:::::::::=»v TWO BIRD-LO\^RS IN MEXICO B:.'"-" 



in the sun without feeling oppressed. But the birds 

 and beasts set us a good examjjle and we found it a 

 good plan to sit quietly in the shade, writing or 

 examining our specimens until about two o'clock. At 

 five in the afternoon the black flies again appeared and 

 held high revel for one hour, when the coming of the 

 bats dispelled them. 



Six times we had excellent opportunities of observ- 

 ing the great Guatemalan Woodpecker, with the beau- 

 tiful scarlet head and crest flashing through the trees. 

 No matter how much is given to a naturalist to enjoy, 

 there is always something else for which he yearns. 

 There were three things — all possible but improbable 

 in this portion of Mexico — for which we were ever on 

 the lookout — the grandest of all birds, the Harpy 

 Eagle ; the most magnificent of woodpeckers, the 

 Imperial ; and some stray monkeys which might have 

 wandered so far north (they range still farther up on 

 the eastern side of the country). But these things were 

 withheld from us until another time. 



Everywhere through the underbrush scampered large 

 squirrels with thick coats of grizzled fur {Scliiriis 

 polloinis cermcalis), while w4th them was a lesser num- 

 ber of squirrel-like Spermophiles {Citellns anniddtns), 

 handsomely marked with gray above and bright rufous 

 below. Both species live in burrows in the ground 

 or in crevices of the cliff, near which our camp was 

 pitched. There were literally hundreds of these frisky 

 <4 ^286 -^ 



