The remarkable performance thus described by Schomburghk is no doubt a part of the courtship of the Cock of the Rock. We learn from the same authority that the nestlings are to be found at all seasons of the year, but in the greatest numbers about March, when the plumage of the male is in its full beauty. The nests found by Humboldt in Orinoco were made in holes in the granite rocks, whilst those seen by Schomburghk were built in clefts and fissures, suspended like the nest of a Swallow, and covered with resin. One of these nests is often occupied for years together, and repaired by the addition of fresh fibres, feathers, or down, for the reception of each new brood. It is by no means uncommon to find a great number of nests in the same cleft or hole. The brood consists of two white eggs, marked with black, and somewhat larger than those of a Pigeon. The nestlings are reared upon the same fruits and berries that afford the parents their principal means of subsistence. Great numbers of these splendid birds are shot annually, as their skins not only command a high price, but are much employed by the Indians in making a variety of beautiful decorations: a large state mantle worn by the Emperor of Brazil was entirely composed of their feathers. In some districts of South America the natives are compelled to bring a certain supply of skins as tribute, and are thus quickly diminishing the numbers of these elegant creatures. Their flesh is well-flavoured, but of a very peculiar colour, being bright orange-red. Humboldt tells us that the Cock of the Rock is much valued by the Indians as a domestic favourite, and is kept by them in cages made of the stalks of palm-leaves.
THE COCK OF THE ROCK (Rupicola crocea).
Another very similar species, found only in Peru, the Peruvian Cock of the Rock (Rupicola Peruana), lives entirely amongst trees, upon the berries and fruits of which it subsists; but it exhibits none of the dancing propensities of its Brazilian relative. We learn from Tschudi that in no instance did he ever see one of these Peruvian birds either on rocks or upon the ground, but always associated in large flocks, that lived and built their nests upon trees. He tells us that they are easily discovered from a considerable distance by their loud and most discordant cry.
The TRUE MANAKINS (Pipra) comprise a number of small and most magnificently-tinted birds, distinguished by the shortness of their wings and tails. In the former the primary quills are graduated, very narrow towards the tip, and do not extend beyond the base of the small tail, which is either conical or quite straight at its extremity. The short high beak is compressed at its centre, slightly incised directly behind the hook that terminates the upper mandible, and furnished with a sharp ridge at its culmen. The tarsi are high and thin, and the toes short, the outer and centre toes being united as far as the first joint. The compact thick plumage is extremely short in the region of the forehead, and takes the form of fine bristles around the nostrils and the base of the beak. In the coloration of the male, black predominates, affording a rich contrast to the glowing fiery tints that adorn some parts of his body; whilst the females and young usually appear in a modest garb of greyish green. The Manakins live in pairs, or small parties, and principally frequent the inmost glades of their native woods and forests, hopping from bough to bough with untiring sprightliness, and enlivening the most gloomy recesses of their sylvan haunts by their gay colours and animated twitter. Before noon these pairs or parties unite with other birds in search of food, and at the approach of the mid-day heat again retire to their favourite sheltered nooks. Insects, fruits, and berries of various kinds, constitute their principal food, and to obtain these they occasionally venture near the abode of man. Schomburghk mentions having seen several of these usually very timid birds approach his tent daily, in order to gather the ripe fruit from some fig-trees that grew close to his encampment. The nest of the Manakins is carelessly formed of moss, and lined with cotton wool. The two eggs that constitute a brood are unusually elongated, of a pale tint, and marked with delicate spots that generally form a wreath at the broad end.
The LONG-TAILED MANAKINS (Chiroxiphia) constitute a prominent group of the family under consideration, and are recognisable by the prolongation of the centre tail-feathers, this peculiarity being particularly observable in the male.
THE LONG-TAILED MANAKIN.
The LONG-TAILED MANAKIN (Pipra-Chiroxiphia-caudata) has a sky-blue body, with black wings, throat, and tail, only the two centre feathers of the latter being blue; the brow and top of the head are red. The females and young are of an uniform greenish hue, shaded with brown upon the quills and the extremities of the tail-feathers. Both sexes have dark brown eyes, light reddish brown beaks with very pale margins, and brownish flesh-red feet. The male is about six inches long and ten broad; his wing measures two inches and five-sixths, and his tail two and a half inches. The female is only a few lines smaller than her mate.