New-York tribune., 1867-02-21

WIN Is sometime so densoly covered with yepetotje,
that thu plants form floor upon which these ater bird,
may rum and nothing is more beautiful perhaps than
ponds with tnOusands ana thousands Of the Victoria
Re0id in bloom, its immense leaves spreading ont
as the leaves of water-lillies upon our ponds.
With birds that when they are disturbed aud they
arise they literally obscure the light aud appear Ike
clouds in the atmosphere. have occasion
pond which covered with whito herons mixed
with red bsse that when came TO the shore found
fishes by thousands which had been killed By the birds
walking them; and when the birds II liter
ally impossible to the sky there through the dense
crowds which like clouds from the surface OF the
wafer The most Characteristic bird Of these gons are
family intermediate between our gallnaceOus bird ana
the waders forming a kind OF transition tyne
between the waders and the galllnaceOus in country
without little dry land This family characteristic or
our praire-the prairie hen the grouse and the leand
1t is family which ia largely represented everywhere
no natural home and are known under the name OF
Jacana They intermediate, IL were, between the
gallnaceOus birds and the wader They have the same
slender form OF the wader and the irregular
Of the bill which distinguishes the gainaceOus bird linen
we have Of the climbing birds an Immense number ana
some families particularly characteristic OF South Amer
lea. The quantity Of parrots, OF maeaWs, or parroqes'
and the like, which everywhere in the forest eK
ceeds all description Not only the species very ni
merOus but the number Of representatives OF each species
very large and you sometimes 0cks OF parrots h
dense the focks Of crows or ocks OF geese
which pass heads at the time OF their mgaton
from the north southwark, on their return
from the south nOrthward Their noise is ntoerable, 1t
Of these parrots in your neghborhood 1t is Impossible
go talking with your neighbour so loud are they nhd
variety of the parrot kind existing in the Valley the
Amazon very large Hundreds Of species are iound
throughout South America, and most or them nc, OF
those genera which have green feathers While IN tner
parts Of the world we have parrots or white color
OF the green type. With them, belonging to
Sr tine same family family e1e%sveH na f1o mercnH @
There IS no representative of that type Of bird anywhere
else in the world Neither in Africa in tropical Asia
Is there single representative of the family OF humnng
birds They represented by similar forms In the r0p
iCal parts O the Old world by family which goes b! the
name of Necarina but the humming bird proper, with
slender and compound BILL with small feet and very na
toes OF which closely sodered TO the other as
type with their wings moving 80 rapidly presenting sch
contrast 10 the mode OF moving OF other birds which
soar rs it were, in flying while the Tapping Of the hum
ming bird il sort of vibration rather than flying
of that family South America Is the home exclusively
And their number Is daily increasing In the catalogues
of natural history While few dozen or species were
known in the beginning OF tho century, now there
they localized In their distribution that every
valley has its kind and that In closely adjoining
districts you find entirely different species lou see az
that this innumerable multiplication OF species, aud
this special ocazaton leaving but the presence OF one
that these animals wherever they are modified
according 20 the circumstances under which they i've
animals have varied from the beginning to suit the
localities; but the Interpretation which seems to pre-
vail now Is that animals assume peculiar Characters
wherever they 90 Another type, which IL quite Ancr
and South American exclusively that OF the Ioucan
another family of climbing bird, remarkable iOi the ex
dimensions Of their bills. the bil beihg
about as long, and apparently as heaNy as te pou!,
although N Is not ncaNy U NOIu seem, On
that weight is slight but is appearance IL tla of
colossal bill These birds remarkable for the pec-
arty OF their color; but instead ot having tho-c ank
and rejecting tuts which present all the Narnton OF
the case of the coumhal they nave definite acbts o,
cOlOrs put IN the most striking juXaposuOn bahd
Of yellow put on by the side of band OF Ied or )e
band white the sides Of the neck the rest OF the
body being black, or white breast with very marked
and well described ring OF brilliant ungc, while the rest
T. of purplish color And 80 are all the representations
NJ the family Of TOucans remarkable for this strange d
trbutiou of ns. and the dproportonatc dnoIhons of
their bills The Cucans. humming birds, and paroques
form a Characteristic feature OF the flying tribes OF The
class of birds IN these tropical regions or the perchhg
birds there are also innumcable Species but they have
nothing very special They resemble iu manner onr
warhers; and among them there are some elegant sing
ar lint there IA no tribe OF this family Of prrchug birds
which constitutes characteristic feature Of the coht
nents as 90 those which | nave already cnuihet'hL
Among the birds Of Prey here are some which M de,rfNT
that we find them one black yultrc. somewhat similar
that which found IN the southern states may " seen
where there ANIMALS dccayng. There y
carton like ours; and another species nearly rs
ar 90, tho eagle itself, known under the namo
bic the beauty Of lis ooiors. the feathers
u its ol being OF elegant white, yellow and RCD, with
'eatha.. = hcb giyss them a very elegant appearance
These the largest OF the br1s OF prey IN inc loMsr
ainogs regions the condor - f2unf s at countries Of
urn kineea which nrc south ~ The Valley Tho ANA
on In tho dry regions 10 the west of lutnos Ayft-'W
lao TO the west Of Bahia 0strchc- found which ie-
emble the African ostrich In eGoIy respect excepting
le they being about Oucthrd the hEe ui thc African o
rich: and differing further iu having three toes instead
Il two So that south America has 10, peculiar features
n the class Of bds, well ~ IN tha oi ftpur' au ln
hat Of fishes FOR the great variety 3f glInuaos"us D
Which Characterize the Old World the prcpondrrance 81
ze of the ostrich ~ Africa compared WIN that ui
south America, the large number aud cAiioiuh5 u u
prcponderance IN the old World over the yultuIc. "t
south America, show again that IN hr ca, oI bms t'
had time 10 present the subject IN ~ fnllues colh
show you that this obtains not only Tor souh AneTo
4. ffa luf lg
Sorb America is oldfashoucd and inferior IN comparison
nj IN the animal world OF other parts of the globe Amer
=" .su,ncd ned it, form as continent, North
America as wclI South America. At
North America had its outline i had It's Canadian range
i had it, Aueghanics, and IL bad ts Rocky Mountains u
was continent long before Europe had assumed those
features which give 10 much Of its character HOlt was
llso with South America Aud m relation to uis singular
continent resemble those Of older ago ia the Oid
World aud inferior In bulk 10 those which are FOUND
ny next lecture shall speak of the monkeys and men,
and shall compare the races OF humanity ana the Ie
M showing You how much superior the type OF am
mails I'm the Old World TO that Of the new. But ct Us take
glance at the quadrupeds before closing these remarks
The large quadrupcds OF the 0fd.the cicInahl tne
rhinOceros, hippopottainus ana tho giradls-"heIe
no representatives Of these families In south Amer
ca The large CarniyerOus anilnhlS-lhe MONS
ASIA. And II there are pathcrsan rcdons' so e'ul,
In South America, they are inferior IN hiht,, ~
forOr in strength ana inferior IN structure 10 hVse Win
nhab the Old World. But let me state more W. 1',ai AZ
bcse animals: and we shall satisfy ourselves that tho
ype of this animal kingdom OF South America ~ perhaps
inferior, more In reference To is Padrupe'' th9 III
reference TO any other class In the first place.
among the aquatic quadrupcds-among the aquatic mann
mala because they are not quadrueds properly sPeah
ing-we have in the ocean the whales or pofposes IN
Brazil we find that certain number OF pOIpolses are
found In the Amazon but they are small kinds ana kds
which differ from the others IN the eNtraotdbaiy I'M
iornity OF their dcutOn. The beshueboy the s0caled
cow is of the lowest types 81 the class of nam
malta and II prcpOndcratcs In tho ryesOi south Ancch'
and Is even found In Southern fresh waters lhltpa
IIay In Florida have one representative OF una.
family which found In rivers emptyinR into the 'ui
of Mexico II Is found In the Ornoco and IN the ANN
zou II Is an animal which may Wen De com
parcd with the hppOpotamus but 10 H. as 10 were MP
popoamus without tusks aud without legs bul only WIN
4 pair Of short paddles, the tail of which is broad ana