Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, S^c. 467 



Calliste larvata, four specimens ; a fringilline bird, indigo-blue 

 all over, which I do not know ; Ramphocelus passerini ; Amazilia 

 riefferi (or arsino'e ?) ; Thavmantias candidus, and several other 

 species which I do not know. Platalea ajaja and Ibis rubra 

 were very clearly described to me by Mr. George Baily, a resi- 

 dent at Yzabal : the former was killed on the lake of Duenas 

 (Constancia now has the specimen), so may certainly be included 

 in our list. On the road up I could collect nothing, as I was 

 by myself and without a servant, and consequently had to look 

 out for food for myself and beast, instead of skinning birds, 

 which I should have done had I had any one to do those indis- 

 pensable requisites for me. However, I saw many birds ; but 

 those that interested me most were two specimens of Momotus — 

 one with a brown head, the commonest of the two, and the other 

 a smaller species, with the centre tail-feathers much elongated : 

 the former of these equals in size M. lessoni, but is quite dif- 

 ferent. This bii'd seems very proud of its tail, and, sluggish as 

 it is in other respects, is particularly fond of whisking it about — 

 at one time throwing it almost over the back, at another moving 

 it several times backwards and forwards, * painfully ' like (to 

 use a homely simile) the pendulum of a Dutch clock. Its note 

 rendered in words is rather a sort of ' whorrrrrr ' than ' hou 

 hou ' : 1 saw nothing of its nest, though 1 looked out sharply. 

 The country in which these birds most abound lies between 

 Gualan and Guastatoya, including the plain of Zacapa. All this 

 district is an unfertile ' tierra caliente,' covered principally with 

 Cacti and Mimosa. Since I arrived here I have obtained some 

 good specimens of the live species of Humming-birds found near 

 at hand. I have also the Raven, a Swift which I do not know, 

 and several others. A week ago I went up the Volcan de Fuego, 

 that is, part of the way — some 9000 feet. 1 penetrated into the 

 haunts of the Oreophasis and Quesal [Pharomacrus paradiseus) 

 without result, but was much surprised with the nature of the 

 district. What with the few birds I collected at Yzabal, and 

 those I find inhabiting these dense elevated forests, I am sorely 

 shaken in my notions as regards the true inhabitants of the 

 ' tierra caliente ' and * tierra fria.^ The former require a care- 

 ful inspection — not but that the latter require it also. But 



2 K 2 



