Kitabı oku: «An Account of the Abipones, an Equestrian People of Paraguay, (1 of 3)», sayfa 15
THE CHOPÌ
The chopì, which is about the size of a swallow, and has dusky feathers, but if shone upon by the sun, of a blue colour, goes in flocks like European sparrows, flies up and down houses, and wheat fields, and delights the ear with its pleasing song. Some very small birds, the names of which I am unacquainted with, sing sweetly in gardens, but when taken they cannot long bear the confinement of a cage.
THE QUÎRAPÙ
The quîrapù, a Guarany word, signifying the tinkling bird, so called because its voice is like the sound of a little bell, resembles a pigeon. It is of a grey colour, has very beautiful eyes, a large head, and a green throat, which is inflated when the bird cries. It never stays long in one place, but passes quickly from tree to tree; on which account it is very seldom, and with great difficulty, caught. Other birds of the same name, (quîrapù miri,) but smaller, and of a white colour mixed with dusky, fly in companies, and whilst one utters loud sounds, all the rest are silent.
THE TIÑINI
The bird tiñini imitates the human voice, particularly at night, and not unfrequently alarms strangers sleeping in a wood, who take it for some enemy or spy.
THE TIJERAS
This bird, which is smaller than our sparrow, and entirely white, is called by the Spaniards tijeras, the scissors, because it sometimes opens and shuts its tail, which consists of two long and very white feathers, like a pair of scissors.
VARIOUS KINDS OF WILD DOVES
The apicazù, yeruti, and other kinds of wild doves, wander about in flocks, doing great mischief to fields and gardens, especially to grapes. From their wonderful variety of colours they are pleasing to the eye, but still more so to the palate, when boiled or roasted.
THE IÑAMBÙ
This bird inhabits every part of the plain country. In some respects it resembles a partridge, in others a quail. Its flesh is extremely white and well tasted, but very dry. You will seldom see a stupider bird, or one more easily and more frequently caught. A man on horseback sometimes goes round and round it, and whilst the bird goes round in like manner, knocks it down with the long piece of leather, which they use for a bridle, or with a slender reed. Numbers are daily brought to the city of Buenos-Ayres, and sold at a very low price.
MARTINETES AND GALLINETAS
There are other birds also, thought to be of the partridge kind, which are larger than a common hen, adorned with a variety of colours, and a beautiful crest, and of an agreeable savour.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PHEASANTS
Birds are found in Paraguay which, in some respects, resemble European pheasants. The commonest species is the yacù. This bird is equal in size to a full grown hen; its feathers are of a very black colour, and its flesh extremely well tasted. It mostly frequents woods near a river or lake. At sun-set or sun-rise, you may find a number of them on one tree. When one is brought down by a gun, the rest do not fly away, but only recede a little farther on the bough which they are sitting upon, and there remain till they are all killed by repeated firings. This I have often witnessed, and wondered much that the birds were neither scared by the report of the gun, nor impelled to flight by the deaths of their companions.
THE MBITUÙ
In the larger class of pheasants, we may with justice place the mbituù, a bird which almost resembles a turkey-cock. Its very black feathers are white at the extremity, but the belly is varied with a colour peculiar to partridges. On the top of its head it has a crest composed of black and white feathers, as soft as silk, which it erects when angry. It is armed with a long, hooked, and blackish beak. Its tail is long and generally expanded. Its beautiful head is adorned with large bright black eyes. Its very long legs are supported on four claws like those of a hen. Its tender flesh is universally commended, and as it is so desirable for the table, I wish it were more commonly met with in the woods by the Indian huntsmen.
VARIOUS KINDS OF PARROTS
The variety and multitude of parrots I might almost call innumerable. Every different species differs distinctly in form, voice, and plumage. Those with which I am best acquainted are the paracauteè, the paracaubaỹ, the iribaya, the aruaỹ, the tuî, the mbaracana, the quaà, or quacamayo, the caninde, the catita, or kikilk; and others whose names have slipped my memory. I will relate what is most remarkable respecting those which I know most of. The paracauteè signifies the true and legitimate parrot, which excels the rest in sense and docility, and can imitate the sounds of men and beasts with greatest ease and success. It is equal in size to a young pigeon: its feathers are green, but yellow, red, and blue on the head, wings, and tail. I had in my possession a bird of this kind, which I called Don Pedro, and which articulately pronounced many words, and even whole sentences, in the Spanish, Guarany, and Abiponian languages, and learnt to sing a little Spanish song admirably. Moreover he could imitate violent coughing, laughing, weeping, barking, and an hundred other things so dexterously that you would have sworn it was a man you heard. Whenever I travelled on foot or on horseback, he sat upon my shoulder, always chatty, always playful. When tired of his noise or his weight, I gave him to one of the Indians to carry – he angrily bit the man's ear, and flew back to me. He laughed very loud for a long time at an old Indian woman, whom we met riding on an ass. Though he reposed all day long on my shoulder, yet about sun-set, like fowls, he felt a desire for rest, began to grow angry, and, by clapping his wings, and repeatedly biting my ear, admonished me to stop the journey. Next day when I mounted my horse again, he was extremely delighted, and did nothing but sing and laugh. When I stayed in the town, he sometimes walked up and down a very long rope suspended from two pillars outside the house. When I entered the dining-room he would fly after me, and whilst we were dining, ran about the table, and always flew angrily to bite the Indian who came to take away the rest of the food with the dishes. He tasted, snatched, and swallowed any food that he could lay hold of. He sometimes walked about the court-yard, rubbing and sharpening his beak in the sand, which he often swallowed by way of medicine. Seeing me caress a smaller parrot of another species, filled with envy he attempted to pierce the bird with his beak; but softened by a little coaxing, he not only suffered it to sleep under his wings, but ever afterwards treated it as a pupil, or rather as a son. What the older bird pronounced with a deep voice, the younger repeated in a slenderer one. The Guaranies tie all their tame parrots, by one foot, to a long pole, to prevent them from flying away. These chains did not please me: I therefore clipped one wing of my parrots a little to prevent them from flying long, or far away, leaving them the full liberty of their legs. This Don Pedro of mine, after continuing many years faithful, took advantage of the circumstance of his feathers having grown a little too much, to fly away and disappear. He was sought by many, but without success. At the end of three days he saw me passing through a wood, and knew me instantly. Without delay he crept swiftly along the boughs by the help of his beak and claws, and flew to my shoulder, repeating the words Don Pedro. But though he lavished unbounded caresses on me, he atoned for this desertion by the mutilation of his feathers. I often wondered to hear this parrot repeat the sentences that he knew so opportunely, as if he understood the meaning of them; for when he was hungry, he cried pobre Don Pedro, poor Don Pedro, in a tone calculated to excite compassion, repeating those words again and again, till eatable roots, bread, or some other food was given him. These particulars, relative to my parrot, the memory of which is still dear to me, I have, perhaps with too much prolixity, related, in order to show you how great is the power of education, even upon brute animals. Female parrots learn to imitate human speech quicker and better than the males. My companion had one which could repeat the Lord's Prayer in the Guarany tongue. I could have fancied I heard a child praying. This circumstance is very surprizing, as we find that the females of other birds are almost mute. I never could understand how parrots, brought by Englishmen or Dutchmen from the remotest parts of Asia, Africa, or America, after travelling about so many months, or years perhaps, learn to pronounce sentences either in German or French, or any other language, when in Paraguay it is thought impossible to teach them to speak, unless they be brought unfledged from the nest; for when full grown we have found them quite indocile. They are most conveniently taught at night, or in a dark room, where no object presents itself to their eyes, no sound to their ears: though, whilst walking on their rope, or on a pole, in the court-yard, they insensibly learn to imitate dogs barking, horses neighing, cows lowing, old men coughing, boys whistling, laughing, or crying – being extremely attentive to every thing. By long experience I have found that parrots of every kind will learn better and more willingly from women and children, whose voices are sweeter, than from men.
The paracaubaỹ is of the same size and form as the paracauteè; but its feathers are almost all green, with but a very sparing admixture of blue ones, and perhaps a little yellow, or red feather here and there on its head, wings, and tail. These birds babble some unintelligible stuff, but never utter an articulate sound.
The aruaỹ, which is somewhat smaller than the former, is of a most lovely shape, adorned with red, yellow, and bright green feathers, and capable of talking a great deal, if instructed.
The iribaya, which scarce exceeds a European linnet in size, is sparingly besprent with a few dark green, red, and blue feathers, and is distinguished from the rest by a white circle round the eyes. Though of a very lively temper, garrulous, restless, and apt to bite, it is unable to learn to talk, and has a harsh voice. Some woods abound to such a degree in these birds, that no other kind of parrot can be seen there.
The mbaracanà, and others of the same kind that are entirely green, being devoid of all beauty and docility, are seldom taught by the Indians. The tuỹs are divided into many species. The greenness of their plumage is praised by every body. The least of them does not exceed a man's little finger in length; they are extremely merry, and more apt to bite than any of the rest.
The largest and most beautiful of all the parrots which Paraguay produces, are the quaà, or quacamayo, and the caninde; the latter of which is adorned in every part with feathers of a Prussian blue, and a dark yellow colour; the former with very red and dark blue ones. Their tail is composed of feathers a cubit in length. They are alike in form and size, in which they far exceed a common cock. Their beak is so strong that it would pierce the hard bark of an almond tree at one stroke; you must be cautious, therefore, in handling them. At home they are tamed sooner than you would believe it possible. In the town of St. Joachim I had in my possession some very gentle quaàs and canindes. They walked every day about the yard, and would never suffer themselves to be separated, but always kept company together, and were always quarrelling, so that you might apply to them the words of the poet, Nec tecum possum vivere, nec sine te. They never learn to speak any thing but their own name, which they articulately and clamorously pronounce with a harsh voice. I had often wished to have an unfledged caninde brought me from the nest, feeling quite sure that I should be able to teach it to speak; but these wishes were vain; for the old Indians who were born in the woods, and had long dwelt there, all replied with one accord, God, the Creator of all things, alone knows where the caninde builds its nest. For it is thought to hide its offspring in the hidden recesses of the wood, and from thence, when they are advanced in age, to fly with them to the open plains. Though so many kinds of parrots are exposed for sale at the shops of Lisbon, or are exhibited in the gardens of the chief people there, yet the caninde, which yields to none of the parrot kind in beauty, is never to be met with out of Paraguay, nor is it found in every part of that province even; for, like the other more elegant parrots which I have described, it only inhabits the northern forests. In the more southern regions, parrots of the largest size, but of a sombre dark green colour, and annoying to the ears by their senseless clamours, fly in crowds about the groves, especially those composed of palm trees; where wander also great numbers of very small parrots, about the size of a lark, adorned with pale green feathers, and called catitas, or kikilk. They are merry, playful, cunning, and may easily be taught to pronounce some words. They are kept in leathern cages. Incredible is the mischief they do to fields sowed with maize. Guards are necessary to keep them off. The Indians know how to change the natural colour of the parrot into any other they choose. They pull the feathers up by the roots, and rub the place from which they have been plucked, till it grows red, and blood flows from it; they then instil and press into the pores or sockets of the old feathers, juice of any colour they like. If the wings or tail be imbued with a yellow, red, or blue colour, yellow, red, or blue feathers will grow there. This was practised amongst the Brazilians, Guaranies, and, according to P. Joseph Labrador, amongst the Mbaya savages. The same Father observed that the Indians performed the operation in the beginning of spring or autumn, that green is very easily turned into yellow, and that yellow feathers, if plucked up, will be succeeded by none but yellow ones. Why might not the experiment be tried upon European birds? A red canary, a yellow nightingale, and a blue lark, would certainly be curious objects.
As the beautiful colours of parrots, and their merry garrulity delight the ear and eye, their flesh, in like manner, is extremely pleasing to the palate, but being rather hard, must be beaten a little while, before it will become tender. As parrots are exceedingly suspicious, all times are not equally proper for hunting them. When they assemble on the highest boughs, one of them occupies the top of the tree, that, if any body approaches, he may warn his companions of their danger, and exhort them to flight by sudden clamour. About sun-set they compose themselves to rest like hens. A great crowd generally assemble on one tree, and as each strives to get the highest bough, continual quarrels ensue – one trying to push the other from the seat that he has obtained, whilst, amid horrid clamours, the feathers that they have torn from each other with their beak or claws, fly about in all directions. During these contentions for the highest place, the hunter steals softly thither, and with a gun, or a bow, knocks down the disputing bipeds. If ever you hear the parrots, which you see in the houses of the wealthy, called by other names than those I have mentioned, remember that they must have been brought from other countries, of Asia, Africa, or America. White parrots, with a little red crest, called cockatoos, and others of a grey colour, which I have often seen in Germany, are unknown to Paraguay. The smaller parrots, which we call tuỹ; in the Guarany tongue, have the French name perroquet given them in Europe.
INDIAN CROWS
Indian crows are black, like those of Europe, but much longer; their head and neck, as far as the beginning of the wings, are bald, smooth, quite destitute of feathers, but full of wrinkles. These birds subsist on the carcasses and entrails of slain beasts. Whenever oxen are killed in the open plain, as usual there, they perch upon trees or roofs of houses, presently rush down upon the intestines, and one taking each end, carry them through the air like a long rope. Their king is clothed with extremely white feathers, and though very seldom seen, flies accompanied by the other crows, as by satellites. As birds of one feather flock together, the Abipones, who live on rapine, bring up the young of these rapacious crows at home, as they become wonderfully tame: for they accompany their masters when they ride out to hunt or enjoy the country, partake their fare, and return when they return, but sometimes suffer themselves to be enticed away by flocks of crows which they meet on the road. Crows' feathers are generally chosen for arrows by the savages, on account of their strength.
THE CARACARÀ, or CARRANCHO
Kindred, and allies of the crows, are birds which the Spaniards call caracarà, or carrancho. Their body is of a yellowish grey colour, but spotted with yellow and white. They are about the size of a hen, and resemble a hawk in their head, hooked bill, eyes, long claws, and long tail. They feed upon carcasses, like crows, and do a great deal of mischief amongst hens and other birds. Their flesh is of no use.
VARIOUS KINDS OF HAWKS
Caracaràs are followed by kirikirì, different kinds of hawks, spotted with various colours. Amongst them are the common hawk, the goshawk, or gerfalcon, &c.
Of owls, the commonest are those which the Spaniards call lechuza, and the horned owl, which the Spaniards call mochuelo. Bats are of various kinds, and very common, as shall be shown hereafter.
THE GOOSE
Water-fowl are so numerous, and of such various kinds, that it would fill a volume to describe them properly; I shall therefore only speak of some of them. I have, though very seldom, met with an immense number of geese like those of Europe in lakes. But of ducks there is such a variety and number, not only in the lakes but in the rivers also, that their dung defiles the water so as to render it unfit to be drunk.
VARIOUS KINDS OF DUCKS
Ducks, clothed with black and white feathers, are extremely numerous, and pass the day in the water, and the night in trees close by it. They are most easily and frequently shot out of the water. Their young, when removed to towns, seldom become tame. Other ducks, which the Abipones call roakabì, have feathers of various colours, and beautifully red feet. Small ducks, called by the Abipones ruililiè, flit about together at night, making a loud hissing, and are believed by the Abipones to be spirits of the dead. The most remarkable are certain middle-sized ducks, of a beautiful rose colour from the head to the tail, but their natural ill smell annoys the nostrils of all who approach them, as much as the beauty of their plumage delights beholders. Under the beautiful feathers of their wings and the rest of their body, (of which not only the plume, but the quill, which we use to write with, is tinged with a deep red colour,) is concealed skin, bone, and a very scanty portion of most stinking flesh. They are slenderer than geese's quills, and are used by the Abipones to adorn and crown their heads.
STORKS
Paraguay is not destitute of river-fowl, very like European herons and storks.
THE HARIA
The haria, which is about the size of a stork, boldly attacks serpents, pierces them with its bill and eats them. It soon grows tame in the houses of the Spaniards, and is very useful in gardens by killing noxious insects. I was often moved to laughter by another river-fowl, which, when it stretches out its neck, exceeds a tall man in height, and a lamb in the size of its body. This bird is entirely white, and has very long feet. It stands for many hours motionless, as if meditating, in the water; but I confess that I have forgotten its name.
WATER-CROWS
In the river Parana, and elsewhere, numerous water-crows are seen. Their young are devoured with avidity by the savages, though they all detest the thought of eating birds, hens, or chicken. It would take a long time to mention all the various kinds of water-fowl which swarm in the larger rivers and subsist wholly on fish.
