142 JUNGLE ISLAND 



marsh hawks, and were recognized by a telltale 

 white spot on the rump. 



When we were out on Gatun Lake in our cayu- 

 cas we often saw long low lines of cormorants 

 flying heavily a few feet above the water. The 

 natives call them *'fish ducks." If we were 

 fortunate we might sight out in the deeper part 

 of the lake a floating field of black specks, cover- 

 ing thickly a space half as large as a city block. 

 As we came closer we could see that each black 

 object was the head of a cormorant, whose entire 

 body floated well below the surface of the water. 

 As our boat came near, the cormorants began to 

 struggle heavily from under the water, like tired 

 swimmers. They took to the air until we were 

 past and then as quickly as possible they sank 

 into the lake again, with only their watchful 

 black heads turning above water in our direction. 



Sometimes a red-bellied woodpecker flew out 

 from one of the dead snags as we neared shore, 

 and we were likely to see kingfishers of all sizes. 

 Some were about as big as a chipping sparrow 

 and others were larger than I have ever seen in 

 the north. A white hawk, black-barred on wings 

 and tail, spent a great deal of time perched in a 

 water-killed tree close to shore where he could 

 swoop down for the basilisk lizards that ran out 

 over the surface of the water. 



We seldom saw vultures over Gatun Lake or 

 Barro Colorado, although they lived in such 



