hides the remainder, like the dog monkey kind to be found in America. The sec

e distinguished from the rest by having no thumb, ingers on the two fore-paws. The tail, however, hand; and with this the animal slings itself from one prising rapidity. The third is the sajou, distinguishhe sapajous by its yellowish flesh-colored face. The it is somewhat larger than the sajou, and has a broader .ed also the bewailer, from its peculiar manner of lamentthreatened or beaten. The fifth and last of the sapajous that hold by the tail, is the samari, or aurora, which is the t beautiful of all. It is of a fine orange color, with two cirind the eyes. It is a very tender, delicate animal, and held Of the sagoires with feeble tails, there are six kinds. The rgest is the saki, or cagui, so remarkable for the length of the that it has been often termed the fox-tailed monkey. It is of ome being twice as large as others. The second of the kind ich is usually black, with the feet yellow. Some, however, er brown, spotted with yellow. The third is the wisiti, or and remarkable for the large tufts of hair upon its face, and 1. The fourth is the marikina, with a mane round the ch of hair at the end of the tail, like a lion. The fifth is ⚫ with the face of a beautiful black, and white hair that deside of the face, like that of man. The last, least and most the mico; the hair on its body is of a beautiful silver color, a deep brown, inclining to blackness. The Indians eat

is excellent; its h is whistled to, it a long snout, sm markably long; On coming to an protrudes his slen long earth-worm. here, and by retra species of this ani

nimals.

is country are full of venomous reptiles and serpents, and erous on the banks of the rivers. The Boa, or as it is untry the Aboma, is a large amphibious snake about forty ad four or five in circumference; it is indifferent as to its s, when hungry, any animal that comes within its reach; ider it excellent food, and its fat is converted into oil. It ipally in Guiana and the northern parts of Brazil. The dipsas also abound: the sting of the latter is not always uces fever, accompanied with excessive thirst, from which derives its name.

fish kind of this country, the Gymnotus, or Electrical Eel, is nearly the sizmarkable, as possessing the singular faculty of stunning its uring about six

which is peculi

Electrical shock. This eel abounds in the rivers and lakes of s of Colombia, but is most frequently found in the small dispersed at intervals over the immense plains between the Orinoco. It is of considerable size, being about six feet long. al shock is conveyed either through the hand, or any metallic which cover which touches the fish; and a stroke of one of the largest kind, There arly applied, would prove instant death even to one of the human

species. Even the angler sometimes receives a shock from them, conveyed along the wetted rod and fishing line. An old frequented road near Uruticu, has been actually abandoned, on account of the danger experienced from crossing a ford, where the mules were, from the effect of concealed shocks, often paralysed and drowned.

The Rhea, or American Ostrich, in size is very little inferior to the common one; the bill is sloped, not unlike that of a goose, being flat at the top and rounded at the end; the eyes are black, and the lids furnished with hairs; the head is rounded, and covered with downy feathers; the neck is two feet eight inches long, and feathered also; from the tip of one wing to that of the other extended, the length is eight feet: it cannot fly, but it runs very swiftly; the legs are stout and bare of feathers above the knees, and furnished with three toes, all placed forwards, each having a straight and

stout claw on the heel is a callous knob, serving in the place of a back toe: the general color of the plumage is dull grey, mixed with white, inclining to the latter on the under parts; the tail is very short and not conspicuous, being entirely covered with long, loose, and floating feathers, having its origin from the lower part of the back and rump, and entirely covering it; the bill and legs are brown.

The Condor forms the type of a genus, a second species of which is the King of the Vultures of British writers: in size it is little, if at all, superior

to the Bearded Griffin, the Lammergeyer of the Alps. The greatest authen-
tic measurement scarcely carries the extent of its wings beyond fourteen feet,
M. Humboldt met with
and it appears rarely to attain so gigantic a size.
more that exceeded nine feet, and was assured by many credible inhabitants
of the province of Quito that they had never shot any that measured more
than eleven. The beak of the condor is straight at the base, but the upper
mandible becomes arched towards the point, and terminates in a strong and
well curved hook. Round the lower part of the neck, both the female

sexes,

as well as the male, are furnished with a broad white ruff of downy feathers, which forms the line of separation between the naked skin above and the true feathers covering the body below it. The condor has been observed throughout the whole range of that immense chain of mountains which tra verses the continent of South America, from the Straits of Magellan to the seventh degree of north latitude. It appears, however, to be much more common in Peru and Chile than in any other part of the chain, and is most fre quently met with at an elevation of from ten to fifteen thousand feet above the level of the ocean. Here, in the regions of perpetual snow, they may be seen grouped together to the number of three or four, but never in the large troops in which the true vulture sometimes assemble on the bold points of the jutting rocks, many of the most remarkable of which are designated by the natives with names derived from the bird that haunts their pinnacles. It is only when driven by hunger that it descends into the plains, which it quits as soon as its appetite is satisfied, unable, as it would scam, to support for any great length of time the increased weight of the atmosphere, and the warmer temperature of the lower world. On such occasions it rarely perches on

ps. The ings bera

M. Humba nany crede

any that

it the base, b

erminates

k, both sexe

the branches of the trees, but generally takes up a position on the ground,
for resting on which its comparatively straight talons are peculiarly fitted.
It is said that the female bird builds no nest, but deposits its eggs upon the
bare rock without protection of any kind. These eggs are stated to be per-
fectly white, and three or four inches in length.

The King of the Vultures is unquestionably one of the handsomest,
although among the smaller species of the vulture family. When fully

grown, it measures about two feet and a half in total length, and more than twice as much in the expanse of its wings. The only other American vultures, the Turkey Buzzard, and a second closely allied species, (the Black Vulture) form a distinct genus nearly related to this, but differing essentially in several important points. The Brazilian Caracara Eagle is

P

found in Brazil and other parts of South America. The sloth, the filth, the wretchedness of these birds almost exceed credibility. In the Brazils, where

they are found in great abundance, when they light upon a carcass, which they have liberty to tear at their ease, they so gorge themselves that they are unable to fly; but keep hopping along when they are pursued. The Harpy Eagle is distinguished from other eagles by the shortness of its

wings, the extreme robustness of its legs, and the more than ordinary curvature of its beak and talons. It is so bold that it does not scruple to attack the most ferocious beasts and sometimes even man himself.

The Vulturine Caracara Eagle places beyond a doubt the affinity between the eagle and vulture families. The beak of this animal is deep,