; the legs are so very short that it always appears as if sitting on the branch; it is as ill-adapted for walking as the swallow; its neck, for above an inch all round, is quite bare of feathers, but this deficiency is not seen, for it always sits with its head drawn in upon its shoulders: it sometimes feeds with the cotingas on the guava and hitia trees; but its chief nutriment seems to be insects, and, like most birds which follow this prey, its chaps are well armed with bristles it is found in Demerara at all times of the year, and makes a nest resembling that of the stock-dove. This bird never takes long flights, and when it crosses a river or creek it goes by long jerks.

The boclora is very unsuspicious, appearing quite heedless of danger: the report of a gun within twenty yards. will not cause it to leave the branch on which it is sitting, and you may often approach it so near as almost to touch it with the end of your bow. Perhaps there is no bird known whose feathers are so slightly fixed to the skin as those of the boclora. After shooting it, if it touch a branch in its descent, or if it drop on hard ground, whole heaps of feathers fall off; on this account it is extremely hard to procure a specimen for preservation. As soon as the skin is dry in the preserved specimen, the feathers become as well fixed as those in any other bird.

Another species, larger than the boclora, attracts much The Cuia. of your notice in these wilds; it is called Cuia by the Indians, from the sound of its voice; its habits are the same as those of the boclora, but its colours different; its head, breast, back, and rump, are a shining, changing green; its tail not quite so bright; a black bar runs across the

SECOND

tail towards the extremity, and the outside feathers are JOURNEY. partly white, as in the boclora; its belly is entirely vermilion, a bar of white separating it from the green on the breast.

The

There are diminutives of both these birds; they have the same habits, with a somewhat different plumage, and about half the size. Arrayed from head to tail in a robe of richest sable hue, the bird called Rice-bird loves spots Rice-bird. cultivated by the hand of man. The woodcutter's house on the hills in the interior, and the planter's habitation on the sea-coast, equally attract this songless species of the order of pie, provided the Indian corn be ripe there. is nearly of the jackdaw's size, and makes his nest far away from the haunts of man; he may truly be called a blackbird independent of his plumage, his beak, inside and out, his legs, his toes, and claws are jet black.

The

He

Mankind, by clearing the ground, and sowing a variety of seeds, induces many kinds of birds to leave their native haunts and come and settle near him; their little depredations on his seeds and fruits prove that it is the property, and not the proprietor, which has the attractions.

One bird, however, in Demerara is not actuated by selfish Cassique. motives: this is the Cassique; in size, he is larger than the starling; he courts the society of man, but disdains to live by his labours. When nature calls for support, he repairs to the neighbouring forest, and there partakes of the store of fruits and seeds which she has produced in abundance for her aërial tribes. When his repast is over, he returns to man, and pays the little tribute which he owes him for his protection; he takes his station on a tree close to his house; and there, for hours together, pours forth a succession of imitative notes. His own song is sweet, but very short. If a toucan be yelping in the neighbourhood, he drops it, and imitates him. Then he will amuse his protector with

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the cries of the different species of the woodpecker; and SECOND when the sheep bleat, he will distinctly answer them. Then comes his own song again; and if a puppy-dog, or a Guinea-fowl interrupt him, he takes them off admirably, and by his different gestures during the time, you would conclude that he enjoys the sport.

The cassique is gregarious, and imitates any sound he hears with such exactness, that he goes by no other name. than that of Mocking-bird amongst the colonists.

At breeding time, a number of these pretty choristers resort to a tree near the planter's house, and from its outside branches weave their pendulous nests. So conscious do they seem that they never give offence, and so little suspicious are they of receiving any injury from man, that they will choose a tree within forty yards from his house, and occupy the branches so low down, that he may peep into the nests. A tree in Waratilla creek affords a proof of this.

The proportions of the cassique are so fine, that he may be said to be a model of symmetry in ornithology. On each wing he has a bright yellow spot, and his rump, belly, and half the tail, are of the same colour. All the rest of the body is black. His beak is the colour of sulphur, but it fades in death, and requires the same operation as the bill of the toucan to make it keep its colours. Up the rivers, in the interior, there is another cassique, nearly the same size, and of the same habits, though not gifted with its powers of imitation. Except in breeding time you will see hundreds of them retiring to roost, amongst the mocamoca-trees and low shrubs on the banks of the Demerara, after you pass the first island. They are not common on the sea-coast. The rump of this cassique is a flaming scarlet. All the rest of the body is a rich glossy black. His bill is sulphur colour. You may often see numbers of this