2l6 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



September no kites were to be seen anywhere; in their stead 

 were many swifts. On March 20 we saw the kites here 

 again but none in late April. 



In June and in September there was a handsome black 

 woodpecker {Ccephlceus lineatus scapularis) with white 

 shoulder straps and a large projecting red crest on its head, 

 tapping on the tree-trunks and apparently finding some 

 food. It was larger than a large pigeon but smaller than a 

 crow. 



A mottled black and gray lizard {Anolis sp.) was resting 

 on a log by the road to the lower Naranjo on June 28. Its 

 body exclusive of tail was between three and four inches 

 long. On the middle line of the throat was a thin fold of 

 skin which could be inflated and when fully expanded 

 reached at least an inch below the neck. This "dewlap" 

 or gular pouch was bright orange in color and consequently 

 quite conspicuous. The expansion lasted only for a fraction 

 of a minute but was repeated at intervals. I tried to catch 

 the lizard in my net for further examination but failed. 

 For a few minutes I had in my fingers a similar but smaller 

 lizard caught on a nearby stone; it had, however, no such 

 "dewlap." Perhaps it was a female watching the charms 

 which the male was displaying for her benefit. 



In late April, usually hanging on damp rocks by the road- 

 side, was a handsome snail {DrymcBus sulphureus citronellus) 

 about an inch long. The shell was a bright canary yellow, 

 the foot blue-green, the "horns" dark greenish-brown. 



Insects were not equally numerous throughout the year 

 in the valley, February being the month when they were 

 least apparent. On first going down to the Reventazon in 

 June the forest was resonant with the loud shrill notes of 

 the cicadas. The insects themselves were not easily seen. 

 The note was not pitched quite as high as that of our annual 

 cicadas in the United States but was sufficiently ear-splitting 



