File:Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana (1910) (14565862339).jpg

Identifier: oursearchforwild00nile (find matches)
Title: Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Niles, Blair Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Natural history Birds
Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company

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e, a second pair of birds left their nest in the next clumpof undergrowth and raised their discordant notes in protestat our intrusion. The assertion which we made last year — Milady havingbeen the first to observe it — that Hoatzins use their prima-ries as fingers, in the same way that the chicks and partlygrown young use their wing claws, has been received withsome doubt, and I am glad to offer a photograph (Fig. 156)as evidence. In the right wing of the Hoatzin, the thumbfeathers are plainly visible, with their inner edges frettedaway, while the first six primaries also show signs of severewear, such as would be expected from the rough usage towhich they are put. THE LIFE OF THE ABARY SAVANNAS. 375 Attention is called to the apparent immobility of the crest,which is as fully erect in the crouching Hoatzin (Fig. 155) asin the same bird a minute or two later, alert and about to fly(Fig. 156). Thus it was that we took the first photographs ever madeof these most interesting birds.
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Fig. 156. (E) Female Hoatzin taking flight, with wings fullyspread; a second pair of birds leaving their nest, in the hack-ground. Insects were abundant on the island and if we had takentime we could have made an interesting collection. Threespecies of bright Orange butterflies were numerous (Euptoietahegesia, Colaenis phaerusa and the familiar Red Silver-wing,Agraulis vanillae, of our northern fields), and with these werealso a White (Pieris monuste)and a Yellow (CalHdryasstatira). 376 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. The three commonest dragon-flies were Diastatops tincta,Erythrodiplax umbrata and E. peruviana. There were two pairs of Black-capped Mocking-thrushes 126on the island and they afforded us much amusement. Theyare true cousins of the Catbird and Mockingbird, and fromtheir actions would almost seem to have a strain of Chat blood!A pair lived in each of the brush clumps a and b (Fig. 147) andhour after hour would sit calling and answering each other.One pair (the two birds sitt

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