ECUADOR 231 
following the course of the Rio Saloya; this is a sporting course 
in the rainy season, for the road, being cut out of loose earth on 
the precipitous slopes rising from the river, is apt to give way 
under the weight of a car. This actually happened only three days 
before we went along there, and the car and its occupants came 
to rest a thousand feet below. Normally the roots of tree, bushes, 
and grasses hold the soil together, but once the vegetation has been 
cleared the torrential rains cause erosion. 
The main idea of coming to this part was to make an effort to 
capture the Red Cock-of-the-rock. This magnificent bird even 
outclasses in splendor its eastern relative, which is well known in 
captivity. The former has blood-red plumage, with the wings 
and tail black and the secondaries silver gray. The crest is also 
much broader than that of its relative. 
On this occasion we took all our birds with us and, having gone 
as far as we could by lorry, we proceeded on foot with fifteen 
porters along a narrow path through dense jungle. The going was 
bad, for the path was blocked with the stumps of fallen trees; 
swamps and slippery rocks were met with alternately, and numer- 
ous small rapids had to be forded. Finally, after marching for six 
hours, we had to cross the Rio Saloya. This, like all the mountain 
rivers, is a raging torrent, especially in the rainy season. The only 
“bridge” was a long slimy tree trunk stretching from the bank to 
a pile of stranded driftwood in the middle of the river, and 
another long trunk from there to the opposite bank. We managed 
to get all the birds over safely but some of our stores, which were 
left behind owing to an insufficiency of porters, remained on the 
wrong side of the river for a week. The reason for this was that 
our crossing of the river coincided with the commencement of a 
terrific storm; owing to the mountainous nature of the country 
the river rose rapidly, and with a roar we saw our “bridge” and its 
supporting pile of tree trunks washed away in the mad torrent. 
While another bridge was being constructed, our sole diet con- 
sisted of rice and potatoes. 
We began by capturing several Blue Sylph Humming-birds, one 
of the most beautiful of the whole family, and conspicuous chiefly 
on account its long blue graduated tail-feathers with: metallic 
