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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



coasts where lagoons or swamps are 

 often near the seashore, as is the case 

 a few mi. west of Havana, where have 

 been collected "Frailecillos" {Aegiali- 

 tis semipalmatus, Ochihodromius wilson- 

 ius); "Zarapicos" {Ereunetes pusillus, 

 Totanus flavipes, Oexychus vociferus); 

 the "Tomeguin de la tierra" (Euethia 

 lepida); Pisobia minutUla, Atitis 

 macvlaria; many "Bijiritas" (as Den- 

 droica dominica, D. coerulea, Protonota- 

 ria citrea, Wilsonia citrina) ; Zenaida 

 macroura; The "Crequete" {Chordeites 

 sp.);the "Chamberguito" {Coturniculus 

 paserinus), the "Garz6n" (Herodias 

 egretta); the "Aguaita Caimdn" {Buto- 

 rides virescens); the "Sevilla" {Ajaja 

 ajoja)', the "Guanabd. real" (Nijctanassa 

 violacea) ; the "Martm pescador" (Ceryle 

 alcyon); the "Golondrina" {Idroprocne 

 bicolor); the "Arriero chico" [Coccyzus 

 americanus) . Eastward, in mangroves 

 near Cardenas, Gundlach discovered 

 one of the smallest birds of the World, 

 the "Zunzuncito" {Calypte helenae). 

 A peculiar character of the southern 

 part of this Havana plain, are the sub- 

 terranean rivers and caves, as those of 

 the vicinity of Alquizar, where blind 

 fishes have been found, as, for instance, 

 Lucifuga subterraneus, likely in com- 

 munication with the sea by these under- 

 ground rivers. 



Very little vegetation remains un- 

 disturbed in this region, even in the 

 "Cuabales" or barren serpentine hills, 

 intruded between the limestone chains; 

 some of them as the Lomas de Coca, del 

 Boticario, de la Pita, near Campo 

 Florido, support a dense growth of trees 

 or shrubs, as the "Cuabas" (Amyris 

 balsamifera and Leucocroton flavicans) ; 

 Harpalyce cubensis, Hieronyma cubana, 

 Rheedia aristata, Stenostomum lucidum, 

 Rauwolfia cubana, Simplocos strigillosa, 

 Lagetta valenzuelana, Rondeletia brachy- 

 carpa; sometimes their vegetation is 

 lower and more open, as in their vicinity 

 of Minas and Guanabacoa, with shrubs as 

 Reynosia mucronata, Eugenia sauvallei, 

 E. havanensis, Furcraea cubensis, Brya 

 ebenus, Annona bullata, Hibiscus costatus, 



Orbicularia orbicularis; the growth is 

 sometimes chiefly herbaceous, with the 

 ornamental "Palma Jata" {Copernicia 

 macroglossa) , scattered along the rivu- 

 lets, and Paspalum rupestre carpetting 

 the ground. Vernonia gnaphalifolia is 

 also characteristic of these Cuabales. 

 In holes of the ground are living many 

 big spiders, the "Arana peluda," {My- 

 gale sp.) which the boys catch easily. 

 The largest of the Cuban lakes, 

 the Ariguanabo, in the Havana plain, 

 not far from San Antonio de los Banos, 

 but more easily reached from Havana, 

 is perhaps the best locality for the study 

 of the Cuban aquatic flora. There, is 

 the large flowered Nelumbo lutea, several 

 Casialia, among which the more common 

 are C. odorata and C. ampla; Nymphaea 

 advena is very abundant, as well as 

 Nymphaeoides humboldtiana, Utricularia 

 foliosa, Proserpinaca palustris Salvinia 

 auriculata, and, though not so abundant, 

 one of the most beautiful flowers is that 

 of a grass, Luziola spruceana; patches 

 of Salix occidentalis and Cephalanthus 

 occidentalis cover the shallow portions 

 of the lake; Sesbania occidentalis is 

 not rare. Near the shores is* the well 

 known Pistia strathiotes, several species 

 of Jussiaea, Persicaria portoricensis, 

 Marsilea polycarpa, and the beautiful 

 water hyacinths (Piaropus crassipes 

 and P. azureus). This locality is per- 

 haps better yet for making a collection 

 of aquatic birds: there is found the 

 "Guanana prieta" {Anser albifrons) , 

 the "Gallinuelita" {Crybasius gossey) , 

 the "Becasina" (Gallinago delicata) , 

 the "Gallito" {Jacana spinosa) , the 

 "Garcita" (Ixobrychus exilis) , the "Gal- 

 linuela" (Rallus elegans) , the "Gal- 

 lareta" {Gallinuela galeata), the "Pato 

 negro" (Marila collaris) , the "Pato de 

 la Florida" (Querquedula discors) , the 

 "Pato cuchareta" {Spatula clypeata). 



Col6n 



This is a fertile plain, an enormous 

 Sugar Cane district, but so low, that it 

 has been sometimes flooded from coast 

 to coast. On the northern border of 



