GUANACASTE—PUNTARENAS TO LIBERIA 429 



wire northward and in about three-quarters of an hour from 

 the schoolhouse came to the Quebrada Clara occupied by a 

 stream larger and deeper than that in the Quebrada de Pan- 

 teon but fordable on horseback and with similar banks. 

 Here I found some interesting dragonflies including at least 

 one species {Progomphus clendoni) new to Costa Rica and 

 Enallagma cultellatum new to the Pacific side. The latter, 

 which we had taken near the mouth of the Banana River in 

 November, we subsequently obtained on the Rio Tempisque 

 and near Santa Cruz in Nicoya. 



On the road to the Quebrada Clara I had the chance to ex- 

 amine closely and make some notes on the flower of the 

 poro-poro, which have been included in Chapter XVIII. An- 

 other tree noted along the road was Apeiba tibourbou, one of 

 several plants which bear the name of "peine de mico" or 

 monkey's comb. The fruit reminded me of a green sea- 

 urchin or of a green chestnut burr which has been flattened 

 above and below. The leaves are soft, hairy and pointed at 

 the tip. There were also a few wild cotton shrubs, ten to 

 fifteen feet high, their dry pods open and displaying the mass 

 of fibers within. 



This walk gave me a good chance to see some of those 

 birds referred to as blue jays {Calocitta formosa azurea) in 

 the account of our journey from Filadelfia to Liberia. Here 

 they were known as "urracas." They are slaty-blue on the 

 upper surface of head, body and tail, white on the lower sur- 

 face of the same, but with a black "cravat" and a rather 

 long, curved, tapering black top-knot; the tail is as long as 

 the body. They have much curiosity and little fear of man 

 and here and elsewhere I frequently saw them on the trees 

 stretching their necks and surveying me from various angles 

 with apparently great interest. They have a number of 

 unmusical notes. 



At the Quebrada Clara was a spider {Trechalea convexa) 



