Let us leave the mighty stream, and wander amidst the picturesque
windings of an igarape, into the depths of the forest, with Professor
Agassiz. Passing into its narrow entrance, the lofty trees arching
overhead shelter the voyager in his light canoe from the glaring heat of
the noonday sun. The air is cool and refreshing. Not a ripple stirs
the water, save that caused by the paddles of the Indian crew. Clumps
of the light and exquisitely graceful assai-palm shoot up everywhere on
either side from the denser forest. Here and there the drooping bamboo
dips its feathery branches into the water, covered sometimes to their
very tips with the purple of convolvuli; yellow bignonias carry their
golden clusters to the very summits of some of the more lofty trees;
while white-flowering myrtles and orange-coloured mallows border the
stream. Life abounds in this quiet retreat. Birds and butterflies are
numerous on the margin of the water. Crabs of every variety of colour
and size sit on the trunks of decaying logs, watching for their prey,--
to make their escape, however, with nimble feet, when pursued.
Or let us start before daylight, on a calm morning, along the banks of a
larger tributary, to proceed towards the heights of the Sierra Erere.
As dawn begins to redden the sky, large flocks of ducks and of a small
Amazonian goose may be seen flying towards the lake. Here and there we
see a cormorant, seated alone on the branch of a dead tree; or a
kingfisher poises himself over the water, watching for his prey.
Numerous gulls are gathered in large companies on the trees along the
river-shore. Alligators lie on its surface, diving with a sudden splash
at the approach of the canoe. Occasionally a porpoise emerges from the
water, showing himself for a moment, and then disappearing. Sometimes a
herd of capybaras, resting on the water's edge, are startled at our
approach.
There sits, on the branch of an imbauba, rolled-up in its peculiar
attitude, a sloth, the very picture of indolence, with its head sunk
between its arms. The banks, covered in many places with the beautiful
capim-grass, afford excellent pasturage for cattle.
Now we turn into an inner stream, or igarape, often having to make our
way with difficulty amid islands of capim-grass. Now we pass through a
magnificent forest of the beautiful fan-palm--the miriti--overshadowing
many smaller trees and innumerable shrubs, bearing light conspicuous
flowers. Among them are numerous Leguminosae--one of the most striking,
the fava, having a colossal pod.
The whole mass of vegetation is interwoven with innumerable creepers,
amid which the flowers of the bignonia, with their open trumpet-shaped
corollas, are conspicuous. The capim is bright with the blossoms of the
mallow growing in its midst, in some places edged with the broad-leaved
aninga--a large aquatic arum. Through these forests, where animal life
is no less rich and varied than the vegetation, our canoe glides
silently for hours.
The sedgy grasses on either side are full of water birds. One of the
most common is a small chestnut-brown wading bird--the jacana--whose
toes are immensely long in proportion to its size, enabling it to run
over the surface of the aquatic vegetation as if it were solid ground.
It is their breeding season--January. At every turn of the boat we
start them up--usually in pairs. Their flat, open nests generally
contain five flesh-coloured eggs, streaked in zig-zag with dark brown
lines. Among the other waders are a snow-white heron, another
ash-coloured, and a large white stork. The ash-coloured herons are
always in pairs--the white always singly, standing quiet and alone on
the edge of the water, or half hidden in the green capim. The trees and
bushes are full of small warbler-like birds. The most numerous and
interesting is one which builds a very extraordinary nest, considering
the size of the bird. It is known among the country people by the name
of _pedreiro_, or the _forneiro_--both names referring to the nature of
its habitation. This singular nest is built of clay, and is as hard as
stone--_pedra_; while it is the shape of the mandioca oven--_forno_--in
which the country people prepare their farina. It is about a foot in
diameter, and stands edgewise upon the branch or crotch of a tree.
Among the smaller birds are bright tanagers, and a species resembling
the canary. Humming-birds are scarce, though here and there a few
appear; while countless numbers of parrots and parrakeets fly overhead
in dense crowds, at times drowning every other sound with their noisy
clatter.
Birds of prey are not wanting. Among them is the red hawk, about the
size of a kite--and so tame, that even when a canoe passes under the
branch on which he is sitting, he does not fly away.
Among the most striking are the gallinaceous birds. The commonest is
the cigana, to be seen in groups of fifteen or twenty perched on trees
overhanging the water, and feeding upon berries. At night they roost in
pairs; but in the daytime are always in larger companies. In appearance
they have something of the character of both the pheasant and peacock,
and yet do not closely resemble either. With the exception of some
small partridge-like gallinaceous birds, the representatives of this
family in Brazil belong to types which do not exist in any other parts
of the world. Here the curassow, the jacu, the jacami, and the unicorn
resemble as much the bustard and other ostrich-like birds as the hen and
pheasant.
The most numerous insects to be met with are dragonflies; some with
crimson bodies, black heads, and burnished wings; others with large,
green bodies, crossed by blue bands.