THE OOLOGIST 



143 



•doing great damage to their gorgeous 

 plumage. Tliey are rather slow flyers, 

 and move about in pretty good sized 

 flocks with the exception perliaps of 

 the longtailed Macaws which prefer 

 as only companion, their mate. Con- 

 trary to expectations, the parrots are 

 easily approached and shot. 



On the few places where the Djua- 

 gel is not so very dense and where 

 grass and weed patches have formed, 

 a great variety of bird life can be 

 observed. Tanagers, varied Buntings, 

 Painted Buntings, Grass Finches 

 amodramus, meloxpiza, lincolai, chon- 

 -dertes, Phyrrhalizia, zonotrichia were 

 seen here and collected. It was on 

 ■one of these places that I secured 

 .•also one oreoapiza chlorura, the green 

 pipits. 



A bird not so very common in South- 

 -ern California, but plentiful here was 

 ■guirace lazula, the Western blue 

 grosbeak. One day I found in a dry 

 colored birds, and the top was occu- 

 bush, a small flock of these dainty 

 pied by their cousin, the big black- 

 yellow grosbeak of Mexico with white 

 wingbarbs. This is only natural that so 

 many small birds attract a good many 

 hawks and I must say there is an 

 astonishing variety of the latter to be 

 found here. Marsh hawks, black, 

 Mexican goosehawks. Kites, Pere- 

 geine falcon and Sparrowhawk (the 

 desert form) were seen every day to 

 roost en a big dry tree right opposite 

 my camp on the other side of the 

 river. This tree was never without 

 any birds. 



The river early in the morning, 

 specially offered a wealth for the 

 hidden observer, in number as well as 

 in variety. White and glossy Ibis, 

 the Wood Ibis with all his assured 

 •dignity, those splendid Roseate 

 Spoonbills, white and blue hereon, 

 •egrets and little blue herons, An- 



hingas and cormorants fished tbe 

 boi'ders of the water for minnows, 

 frogs, water insects, etc. while the 

 shore with its sandy flats was popu- 

 lated with curlews, greater yellow 

 legs, black and white stilts, spotted 

 and semipalmated plovers, not at all 

 embarrassed to wander in their every 

 day garb among royalty. The trees 

 which lined the rocky shore opposite 

 camp across the river were the feed- 

 ing ground of lots of fyunaas, which 

 had their hiding places under tlie 

 giant boulders below. During the 

 noon hour when the sun was hottest, 

 I could see with my glass the gigantic 

 faurians creeping around and feeding 

 on tender shoots and buds. 



Here also I had the chance to ob- 

 serve and secure all three king- 

 fishers. The river was here not over 

 three or four feet deep, so that I 

 never lost a single specimen which 

 fell into the water. A different story 

 might be told about the birds of ex- 

 clusively sylvicoline character. Some- 

 times it was well nigh impossible to 

 secure a fallen bird. The machete 

 had to come in action, sometimes for 

 fifteen minutes or more. Appended I 

 will give you a list of the specimens 

 secured on this three-week trip. Lack 

 of time prevented me from going into 

 higher territory. On the whole I will 

 say this — while the country abounds 

 en interesting forms, it is a difl[icult 

 territory to work. If one goes out 

 before 9:00 o'clock in the morning, 

 the humidity is so great that it 

 simply sticks to your clothes and you 

 return to camp as if you had fallen 

 into the water. After this hour the 

 heat is excessive even in .January, 

 while I was there . at least in the 

 djaugel. where small stagnant pools 

 form an unsurpassed breeding ground 

 for millions of mosquitoes. Cornmeal 

 and cotton have to be taken along as 



