A LANDING-PLACE.
The trees on the banks of the river showed that they were in the tropics. Palms of several varieties were visible, bamboos grew luxuriantly, banana bushes were numerous, while papayas, plantains, and similar vegetable growths were everywhere to be seen. Frank had his rifle ready for use in case of large game, but none was discovered; birds rich in plumage flew among the trees, but, like most of the birds of the tropics, they were seen rather than heard. Few tropical birds have the power of song, and it is possible that their brilliant feathers are given in compensation for their deprivation.
But do not understand that all the birds of South America are unmusical. On the borders of Guiana is a rare bird, known as the Uruponga or Campanero, which may be rendered into English as "the tolling-bell bird." It is white, and somewhat smaller than a dove, and has a black tubercle under the beak. One traveller, Waterton, says of this bird, "Orpheus himself would drop his lute to listen to him, so sweet, so novel, and romantic is the toll of the pretty, snow-white campanero." Sydney Smith, in reviewing Waterton's narrative, says "The campanero may be heard three miles! This single little bird being more powerful than the belfry of a cathedral ringing for a new dean! It is impossible to contradict a gentleman who has been in the forests of Cayenne, but we are determined, as soon as a campanero is brought to England, to make him toll in a public place, and have the distance measured."
Professor Orton says the most remarkable songster of the Amazonian forest is the Realejo, or organ bird. Its notes are as musical as the flageolet. Another authority says it is the only songster which makes any impression on the natives. The umbrella bird has a deep, loud, and long fluty note, which can be heard a great distance through the forest. He is black as a crow, and has a crest of waving plumes above his head, while there is a long lobe below his neck covered with blue feathers so glossy that they shine at every movement he makes.
HUMMING-BIRDS OF THE ANDES.
Before reaching the river our friends had seen a good many humming-birds, and Frank tried in vain to secure specimens of these tiniest members of the feathered race. On the river he was more fortunate, and he made sketches of some of the most remarkable, after fixing them upon wires, to give the greatest possible resemblance to life. There is one variety that has two long feathers forming the tail; each of these feathers has a broad tuft at the end, and when the bird darts among the leaves and flowers the tail seems like a flash of bright color among the varied hues of the foliage.