64 



A FLYING TEIP TO THE TROPICS. 



short-tailed parrakeets, as small as sparrows {Psittacula conspicil- 

 lata)^ and some little swallows about the size of our bank-swallow, 

 with white bodies and dark wings {Tacliychieta alhiventris I 

 had to hurry back to the boat before I could shoot any more, and 

 on our way up the river I skinned the kingfisher. Later in the 

 day we stopped again, and I went ashore, but found it so intensely 

 hot that I soon came back. I saw here, with some chickens, a pair 

 of the turkey-like birds that I had seen on the 24:th. They had 

 red legs, with long straight toes and claws, and spurs on the last 

 joint of their wings. Their general plumage was black ; their 

 faces white, with a red ring around the eyes, and a feathery horn 

 on each side of the head {Chauna derhiana). In the afternoon 

 the boat stopped for wood, and we went ashore again. This time I 

 got a fine pigeon ; a male, as large as our domestic pigeon. It had 

 a bluish rump, forehead, and throat, purplish back and wings, a 

 metallic green nape, red feet, eyes, and lids {Columha rujina). I 

 saw during the day several caracara eagles {Polyhorus cheriway), 

 and with my glass I could plainly see the brilliantly colored skin of 

 their faces. All day long we saw enormous flocks of ducks, wood 

 ibises, and parrakeets, and quantities of white herons, white egrets, 

 cocoi herons, blue and yellow macaws, parrots, hawks, kingfishers, 

 and a few fish-hawks {Pandion halicetus caroUnensis). We fired 

 many times at alligators, and saw some very large ones. We tied 

 up to the shore at night, as the river had become too full of snags 

 and bars to navigate except by daylight. We struck sand-bars 

 twice in the afternoon, but fortunately got off easily. For the last 

 two days we have had lovely views of blue mountains. To-day 

 they were to the west of us. It was clear and very hot during the 

 day ; but we had a shower at bedtime. 



Tuesday, June 28, 1892. We were up early, and at the first 

 stop for wood went ashore with our guns. We found the land to 

 be only a few inches above the level of the river, of a soft black 

 mud, and near the water covered with a heavy growth of large 

 canna-like plants, with red and yellow flowers. Around these were 



