In contrast to the silence of the northern woods there is no stillness in these jungles so long as the sun is above the horizon. The music may vary from the screeching of the innumerable flocks of parrots—for they never go singly—to the feeble chirp of an insect, but it is there. During the day there are birds that incessantly chatter, whistle, croak, chirrup, coo, warble and utter discordant noises, thus making the air vocal with the varied sounds. At night the pitiful howling of the spider monkey breaks the silence that otherwise might obtain. No country, so naturalists say, offers a greater variety of bright-hued birds. The great macaw is a polychromatic wonder rivalling the proud peacock flaunting his plumage in the sunlight. There are many varieties of parrots and parroquets to be found. The quetzal, which figures in the national emblem, has tail feathers often reaching three feet in length. These feathers are of a peacock green to indigo in colour, the breast is scarlet and the wings dark. This bird will not survive captivity, and for this reason the founders of the republic gave it a place on the nation’s escutcheon. In ancient days, so highly was this bird regarded that none but the royal family dared to wear its plumes. There are some good specimens to be seen in the museum at the capital, but a live quetzal is rarely seen. Then there are pelicans, kingfishers, mot-mots, pavos, curassows, white cranes, doves, swallows, noisy yellow-tails and the curious toucan with its enormous bill and brilliant colour. Vampire bats about the size of an English sparrow are common. They will bite cattle, but are not so large, nor so fierce, as the South American species that will attack even human beings.