s,
crowned with the rich green walls of the primeval forest. The country is
far more attractive than that on the Amazon; instead of a dead level,
swampy and intersected by sluggish _igaripes_, or shallow ponds,
overhung by impenetrably tangled thickets, and full of venomous flies,
here are gentle hills, and tiny brooks of sparkling water, and a
comparatively open forest, with bright clear glades in which the
traveller may recline without persecution from the flies,--these pests
being unknown on the "black waters." The ground is covered by evergreens
of different species and exquisite forms, and many kinds of elegant
ferns are growing in the valleys. There are few lianes or spinous briers
stretching from tree to tree, obstructing free passage, but a thousand
lesser vines drape the low tree tops with myriads of flowers, new and
attractive to the visitor. Everywhere the forest is intersected by
paths, some made by the inhabitants in their frequent rambles, others by
wild animals that come to the water to drink; and along these the eager
naturalist can readily pass to the feeding trees of many beautiful and
peculiar birds.

Here are wont to haunt many varieties of the richly-hued trogons,
unknown to the lower regions; and at any hour their plaintive note may
be heard at intervals, as they sit moodily, singly or in pairs, on the
branches, with the long tail outspread and drooping, watching for
passing insects. Cuckoos of several kinds, their plumage glancing red in
the subdued light, flit noiselessly through the woods, searching for
caterpillars. Purple jays, in large flocks, alight on some berry-bearing
tree, chattering and gesticulating, but shy and alert,--ready to start
at the snapping of a twig. Motmots and chatterers in gayest
hues,--scarlet, violet and blue,--are abundant. Goatsuckers, in
exquisitely-blended and pencilled tones of colour, start from some shady
glen where they are dozing away the day hours, and, flying a short
distance on soft winnowing pinions, rest again, and seem to fall asleep
in an instant. Showy manikins and tanagers of the brightest tints are
flaunting in every bush: pigeons and doves of soberer hues are cooing
their gentle complainings in the taller trees; and guans and curassows
are marching with stately pace in the paths, picking here and there some
delicate morsel; or running with loud harsh cry, with outstretched neck
and rapid stride, as they detect approaching danger.[208]

Still, consp