CARTAGO TO RUIZ AND SANTA ISABEL 57 



was the abundance of white-throated sparrows (Brachy- 

 spiza capensis capensis). Their cheerful little song cannot 

 fail to endear them to any one with even a limited aesthetic 

 nature. Whether one hears it in the hot, tropical low- 

 lands or on a bleak mountain-top twelve thousand feet 

 above sea-level, the happy little melody is always the same. 

 Nor is the music confined to the hours of daylight only. I 

 have frequently heard it in the darkest hours of night, ring- 

 ing clear and sweet from somewhere out in the all-pervad- 

 ing blackness. These birds are fond of the proximity of 

 man and are most abundant where he has chosen to break 

 the soil and erect his abode. As a general rule they are 

 not gregarious, but I have seen them congregate in flocks 

 of many thousands to spend the night in some particularly 

 attractive spot in places where sleeping sites were limited 

 in number. Farther south these sparrows also gather in 

 flocks of varying size during the winter season. 



The nest is a neat, cup-shaped structure made of fine 

 grasses; it is placed in a low bush or on the ground. Two 

 or three pale-blue eggs thickly spotted with brown are laid 

 and not infrequently two broods are reared in a season. 



During our stay at the solitary house on the edge of the 

 great forest a white-throat or chingolo came daily and 

 perched on the bannister of our porch to pour out its over- 

 flow of happiness. We grew very much attached to the 

 confiding feathered mite and eagerly awaited its frequent 

 visits. After a short time I discovered the runway of 

 some small rodent under the porch and set a trap to catch 

 the animal. Not long after we heard the dull snap of the 

 spring, and upon investigation found the limp body of the 

 unfortunate songster. The place seemed deserted without 

 the sprightly little bird and we never ceased to miss it. 



The belt of forest through which we penetrated before 

 reaching the paramo was magnificent. A species of orchid 

 bearing long spikes of yellow flowers was in full bloom; 

 there were many hundreds of the thick-leaved plants, some 

 perched on lofty branches, others growing from crotches 



