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495 



'V\\v line PO])n rat iiiu' tlio (lin'oivnl 

 zones i^ ill soiiu' places verv sliarj). ])ar- 

 lielllai'lx' nil the easleni slnpes ol' llie 

 ranges where hiiiiiidilv eomhiiies with 

 altitude to make the line helween the 

 'I'ropieal and Suht ropieal /ones vei'v 

 (listinet. IWit (d'ten loni;- liniicrs of one 

 z(Hie. for one i'ea>oii or another, extend 

 into the one ahoxc or helow so that the 

 line is vei'v uneven. To deteriiiine tlie 

 limits of each zone, as given above, 

 from the nature of its bird life was, 

 tlierefore, no small task and requiretl 

 innum<>ral)le data and specimens before 

 any sort of a ma]) could be charted. 

 Tlie work of previous ornithological ex- 

 plorers was larg(>ly unsatisfactory from 

 the stand]ioint of the present distribu- 

 tional study, because the insufficient or 

 inaccurate data as to the locality where 

 specimens were collected confused 

 rather than assisted. Dr. Chapman 

 had before him, therefore, a work of 

 great magnitude when he began his 

 field operations in 1910, and he is to l)e 

 congratulated upon the wealth of ma- 

 terial which he has 1) rough t together 

 and interpreted. 



Between 1910 and 1915 Dr. Chap- 

 man organized eight expeditions into 

 Colombia, as follows, two of which he 

 himself led : 



The first was in the nature of a reconnais- 

 sance. Dr. Chapman, accompanied by L. 

 A. Fuertes, W. B. Eichardson and Leo E. 

 Miller, entered Colomliia at the western port 

 of Buenaventura and crossed the western 

 range to Cali, working at San Antonio at 

 the crest of the western range and then in 

 the Cauca Valley about Cali and La Manuel- 

 ita, and on the western slope of the central 

 range at Miraflores. Leaving Richardson 

 and ^filler in Cali, Chapman and Fuertes con- 

 tinued their survey across the central range 

 over the Quindio Pass to Tbague and Girardot 

 and then down the Magdalena Kiver. 



On the second expedition Richardson and 

 Miller started for Popavan at the head- 

 waters of the Cauca River, whence they 

 worked westward to the top of the western 

 range at an altitude of 10,340 feet and down 

 the western slope of the first ridge, through 

 unexplored country, to Cocal, at an altitude 

 of 4000 feet. Thence they returned to Cali, 

 Richardson to return for a time to Nica- 

 ragua. 



'i'liird, the writer joinivl Miller in Cali and 

 we proceeded over tiie route followed l)y 

 Chuiiinan and Fuertes in their reconnaissance 

 down the Cauca and over the (Quindio I'ass, 

 stopping to collect in each faunal zone. This 

 is the main route of travel from the Cauca 

 to the Magdalena Valley, and it might be 

 su|>posed that the birds along the trail would 

 be very well known. On the contrary, even 

 along this nuich traveled trail, several birds 

 new to science were found. In ten days' col- 

 lecting at Tjaguneta, near the Quindio Pass, 

 thii-teen specimens reju'esented two s])ecies 

 new to science and others represented sub- 

 s))ecies not j)reviously described. Fuertes' 

 parrakeet and Miller's antpitta were both 

 found here. At Rio Toche, just over the 

 ridge, four days' collecting yielded two 

 s{)eciniens of the new yellow-headed finch, 

 and at Salento on the western slo])e, was 

 found Allen 's antpitta. All four of these 

 l)irds are cpnte distinct species and yet were 

 found at no great distance from the trail. 



Returning to Salento on the western side 

 of the central ranij-e, we made a side trip to 

 the paramo of Santa Isabel, climbing to 

 snow line at about 15,000 feet and camping 

 for ten days at the edge of timber. Here 

 were found a new goldfinch and a new fly- 

 catcher. Again returning to Salento, we re- 

 traced our steps to an extensive forest along 

 the Cauca River at Rio Frio and then pre- 

 jiared to cross the Western Andes from Car- 

 tago. This was a rather difficult trip as pack 

 animals could not be used, the trail being 

 barely passable for Indian packers. Because 

 of the scarcity of food, the trip over the 

 mountains was made as rapidly as possible, 

 in five days, and some very interesting coun- 

 try unfortunately was left unexplored. Ar- 

 riving at .Juntas de Tamana, on the Pacific 

 side of the range, we collected here and later 

 at Novita and Noanama, all in the lowlands 

 of the tropical Pacific fauna. The return 

 was then made to Cali. 



On the fourth expedition Miller and the 

 writer were joined by J. T. Lloyd. The 

 party proceeded from Cali up the Cauca Val- 

 ley to Popayan and then crossed the central 

 range by way of Almaguer and the pass over 

 the paramo of the Valle de las Pappas to 

 San Augustin. Here fever contracted in the 

 Choco region so weakened the writer that he 

 was compelled to set out for Bogota with 

 Lloyd for medical treatment and thence to 

 return to the United States. 



On the fifth expedition Miller proceeded 

 from San Augustin with a native hunter into 

 the Caqueta region, after first collecting near 

 San Augustin where he found the black- 

 headed finch and a nesting colony of the fa- 

 mous "cock-of-the-rock." Miller was the first 

 ornithologist to enter Amazonian Colombia 

 and he did so by crossing the eastern range 

 on the new government road by way of 

 Guadaloupe and Andalucia to Florencia and 

 Morelia. 



The sixth expedition was that of W. B. 

 Richardson who explored the tropical Pa- 



