354 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



had been planted about the huts for shade, and sang in 

 unison from dawn to dusk as if their hearts were overflow- 

 ing with happiness. 



Parrakeets had excavated holes in the face of steep banks, 

 and chattered and quarrelled noisily over their domestic 

 affairs. I suspect that they also appropriated the cavities 

 prepared by swallows, as there seemed to be frequent dis- 

 putes between these neighbors. 



Of humming-birds there were a number of species, in- 

 cluding the giant hummer, which was truly monarch of all 

 he surveyed, for when one appeared the smaller members 

 of the group found it advantageous to depart to other 

 regions. Doctor Frank M. Chapman, in Chile, saw an in- 

 dividual of this species pursue and catch in its claws a small 

 humming-bird and fly away with it; for what purpose he 

 did not know, unless from "sheer cussedness." It is a well- 

 known fact that hummers possess a pugnacious disposi- 

 tion, are almost constantly fighting among themselves, and 

 frequently pursue and strike at large birds such, as fly- 

 catchers and even hawks, apparently for no reason other 

 than the pleasure it affords them to torment their victims. 



One afternoon we had the first indication of the coming 

 rainy season in the form of a severe rain and thunder-storm. 

 Before long the river was a seething, muddy torrent that 

 continued to rise rapidly until well into the night. The 

 next morning the water had subsided to its low level, leav- 

 ing numbers of fish of several kinds stranded in depressions 

 in the playas. A flock of caracaras appeared with daylight 

 and, wading daintily into the shallow pools, extracted and 

 devoured the stranded and helpless fish at their leisure. 



Not long after we were fortunate in meeting an American 

 by the name of Kolle, who was in the employ of a wealthy 

 Bolivian owning estates in various parts of the country. 

 To one of these we were subsequently invited, but before 

 accepting the invitation of the affluent senor we decided 

 to spend a few days at Pulque where some variation in the 

 avifauna from the upland type had been noticed. We had 



