506 Mr. G. E. Lodge on some 



clouds, and is always liable to get a drenching with rain, 

 although down below it may be brilliantly fine all day, 

 these mountain-peaks almost always having clouds hanging 

 about them. 



As soon as one begins to hear the beautiful clear bell-like 

 notes of the Myiadestes dominicanus {" SifSeur montagne,'^ 

 in native patois), which are so characteristic of the gloomy 

 damp forests up in these regions, then one begins to look 

 out for the pretty little Wagler's Wood-nymph, which does 

 not appear to be a very common bird, or, if common, is not 

 often seen, owing to its retiring habits. I made two visits 

 for it, but saw few specimens, and only succeeded in shooting 

 three, one of which was too hopelessly smashed up to be of 

 any use as a specimen. These birds are very tame and 

 allow a close approach. They seem to be very sedentary in 

 their habits. I only saw two feeding, all the others being 

 discovered sitting motionless on twigs. From this fact, 

 probably, they appear to be less common than they really 

 are, as it is not easy to discover so small an object among 

 the huge tangle of tropical vegetation unless it betrays itself 

 by movement. These birds sit usually in a bunched-up 

 position and appear very blue in colour, especially when one 

 has been looking at the green E. holosericeus. 



In hunting Humming-birds in these situations one has to 

 take into consideration before shooting them the possibility 

 of retrieving them when shot, as, although a bird may be 

 perched only a few feet off the mountain-path, yet it may be 

 in such a position that when shot it would fall down the 

 mountain-side, which is often very sheer, and be hopelessly 

 lost among the dense vegetation growing down the sides. 

 So 1 always observed the habit of taking stock of where the 

 bird would fall before shooting him. The first one of this 

 species that I came across was in such a situation that I 

 could not shoot at it. It was sitting on a twig just ofi^ the 

 path and a little below me, with a dense tangle of vegetation 

 growing all down the mountain-side underneath him. So I 

 watched him from a distance of only a few feet and made a 

 sketch of him. He was uttering a feeble little song, with no 



