42 Messrs. Salvin and Sclater 



femng the colours of the soft parts to the permanent colours 

 of the plumage may occasionally be employed with great 

 advantage. 



On the 24th July Mr. Wyld and I set out for Calderas, a 

 locality in the Volcan de Fuego well known to my friend as a 

 favourite resort of many birds not found in the lower districts. 

 We started at six o'clock in the morning, intending to reach our 

 destination at an early hour^ but I found so much to attract 

 attention on the road, that it was past noon ere we ai'rived at 

 the haunts of the Quesal {Pharomacrus paradiseits) , to obtain 

 which was the chief object of our ride. Leaving Mr. Wyld to 

 make a sketch of a magnificent isolated tree of the celebrated 

 Hand-plant {Chirostemon platandides) , I struck up the mountain, 

 keeping near to the edge of a deep ravine, or, as it is called here, 

 " barranco," to serve as my guide. IVhat a contrast are these 

 elevated forests to those of the coast ! The lofty trees, it is true, 

 correspond, but how different the vegetation, how different the 

 climate ! Instead of the incessant noise and buzzing of myriads of 

 insects, insect life seems almost extinct, and a dead silence reigns, 

 broken only by an occasional gust of wind. It is the region of 

 mosses, and every tree, every branch is covered with clustering 

 and pendent mosses*. Everything reeks with moisture, the 

 sun being shut out from penetrating below by the closing tops 

 of the trees. The soil in this region of perpetual damp is of the 

 richest quality, its excellence being testified as well by the 

 mouldering ranks of the fallen trees as by the luxuriant growth 

 of a species of bamboo. It is no easy matter to ascend ; the 

 fallen trees and the dense jungle of bamboos render the path 

 tortuous and difficult ; " barrancos" too, innumerable sweep the 

 mountain on all sides, rendering considerable care necessary to 

 keep to the one chosen as the guide. 



One would think that to ascend a mountain and descend 

 again were easy enough, and so it is ; but to return to the same 

 place by the same road is another matter altogether. The forest 

 entirely shuts out the view of the surrounding country, and con- 

 sequently landmarks are not available. One ravine is exactly 



* Are not these rather epiphytous Tillandsice, belonging to the natural 

 family -Brome/iacea; ? — Ed. 



