Ampiiujians and Reptiles of Santa AIarta 25 



River, while the outer fringe of vegetation is largely composed of man- 

 groves. It is a paradise for water fowl, while many shore birds are present 

 on the sandy strip between the lagoon and the sea and on the open wastes 

 around the town of Cienega. 



Foothill J'cgctation: The vegetation of the foothills presents few 

 abrupt changes, excepting those on the south side, which have already been 

 described. The hills on the north side, from Rio Piedras to far beyond 

 (northeast) Carbacoas, and those on the west side from Alto de las Minas 

 to the Rio Cordoba, are heavily forested, much more heavily, however, on 

 the north side than on the west, where the forests of ridges between the 

 valleys have a tendency toward the "dry forest" of the foothills around 

 Santa Marta. (PI. Ill, fig. i.) This foothill forest is composed of 

 medium-sized trees, with much tangled undergrowth (except on the north 

 side), and contains many deciduous trees, which remain bare during the dry 

 season and thus give the undergrowth a chance for more extensive 

 development. 



On the whole, the foothill forest is most uninteresting. It contains 

 very few epiphytes, very few lichens, and almost no moss, the only redeem- 

 ing feature being the many beautiful ferns in the damper, more shaded 

 parts. It is choked with vines, brush, and bamboo grass, is difficult to pene- 

 trate, and contains very few characteristic species of birds, mammals, or 

 reptiles. This condition extends upward from 1,500 to 2,500 feet on the 

 northwest and western sides, the higher elevation corresponding to the 

 narrow ridges and the lower to the valleys. At these altitudes a gradual 

 change takes place and the foothill woodland merges into the mountain 

 forest. On the north slope this change is less apparent, the mountain 

 forest, by reason of the greater humidity, extending down over the foot- 

 hills for the most part practically to the edge of the costal plain, but the 

 foothill area is, nevertheless, largely devoid of mosses and lichens and epi- 

 phytes, which nowhere appear abundantly imtil the lower edge of the "cloud 

 zone'' is reached. 



Mountain Forest: At about 2,000 feet a marked change is noticed in 

 the character of the forest. Deciduous trees disappear almost entirely, ferns 

 become very abundant on north and west slopes, and a few bromeliads and 

 orchid-like plants appear high up in the tops of the trees. The trees become 

 gradiially taller, more slender, and set closer together. Certain distinctive 

 lowland and foothill types disappear altogether, to be replaced by others. 

 At about 3,000 feet a slender, graceful palm known as Maquenque, puts in 

 its appearance, and the underbrush changes from wiry brush and bamboo 

 grass to a low, broad-leaved palm and to more succulent types of shrubbery. 

 Lichens are now- abundant on many species of trees, while bromeliads are 

 more common and lower down. From 3,000 feet up to 6,000 feet there is 

 little change in the vegetation, merely in the diminishing or disappearance 

 of some species and the increase or appearance of others, but the types 

 remain about the same. Between 4,000 and 6,000 feet the trees seem to 

 attain their maximum development, and truly magnificent forest areas are 

 present at these altitudes under favorable soil and slope conditions. The 



