136 



THE OOLOGIST 



let iVz X 31/^ inches containing 36 

 pages is a most interesting oi-nitlio- 

 logical relic of 40 years ago and bears 

 evidence of having been compiled not 

 only by a Amateur Naturalist, but by 

 one who had an interest in and in- 

 sight into the habits of the birds of 

 the period. 



BIRD COLLECTING IN EASTERN 



COLOMBIA 



Paul G. Howes 



Part III 



January 24tli. We landed at 6 a. 

 m. at a small town whose name I was 

 unable to ascertain. The collecting 

 here was not very good, owing to the 

 great tangles of vines and lianas, 

 which made going next to impossible, 

 without the aid of a knife. I did not 

 get any specimens , although I shot 

 a large species of Kingfisher which 

 landed in the river and was swept 

 away before I could go after it. O'Con- 

 nell took a fine large red squirrel. 



Later in the day, the steamer 

 stopped at Banco, which is a very in- 

 teresting town. The houses are of the 

 usual thatched character, but there is 

 a very ancient church here, painted 

 red and blue. The interior is very 

 dingy, with hued, wooden benches 

 placed in rows upon the tile floor. An 

 aged organist, more dead than alive, 

 sat in one corner picking out mourn- 

 ful hymns, to a chorus of some thous- 

 ands of bats which lined the eaves, 

 littered the seats below with filth anu 

 produced the vilest stench I have 

 ever known. 



The scenery along the river is grow- 

 ing more and more beautiful as the 

 days go by. The land has become 

 much more hilly and the vegetation 

 much richer, especially along the 

 banks of the stream. At 3 p. m. we 

 stopped for wood and had a chance 

 to collect for a while. Fuertes ran in- 



to a troup of Howling monkeys but 

 did nt succeed in securing any as he- 

 had nothing larger than No. five shot 

 in his bag. I secured a jacana and 

 two paraquets of minute size. Ring 

 discovered the nest of a South Ameri- 

 can Goatsucker containing one egg 

 well marked with brown and laven- 

 der. The nest was on the ground 

 among some leaves in the heavy 

 woods. I flushed a Chima Chima hawk 

 from her nest in a tall forest tree, 

 but did not have time to secure the 

 eggs, as the whistle of the steamer 

 had already blown twice for me. 



Towards evening the scenery was 

 very beautiful. A crimson and gold 

 sunset over the purple hills and the 

 great Andean mountains, hazy blue in 

 the distance, the whole reflecting in 

 the winding river, made a scene that 

 will always remain bright in my 

 memory. We passed two small sand 

 bars which were thickly populated 

 with terns, crockodiles, herons, snake 

 birds and cormorants. At dusk we 

 passed a marsh over which hundreds 

 of least terns were hovering. One 

 huge silvery colored bat was seen and 

 also two flocks of smaller brown ones 

 flying and hunting together like so 

 many birds, over the water. One of 

 these flocks must have contained at 

 least flfty individuals. Many Roseate 

 spoonbills were flying about and nu- 

 merous other birds which I could not 

 identify. In the mornings, the woods 

 ring with strange bird voices. It is 

 like learning all over again, to know 

 the birds. With that same flrst thrill 

 that follows the beginner, I hunt each 

 day for new treasures! 



January 25th. Collected for an nour 

 and a half at Remolina, a fuel station. 

 The forest back from the river at this 

 point is very heavy. Huge Ceiba 

 trees and palms are abundant and a 

 thick growth of briars and tangled 



