FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN THE LAND OF THE INCAS 463 



of hieroglyphic similar to that which ex- 

 isted in southern Mexico and Central 

 America. It is remarkable indeed that a 

 people who succeeded in equaling' the 

 ancient Egyptians in architecture, engi- 

 neering, pottery, and textiles should have 

 fallen so far behind in the development 

 of a written language. This is the most 

 serious obstacle that stands in the way of 

 our learning more of that enterprising 

 race. 



MANY BIRDS LIKE OUR OWN 



So much interest attaches to the people 

 who built Machu Picchu that we were 

 extremely anxious to learn all we could 

 of the animals and plants with which 

 these wonderful architects were familiar. 

 What birds did they see? What animals 

 furnished them sport? Which annoyed 

 them? What did they eat? To solve 

 these questions Messrs. Heller, Cook, and 

 Gilbert spent several weeks in camp at 

 the foot of the towering cliffs that defend 

 the Lost City. Writing of his observa- 

 tions, Mr. Heller says, in part : 



"Birds in great variety and abundance 

 flitted about our camp and through the 

 neighboring forests. The Urubamba Val- 

 ley acts as a highway or migratory route 

 for birds between the highlands and the 

 low country. I collected and noted some 

 eighty species. 



"Fly-catchers were the most numerous 

 in species, the fifteen kinds which oc- 

 curred here ranging in character from 

 such familiar forms as our grav king- 

 bird and black phcebe to small forest spe- 

 cies of rich rufous tints. 



"There was, in particular, a large, pug- 

 nacious cliff species and a peculiarly di- 

 minutive forest one with a remarkable 

 voice, many times greater than the bird 

 which uttered it. 



"Our robin redbreast was represented 

 by a drab brown species of equal size, 

 which haunted the roadside and showed 

 as much confidence in humanity as our 

 bird. The' Quichuas call him 'chi-wunk- 

 koo', a name obviously derived from his 

 call note. 



"Swallows, resembling our tree-swal- 

 lows in coloration, were common about 

 the cliff's, while occasionally wandering 

 flocks of a great swift whirled through 

 the canyons. 



"The finch family in Peru is a mere 

 remnant compared to the wealth of spe- 

 cies in our northern fauna. The tana- 

 gers, as a family, were the most abun- 

 dant and gaudily colored birds with which 

 'we met. 



"Humming-birds, usually very numer- 

 ous in Peru, were here represented by 

 only three species, one of them the most 

 diminutive in South America. The size 

 of a bumblebee, in flying it darted away 

 in a straight line with great speed, quite 

 indistinguishable from a bee. 



"Another Peruvian bird familiar to the 

 North American is the water ouzel, or 

 dipper, a species of which was found here 

 haunting the streams near rapids at the 

 edge of pebbly bars, often wading thigh 

 deep in the water or diving in shallow 

 pools for insect larvse. Its body is a rich 

 seal brown and its head white. 



"Among the birds of San Miguel there 

 were no greater advertisers than the 

 large green parrots, which passed over- 

 head in small flocks, every member en- 

 gaged with his fellows in an animated 

 conversation of hoarse, discordant notes. 



"Although we failed to get any bears 

 near the ruins, we did trap a vile-smelling 

 proboscis skunk, known to the Indians 

 as the am jets. He dragged himself, trap 

 and all, into a crevice between two rocks. 

 After two shots, he seemed to relax his 

 hold, and, assuming that he had been 

 killed, I instructed my gun-bearer to pull 

 him forth. When the skunk had been 

 dragged into the daylight, we discovered 

 our awful mistake, but too late ! 



UGLY VAMPIRL BATS 



"On the morning after our arrival at 

 San Miguel Bridge the pack - mules 

 nearly all showed blood blotches on their 

 withers and backs, where they had been 

 attacked during the night by vampire 

 bats which had fed on their blood. This 

 bat, Dcsmodus rotundus, is plentifully 

 distributed throughout Peru in altitudes 

 below 10,000 feet. 



"It is one of the most highly special- 

 ized species of existing bats and is a 

 member of the Phyllastome or leaf-nosed 

 group. It has, however, lost its leaf nose 

 to a large extent, owing to its abandon- 

 ment of an insect diet. The lower jaw is 



