132 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



sary to go to the other side of the river, but this was not 

 difficult owing to the fact that a raft ferry was available. 

 Birds were plentiful about the outskirts of the town, though 

 of species common to open country and easy to observe 

 in more accessible regions; we therefore spent the greater 

 part of our time in the forest. 



One of our first and most interesting discoveries was a 

 species of pigmy motmot (Hylomanes). It is no larger 

 than a sparrow and has a very short tail in contrast to the 

 long "pendulum" tails of the better-known varieties. This 

 little blue-and-green bird lived in the dense vegetation on 

 the steep slopes, and when several flocked together they 

 joined in a loud, cackling chorus at frequent intervals. 



The cotton-fields sheltered a varied fauna. Humming- 

 birds came to the blossoms, and numbers of fat, red insects 

 resembling potato-bugs lived among the drooping white 

 fibre of the opened pods. Doves ran over the ground, and 

 small rodents had their burrows at the base of the thick 

 stems. 



While at Dabeiba we met one of the most delightful 

 Colombians a type which I am afraid is vanishing, even 

 as the forests and virgin wilds disappear before the on- 

 slaughts of civilization. He had but recently penetrated 

 farther into the wilderness, cleared a few acres of ground 

 and erected a humble cabin of bamboo and wild banana 

 leaves; to this he urged us to come for as long a time as 

 we should care to remain; so one morning we gathered to- 

 gether the most essential articles of our equipment and 

 tramped through the intervening eight miles of jungle to 

 his home. The beauty of the forest is indescribable; and 

 wild life was so abundant that by the time our journey's 

 end was reached we had attained such a stage of thrilling 

 expectancy it was difficult to restrain our enthusiasm for 

 the few hours needed to seek shelter indoors from an ap- 

 proaching storm. The shrill cries of parrots cleft the air; 

 trogons cooed plaintively; toucans yelped and rattled; 

 and from all sides came the whush-whush-whush of giant 



