These birds are
consequently in great demand in some places, the hunters selling
them at a high price to the foolish girls, who preserve the
bodies by drying flesh and feathers together in the sun. I could
never get a sight of this famous little bird in the forest. I
once employed Indians to obtain specimens for me; but, after the
same man (who was a noted woodsman) brought me, at different
times, three distinct species of birds as the Uira-para, I gave
up the story as a piece of humbug. The simplest explanation
appears to be this: the birds associate in flocks from the
instinct of self-preservation in order to be a less easy prey to
hawks, snakes, and other enemies than they would be if feeding
alone.
Toucans--Cuvier's Toucan--Of this family of birds, so conspicuous
from the great size and light structure of their beaks, and so
characteristic of tropical American forests, five species inhabit
the woods of Ega. The commonest is Cuvier's Toucan, a large bird,
distinguished from its nearest relatives by the feathers at the
bottom of the back being of a saffron hue instead of red.
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