Their Habits--The Gavial and the Tiger--Mode of Seizing their Prey--Their Voice--Their Preference of Human Flesh--Alligator against Alligator--Wonderful Tenacity of Life--Tenderness of the Female Cayman for her Young--The Crocodile of the Nile--Its Longevity--Enemies of the Crocodile--Torpidity of Crocodiles during the Dry Season--Their Awakening from their Lethargy with the First Rains--‘Tickling a Crocodile’ 332 CHAPTER XXVII. TROPICAL BIRD LIFE. The Toucan--Its Quarrelsome Character--The Humming-birds--Their wide Range over the New World--Their Habits--Their Enemies-- Their Courage--The Cotingas--The Campanero--The Tangaras--The Manakins--The Cock of the Rock--The Troupials--The Baltimore-- The Pendulous Nests of the Cassiques--The Mocking-bird-- Strange Voices of Tropical Birds--The Goat-Sucker’s Wail--The Organista--The Cilgero--The Flamingos--The Scarlet Ibis--The Jabiru--The Roseate Spoon-bill--The Jacana--The Calao--The Sun-birds--The Melithreptes--The Argus--The Peacock--Tropical Waders of the Old World--The African Ibis--The Numidian Crane-- Australian Birds--The Lyre Bird--The Birds of Paradise-- African Weaving Birds--The Social Grosbeak--The Baya--The Tailor-bird--The Honey Eaters--The Bower-bird--The Talegalla-- The Gualama 342 CHAPTER XXVIII. TROPICAL BIRDS OF PREY. The Condor--His Marvellous Flight--His Cowardice--Various Modes of Capturing Condors--Ancient Fables circulated about them--Comparison of the Condor with the Albatross--The Carrion Vultures--The King of the Vultures--Domestication of the Urubu--Its Extraordinary Memory--The Harpy Eagle-- Examples of his Ferocity--The Oricou--The Bacha--His Cruelty to the Klipdachs--The Fishing Eagle of Africa--The Musical Sparrow-hawk--The Secretary Eagle 376 CHAPTER XXIX. THE OSTRICH AND THE CASSOWARY. Size of the Ostrich--Its astonishing Swiftness--Ostrich Hunting-- Stratagem of the Ostrich for protecting its Young--Points of Resemblance with the Camel--Its Voracity--Ostrich Feathers-- Domestication of the Ostrich in Algeria--Poetical Legend of the Arabs--The American Rheas--The Cassowary--The Australian Emu 384 CHAPTER XXX. PARROTS. Their Peculiar Manner of Climbing--Points of Resemblance with Monkeys--Their Social habits--Their Connubial Felicity-- Inseparables--Talent for Mimicry--Wonderful Powers of Speech and Memory--Their Wide Range within the Temperate Zones--Colour of Parrots Artificially Changed by the South American Indians-- The Cockatoos--Cockatoo killing in Australia--The Macaw--The Parakeets 392 CHAPTER XXXI. TROPICAL RUMINANTS AND EQUIDÆ.