94



Rock, is replaced at Baeza by the yellowish variety ; a few birds

however remain exactly tlie same on both sides. The pink

Tanager, Pyranga cestiva, is one of these. This bird, which is

close on yin. long, is of a brilliant carmine pink all over, but a

trifle darker on the head and back than on the other parts. The

wings are fawn edged with pink, but the tail is pink with only

a slight shade of fawn in it. This bird has a very wide range,

not only in Ecuador, but all through Colombia, Central America,

and I believe also into Texas. I never heard of it being found

at coast level in Ecuador, but while we were in Quito, we shot

one specimen in the Gardens of the British Consulate. Our

Consul there who is an ardent ornithologist, said it was the

third specimen only he had seen at that altitude during the 30

years he had lived there. The female is yellow in the same way

that the male is pink, so together the\r form a striking pair

of birds. I have noticed that if exposed to too much light, the

pink in the set-up skins, fades rapidly. Another exceedingly

beautiful Tanager we obtained at Baeza, and also on the Western

side, was Rieffer’s Tanager, Psittospiza riefferi. This is a fairly

large bird, be,ing nearly Sin. in length. It is of a uniform bright

leaf green, except the first primaries, which are black, and the

vent rufous ; the same colour extends like a mask across the

face. The shoulders are an extraordinarily bright emerald green,

almost too bright to be pleasing. The legs are coral red, and the

beak which is slightly hooked, is of the same shade. We pro¬

cured these from various localities and they were always in pairs.

The female is a trifle less brilliant than the male, when seen

together. They were always in fairl}^ high trees, and those we

shot at Baeza had been feeding entirely on juicy berries,

resembling elderberries. They had a curious call-note easy to

imitate, and if one was shot, it was easy to attract the fellow

one back to the spot by imitating this note. As may be

imagined, it was far from easy to distinguish them among the

foliage. The feathers have that same gloss on them which so

many of the Tanagers have. The beak and legs quickly fade

after death, and I noticed at S. Kensington they have not

attempted to artificially reproduce it, as they should have done,

because the contrast of the coral red beak and feet against the

green plumage, is one of the most conspicuous features of the

bird. Near Baeza we also obtained a pair of the wonderful

Orange-rumped GreenTanager ( Chloroch?ysa calliparcza). This

again is a bird whose colouring is too difficult to convey an idea

of in words, for it changes with every position you hold the bird

in. I am unable to give any particulars of their habits, beyond



