BARBANQUILLA. 



41 



birds do. In many of the houses along the streets we saw parrots, 

 parrakeets, and troupials. Black vultures are abundant. They sit 

 in groups in the cocoa palms, on the roofs and fences, and are con- 

 tinually flying down into the yards and streets to pick up refuse. 



It was cloudy all day, and there were several showers. It was 

 also hot, especially in the early part of the night. 



Tuesday, June 21, 1892. We were awakened before daylight 

 by the sound of music. It was the military band practicing, and 

 although they selected such an unusual hour for their practice, I 

 must admit that the music was excellent. Just about daybreak 

 flocks of parrakeets began to fly over the town in a steady stream, 

 and their incessant screeching put sleep out of the question. 



We were up early, and after taking some coffee and bread, Cabell 

 and I went down to the custom-house to get our trunks. Travelers' 

 baggage up to two hundred pounds (as well as I remember) is 

 admitted free of duty ; anything beyond this must be paid for at an 

 exorbitant rate. After waiting around for two hours, we got our 

 trunks, and had them sent up to the Pension Ingles, then went back 

 to the Victoria, got together our things, and moved over. We had 

 a good breakfast about half past eleven, and a little after two 

 o'clock we took a carriage, and, Alice taking a book, and Cabell 

 and myself our guns, we drove out a couple of miles into the coun- 

 try to have our first experience with South American birds. 



We drove along a heavy, sandy road, with tracts of scrubby 

 growth on either side, and here and there fields of a tall, thick, reedy 

 grass. We saw no evidences of any crops. When we had gone 

 out far enough, we turned out of the road, and left the carriage 

 near an abandoned hut in an open field. We hunted around within 

 a few hundred yards for about two hours, and saw great quantities 

 of birds. I shot first, and killed a hawk that was perched in the 

 top of a thick tree near the roadside. It saw me approaching, but 

 was not shy, so I had no difficulty in getting within range. Before 

 I shot at it, it uttered several times a shrill cry, and whilst doing so 

 held back its head until its beak pointed vertically. It was about 



