Part 29

The avifauna of Brazil is rich in genera, species and individuals, especially in species with brilliantly-coloured plumage. It is estimated that more than half the birds of Brazil are insectivorous, and that more than one-eighth are climbers. The range in size is a wide one--from the tiny humming-bird to the ema, rhea, or American ostrich. Although the order which includes song-birds is numerous in species and individuals, it is noticeably poor in really good songsters. On the other hand it is exceptionally rich in species having strident voices and peculiar unmusical calls, like the _paco_ (_Coracina scuttata_) and the _araponga_ (_Chasmorhynchus nudicollis_). Two species of vultures, twenty-three of falcons and eight of owls represent the birds of prey. The best known vulture is the common _urubu_ (_Cathartes foetens_, Illig), which is the universal scavenger of the tropics. The climbers comprise a large number of species, some of which, like those of the parrot (_Psittacidae_) and woodpecker (_Picus_), are particularly noticeable in every wooded region of the country. One of the most striking species of the former is the brilliantly-coloured _arara_ (_Macrocercus_, L.), which is common throughout northern Brazil. Another interesting species is the toucan (_Ramphastos_), whose enormous beak, awkward flight and raucous voice make it a conspicuous object in the great forests of northern Brazil. In strong contrast to the ungainly toucan is the tiny humming-bird, whose beautiful plumage, swiftness of flight and power of wing are sources of constant wonder and admiration. Of this smallest of birds there are fifty-nine well-known species, divided into two groups, the _Phaethorninae_, which prefer the forest shade and live on insects, and the _Trochilinae_, which frequent open sunny places where flowers are to be found. One of the Brazilian birds whose habits have attracted much interest is the _Joao de Barro_ (Clay John) or oven bird (_Furnarius rufus_), which builds a house of reddish clay for its nest and attaches it to the branch of a tree, usually in a fork. The thrush is represented by a number of species, one of which, the _sabia_ (_Mimus_), has become the popular song-bird of Brazil through a poem written by Goncalves Dias. The dove and pigeon have also a number of native species, one of which, the _pomba jurity_ (_Peristera frontalis_), is a highly-appreciated table luxury. The gallinaceous birds are well represented, especially in game birds. The most numerous of these are the _perdiz_ (partridge), the best known of which is the _Tinamus maculosa_ which frequents the _campos_ of the south, the _inhambu_ (_Crypturus_), _capoeira_ (_Odontophorus_), and several species of the penelope family popularly known as the _jacutinga, jacu_ and _jacu-assu_. The common domesticated fowl is not indigenous. Among the wading and running birds, of which the _ema_ is the largest representative, there are many species of both descriptions. In the Amazon lowlands are white herons (_Ardea candidissima_), egrets (_A. egretta_), bitterns (_A. exilis_), blue herons (_A. herodias_) scarlet ibises (_Ibis rubra_), roseate spoonbills (_Platalea ajaja_); on higher ground the beautiful peacock heron (_A. helias_) which is easily domesticated; and on the dry elevated _campos_ the _ceriema_ (_Dicholophus cristatus_) which is prized for its flesh, and the _jacamin_ (_Psophia crepitans_) which is frequently domesticated. Prominent among the storks is the great black-headed white crane, called the _jaburu_ (_Mycteria americana_), which is found along the Amazon and down the coast and grows to a height of 4-1/2 ft. Of the swimmers, the number of species is smaller, but some of them are widely distributed and numerous in individuals. There are but few species of ducks, and they are apparently more numerous in southern Brazil than on the Amazon.

The reptilian fauna exhibits an exceptionally large number of interesting genera and species. A great part of the river systems of the country with their flooded areas are highly favourable to the development of reptilian life. Most prominent among these is the American alligator, of which there are, according to Netterer, two genera and eight species in Brazil. They are very numerous in the Amazon and its tributaries and in the Paraguay, and are found in all the rivers of the Atlantic coast. Three of the Brazilian species are voracious and dangerous. The largest of the Amazon species are the _jacare-assu_ (_Caiman niger_), _jacare_ (_C. fissipes_) and _jacare-tinga_ (_C. sclerops_). The Amazon is also the home of one of the largest fresh-water turtles known, the _Emys amazonica_, locally called the _jurara-assu_ or _tartaruga grande_. These turtles are so numerous that their flesh and eggs have long been a principal food supply for the Indian population of that region. Another Amazon species, the _E. tracaxa_, is still more highly esteemed for its flesh, but it is smaller and deposits fewer eggs in the sandy river beaches. Lagartos (_Iguanas_) and lizards are common everywhere. The ophidians are also numerous, especially in the wooded lowlands valleys, and the poisonous species, though less numerous than others, include some of the most dangerous known--the rattlesnake _surucucu_ (_Lachesis rhombeatus_), and _jararaca_ (_Bothrops_). The Amazon region is frequented by the _giboia_ (boa constrictor), and the central plateau by the _sucuriu_ (_Eunectes murinus_), both distinguished for their enormous size. The batrachians include a very large number of genera and species, especially in the Amazon valley.

The fauna of the rivers and coast of Brazil is richer in species and individuals than that of the land. All the rivers are richly stocked, and valuable fishing grounds are to be found along the coast, especially that of southern Bahia and Espirito Santo where the _garoupa_ (_Serranus_) is found in large numbers. Some of the small fish along the coast are highly esteemed for their flavour. Whales were once numerous between Capes St Roque and Frio, but are now rarely seen. Of the edible river fish, the best known is the _pirarucu_ (_Sudis gigas_), a large fish of the Amazon which is salted and dried for market during the low-water season. Fish is a staple food of the Indian tribes of the Amazon region, and their fishing season is during the period of low water. The visit of Professor Louis Agassiz to the Amazon in 1865 resulted in a list of 1143 species, but it is believed that no less than 1800 to 2000 species are to be found in that great river and its tributaries.

In strong contrast to the poverty of Brazil in the larger mammals is the astonishing profusion of insect life in every part of the country. The Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are especially numerous, both in species and individuals. A striking illustration of this extraordinary profusion was given by the English naturalist H.W. Bates, who found 7000 species of insects in the vicinity of only one of his collecting places on the Amazon (Ega), of which 550 species were of butterflies. Within an hour's walk of Para are to be found, he says, about 700 species of butterflies, "whilst the total number found in the British Islands does not exceed 66, and the whole of Europe supports only 321." (H.W. Bates, _The Naturalist on the River Amazons_.) One of the rare species of the Amazon _Morphos_ (_M. hecuba_) measures 8 to 9 in. across its expanded wings. Dipterous insects are also very numerous in species, especially in those of sanguinary habits, such as the mosquito, _pium_, _maroim_, _carapana_, _borochudo_, &c. In some places these insects constitute a veritable plague, and the infested regions are practically uninhabitable. The related species of the _Oestridae_ family, which include the widely disseminated _chigoe_ or _bicho do pe_ (_Pulex penetrans_), and the equally troublesome _berne_ (_Cutiterebra noxialis_), which is so injurious to animals, are equally numerous. The most numerous of all, however, and perhaps the most harmful to civilized man, are the termites and ants, which are found everywhere in the uninhabited campo and forest regions, as well as in the cultivated districts. Nature has provided several species of animals, birds and reptiles, to feed upon these insects, and various poisonous and suffocating compounds are used to destroy them, but with no great degree of success. It is not uncommon to find once cultivated fields abandoned because of their ravages and to see large _campos_ completely covered with enormous ant-hills. The termites, or "white ants," are exceptionally destructive because of their habit of tunnelling through the softer woods of habitations and furniture, while some species of ants, like the _sauba_, are equally destructive to plantations because of the rapidity with which they strip a tree of its foliage. Spiders are represented by a very large number of species, some of which are beautifully coloured. The largest of these is the _Mygale_ with a body 2 in. in length and outstretched legs covering 7 in., a monster strong enough to capture and kill small birds. A large _Mygale_ found on the island of Siriba, of the Abrolhos group, feeds upon lizards, and has been known to attack and kill young chickens. One of the most troublesome pests of the interior is a minute degenerate spider of the genus _Ixodes_, called _carrapato_, or bush-tick, which breeds on the ground and then creeps up the grass blades and bushes where it waits for some passing man or beast. Its habit is to bury its head in its victim's skin and remain there until gorged with blood, when it drops off. Scorpions are common, but are considered less poisonous than some European species.

_Flora._--Brazil not only is marvellously rich in botanical species, but included at the beginning of the 20th century the largest area of virgin forest on the surface of the earth. The flora falls naturally into three great divisions: that of the Amazon basin where exceptional conditions of heat and moisture prevail; that of the coast where heat, varying rainfall, oceanic influences and changing seasons have greatly modified the general character of the vegetation; and that of the elevated interior, or _sertao_, where dryer conditions, rocky surfaces, higher sun temperatures and large open spaces produce a vegetation widely different from those of the other two regions. Besides these, the flora of the Paraguay basin varies widely from that of the inland plateau, and that of the Brazilian Guiana region is essentially distinct from the Amazon. The latter region is densely forested from the Atlantic to the Andes, but with a varying width of about 200 m. on the coast to about 900 m. between the Bolivian and Venezuelan _llanos_, and thus far civilization has made only a very slight impression upon it. Even where settlements have been located, constant effort is required to keep the vegetation down. Along the coast, much of the virgin forest has been cut away, not only for the creation of cultivated plantations, but to meet the commercial demand for Brazil-wood and furniture woods.

The chief characteristic of the Amazonian forest, aside from its magnitude, is the great diversity of genera and species. In the northern temperate zone we find forests of a single species, others of three or four species; in this great tropical forest the habit of growth is solitary and an acre of ground will contain hundreds of species--palms, myrtles, acacias, mimosas, cecropias, euphorbias, malvaceas, laurels, cedrellas, bignonias, bombaceas, apocyneas, malpigias, lecythises, swartzias, &c. The vegetation of the lower river-margins, which are periodically flooded, differs in some

## particulars from that of the higher ground, and the same variation is

to be found between the forests of the upper and lower Amazon, and between the Amazon and its principal tributaries. The density of the forest is greatly augmented by the _cipos_, or lianas, which overgrow the largest trees to their tops, and by a profusion of epiphytes which cover the highest branches. As a rule the trees of the Amazon forest are not conspicuously high, a few species rarely reaching a height of 200 ft. The average is probably less than one-half that height. This is especially true of the flood plains where the annual inundations prevent the formation of humus and retard forest growth. The largest of the Amazon forest trees are the _massaranduba_ (_Mimusops elata_), called the cow-tree because of its milky sap, the _samauma_ (_Eriodendron samauma_) or silk-cotton tree, the _pau d' arco_ (_Tecoma speciosa_), _pau d' alho_ (_Catraeva tapia_), _bacori_ (_Symphonea coccinea_), _sapucaia_ (_Lecythis ollaria_), and _castanheira_ or brazil-nut tree (_Bertholletia excelsa_). The Amazon region has a comparatively narrow frontage on the Atlantic. In Maranhao, which belongs to the coast region, open spaces or _campos_ appear, though the state is well wooded and its forests have the general characteristics of the lower Amazon. South-east of the Parnahyba the coast region becomes dryer and more sandy and the forests disappear. The coast and tide-water rivers are fringed with mangrove, and the sandy plain reaching back to the margin of the inland plateau is generally bare of vegetation, though the carnahuba palm (_Copernicia cerifera_) and some species of low-growing trees are to be found in many places. The higher levels of this plain are covered with shrubs and small trees, principally mimosas. The slopes of the plateau, which receive a better rainfall, are more heavily forested, some districts being covered with deciduous trees, forming _catingas_ in local parlance. This dry, thinly-wooded region extends south to the states of Parahyba, where a more regular rainfall favours forest growth nearer the coast. Between Parahyba and southern Bahia forests and open plains are intermingled; thence southward the narrow coastal plain and bordering mountain slopes are heavily forested. The sea-coast, bays and tide-water rivers are still fringed with mangrove, and on the sandy shores above Cape Frio grow large numbers of the exotic cocoa-nut palm. Many species of indigenous palms abound, and in places the forests are indescribably luxuriant. These are made up, as Prince Max zu Neuwied found in southern Bahia in 1817, "of the genera _Cocos_, _Melastoma_, _Bignonia_, _Rhexia_, _Mimosa_, _Inga_, _Bombax_, _Ilex_, _Laurus_, _Myrthus_, _Eugenia_, _Jacaranda_, _Jatropha_, _Visinia_, _Lecythis_, _Ficus_, and a thousand other, for the most part, unknown species of trees." Further inland the higher country becomes more open and the forests are less luxuriant. Giant cacti and spiny scrub abound. Then come the _catinga_ tracts, and, beyond these, the open _campos_ of the elevated plateau, dotted with clumps of low growing bushes and broken by tracts of _carrasco_, a thick, matted, bushy growth 10 to 12 ft. in height. Formerly this coast region furnished large quantities of Brazil-wood (_Caesalpinia echinata_), and the river valleys have long been the principal source of Brazil's best cabinet-wood--rosewood (_Dalbergia nigra_), jacaranda (_Machaeriumfirmum_, Benth.), vinhatico (_Plathymenia foliosa_, Benth.), peroba (_Aspidosperma peroba_), cedro, &c. The exotic _mangabeira_ (mango) is found everywhere along the coast, together with the bamboo, orange, lemon, banana, cashew, &c.

Of the great inland region, which includes the arid campos of the north, the partially-wooded plateaus of Minas Geraes, Goyaz and Matto Grosso, the temperate highlands of the south, and the tropical lowlands of the Paraguay basin, no adequate description can be given without taking each section in detail, which can be done to better advantage in describing the individual states. In general, the _carrasco_ growth extends over the whole central plateau, and heavy forests are found only in the deep river valleys. Those opening northward have the characteristic flora of the Amazon basin. The Paraguay basin is covered with extensive marshy tracts and open woodlands, the palms being the conspicuous feature. The vegetation is similar to that of Paraguay and the Chaco, and aquatic plants are specially numerous and luxuriant. On the temperate uplands of the southern states there are imposing forests of South American pine (_Araucaria brasiliensis_), whose bare trunks and umbrella-like tops give to them the appearance of open woodland. These forests extend from Parana into Rio Grande do Sul and smaller tracts are also found in Minas Geraes. Large tracts of _Ilex paraguayensis_, from which _mate_, or Paraguay-tea, is gathered, are found in this same region.

The economic plants of Brazil, both indigenous and exotic, are noticeably numerous. Coffee naturally occupies first place, and is grown wherever frosts are not severe from the Amazon south to Parana. The states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes are the largest producers, but it is also grown for export in Espirito Santo, Bahia and Ceara. The export in 1905 was 10,820,604 bags of 132 lb. each, with an official valuation of L21,420,330. Sugar cane, another exotic, has an equally wide distribution, and cotton is grown along the coast from Maranhao to Sao Paulo. Other economic plants and fruits having a wide distribution are tobacco, maize, rice, beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, cacao (_Theobroma cacao_), mandioca or cassava (_Manihot utilitissima_), _aipim_ or sweet mandioca (_M. aipi_), guavas (_Psidium guayava_, Raddi), oranges, lemons, limes, grapes, pineapples, _mamao_ (_Carica papaya_), bread-fruit (_Artocarpus incisa_), jack fruit (_A. integrifolia_), and many others less known outside the tropics. Among the palms there are several of great economic value, not only as food producers but also for various domestic uses. The fruit of the _pupunha_ or peach palm (_Guilielma speciosa_) is an important food among the Indians of the Amazon valley, where the tree was cultivated by them long before the discovery of America. Humboldt found it among the native tribes of the Orinoco valley, where it is called _pirijao_. The ita palm, _Mauritia_, _flexuosa_ (a fan-leaf palm) provides an edible fruit, medullary meal, drink, fibre, roofing and timber, but is less used on the Amazon than it is on the lower Orinoco. The _assai_ (_Euterpe oleracea_) is another highly-prized palm because of a beverage made from its fruit along the lower Amazon. A closely-related species or variety (_Euterpe edulis_) is the well-known palmito or cabbage palm found over the greater part of Brazil, whose terminal phylophore is cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Another highly useful palm is the _carnauba_ or _carnahuba_ (_Copernicia cerifera_) which supplies fruit, medullary meal, food for cattle, boards and timber, fibre, wax and medicine. The fibre of the _piassava (Leopoldinia piassava_, or _Attalea funifera_) is widely used for cordage, brushes and brooms. There are many other palms whose fruit, fibre and wood enter largely into the domestic economy of the natives, but the list given shows how important a service these trees rendered to the aboriginal inhabitants of tropical America, and likewise how useful they still are to the people of tropical Brazil. Another vegetable product of the Amazon region is made from the fruit of the _Paullinia sorbilis_, Mart., and is known by the name of _guarana_. It is largely consumed in Bolivia and Matto Grosso, where it is used in the preparation of a beverage which has excellent medicinal properties. The Brazilian flora is also rich in medicinal and aromatic plants, dye-woods, and a wide range of gum and resin-producing shrubs and trees. The best known of these are sarsaparilla, ipecacuanha, cinchona, jaborandi and copaiba; vanilla, tonka beans and cloves; Brazil-wood and anatto (_Bixa orellana_); india-rubber and balata. India-rubber is derived principally from the _Hevea guayanensis_, sometimes called the _Siphonia elastica_, which is found on the Amazon and its tributaries as far inland as the foothills of the Andes. Other rubber-producing trees are the _manicoba_ (_Jatropha Glasiovii_) of Ceara, and the _mangabeira_ (_Hancornia speciosa_), of the central upland regions.

_Population._--The first explorers of Brazil reported a numerous Indian population, but, as the sea-coast afforded a larger and more easily acquired food supply than did the interior, the Indian population was probably numerous only in a comparatively small part of this immense territory, along the sea-coast. Modern explorations have shown that the unsettled inland regions of Brazil are populated by Indians only where the conditions are favourable. They are to be found in wooded districts near rivers, and are rarely found on the elevated _campos_. The immediate result of European colonization was the enslavement and extermination of the Indians along the coast and in all those favoured inland localities where the whites came into contact with them. The southern districts and the Amazon and its tributaries were often raided by slave-hunting expeditions, and their Indian populations were either decimated, or driven farther into the inaccessible forests. But there is no record that the inland districts of western and north-western Brazil were treated in this manner, and their present population may be assumed to represent approximately what it was when the Europeans first came. According to the census of 1890 the Indian population was 1,295,796, but so far as the migratory tribes are concerned the figures are only guesswork. A considerable number of these Indians have been gathered together in _aldeas_ under the charge of government tutors, but the larger part still live in their own villages or as nomads.

Down to the beginning of the 19th century the white colonists were almost exclusively Portuguese. The immigration from countries other than Portugal during the first half of that century was small, but before its close it increased rapidly, particularly from Italy. Fully nine-tenths of these immigrants, including those from the mother country, were of the Latin race. The introduction of African slaves followed closely upon the development of agricultural industries, and continued nominally until 1850, actually until 1854, and according to some authors until 1860. About 1826 it was estimated that the negro population numbered 2,500,000 or three times the white population of that period. The unrestricted intermixture of these three races forms the principal basis of the Brazilian population at the beginning of the 20th century. Brazil has never had a "colour line," and there has never been any popular prejudice against race mixtures. According to the census of 1872 the total population was 9,930,478, of which 1,510,806 were slaves; the race enumeration gave 3,787,289 whites, 1,959,452 Africans, 386,955 Indians, and 3,801,782 mixed bloods. The Indian population certainly exceeded the total given, and the white population must have included many of mixed blood, the habit of so describing themselves being common among the better classes of South American mestizos. The census of 1890 increased the total population to 14,333,915, which, according to an unofficial analysis (_Statesman's Year Book_, 1905), was made up of 6,302,198 whites, 4,638,495 mixed bloods, 2,097,426 Africans, and 1,295,796 Indians. This analysis, if correct, indicates that the vegetative increase of the whites has been greater than that of the Africans and mixed races. This is not the conclusion of many observers, but it may be due to the excessive infant mortality among the lower classes, where an observance of the simplest sanitary laws is practically unknown. The census of the 31st of December 1900 was strikingly defective; it was wholly discarded for the city of Rio de Janeiro, and had to be completed by office computations in the returns from several states. The compilation of the returns was not completed and published until May 1908, according to which the total population was 17,318,556, of which 8,825,636 were males and 8,492,920 females. Not including the city of Rio de Janeiro, whose population was estimated at 691,565 in conformity with a special municipal census of 1906, the total population was 16,626,991, of which 15,572,671 were Roman Catholics, 177,727 Protestants, 876,593 of other faiths. The returns also show a total of 3,038,500 domiciles outside the federal capital, which gives an average of 5.472 to the domicile. These returns will serve to correct the exaggerated estimate of 22,315,000 for 1900 which was published in Brazil and accepted by many foreign publications.