:::::::::*; TWO BIRD-LOVERS IN MEXICO B-""- 



flat and broad that a frog was instantly brought to 

 mind. Its hoarse cry was very different from the notes 

 of the other birds, and was not unUke the tearr-r-r ! of 

 an anxious mother tern. When several pairs of these 

 birds aUghted in a near-by tree, they seemed the very 

 grandsires of all flycatchers. The Least Flycatchers 

 did not deserve their name, at least not in this bar- 

 ranca, for we now and then caught sight of the tiniest 

 and shyest of all — the Beardless Flycatcher. It was 

 undoubtedly a i)ird of this species, and we were sorry 

 that we did not succeed in getting close enough to it 

 to learn some of its habits. All of this species which 

 we saw later were feedinjr on small berries and not 

 on insects. 



THE STREAM AND ITS FICJ-TREES 



Whether we sat quietlv by the foaming stream or 

 j)icked our way through bushes and over rocks along 

 its banks, there was always something new and strange 

 to see, and if we could have remained years instead of 

 a week or two, there would have been no lessening of 

 interest on our part. Mexican Cormorants flew back 

 and forth, and, for an experiment, one day we had Ri- 

 cardo parboil one for us and then make it into a stew, 

 and we were suri)rised to find that the meat was tender 

 and that it had no disagreeable odour. These cor- 

 morants varied their diet of fish with certain aquatic 

 plants, which grew in the more (piiet pools. Mallards 



«4 190 ^ 



