Mr. 0. Salvin's Quesal-shooting in Vera Paz. 145 



colouring of the soft parts is as follows : — Iris very dark hazel. 

 Eyelid black. Bill yellow, with an olive tinge at the base, ex- 

 tending over the nostril along one-third of the upper and two- 

 thirds of the under mandible. Legs and toes olive; soles of 

 the feet more yellow. Claws horny olive. 



The following morning, March 13, we make an early start 

 for the same forests, intending to take a wide circuit and return 

 to our camp under the rock the same evening. Five Quesals 

 and a Pava [Penelope purpurascens) are the result of our day's 

 work. 



March 14. — Having accomplished the great object of my 

 expedition, viz. to see a Quesal myself, I find my time too 

 valuable to bestow more attention on them, when so many other 

 objects of interest lie within my reach. I accordingly leave 

 Cipriano and Filipe to hunt up birds, whilst I confine my 

 attention to the ferns, shells, &c. I have never visited these 

 forests of Vera Paz before, and my impression is that they are 

 almost the best worth seeing of anything in Guatemala. The 

 forests of the coasts are rich in all the beauties which have been 

 the theme of so many travellers, but they have their disadvan- 

 tages. The excessive heat is always a drawback ; and if garra- 

 patas abound, one's enjoyment is gone. In these mountain-forests 

 it is otherwise ; no garrapatas, no mosquitos, and a climate that 

 in the dry season might challenge any in the world. Most 

 parts are ' montaha Umpia ' (forest free from brushwood), and 

 one may ramble where one pleases, without being stopped by 

 dense thickets. What strikes the eye most is the number of 

 ferns, not only of plants, but species. Every tree is clasped and 

 every stone clothed with them. Besides, there are many arbo- 

 rescent species, and others of terrestrial habit. Palms of low 

 growth and various form also are a marked characteristic of the 

 forest. Few sounds are heard ; the low murmur of insects con- 

 trasts strangely with the din of the coast forests. Birds are not 

 often met with. An occasional Creeper {Dendrocolaptes) may be 

 seen or its cry heard ; the peculiar thrilling notes of the Ruisenor, 

 the distant call of a Trogon, the cooing of a Pigeon, the melan- 

 choly wailing of the Pava [Penelope purpurascens), or the noisier 

 call of the Colola [Tinamus), include nearly all the sounds one 



