126 Messrs. Sclatcr and Salvin on the 



dart into a hole, or rather crack in the rock, about twenty feet 

 from the ground j the noise then was louder tlian ever. Not 

 altogether understanding this, I crossed the river and walked up 

 to the foot of the cliff, and began to throw stones at the hole, to 

 make the Swifts, which I had seen enter, fly out. Stones were no 

 good, so I tried shouts, but with no better success. I then fired 

 my gun at the hole, but still without result, the noise within con- 

 tinuing as loud as ever all the time. My last resource was to 

 climb up as far as I could, and try and poke them out with a 

 bamboo-cane that happened to be lying at my feet. When I 

 had climbed up a little way, what should I see but a dead 

 Swift, which had fallen through the crack, and been caught on 

 the ledge where I found it ? It had evidently been killed by my 

 random shot. When I had descended, 1 fired again, this time 

 frightening out five or six birds, but not, as I thought, killing 

 any. As soon as these five or six got clear of the rock, they 

 were pursued by all the " Cotylce serripennes," of which there 

 were a great number in the valley. As I was watching their 

 flight, down fell a Swift at my feet. I then loaded, and was 

 about to leave the spot, when a third made its appearance, falling 

 down the crack. I again climbed up to where I had found the 

 first, both to see if there were any more, and to examine more 

 closely. Then I found a good many feathers, some pieces of dry 

 grass, and a skeleton of a Swift. This was evidently their 

 common roosting-place, and there were others similar in the 

 same rock ; how many inhabited the same hole I cannot say, for 

 after I had shot three, and five or six were flying about, the noise 

 continued as loud as ever.^' (0. S.) 



Fam. III. TROCHILID^. 



176. Phaethornis cephalus (Bourc. et Muls.), Rev. Zool. 

 1848, p. 269; Gould, Mon. Troch. part xvi. 



Transmitted by Mr. Skinner. 



177. Phaethornis adolphi (Bourc); Gould, Mon. Troch. 

 part xiv. 



This is an abundant species in the forest about Izabal, but the 

 density of the undergrowth renders it extremely difficult to 



