230 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
bewildered manner and assured me that no one was ever hurt on 
such occasions—merely a trifle excited! 
Around Quito the ubiquitous eucalyptus tree is very much in 
evidence and these are a great attraction to humming-birds, espe- 
cially the Violet-ear and the Trainbearer. This was another in- 
stance of humming-birds feeding on white flowers. In many of the 
gardens in Quito Violet-ears and Trainbearers can be seen flitting 
about all day long, the latter being particularly fascinating to 
watch as they dart through the air like arrows. 
It is remarkable how most of the Andean humming-birds re- 
main at certain altitudes, in some cases within narrow limits. It 
would be difficult to say if this is brought about by the influence 
of climate or vegetation, or both. Nearly all the mountain hum- 
ming-birds have favorite food-plants, but the plant-life is in- 
fluenced by different climatic conditions. Who can say, for 
instance, whether the Hill Star, which lives at thirteen to fourteen 
thousand feet, confines itself to such a frigid zone on account of 
the climate or its favorite food-plants which grow at such alti- 
tudes? 
The Hill Star Humming-birds are among the wonders of the 
bird world, for it is amazing that such small creatures, which rely 
mainly on nectar for their sustenance, should choose the cold 
windswept paramo region of Mount Pichincha (15,918 feet) and 
Mount Chimborazo (20,498 feet). On the latter mountain Hill 
Stars are found within five hundred feet of the snow-line. So 
isolated are these birds in their alpine retreats that the two moun- 
tains, although quite close together, have produced two distinct 
races. The capture of both these alive was a very uncomfortable 
and laborious business and the expense entailed was out of all 
proportion to the prizes gained. Strange to say, these birds were 
not affected in the slightest by the tropical heat when taken 
down to the coast. 
Our last trip was to Chiriboga on the River Saloya. This was on 
the western slopes of the Andes, at five thousand feet, in a region 
thickly forested and very precipitous—in fact too precipitous to 
be an ideal collecting ground. A road had been newly constructed 
