Tumatumari is a small negro settlement, and owes its existence to the gold-mines scattered throughout the surrounding country. We made headquarters in a comfortable bungalow provided by Sproston’s. A good trail leads through the tall forest, a distance of many miles, with numerous side trails branching off in various directions. Along the latter we immediately began to prosecute our work. On our very first excursions we heard the enchanting song of the Guiana solitaire, or quadrille-bird as it is locally known. From the depths of the dark forest there arose a low, mournful note, so liquid and melancholy that the music of no instrument made by the hand of man could equal it in ethereal beauty; gradually it swelled louder and louder, but always preserving the same exquisite quality until the eight notes had been uttered and the song died with a wistful sob. To hear this song is to experience one of the most enchanting of earthly delights, the memory of which will remain as long as life itself and gild the other reminiscences of sweltering days spent in tropical lowlands, of plagues of insects, of fever, and even the hard-fought battles against odds that seemed overwhelming. The bird is a shy little creature, and is obscurely colored; among the deep shadows where it spends its lonely existence the brown and gray of its modest attire blend so well with its surroundings that it is rare indeed to have even a fleeting glimpse of the captivating songster. Perched in the dead tops of some of the tallest trees, we found a bird which, seen from below, resembled a giant long-tailed hummer; but a short time spent in observation soon disclosed the fact that it belonged to another family, so different were its habits. It sat motionless many minutes at a time, and darted off a short distance, presumably in pursuit of an insect, at infrequent intervals, only to quickly return to its perch. This was the paradise jacamar, a resplendent bird with a metallic green back and black underparts. The jacamars form a peculiar family, and have been frequently called “forest-kingfishers” because of their superficial resemblance to the _Alcyones_. The greater number of species are gorgeously colored and inhabit the lower branches of forest-trees, feeding on insects. The nest is placed in a hole in the bank of some wild ravine or river.