Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1897 — The Angelus Bird. [ARTICLE]

The Angelus Bird.

When traveling in tile forests of Guiana and Paraguay, it Is not uncommon to meet with a bird whose music greatly resembles that of an Angelas bell when heard from a distance. The Spaniards call this singular bird a bell-ringer, though It may be still more appropriately designated as the Angelus bird, for, like the Angelus bell, it Is heard three times a day, morning, noon and night. Its song, which defies all description, consists of sounds like the strokes of a bell, succeeding one another every two or three minutes, so clearly and in such a resonant manner that the listener, if a stranger, imagines himself to be near a chapel 'or a convent. But It turns out that the forest is the chapel, and the bell a bird. The beauty of the Angelus bird is equal to his talent. He is as large as a jay, and as white as snow, besides being graceful in form and swift in motion. But the most curious ornament of the Angelus bird is the tuft of black, arched feathers on its beautiful head. It is conical in shape and about four inches in length.—From the Guardian Angel.