"""isar'] PROCEEDINGS OF 'i'JlE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 481 



two or three species not met with ]>y me, but collected by Mr. Henry 

 Wickham* si number of" years ago. 



The I<iS(;ou<li(l(», Ibruuirly known as Blewfields or Blueftelds River, is 

 probably the most important one on the coast of Central America, with 

 the e\'oej)tion of the San ,In;in. IMiere is no troublesome bar at the 

 mouth, as is usually the case, and laij^'e ocean steanuMsasceud the river 

 to Kama, G5 miles from the mouth. Two rivers, the Kama and Seciuia, 

 Join at the town of Kama and form th(5 Escondido. Tlie l)auks for 

 many miles, including' ])oth blanches above Kama, are lined with l)a- 

 luina, plantations, the monotony of which is bi'oken by the nnuu^rous i)ic- 

 turesipie ceiba and ebo trecjs which have been left standing in the 

 clearings, and the dense tropical forest in the background. In the last 

 15 or 20 miles of its course the river Avinds through dreary silico 

 swamps and empties into Bluetields Lagoon, a sheet of water 15 miles 

 long and 7 miles broad. These swamps are of little interest; they are 

 covered with a dense growth of silico palms and trumpet trees, aud 

 bird life is scarce. 



The International Planting Company's i)lantation, or " I. P.," as it is 

 fanuliarly called, is 50 uiih's from liluefields. A creek Joins (h<; river 

 at this plantation, and affords au excellent means of reaching the heavy 

 forest in the rear. Many of the forest birds deligiit to frequent the 

 open S[)ace where the (;reek runs through the woods, and a (;anoe trij) 

 in the early morning under tiiese circumstances usually enables omj 

 to get a fair lot of birds. Shortly after reaching the "I. P." planta- 

 tion work was much interfenMl with by an attack of the fever, due 

 entirely to carelessness, which eventually led to my return to the 

 United States. 



Sj)ecial attention was given to the (!olors of soft an<l fading parts of 

 sjjccimens collected, and in all cases where a detinite color of su(;ii parts 

 is given the ])art was comjjared with Kidgway's Nomenclature of 

 Colors. 



My thanks are due Mr. Kidgway, cnrator of the department of l)ir(ls, 

 U. S. National Museum, who has allowed mc the use of various speci- 

 mens in the Museum series for coni[)arison with my own, and has aided 

 me in other ways; and to Messrs. G. E. Mitchell and W. L. Kichmond 

 for records fj-om Crcytown and on the Escondido. I can iu'V(?r sufli- 

 ci<'ntly thank Mr. Sam. A. llislcy, of the International Planting Com- 

 pany, who rendered nu; so many favors during my stay there that it 

 would be useless to try to enumerate them. He contributed in many 

 Wiiys to the success of my work. I met with so many offers of assist- 

 ance and expressions of gooil will from Americans and others with 

 whom I came in ccHitact in Nicaragua that with one exception my 

 thanks are due them all. 



*List of birds collected on tho Bluetields River, Mosquito coast, by Mr. Henry 

 Wickham, by P. L. Sdater, F. R. S., and Osbert Salvin, M. A., F. Z. S. Troc. Zoiil. 

 Soc. Loud., 1S67, 278-280. 



Proc. N. M. 03 31 



