THE CHACO 385 



mountains in a state of enthusiasm and expectancy, for 

 here it seemed we should succeed in ending our long quest 

 for the tapacola. As the days passed, thrilling excitement 

 gave way to exasperation, and finally disappointment alone 

 remained to fill the void created by the flight of the other 

 emotions. 



We returned to Tucuman for a brief time, and then struck 

 for the forest farther south. This time we left the railroad 

 at a station called Acheral two and one-half hours from 

 Tucuman, and camped in the forest at the foot of the ridge. 

 Again we were doomed to disappointment. Birds were more 

 abundant than at Villa Nougues, but the tapacola was not 

 forthcoming. There were, however, numerous other in- 

 teresting species. Pigmy woodpeckers (Picumnus) selected 

 the patches of high brush and second-growth woods just 

 without the edge of the forest proper. They are little larger 

 than a good-sized humming-bird, dark or black above, 

 white underneath, and have a red cap. Their industrious 

 hammering always advertised the presence of a pair as 

 they hopped quickly along the trunks and branches, tap- 

 ping for worms or excavating a nesting-site. 



The woods were undermined with tunnels made by the 

 queer tuco-tuco, or oculto (Ctenomys), a species of which we 

 had come in contact with in Brazil. We set a steel trap 

 in one of the subterranean runways, carefully covering with 

 a log the opening we had made; soon a series of low grunts 

 emanated from the spot, and we found a fine, large speci- 

 men of the strange rodent safely held by the steel jaws. 



Bottle flies were so numerous as to prove a most disagree- 

 able pest. Blankets, clothing, food, and specimens alike 

 were covered with "blow" if left exposed for but a few 

 minutes. We were lucky in possessing enough netting with 

 which to rig up covers for everything, but even then 

 numbers gained entrance, and we had to clean the infested 

 articles frequently by passing them over a fire or by scrap- 

 ing and brushing. 



After a few days we concluded that a visit to the top of 



