tropics. The climbers comprise a large number of species, some of which, like those of the parrot (Psittacidae) and woodpecker (Picus), are particularly noticeable in every wooded region of the country. One of the most striking species of the former is the brilliantly-coloured arara (Macrocercus, L.), which is common throughout northern Brazil. Another interesting species is the toucan (Ramphastos), whose enormous beak, awkward flight and raucous voice make it a conspicuous object in the great forests of northern Brazil. In strong contrast to the ungainly toucan is the tiny humming-bird, whose beautiful plumage, swiftness of flight and power of wing are sources of constant wonder and admiration. Of this smallest of birds there are fifty-nine well-known species, divided into two groups, the Phaethorninae, which prefer the forest shade and live on insects, and the Trochilinae, which frequent open sunny places where flowers are to be found. One of the Brazilian birds whose habits have attracted much interest is the João de Barro (Clay John) or oven bird (Furnarius rufus), which builds a house of reddish clay for its nest and attaches it to the branch of a tree, usually in a fork. The thrush is represented by a number of species, one of which, the sabiá (Mimus), has become the popular song-bird of Brazil through a poem written by Gonçalves Dias. The dove and pigeon have also a number of native species, one of which, the pomba jurity (Peristera frontalis), is a highly-appreciated table luxury. The gallinaceous birds are well represented, especially in game birds. The most numerous of these are the perdiz (partridge), the best known of which is the Tinamus maculosa which frequents the campos of the south, the inhambú (Crypturus), capoeira (Odontophorus), and several species of the penelope family popularly known as the jacutinga, jacú and jacú-assú. The common domesticated fowl is not indigenous. Among the wading and running birds, of which the ema is the largest representative, there are many species of both descriptions. In the Amazon lowlands are white herons (Ardea candidissima), egrets (A. egretta), bitterns (A. exilis), blue herons (A. herodias) scarlet ibises (Ibis rubra), roseate spoonbills (Platalea ajaja); on higher ground the beautiful peacock heron (A. helias) which is easily domesticated; and on the dry elevated campos the ceriema (Dicholophus cristatus) which is prized for its flesh, and the jacamin (Psophia crepitans) which is frequently domesticated. Prominent among the storks is the great black-headed white crane, called the jaburú (Mycteria americana), which is found along the Amazon and down the coast and grows to a height of 412 ft. Of the swimmers, the number of species is smaller, but some of them are widely distributed and numerous in individuals. There are but few species of ducks, and they are apparently more numerous in southern Brazil than on the Amazon.
The reptilian fauna exhibits an exceptionally large number of interesting genera and species. A great part of the river systems of the country with their flooded areas are highly favourable to the development of reptilian life. Most prominent among these is the American alligator, of which there are, according to Netterer, two genera and eight species in Brazil. They are very numerous in the Amazon and its tributaries and in the Paraguay, and are found in all the rivers of the Atlantic coast. Three of the Brazilian species are voracious and dangerous. The largest of the Amazon species are the jacaré-assú (Caïman niger), jacaré (C. fissipes) and jacaré-tinga (C. sclerops). The Amazon is also the home of one of the largest fresh-water turtles known, the Emys amazonica, locally called the jurará-assú or tartaruga grande. These turtles are so numerous that their flesh and eggs have long been a principal food supply for the Indian population of that region. Another Amazon species, the E. tracaxa, is still more highly esteemed for its flesh, but it is smaller and deposits fewer eggs in the sandy river beaches. Lagartos (Iguanas) and lizards are common everywhere. The ophidians are also numerous, especially in the wooded lowlands valleys, and the poisonous species, though less numerous than others, include some of the most dangerous known—the rattlesnake surucucú (Lachesis rhombeatus), and jararáca (Bothrops). The Amazon region is frequented by the giboia (boa constrictor), and the central plateau by the sucuriú (Eunectes murinus), both distinguished for their enormous size. The batrachians include a very large number of genera and species, especially in the Amazon valley.
The fauna of the rivers and coast of Brazil is richer in species and individuals than that of the land. All the rivers are richly stocked, and valuable fishing grounds are to be found along the coast, especially that of southern Bahia and Espirito Santo where the garoupa (Serranus) is found in large numbers. Some of the small fish along the coast are highly esteemed for their flavour. Whales were once numerous between Capes St Roque and Frio, but are now rarely seen. Of the edible river fish, the best known is the pirarucú (Sudis gigas), a large fish of the Amazon which is salted and dried for market during the low-water season. Fish is a staple food of the Indian tribes of the Amazon region, and their fishing season is during the period of low water. The visit of Professor Louis Agassiz to the Amazon in 1865 resulted in a list of 1143 species, but it is believed that no less than 1800 to 2000 species are to be found in that great river and its tributaries.
In strong contrast to the poverty of Brazil in the larger mammals is the astonishing profusion of insect life in every part of the country. The Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are especially numerous, both in species and individuals. A striking illustration of this extraordinary profusion was given by the English naturalist H. W. Bates, who found 7000 species of insects in the vicinity of only one of his collecting places on the Amazon (Ega), of which 550 species were of butterflies. Within an hour’s walk of Pará are to be found, he says, about 700 species of butterflies, “whilst the total number found in the British Islands does not exceed 66, and the whole of Europe supports only 321.” (H. W. Bates, The Naturalist on the River Amazons.) One of the rare species of the Amazon Morphos (M. hecuba) measures 8 to 9 in. across its expanded wings. Dipterous insects are also very numerous in species, especially in those of sanguinary habits, such as the mosquito, pium, maroim, carapanā, borochudo, &c. In some places these insects constitute a veritable plague, and the infested regions are practically uninhabitable. The related species of the Oestridae family, which include the widely disseminated chigoe or bicho do pé (Pulex penetrans), and the equally troublesome berne (Cutiterebra noxialis), which is so injurious to animals, are equally numerous. The most numerous of all, however, and perhaps the most harmful to civilized man, are the termites and ants, which are found everywhere in the uninhabited campo and forest regions, as well as in the cultivated districts. Nature has provided several species of animals, birds and reptiles, to feed upon these insects, and various poisonous and suffocating compounds are used to destroy them, but with no great degree of success. It is not uncommon to find once cultivated fields abandoned because of their ravages and to see large campos completely covered with enormous ant-hills. The termites, or “white ants,” are exceptionally destructive because of their habit of tunnelling through the softer woods of habitations and furniture, while some species of ants, like the saúba, are equally destructive to plantations because of the rapidity with which they strip a tree of its foliage. Spiders are represented by a very large number of species, some of which are beautifully coloured. The largest of these is the Mygale with a body 2 in. in length and outstretched legs covering 7 in., a monster strong enough to capture and kill small birds. A large Mygale found on the island of Siriba, of the Abrolhos group, feeds upon lizards, and has been known to attack and kill young chickens. One of the most troublesome pests of the interior is a minute degenerate spider of the genus Ixodes, called carrapato, or bush-tick, which breeds on the ground and then creeps up the grass blades and bushes where it waits for some passing man or beast. Its habit is to bury its head in its victim’s skin and remain there until gorged with blood, when it drops off. Scorpions are common, but are considered less poisonous than some European species.
Flora.—Brazil not only is marvellously rich in botanical species, but included at the beginning of the 20th century the largest area of virgin forest on the surface of the earth. The flora falls naturally into three great divisions: that of the Amazon basin where exceptional conditions of heat and moisture prevail; that of the coast where heat, varying rainfall, oceanic influences and changing seasons have greatly modified the general character of the vegetation; and that of the elevated interior, or sertão, where dryer conditions, rocky surfaces, higher sun temperatures and large open spaces produce a vegetation widely different from those of the other two regions. Besides these, the flora of the Paraguay basin varies widely from that of the inland plateau, and that of the Brazilian Guiana region is essentially distinct from the Amazon. The latter region is densely forested from the Atlantic to the Andes, but with a varying width of about 200 m. on the coast to about 900 m. between the Bolivian and Venezuelan llanos, and thus far civilization has made only a very slight impression upon it. Even where settlements have been located, constant effort is required to keep the vegetation down. Along the coast, much of the virgin forest has been cut away, not only for the creation of cultivated plantations, but to meet the commercial demand for Brazil-wood and furniture woods.
The chief characteristic of the Amazonian forest, aside from its magnitude, is the great diversity of genera and species. In the northern temperate zone we find forests of a single species, others of three or four species; in this great tropical forest the habit of growth is solitary and an acre of ground will contain hundreds of species—palms, myrtles, acacias, mimosas, cecropias, euphorbias, malvaceas, laurels, cedrellas, bignonias, bombaceas, apocyneas, malpigias, lecythises, swartzias, &c. The vegetation of the lower river-margins, which are periodically flooded, differs in some particulars from that of the higher ground, and the same variation is to be found between the forests of the upper and lower Amazon, and between the Amazon and its principal tributaries. The density of the forest is greatly augmented by the cipós, or lianas, which overgrow the largest trees to their tops, and by a profusion of epiphytes which cover the highest branches. As a rule the trees of the Amazon forest are not conspicuously high, a few species rarely reaching a height of 200 ft. The average is probably less than one-half that height. This is especially true of the flood plains where the annual inundations prevent the formation of humus and retard forest growth. The largest of the Amazon forest trees are the massaranduba (Mimusops elata), called the cow-tree because of its milky sap, the samaúma (Eriodendron samauma) or silk-cotton tree, the páu d’ arco (Tecoma speciosa), páu d’ alho (Catraeva tapia), bacori (Symphonea coccinea), sapucaia (Lecythis ollaria), and castanheira or brazil-nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa). The Amazon region has a comparatively narrow
