popayAn and the cerro MUNCHIQUE 21 



above a brook and plunge in after small fish or tadpoles, 

 somewhat in the manner of a kingfisher; it may hover over 

 a field and drop upon an unsuspicious mouse, lizard, or 

 small snake; beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects are 

 overtaken and captured on the wing. When a victim of 

 some size has been captured, it is beaten rapidly upon a 

 branch until its life is hammered out. It also hops about 

 in fields looking for worms and grubs. 



The nest is a huge domed structure, made of grasses and 

 often wool, and placed in the branches of a tree six to fif- 

 teen feet up. Entrance is gained through an opening in 

 one side, near the top. On account of the great size of the 

 structure, being about twelve or fifteen inches high and 

 eight to ten inches thick, it is very conspicuous; the exterior 

 is carelessly made, with grasses and streamers of nesting 

 material hanging down on all sides. 



The eggs, two to five in number, although four seem to 

 constitute the usual set, are long and pointed, cream- 

 colored, and lightly spotted with chocolate-brown and pur- 

 ple blotches — mostly on the larger end. 



Besides these species, there were ground-doves, lapwings, 

 and an occasional sparrow-hawk. The latter is so similar 

 to our common little terror of the air that it is hard to dis- 

 tinguish between the two. 



Shortly after noon we encountered one of the most ter- 

 rific tropical storms imaginable. Hour after hour a perfect 

 deluge of rain poured down upon us from which rubber 

 ponchos afforded little protection. Flashes of lightning 

 pierced the semiblackness with blinding shafts of light, 

 followed by deafening crashes of thunder — an indication 

 that we were approaching the high zone of bleak mountain 

 slopes and paramos. 



That night we reached Morales, at an elevation of five 

 thousand nine hundred feet. Fortunately there was no 

 demonstration of any kind to interfere with our much- 

 needed rest. Early the next morning, however, we experi- 

 enced the thrill inseparably linked with the sudden display 



