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Bird - Lore 



jfeirtMllore 



A Bi-Monthly Magazine 



Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds 



OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES 



Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



ContributingEditor. MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT 



Published by D. APPLETON & CO. 



Vol. XV Published April 1, 1913 



No. 2 



SUBSCRIPTION RATES 



Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico, twenty cents 

 a number, one dollar a year, postage paid. 



COPYRIGHTED, 1913. BY FR\NK M. CHAPMAN 



Bird-Lore*s Motto: 

 A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand 



The American Museum Colombian 

 Expedition of 1013, which sailed from 

 New York on January 8, arrived at Bar- 

 ranquilla on January 20. As a bit of for- 

 tune the traveler in tropical America does 

 not often encounter, a steamer for our 

 destination, the Upper Magdalena, was 

 found sailing that day. Furthermore, it 

 was a steamer of the slowest variety, mak- 

 ing frequent and long stops and puffing 

 painfully between them. 



Our friends in Barranquilla strongly 

 advised us to wait five days for the express 

 steamer, which would arrive at La Dorada, 

 distant some 600 miles, and the head of 

 navigation on the lower half of the Mag- 

 dalena, several days in advance of the one 

 we proposed to take, and could not be 

 made to understand why we should prefer 

 the heat, mosquitos, and poor fare of a 

 river steamer to the comparative comforts 

 of Barranquilla. The results, however, 

 as we had anticipated, more than justified 

 our decision. 



The Captain of the 'Margarita,' to 

 whom we explained the objects of our 

 trip, expressed unbounded interest in our 

 plans, and with characteristic Spanish 

 cordiality assured us that the business of 

 the 'Margarita,' when compared with 

 ours, was of no importance whatever! He 

 would stop the steamer at any and every 

 point we desired and we should stay as 

 long as we pleased, while the study of 

 birds should be the sole object of the 

 voyage! 



Making due allowance for that type of 

 politeness which presents to the newly- 

 arrived guest the host's house and all its 

 contents, the Captain of the 'Margarita' 

 nobly lived up to his promises. The voy- 

 age to La Dorada required twelve days, 

 and for ten of these we passed through a 

 luxuriant lowland forest, where from the 

 steamer one could see, at satisfactory dis- 

 tances, the blue and yellow and scarlet, 

 green and blue Macaws, several species of 

 Parrots, Sacred Vultures, Horned Scream- 

 ers, Southern Black Skimmers and Great- 

 billed Terns, both of which range as far up 

 the river as La Dorada, and many other 

 species; while not infrequently groups of 

 Capybaras were passed on the shores, and 

 on one occasion five howling monkeys and 

 a sloth were seen in one tree. On the sand- 

 bars, or 'playas,' exposed by the low water 

 of the dry season, hundreds of crocodiles 

 with wide-open mouths dozed in the sun, 

 while the great Cocoi Herons stalked about 

 near them. 



The surprising amount of wood con- 

 sumed by the steamer necessitated two 

 or three stops daily to replenish the sup- 

 ply. These stops were usually made at 

 wood-cutters' camps on the edge of the 

 primeval forest where, beyond the small 

 clearing made in felling trees for fuel, we 

 were confronted by a forest wall, pene- 

 trable only by a few narrow trails 

 which, fortunately for us, usually could 

 be found. 



Due notice was given us of these land- 

 ings, and we were ready to go ashore the 

 moment the steamer touched it, while a 

 warning whistle advised us when, reluc- 

 tantly, we should return to the boat. 

 Under these most favorable conditions 

 we made excellent use of our opportuni- 

 ties, and on arriving at La Dorada had 

 secured a collection of the more representa- 

 tive species, as well as some by no means 

 common. 



It is impossible, at this point, to go 

 into details concerning the birds observed; 

 but at least mention may be made of the 

 'North American migrants," of which 

 we have noted eighteen species in the 

 Magdalena Valley. 



