THE OOLOGIST 



103 



liartiniiar stri|) of coititel' ^irf^: .\«1i( 

 this ideal, aristocrntif location con- 

 sists in what — simply a trolley wire. 

 No not "a"" trolley wire either, but one 

 very particular one. viz: "the" one 

 MsKink in trout of the two best hotels 

 in the city. Aiiil there tllfeV fight, 

 their twitterings now become cries, 

 and then roost in the glare of the 

 electric lights from the ■■i)ortales" 

 where in .'-unnner are situated the 

 dining rooms ef the hotels not fifteen 

 feet distant in an air line. And there 

 H-E* the "VPl-H OI'mzhho" lights his 

 ■"cigarro" after his eight o'clock sup- 

 per, if he looks up he can see. even at 

 the tail of the filmy smoke trail which 

 rises from the fnd of his own cigar- 

 rette, the outlines of hunclre'dg of birds 

 all strung along en the wire eii in- 

 variable intervals of about an inch, 

 and looking perhaps like .^o many 

 clothes pins. Xeither the busy life in 

 the hotel corridors, "portales" nor 

 cafes immediately at their tails" ends, 

 nor the bustle in the street beneath 

 their feet, nor the passing of shari) 

 gonged street cars along the adjacent 

 Btreetg, which causes their wire to 

 bob dizzily u]) ami down, nor even yet 

 the strains of all varying music from 

 the "kiosko" across the street: none 

 of this serves even in the slightest, 

 either to deter them from seeking 

 their roost, from squabbling over a 

 bed. or from sleei)ing serenely when 

 darkness has made further conten- 

 tions diflRcult and dangerous. 



But not yet have we noted all. One 

 guest at the Plaza Hotel for Birds has 

 been overlooked. He has been too 

 stately, too lofty and dignified to de- 

 scend into the streets and mix with 

 the other noisy occupants below. 

 Yes, too dignifie<l even to cry out. 

 And so. at first, ami<lst all the other 

 cry and clamor we have noted him 

 not. However, had we chanced to 



look, even as early an five o'clock, a 

 few stray loilC h){tf>k huzzfirds, the 

 early birds of the tJlght. niight ftdv^ 

 been seen jjerched on the high^si pin- 

 nacles of the tiled Cathedral toW'G)', 

 either tired out early after a hard day, 

 or ju.st back after some rousing car- 

 Hbt) fe»st, At any rate there they are 

 and froiil All dir**ctions come other 

 stragglers. Still the.v cOhl#, each seek- 

 ing out his accustomed lodging pidct* 

 and if found occujued by a ''sooner'' 

 ejecting him from the spot. In ihiii 

 fashion with noiseless intermittent 

 short scraps, the old Cathedral tower 

 is- gradually ijeoplecf b.t theSe feuge" 

 dusky sjiCetre.s, ufltij ^vevf inch Of 

 'standable" standing room has^ beert 

 "stood" for, or on. 



And there, back to the old fi§6&t., 

 they conip. every day and every e?''<^', 

 to sit and ()i-een their feathers, or 

 spread their wings to dry, or sit mo- 

 tionless and in silence while they listen 

 to or cooly eye their relatives in the 

 trees below. All just as they have" 

 <lone since the Cathedral W^s first 

 built, some three hundred anfJ fifty 

 years ago. 



And this is the spectacle which the 

 plaza of Vera Cruz has to present on 

 any old summer's eve. A lively scene 

 indeed, with the band |)laying, the 

 birds crviug in competition, and a 

 |)oi)ulace come to enjoy the delicious 

 cool of the evening. Everything is 

 out of doors, birds, buzzards and peo- 

 ple. Air, cool sea breeze and land 

 breeze is plentiful. The hotel cafes 

 are in the midst of it all, in view and 

 enjoyment of it all. They are situated 

 on the only sidewalk there is in front 

 of the hotels, some fifteen feet wide 

 and extending around two sides of 

 the plaza. The sidewalk is covered by 

 "Portales" which support a ceiling 

 some twelve or fifteen feet high and 

 at)ove this a second story. lender 



