Page:The naturalist on the River Amazons 1863 v1.djvu/33

ordinary notes emitted from their places of concealment in the dense thickets; and also tanagers, and other small birds, inhabited the neighbourhood. None of these had a pleasing song, except a little brown wren (Troglodytes furvus), whose voice and melody resemble those of our English robin. It is often seen hopping and climbing about the walls and roofs of houses and on trees in their vicinity. Its song is more frequently heard in the rainy season, when the Monguba trees shed their leaves. At those times the Estrada das Mongubeiras has an appearance quite unusual in a tropical country. The tree is one of the few in the Amazons region which sheds all its foliage before any of the new leaf-buds expand. The naked branches, the soddened ground matted with dead leaves, the grey mist veiling the surrounding vegetation, and the cool atmosphere soon after sunrise, all combine to remind one of autumnal mornings in England. Whilst loitering about at such times, in a half-oblivious mood, thinking of home, the song of this bird would create for the moment a perfect illusion. Numbers of tanagers frequented the fruit and other trees in our garden. The two principal kinds which attracted our attention were the Rhamphocœlus Jacapa and the Tanagra Episcopus. The females of both are dull in colour. The male of Jacapa has a beautiful velvety purple and black plumage, the beak being partly white. The same sex in Episcopus is of a pale blue colour, with white spots on the wings. In their habits they both resemble the common house-sparrow of Europe, which does not exist in South America, its place being in some measure filled by these familiar tanagers. They are