Among the hosts of birds parrakeets were by far the most abundant. They came to the mango-trees by hundreds and were so noisy that they became a decided nuisance. In feeding they frequently took a bite or two out of a fruit and then, letting it fall, proceeded to another. In this way a great amount was wasted, but the people were good-natured over the matter and doubtless realized that there was fruit enough for all, as they never molested the parrakeets. Many of the birds were nesting. A red-breasted thrush (_Planesticus_), not unlike the robin, had its mud and grass nest in the low crotch of a tree on the edge of the forest, but the three eggs were heavily speckled with rusty brown instead of being of a plain-blue color. There were cunning little pigmy owls in the brush-patches, but in spite of their small size they are very bold and ferocious and kill birds nearly as large as themselves. In turn they are preyed upon by members of their own family. Some of the larger owls habitually catch small owls whenever possible. One day my attention was attracted by a commotion in a clump of dense bushes and, as I neared the spot, an owl of moderate size (_Ciccaba_) made a number of attempts to fly up from the ground, but apparently it was carrying something too heavy to permit it to fly. Finally it deserted the object and flew to a branch a few yards away. Going to the spot, I found a screech owl with a portion of its head eaten away. Pigmy owls are eagerly sought for by the natives. They become very tame and are supposed to bring good luck to their owners. We had brought a small owl of another species with us which had been named “Moses.” When we found him in the market at Asuncion he was a forlorn and hungry little creature, but showed such a friendly disposition that he was promptly purchased and soon became the very popular mascot of the expedition. At Urucúm Moses was given his liberty among the rafters of our home; he walked about gravely overhead and came down only when hungry or when the half-filled wash-basin lured him to the delights of a cool bath. Sometimes I put him out in a tree for an airing, but carnivorous ants were abundant and nearly always discovered him before very long; then he danced about, clattered with his bill, and made queer little cooing noises until I rescued him. We spent nearly three weeks at Urucúm. They passed very quickly, for Urucúm is one of those delightful places found all too rarely in South America. Word reached us that Colonel Roosevelt and his Brazilian escort had reached Corumbá, so we hastened back to town; there we met the entire party and made the acquaintance of Colonel Rondon and the other members of the Brazilian Commission.