The Cock-of-the-Rock lives in Guiana. Its nest is found among the
rocks. T. K. Salmon says: "I once went to see the breeding place of the
Cock-of-the-Rock; and a darker or wilder place I have never been in.
Following up a mountain stream the gorge became gradually more enclosed
and more rocky, till I arrived at the mouth of a cave with high rock on
each side, and overshadowed by high trees, into which the sun never
penetrated. All was wet and dark, and the only sound heard was the
rushing of the water over the rocks. We had hardly become accustomed to
the gloom when a nest was found, a dark bird stealing away from what
seemed to be a lump of mud upon the face of the rock. This was a nest
of the Cock-of-the-Rock, containing two eggs; it was built upon a
projecting piece, the body being made of mud or clay, then a few sticks,
and on the top lined with green moss. It was about five feet from the
water. I did not see the male bird, and, indeed, I have rarely ever seen
the male and female birds together, though I have seen both sexes in
separate flocks."
The eggs are described as pale buff with various sized spots of shades
from red-brown to pale lilac.
It is a solitary and wary bird, feeding before sunrise and after sunset
and hiding through the day in sombre ravines.
Robert Schomburgh describes its dance as follows:
"While traversing the mountains of Western Guiana we fell in with a
pack of these splendid birds, which gave me the opportunity of being
an eye witness of their dancing, an accomplishment which I had hitherto
regarded as a fable. We cautiously approached their ballet ground and
place of meeting, which lay some little distance from the road. The
stage, if we may so call it, measured from four to five feet in
diameter; every blade of grass had been removed and the ground was as
smooth as if leveled by human hands. On this space we saw one of the
birds dance and jump about, while the others evidently played the part
of admiring spectators. At one moment it expanded its wings, threw its
head in the air, or spread out its tail like a peacock scratching the
ground with its foot; all this took place with a sort of hopping gait,
until tired, when on emitting a peculiar note, its place was immediately
filled by another performer. In this manner the different birds went
through their terpsichorean exercises, each retiring to its place among
the spectators, who had settled on the low bushes near the theatre of
operations. We counted ten males and two females in the flock. The noise
of a breaking stick unfortunately raised an alarm, when the whole
company of dancers immediately flew off."
"The Indians, who place great value on their skins, eagerly seek out
their playing grounds, and armed with their blow-tubes and poisoned
arrows, lie in wait for the dances. The hunter does not attempt to use
his weapon until the company is quite engrossed in the performance, when
the birds become so preoccupied with their amusement that four or five
are often killed before the survivors detect the danger and decamp."