::::::::3K^ THE TROPICS ^fe:::;:::: 



of little strength. I have no armour, and my teeth and 

 claws are too weak to be feared, hut — do not anger 

 me ! " And all the creatures withdraw from his path. 

 If one be so bold as snarlingly to hold his ground, 

 an impatient stamp of the foot shows the rising wrath 

 of the black and white one, and, unopposed, he goes 

 on his way. 



The hoarse cries of the omnipresent macaws awak- 

 ened us in the morning and flocks of the beautiful 

 lavender-feathered Amazon Parrots assembled at the 

 water to quench their thirst. They then returned to 

 chatter and clamber about the trees near by and 

 to crane their necks from side to side, utterly unable to 

 satisfy their curiosity concerning us. 



The macaws were remarkably regular in their move- 

 ments. Early each morning a half-dozen passed over- 

 head to the westward and each evening the great birds 

 returned in pairs by the same route, and perched for 

 several minutes on a particular dead limb, some distance 

 up the cliff. There they conversed in low gutturals 

 and preened each other's plumage, before passing on 

 to their nightly roost. Half-past five o'clock, almost to 

 the minute, saw them on this perch. We could predict 

 to within a few minutes their appearance around the 

 farthest turn of the cliff. These great birds are called 

 guacamayo by the Mexicans, who believe that they 

 never descend to the ground, except in the month of 

 May, and then only to feed on a certain kind of hard 



«4 281 ^ 



