NOTES ON A COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM EASTERN NICARAGUA 

 AND THE RIO FRIO, COSTA RICA, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A 

 SUPPOSED NEW TROGON. 



KY 



Charles W. Richmond. 



The ac(?oinpaiiyin^^ list, in wliicb are embodied the notes made durinj? 

 a year's residence in eastein Nicaragua, is based on eoHections and 

 observations extendiiij;- from February 1, 1.S02, to January 19, 1893. 

 Specimens of niost of tlie species were obtained, and of otliers, nearly 

 all North American, only those well known to me have been admitted 

 unless otherwise stati'd. 



(jreytown,or San Juan del Norte, is situated on a small lagoon at the 

 mouth of the San Juan liiver, on the Caribb(^an coast of Nicaragua. 

 It is almost surrounded by marshes and silico* swamps, yet the climate 

 is as healthful as at any other point on the coast. This is due, probably, 

 to the sandy nature of tlM' soil on which the town is built, and to the 

 influence of the sea air. The climate of the region is apparently not as 

 deadly as many suppose. Many foreigners live in the country for 

 years, retain th ;ir health, and arc seldom or navi'v troubled with " the 

 fever." Uidess one is ])eculiarly susceptible to malarial influences 

 no bad effects are liable to attend a soJ<uirn in the country if ])roi)er 

 care is taken to preserve the health, but oiu' is very liable to be led 

 into various exposures on first reaching the country, especially if one 

 has left a severe winter behind in the north. The country a few miles 

 inland is not as salubrious as directly on the coast, and those who con- 

 tract the fever there frequently recover entirely after a trip to the 

 seashore. 



The coast country has a protracted rainy season of eight or nine 

 months, f?om May to January, with occasional spells of fair weather 

 during the other three or four months. Some years the " dry " season 

 is said to fail altogether. The rainfall is enormous, and from a report 

 of observations by officers of the Nicaragua Canal Company it appears 

 that over 290 inches fell at Greytown during the year 1<S90. The pre 

 cipitation during July of that year was nearly 2 inches per day. The 



*The local name of a species of palm which constitutes the prevalent growth in 



most swamps of the coast district. 



479 

 Proceedings National Museum, Vol. XVI— No. 947. 



