20 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



the Coast and Central Ranges. These gently rounded 

 mounds are bare except for a kind of worthless, wiry grass 

 that in some unaccountable way draws enough sustenance 

 from the red-clay soil to maintain its meagre growth. 

 These hills gradually increase in height, but the ascent is 

 by such slow degrees that one is scarcely conscious of any 

 rise at all. There are few houses, and the small number of 

 inhabitants seem to be as sallow and lifeless as the lulls 

 themselves. A party of people had gathered at one of 

 the Philippine-like structures near the roadside; they were 

 chatting excitedly and drinking a good deal of chicha. 

 When we dismounted we found that a child had died and 

 was being prepared for burial. It sat propped up in a 

 small, rudely made chair, covered with a piece of white 

 cloth. No one seemed greatly concerned over the death, 

 least of all the parents; on the contrary, they were proud 

 of the angelito, and of the attention the event attracted 

 from the people of the neighboring country. 



In perfect accord with our expectations, there was little 

 bird-life on the cheerless iomas. A few blue tanagers and 

 Veinte-vi flycatchers (Pitangus) lived in the bushes that 

 lined the infrequent rivulets trickling through narrow gul- 

 hes between the hills. The Veinte-vi was an old acquain- 

 tance; its cheery call is one of the first bird-notes to greet 

 the ear of the visitor to tropical South America. Its local 

 name varies with the locality, and is an attempt by the na- 

 tives to imitate the bird's cry. Thus it ranges from Kiss- 

 kordee and Veinte-vi to Dios te di and Christifui. This fly- 

 catcher is of a rather vivacious disposition, and pairs of 

 them frequently may be seen singing together and beating 

 their wings on the branches. 



As a general rule these birds are of peaceful habits, ex- 

 cept when nesting; but I have frequently seen them in pur- 

 suit of a carrion hawk at which they darted viciously and 

 continued to follow until lost to view. 



The diet of the Veinte-vi is varied, and the bird is most 

 versatile in capturing its prey. Thus it will sit on a perch 



