174 



THE OOLOGIST 



a sand bank and also took the first 

 thrush that has been seen on the ex- 

 pedition. It is a very light colored 

 Planesticus, similar in size to our 

 own robin. I shot a summer tanager 

 in changing plumage and many native 

 forms, but nothing of unusual interest. 



On the morning of February 4th, 

 after securing several pack animals, 

 Chapman, Fuertes and I started for a 

 point about four thousand feet in the 

 hills from whence the great snow- 

 covered peaks of the central Andes 

 are visible. Our object in this jour- 

 ney was to make sketches and paint- 

 ings to be used in painting the back- 

 ground for a huge new group of 

 Colombian bird life, to be installed in 

 the American Museum of Natural 

 History, upon our return. We left 

 Honda at 2 p. m. and arrived at a tiny 

 house in the hills, named 'Consuelo/ 

 at 7:30. The trip was a very beauti- 

 ful one up through a torturous trail 

 in the ridges which was difficult, even 

 for our trained and hard-muscled ani- 

 mals. I flushed a small finch from her 

 nest and four eggs which was placed 

 in a natural cavity in the rocks at the 

 side of the trail, just flush with my 

 knees when in the saddle. The eggs 

 were white, spotted with grey, and 

 the nest made of rootlets. 



The Senorita at Consuelo, was a 

 very pretty woman and an excellent 

 cook. She was very glad to see us 

 and gave us a fine supper which tast- 

 ed mighty good after our long ride in 

 the mountain air. When we arrived 

 at Consuelo, the great valley below us 

 was filled with clouds, there were no 

 mountains in sight and we appeared 

 to be looking down upon a great white 

 sea. 



At fiA'e o'clock the next morning, 

 just as the sun was filling the east 

 with that wonderful glow, found only 

 in the mountains and after an eye 

 opener of delicious black coffee, we 



piled out to look at the scenery be- 

 fore breakfast. What a sight it was I 

 Never shall I forget that which was 

 spread before me, upon leaving my 

 bed that morning. The mist of the 

 previous night had entirely vanished.. 

 Almost from the porch of the little 

 house, the great valley dropped away 

 for three thousand feet. Below, and 

 flung far out in front, in every imagi- 

 nable direction, were the deep green 

 foothills, range after range of them. 

 Miles in the distance, the Magdalena 

 river twisted in and out among them 

 like a slim silvery snake. Beyond 

 this came more foot hills, then bigger 

 hills, then mountains and finally three 

 great snow-covered peaks, Tolima, an 

 extinct volcano, Ruiz and Isabel 

 reaching to an altitude of eighteen 

 thousand feet. 



As the sun rose, great purple shad- 

 ows played about the hills, a veil of 

 madder tinted the far away glaciers, 

 and from the depths of the valley 

 came the faint chirps and whistles of 

 Andean bird life astir in the morning. 



Fuertes and I started painting at 

 once, but by 8 a. m. the peaks were 

 again covered with clouds, so we had 

 to stop for the day. We went collect- 

 ing in the beautiful forest back of 

 Consuelo and secured many good 

 birds. Later I set out a line of 

 eighteen traps for small mammals, 

 placing them along a stream. For 

 bait I ueed the bodies of skinned 

 birds, bits of corn cob and plantain. 

 There is a very interesting robin here. 

 It is very much like our eastern form 

 in song and general size, but its color 

 is dark olive brown on the breast and 

 very light brown on the back. The 

 temperature here is delightful after 

 the hot days on the river. At noon 

 today, February 5th, the thermometer 

 registered 84, and tonight at 7:30. 

 seventy-six with cool breezes blowing 



February 6th. We were out at five 



