206 



sandstone, and other more recent formations, 

 Majestic forests cover this Cordillera of the inte- 

 rior, and are joined by a woody vale to the open^ 

 clayey lands, and salt marshes of the environs of 

 Cumana. A few birds of considerable size con- 

 tribute to give a particular physiognomy to these 

 countries. On the seashore, and in the gulf, we 

 find flocks of fishing herons, and alcatras of a 

 very unwieldy form, which swim, like the swan, 

 raising their wings. Nearer the habitation of 

 men, thousands of galinazo vultures, the true 

 jackals of the winged tribe, are ever busy in 

 uncovering the carcases of animals *. A gulf, 

 which contains hot and submarine springs, di- 

 vides the secondary from the primary and schis- 

 tose rocks of the peninsula of Araya. Each of 

 these coasts is bathed by a tranquil sea, of an 

 azure tint, and always gently agitated by the 

 same wind. A bright and clear sky, with a few 

 light clouds at sunset, reposes on the ocean, on 

 the peninsula destitute of trees, and on the 

 plains of Cumana, while we see the storms accu- 

 mulate and descend in fertile showers among 

 the inland mountains. Thus on these coasts, as 

 well as at the foot of the Andes, the earth and 

 the skies offer the extremes of clear weather and 

 fogs, of drought and torrents of rain, of absolute 

 nudity and never ceasing verdure. In the New 



* Buffon, Hist. Nat. des Oiseaux, t. i, p. 114. 



