The ALMA DE GATO (_Soul of a Cat_) is of the size of a pigeon, the
lower part ash-coloured, and the upper of a gold colour, with a long
tail, short and curved beak. It has no song.
There are various kinds of ANDORINHAS, or _Swallows_, distinguished
alone by the size or the colour, being more or less black.
The ANUM is of the size of a blackbird, the whole of a brilliant and
jet black, the tail long and rounded, with only eight feathers. The
bill curved, thick at the root, and the upper part pointed. Its song is
a kind of sad lamentation; and its flight is short. They always proceed
in flocks not very numerous, and never alight upon high trees. It is
said that these flocks all lay their eggs in one common nest. It is,
however, certain, that if the nest of these birds is found with a great
number of eggs, there are numerous compartments, and the various little
nests are separated by portions of dried grass. There are other casts
of the Anum, of the size of the preceding one, but of an ash-colour,
with a slender beak, a little curved, and a tuft or plume of feathers,
which it elevates and lowers at pleasure.
The ARAPONGA, or _Guiraponga_, is of the size of a small pigeon, white
as snow, with a beak wide at the root, a portion unfeathered, and of a
green colour around the eyes. This bird perches upon the top of the
highest trees in the woods, and there passes the principal part of the
day in a song, which imitates well a farrier just finishing a horse’s
shoe upon the anvil.
AZULAO is a species of sparrow, of an indigo-colour, which, after being
accustomed to the cage, imitates various other small birds.
BEMTEVI, so called by the Europeans in consequence of its articulating
with accuracy the words which compose its name, is the size of a lark,
with a white circle around the head, a thick and pointed bill, having a
yellow belly, and a gold colour above.
BICUDO is a kind of sparrow, either of an agate or gold colour, sings,
and has a very short thick bill.
BARBUDO is little less than a blackbird, also black, with a large white
spot on the back, and a yellow one on the neck, a short tail and legs,
a large head, with thick eyebrows, a jet black bill, a little curved
and pointed, having whiskers.
CABECA DE RUBIM (_Head of Ruby_) is a species of duck, of a green
colour, with a little crimson cap, which it conceals at pleasure, as
well as the feathers of its sides. The female has a larger and black
cap.
CABORE is the small Spanish owl.
CAIÇU, which signifies large head, is of the size of a lark, of a
disagreeable aspect, with the wings and tail of a tobacco and the belly
of an ash colour, having a white spot upon the neck, the upper part
of the body gray and speckled with white, a thick neck and bill, the
latter black pointed.
CANARIO (_Canary_) has the form, and almost the same colour, but not
the song of those of the Canary islands. It is the first amongst the
small birds that announces the dawn of day.
CANCAO is of the size of a blackbird, the belly white, the upper part
dark, with a long round tail, and white at the extremity. The fore part
of the head, neck, and breast, are of a jet colour. It has a large
white spot upon the back part of the head, a small black crest, a small
round spot above the eyes, beginning with blue and finishing in white;
the iris is yellow, which it extends and compresses, and the beak thick
and short. This bird always goes near the ground, and on perceiving any
living creature immediately gives a signal. It is the most choleric
bird of the country, and a destroyer of the others, eating the eggs and
the young ones whilst unfeathered.
CARDIAL (_Cardinal_) is a little larger than the linnet, which it
resembles. It has a small crimson cap, or hood, which covers a part
of the neck, and from which it derived the name: its song is loud and
pleasant.
CARRICA (_Hedge-sparrow_) differs from that of Europe only in being a
little larger, and less fearful. It makes its nest, with little care,
in inhabited houses or the fields.
CHAMA-COELHO is a little less than the blackbird, with a black head,
the lower part yellow, and the upper of a tobacco colour.
CEGONHA, or _Stork_, is common, and similar to that of Europe.
CAZACA DE COIRO is of the size of a lark, yellow above, and gray under
the belly.
COLHEREIRA, which with justice has the pre-eminence of king amongst
birds of the morasses, is the size of a large capon, without a tail, of
a rose colour above, the belly white, with long legs, long white neck,
the bill also long and thick at the root, square in the middle, wide
and flat at the point, like a _Spatula_.
COLIBRI, or _Humming-bird_, and known in the Brazil only by the name
of _Beija Flor_, (Kiss the Flower,) is the smallest bird existing.
Mr. Robert has represented it to be as small as a fly, in which he
does not appear to be correct, as none so diminutive are seen in this
country. Their varieties have been stated at six or seven, but there
are a great many more: Padre Cazal has seen ten different kinds. An
European would never have supposed that a bird so small as the end of
one’s finger could exist, furnished as it is with a bill, feathers,
wings, and intestines, similar to the larger kind, and he would be
naturally disposed to consider it but a creature of imagination, until
he visited its native country, and daily beheld it fluttering like a
butterfly at every flower, and humming a gentle chirrup. It has long
wings compared with the size of the body. The largest, of the size of
a very small wren, are of an indigo colour, with a white spot upon the
back. The second species differ only from the first in being smaller
and not having a spot, both have a long tail much forked. The third
kind and size are gray, and make their nests in inhabited houses, in
the form of a little pocket, suspended from the point of a straw. The
fourth variety are entirely green. The fifth are the same colour and
size, with a white spot upon the breast. The sixth differs only from
the preceding in having a very short tail. The seventh is of the same
colour and size, with the tail yellow. The eighth is the colour of the
nightingale, the breast finely speckled with white. The ninth is of a
brilliant green, with the wings and tail dark, the beak short, slender,
and yellow. All the others have it long, pointed, very delicate,
and straight, with the exception of the gray ones and those of the
nightingale colour, who have it a little curved. The tenth kind is
dark, or almost black, with a short tail of the colour of fire, the
bill black, and of medium length; when turned towards the spectator,
the throat and breast exhibit at one instant various colours, according
to the movements of the bird, at one time that of Aurora, when most
bright, or like gold melted in the crucible, followed, on a sudden,
sometimes by a suffusion of green, at others by blue, and by white,
without ever losing an inimitable brilliancy. The head, which is black,
appears ornamented with a little crest of the same colour when the bird
has its side towards the observer, and when it presents the front it
appears studded with sparkling rubies, or all of a brilliant scarlet,
which insensibly changes to refulgent yellow. They generally have the
tongue very long, the legs exceedingly short, and the eyes black; their
principal aliment is the juice or honey of flowers, which they extract,
not as the bee but in the same manner as the butterfly. Some of them
have the tongue cleft.
EMA, or _Emu_, is the Ostrich of the old world, and is the largest
bird of this country; its body is round, and covered with long gray
feathers, standing on end; the legs thick and long, with three short
and stout toes; two sort of spears are at the joints of the wings,
which are not sufficient to fly with, but in the plains it surpasses
the horse in swiftness, and is difficult to _laço_, even when the
_laçador_ is mounted upon a fleet horse. It has no tail, and when it
elevates its head it is the height of a man. Its feathers are esteemed
for plumes, and the skin is used for shoes.
ENCONTRO is the size of a greenfinch, long, delicate, and dark, with a
yellow spot at the joint of the wing. There are two other sorts, of a
jet colour, one of which has white spots, and the other red.
FEITICEIRO is the size of a lark, between yellow and green on the upper
part, the belly ash colour, with the bill of a blackbird, eyes like
rubies, and a small crest,
GALLEIRAO is the size of a pigeon, the upper part green, and the lower
purple, with a very short tail, long yellow legs, the neck slender,
the head small, with a flat comb, smooth and white, the bill short and
thick and the colour of red sealing wax, with the extremity yellow.
It frequents the margins of lakes, and its flesh is savory. There is
another species of this bird, somewhat varying from it.
GALLO DO BANDO is the size of a sparrow, black, with a white spot upon
the back, and the top of the head green, having a long tail. GUARA,
one of the handsomest birds that frequent the morasses, has the body
similar to a partridge, a long neck and legs, with the bill long and
a little curved, and without a tail. The first feathers are white,
after a short time they turn black, and finally scarlet, preserving the
second colour at the extremity of the wings.
GARCA, or _Heron_, consists of small and large white ones, and also
others which are large and of an ash colour.
GAVIAO, or _Hawk_, includes various kinds, of which the Cauhan is
small, and the Corocuturu gray, being four spans in length from the
head to the extremity of the tail, and will seize a small monkey and
fly away with it with great facility.
GRUNHATA is the size of a robin-red-breast, yellow below and on the
front of the head, the rest of a dark colour, except some blue parts.
Its song is harmonious. There are other sorts, some of them yellow,
with the tail and wings green, and a black stroke the whole length of
the lower part.
JABURU is larger than the turkey-cock, without a tail, and white as
snow; the neck, legs, and bill are very long; the latter is pointed.
JACANAN is little less than the thrush, the breast green, the upper
part of a tobacco colour, with the wings short and round, the tail very
short, with eight small feathers, the eyes and legs of a rosy hue, a
fine bill, and a green spot on the front part of the head. It goes
always upon the ground.
JACU is the size of a large capon, black, with the figure of a
turkey-hen.
JACUTINGA is a little larger, with the same figure and colour, having
green legs, and half of the wings white, a green bill and large black
eyes, the feathers on the upper part of the head are long and white,
the breast is speckled with white.
JACU-PEMBA is smaller than the first, with the breast of an ash colour.
The _aracuan_ is also a species of _jacu_, the size of a pigeon, with
the tail and neck long, of a dark yellowish hue. These four birds have
wattles at the throat similar to a turkey-hen.
JAPU is the size of a pigeon, black, with a yellow tail, the bill of
the same colour, thick, long, round, and finely pointed; when it sings
it suspends itself by the feet, at the same time beating with its wings.
JAPUE is less, and of the same colour, with a large green spot upon the
back, the eyes small and the iris blue. Both construct the same kind
of nests, which are remarkable for the form and for the art with which
they make them at the extremity of the highest horizontal branches, in
the shape of a bag or pocket, and five or six spans in length; they
are of moss, woven in such a way that they move continually to and fro
with the wind, without sustaining any injury. Such is their precaution
to prevent their young from being injured by surrounding enemies. They
destroy oranges profusely to obtain the seed.
INHUMA is the size of a capon, with dark sides, the belly ash colour,
and the wings of an extraordinary length, being ten spans when
extended, each with two spurs of an unequal size, and a horn of a
bony substance half a span in length and the thickness of a large
turkey-quil, sharp pointed, and a little curved at the extremity, with
a magnetic virtue, and also with the property of counter-poison. When
about to drink it introduces this antidote against poison into the
water, and the birds and quadrupeds near it, it is said, then only
drink. Its flesh is spongy and not eaten. There are other kinds of this
bird about the size of a pigeon.
JOAO-DE-BARRO is a species of lark, yellow, with a whitish streak
above the eyes, and only remarkable for the arrangement of its nest
of _burro_, or clay, from which its name is derived. The nest is
constructed with much art and perfection between the forked branches
of a tree, and consists of a corridor, something more than a span in
length, having a window at the end, between it and an apartment almost
of the same length at one side, whose entrance is small, and always on
that side the least exposed to the wind. This edifice withstands the
winters for many years.
JOAO TOLO (_Foolish John_) is the size of a bullfinch, of a greenish
changeable colour above, the belly yellow, with a white spot upon the
throat, the neck very long, the bill also long and pointed. It is tame,
and without any song.
LAVANDEIRA is small and white, with the wings black.
Amongst various sorts of MACARICOS, which inhabit the margins and
lakes, there is one somewhat smaller than the thrush, ash-coloured
above, and white below, with a very short tail; the legs long and
green; the head large and flat, with a narrow white circle around it,
which is relieved by another that is wide and black, and a collar of
the same colour; the eyelids are rosy, with two ferrels or spears at
the joints of the wings, which are white, with the extremities black.
There are a variety of the WILD DUCK and WATER FOWL.
MARIDO-HE-DIA (_Husband it is Day_) does not differ from the female of
the bird called _tendilhao_ (or chaffinch:) its song is its name badly
articulated.
MORCEGOS, or Bats, are numerous everywhere, some being of the size of a
pigeon; they are exceedingly prejudicial to cattle, to certain fruits,
and to houses and churches, where they frequently discharge a black
liquid that cannot be washed away.
MUTUN is almost the size of a turkey-cock, of a beautiful jet black,
very graceful, with a curled tuft or plume, quick eyes, the bill
yellow, the legs green, and the thighs white. Its song is mournful; its
flesh delicious. The female has the plume spotted.
There are also different sorts of NIGHT-CROWS (_Noitibos_) or
_Coliangas_, as they are commonly called. One kind frequents the
margins of lakes during the day, and is of a beautiful and inimitable
gray on the upper part, the lower part white, having a white spot in
the middle of the wings, the extremities being black. The head is large
and flat, with large black eyes. It has scarcely the appearance of a
bill, with a crooked, and extremely large mouth; the largest toe, which
is not proportioned to the smallness of the others, has a saw or comb
towards the inner side. The flesh of this bird, when fat, is considered
good.
PAHO is the size of a pigeon, black, with the breast of a rosy hue, and
the beak proportionate. Its flesh is also good when fat.
PAPA-ARROZ is small and entirely black. It goes in bands.
There are upwards of twenty sorts of PARROTS, reckoning from the
smallest parroquet to the _arara_, or macaw. The flesh of the whole is
deemed good, especially that of the _juru_. Those which compose the
last class are of three sorts: the _Araruna_ is entirely blue; the
_Caninde_, also blue above, with the belly of a gold colour; and others
which have the lower part and the head of a rose colour.
In lakes distant from inhabited places there are large WILD GEESE some
gray, some white, and others coralline.
The bird called the PAVAO, or _Peacock_, is of the size of a lark when
unfeathered; but, while feathered, is larger than a thrush. It is of
a beautiful, brilliant, and changeable colour, beginning with green,
and finishing with a bluish green upon the back; the belly is of a
rose colour; the wings small and round, and of an exquisite gray; the
lower parts of the thighs are dressed in dark feathers, covering the
legs, which are very delicate and short; the tail is six inches long,
the two central feathers are dark and of changeable colour, the four
next are of a jet black, and all the six equal,--the other six have the
extremities white, and gradually diminishing from the others in length:
the head is rather large, covered with curled feathers, which form a
little plume of dark blue; the bill is very short and a little curved,
extremely wide at the root, and terminating in a point encircled with
mustachoes or foretops thick and black; the eyes are large and black,
with yellow eyelids.
There are five species of PARTRIDGES, all gray, and without tails. The
smallest, called _nambus_, have a rosy beak; those called _zabelez_ are
a little larger than the European partridge, and have the legs yellow;
the _enapupez_ is still larger, with a long bill; those named _macucos_
are more bulky, and of a dark colour, with two spurs at the joints
of the wings, and a species of saw (such at least have the males)
upon the hinder part of the legs; the _capueiras_, which are a little
larger than the _nambus_, go in bands: all the others disperse after
the mothers leave them. The whole sit upon the ground, excepting the
_macuco_, which always perches upon a tree at night.
PERU DO MATO, (the Wood Turkey,) improperly so called, is the size of
a blackbird, of a dark ash colour, well furnished with feathers, which
terminate like hair, the tail jet black, the bill red, thick, and
pointed; when it sings it elevates the beak perpendicularly.
QUEROQUERO, which is almost the size of a partridge, has a white
belly, with the breast and throat white, of a changeable colour above,
with a white spot near the wings, which are armed with two spurs, and
whose largest feathers are black, much exceeding the length of the
tail, which is short, with the extremity white, the eyes are green
and handsome, it has the bill similar to a pigeon, green, and the end
black; the head is ornamented with a small black crest, and pointed;
the legs are long, and the thighs still longer, with the lower portion
unfeathered and green. Its flesh is good, and it would appear not to
sleep, as its cry is heard at all hours of the night. It feeds upon the
margins of lakes.
The ROLA, or sort of _Turtle-Dove_, is of various species: those
called _juritis_ are a little less than a similar kind which pass from
Africa to Europe in the spring, but are not so handsome; their song,
consisting of one long note, is somewhat melancholy; those called
_turtles de cascavel_, in consequence of the rattling of their wings
when they rise, are beautified with white spots, and are somewhat
larger than a sparrow, they fight with their wings, and commonly
procure their sustenance in bands. The third kind, called _coboclas_,
from being the colour of a brick, are the same size as the preceding.
The other sorts all pass under the name of _pombas_ (pigeons); the
_cardigueras_ are small; those called _aza branca_ (white wing)
resemble the _troquaze_ pigeon, or ring dove of Europe. The ring doves
of the country are large, and have their beaks green; as have also
those called _pararis_.
SABIA is a kind of thrush, and the greatest singer in the Brazil; its
song does not differ from the blackbird; some, but very rarely, have
the feathers and the bill yellow.
The SAHYS are a species of beautiful little bird, and divided into
various sorts. The _sahy da secia_ is the size of a hedge-sparrow,
having a similar beak; its sides and belly are purple, with the wings
black above, and the under parts yellow, the tail black, the feet of
a rose colour, the head silvery, and the eyes blue. The _sahy bicudo_
is the size of a robin, of a green colour, with the tail and wings
black, and the bill pointed. The _sahy roxo_ (or purple _sahy_) is the
size of a sparrow, with the tail and wings black, the head and breast
purple, and the bill short and pointed. The _sahy de colleira_, has the
form and size of a sparrow, with the head purple, the neck rosy, the
belly green, the sides, wings, and tail, of a greenish hue, and the
bill short. The _sahy-xe_, has the head, wings, and tail of a greenish
colour, the breast between blue and green, and black near the blade
bone or shoulders and the throat, the hinder part of the back yellow,
and the beak short. The _sahy papagaio_ is the size of a greenfinch,
of a changeable colour, between blue and green, with a black tail and
short bill, wide at the root and fine at the extremity.
SANHACO is a sort of greenfinch.
SERIEMA is a little larger than the turkey-hen; its song is simple and
tender, it goes generally upon the ground, and flies little.
SERRADOR is a small bird of a blackish colour, with the beak similar
to a sparrow, it only perches upon dry and naked branches, is like the
ortolan, and is incessantly rising perpendicularly two or three spans,
alighting upon the same place, and keeping in its movement the time of
a _serra_, or saw; it has no song, nor is its plumage beautiful.
SOFFRER, to which the whites have given the name, pretending that it
articulates the word in its inharmonious song, is little less than the
blackbird, of a gold colour, with the head, throat, tail, and wings,
black, excepting a white spot in the middle of the wings; the tail is
long, the bill round, long, and pointed, likewise black, with two white
spots on each side of the lower part; the iris yellow.
SOCO is a bird comprising various kinds, the white ones are the size of
a large capon, without a tail, with the legs a little long, the bill
also long and blue, the fore part of the head is black, the hinder part
ornamented with a long pointed crest, falling back upon the neck, which
is rather long. The ash-coloured ones differ only from the preceding
in colour. There is another larger than the blackbird, being two spans
and a half when the wings are opened, and three from the extremity
of the bill to that of the feet; it is green on the upper part, and
ash-coloured below, the bill is long and pointed, the iris yellow, the
neck a span in length, slightly covered with feathers, and spotted on
the under side; the tail is two inches long, the head is black, with a
crest.
TAPERA is a little larger than the blackbird, the whole of the body
white, with the head, tail, and wings black, the bill stout and pointed.
TYHE, or _Tapiranga_, is much larger than the sparrow, the feathers
of the wings large, and those of the tail black, the rest entirely
crimson; the bill is thick and black, with two white spots upon the
lower part. The _tyhé negro_ (black tyhe) is the same size, with a
green spot upon the head.
TINGARA is the size of a _tentilhao_, or chaffinch, of a sea green
colour, with the head green, the tail short, and the bill fine, short,
and pointed.
TUCANO is the size of a pullet, black, with the breast between green
and yellow; the bill, a little curved, is of a thickness and length
disproportionably large for the body. The _arassary_ is another
species of _tucano_, differing in the colour of the feathers; the bill
is a little less and straight, its song is the name by which it is
designated. The _tucano_ builds its nest in the cavities of old trunks,
lays only two eggs, and its first plumage is white, it has on each side
of the head a naked portion of a red colour and varnished.
TUYUYU is much larger than the turkey-cock, white, with the legs black,
is very high, with rather a long neck, the bill pointed, without a
tail, and is the height of a man; it feeds at the margins of lakes, and
its sustenance is fish.
VIUVA is the size of a sparrow, black, with the head white, and the
tail proportioned. There is another species of _viuva_ the size of a
red robin, also black, with the head white, and the body a little large
from the feathers curling very much upon the upper part; the bill is
short and delicate; it always perches upon dry branches and does not
sing.
URUBU is a species of vulture, of the size of a turkey-cock, black,
with the head hairy like it, the bill proportioned and curved at the
upper part. There are two other sorts of the _urubu_, both rare, the
one differs only in having a portion green, the other, which is called
_urubu-rey_, is of a whitish ash colour, with the tail and wings black,
the neck absolutely naked and fleshy, the head imperfectly covered with
a soft fur, the crop hairy, the eyelids green, the iris very white,
and the bill black. and has on the upper part of the bill a caruncle,
composed of various yellow globules of divers sizes, attached to a
delicate pedicle.
In the interior lakes there is a species of gull, the size of a
swallow, the lower part very white, and the upper of a pearl colour;
the tail forked, the wings long and narrow, with the three leading
feathers black, as likewise the fore part of the head; the bill is long
and yellow.
PATATIVA of an ash colour, is less than a robin, and sings.
RENDEIRA is the size of a bullfinch and white, with the head, tail, and
wings black, the bill and tail short.
TICOTICO is of the size of a hedge-sparrow, having its colour almost
upon the sides, with the belly yellow, and a white semicircle above the
eyes.
TACOARA is larger than a blackbird, of a greenish colour, with the tail
very long, the upper part of the head a gold colour, having a large
black spot round the eyes.