of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. 197 



any of the crael features of that " institution " practised, nor do 

 I think such would be permitted. 



With the exception of the Gulls and Terns, of which I saw 

 none, most of the birds of Chiapara occur at Huamuchal. In my 

 walk to the lagoons I usually saw great numbers of Wood-Ibises, 

 literally hundreds of Ducks (mostly Shoveller, Widgeon, and 

 Teal), Stilts, Avocets, Herons, and Spoonbills; nor were Sand- 

 pipers less numerous. There were, however, several birds which 

 call for special attention, as either I had not observed them any- 

 where else, or they had rarely come under my notice. I had 

 heard of a great bird called, in Retaluleu, " Garzon pulido," but 

 could never make out what it was ; I suggested the Wood-Ibis, 

 but they would not hear of it. The bird, they said, was three 

 or four times as large. Fancy my astonishment at seeing the 

 American Jabiru [Mycteria americana, L.) stalking about the 

 banks of one of the lagoons. It cost me no small trouble to obtain 

 specimens, as it proved to be a most wary bird. At last, one 

 afternoon, I happened to be in a canoe, and seeing one on the 

 bank, steered for it. Fortunately, it was so busily engaged with 

 an eel, that when it took wing I was near enough to bring the 

 huge bird down with a double shot. It was wounded, and 

 showed fight as the canoe shot by; Enrique, who was in the 

 bows, defended himself with a game-bag; I, as we passed it, 

 fenced its formidable bill with my gun; while the Indian jumped 

 overboard and made off. It was a splendid bird, measuring 6 

 feet 6 inches from the tip of the bill to the end of the toes. 

 As in many more of its allies, the white feathers have a beautiful 

 satin-like gloss. The bare neck and head, in life, are deep 

 black, succeeded by red on the lower third of the neck. Its 

 step is slow and stately. The home of this Mycteria is the 

 Amazons ; and I was surprised to find it so far from what I 

 thought was its native land. Enrique afterwards shot another, 

 a female, with a few white feathers about the head. 



These lagoons were frequented by a large flock of White Peli- 

 cans [Pelicanus erythrorhynchus, Gm.), a bird I had long sought. 

 The first time I found the flock, they were feeding in a lagoon ; 

 and I tried to secure some specimens by hiding on the bank, 

 while Enrique waded and drove them. They all rose out of 



