The most curious is a bird, which is the smallest, and at the same time the most beautiful of all the winged tribe. The Spaniards have with justice named it picaflor, for it plucks the flowers out of which it sucks juice like a bee. It charms the eye with the exquisite beauty of its colour and plumage. The whole of its little body is scarce bigger than an olive or a nutmeg. Its bill is very long, but slenderer than a needle, its eyes extremely lively, and its tongue broad, but thinner than a silken thread. It sometimes utters a shrill whistle which can hardly be heard. In the country, in a chapel that had long been deserted, I found the nest of one of these birds; scarce bigger than a common walnut, it hung suspended by a horse-hair from two corners of the wall, and in it the mother was then sitting upon two little eggs. Its feathers are sometimes of a bright green, sometimes (for there are nine different species of them in Paraguay) of a blue, sometimes of a fiery red colour; but all seem clothed with most refulgent gold. That brilliant hue which shines in the expanded tail of a peacock, or in a drake's neck, is dull in comparison with the golden resplendence of this little bird. In sucking juice from flowers it does not stand upon its feet, but seems to hang in the air, and is always borne swiftly along, with its feathers suspended and tremulous. Some have caught birds of this kind and brought them home, but though carefully fed upon melted sugar, they never lived more than four days, being always used to the nectar of flowers. With their feathers, which nature has painted with the most exquisite colours, and tinged with gold, the Peruvian Indians are said to have adorned such elegant little images, that you would have sworn them to be formed by the pencil of an artist, and gilded.
THE CONDÒR VULTURE.
From the least of birds, let us proceed to the largest. The condòr, a bird of the hawk species, frequently inhabits the very highest summits of the Tucuman and other mountains, whence it flies down to the vallies beneath to prey upon cattle. It is of an almost incredible magnitude; when its wings are expanded, it measures ten feet, (or, according to some, sixteen,) from the extremity of one wing to that of the other. The hollow part of the quill is equal to a man's finger in width. This bird is furnished with talons like those of a cock, and its beak is so strong and pointed, that it can pierce a bull's hide. It is black, sprinkled here and there with white feathers. On its head it has a little crest, like that of a cock, but not so denticulated. It is possessed of amazing strength, and is formidable to all animals, but particularly to new-born calves and foals; for it tears out their eyes with its beak, and then kills and eats them. It is said to carry away lambs in the air. The devastation these birds daily commit amongst the herds and flocks exceeds belief. Several of them always fly together to rapine, and being rendered formidable by their numbers, do not scruple to attack even full grown beasts. When satiated and loaded with meat they are unable to fly back again, and try to relieve their stomachs by vomiting, that they may be lighter and more expeditious in flying. The Spaniards who guarded the estates, having frequently observed this circumstance, place in the way of the condòrs beef sprinkled with plenty of salt, which they eagerly devour, but not being able to vomit, are rendered incapable of flying, and slain with sticks and stones whilst coursing up and down the plain. At other times the condòrs, crowding together, make a tremendous noise by clapping their enormous wings, to the terror of all that hear them. They soar so high in the air as to seem from below no bigger than sparrows.
THE EMU.[[1]]
The emu, a bird extremely common in Paraguay, is so well known in Europe as to render a description of its figure unnecessary. I will however briefly relate its peculiarities, which no one will dislike to be made acquainted with.
The emu is ranked amongst birds, because it is winged, though it makes use of its wings, which are too weak for the weight of so large a body, not to fly with, but to assist itself in walking, like sails and oars, especially when the wind blows in a favourable direction, for when it is contrary they retard its course. To pursue this bird is extremely difficult, for it not only runs with the utmost swiftness, but escapes by turning and winding about. Emus, which fly the very shadow of a man, are seldom caught by persons on foot, unless they be in such numbers as to surround these birds, and take them as it were in the toils. When standing upright, they reach to the head of the tallest man, which is owing to the length of their legs and neck, for their head is very small. They have little eyes overshadowed with large eyebrows. Their body is equal to that of a lamb in weight. Their flesh is much sought and praised by the Indians, and is generally very fat. The Spaniards, neglecting the rest of the flesh, eagerly devour the wings, and think them the best part of the emu. I have eaten them myself sometimes, but a nausea which they created in my stomach gave me a disgust to that food.
The Abipones make themselves bags, purses, and cushions of emus' skins. The skin which covers the rump they use for little hats. Great and various are the uses of their feathers: for of them are made fly-flaps, fans, and skreens, which both the better sort of Spaniards, and the Abiponian women, in riding, place before the sun, that their faces may not be tanned with the heat. To the hinder part of their saddles, the Indians of every nation fasten the longer emu feathers, which, moving as the horse moves, serve to drive away gad-flies, hornets, and gnats. All the female emus of one neighbourhood deposit their eggs in one place, and the chickens are hatched by the sun's heat, without any other care. The young ones are fed by the males, who break the eggs that are still full, and employ them in feeding the chickens already hatched—thus brothers unborn are devoured by those that have but just seen the light. Sometimes more than sixty or a hundred eggs are found in the same nest, and are eaten both by Spaniards and Indians, either fried or boiled, but are digested slowly and with difficulty if wine be not added to the repast. They often afforded me a sumptuous banquet in travelling through deserts. One egg is enough to satisfy many persons, for the contents of thirty hens' eggs may be poured into the shell of one emu's egg. The shell of the emu's egg is strong, and may be used for various purposes as a potter's vessel. Emus feed on grass, wheat, fruits, or any trash they meet with; but if they imprudently swallow iron or bone, they afterward void it quite undigested, and in no way altered. When taken young they are easily tamed, and walk up and down the streets or yards, like dogs and hens, suffer children to play with them without fear, and never run away, though the plain be close by, and in sight. There is scarcely any Indian town in which you do not see tame emus of this kind. You must know, moreover, that emus differ in size and habits, in different tracts of land: for those that inhabit the plains of Buenos-Ayres and Tucuman, are larger, and have black, white, and grey feathers: those near to the straits of Magellan are smaller and more beautiful; for their white feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones, in like manner, terminate in white, and make excellent ornaments for the hats and helmets of Europeans. The higher orders amongst the Spaniards, also, greatly prize skreens made of these feathers.
[1]. The American ostrich differs a little from the African.
THE TUNCÀ.
The tuncà is remarkable on account of its bill, which is as long as its whole body, is as light as paper, of a citron colour, marked at the extremity with a red line, and a black spot, and denticulated at the edges. It has a very long tongue, and rather large eyes, surrounded by a circle of green, and another larger one of yellow. Its feathers are, for the most part, black, except on the neck, which is white, and the tail, which is beautifully red at the extremity; but some are blue instead of black. It is about the size of a pigeon. The tuncà is called by some, the preacher bird, I believe on account of the loudness of its voice. You will scarce ever see this bird in company with any other. It feeds on the ripe seeds of the tree caà, but as those seeds are too glutinous to be digested, it voids them whole, and they produce new trees, and in time woods, to the great profit of the inhabitants. I knew a Yaaucaniga Abipon, who, when going to fight, always tied the huge beak of a tuncà to his nose, in order to render himself more terrible to the enemy.