. Bird lore . mmon; but only those whose movements disclosed them ever fell into ourhands, for it was about hopeless to discover them when they were sitting quietamong the leafage. The blue-breasted group, Andigena, we encountered onlyonce or twice. The only one I saw I got from the steep trail in the CentralAndes, and it was to the rattling accompaniment of horns of some fifty pack-oxen we were passing on the narrow road. The excitement the shot causedamong the startled beasts gave me other things to think of, at the moment,and I do not now remember whether my siete-color had a voice or not.
. Bird lore . mmon; but only those whose movements disclosed them ever fell into ourhands, for it was about hopeless to discover them when they were sitting quietamong the leafage. The blue-breasted group, Andigena, we encountered onlyonce or twice. The only one I saw I got from the steep trail in the CentralAndes, and it was to the rattling accompaniment of horns of some fifty pack-oxen we were passing on the narrow road. The excitement the shot causedamong the startled beasts gave me other things to think of, at the moment,and I do not now remember whether my siete-color had a voice or not. WhenI finally retrieved him, he was some forty yards or more down the steep andtangled mountain-side. In this connection, it may not be out of place to offerone suggestion in explanation of the great difl&culty of locating these large andapparently gaudily colored birds in the tropical woods, and in retrieving themwhen shot. To our northern eyes, used only to green leaves seldom larger than our hand, (342). TOUCANSSketched from Nature (343) 344 Bird - Lore the extravagant wealth of size, form and color in tropical vegetation offersquite as much wonderment and occupation as do the birds themselves; andhere we have a diversion of the attention, however unconscious it may be, thatcertainly has its effect. Added to this, there are actual variations in the accus-tomed color of the foliage that repeat with greatest suggestiveness any red,yellow, blue, green, orange, or other color, that may be present on a Toucans throat is yellower than the light shining through a thin leaf, andwhen leat-forms are further complicated like those of the Dendrophilumcreepers, by having great holes that let through patches of the dark back-ground or the blue sky, no black-patched Toucan in the foreground looks morevelvety than do these leaf-interstices. As for the bizarre bills, they only serveto make it harder; for they bear no resemblance to bill or bird, and simplymerge their brilliancy with
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