BIRDS FROM COSTA RICA—-WETMORE Di, 
a small structure at one end consisting of a sheet-iron roof supported 
on posts and a square, locked room built under one corner. <A group 
of saddle horses crowded in the shade behind the building while the 
riders walked out to the plane. 
This was on the valley floor of the Rio Tempisque where it was hot 
in spite of the early hour. From the air I had an excellent view of 
the winding course of the river bordered with trees, and of the low- 
lands adjacent, which were marshy in places. Occasional white 
herons appeared, and once a little flock of jaganas. Inland we passed 
a rather abrupt escarpment that bounded a plain extending toward 
the distant mountains, and almost immediately I saw the town of 
Liberia, capital of Guanacaste. About the town the land appeared 
rather level, with an open growth of brush and trees. Far to the west 
I could see the Pacific Ocean, while to the east, nearer at hand, rose 
the mountains, with Volcdn Rincén de la Vieja nearby and Volcén 
Miravalles directly east but at a greater distance. 
The airport, reached at half past 9, was at the edge of town and was 
larger than the others seen. ‘Truly, air travel has been a wonderful 
service for this region, accessible otherwise only by slow overland 
journeys requiring several days. 
Guanacaste is a land completely apart from the elevated, thickly 
populated tableland of central Costa Rica. Roads are primitive, so 
that travel for a good part of the year is by oxcart and horse. Only 
during the dry season are the carreteras passable for trucks, and only 
then through skillful driving. The land in the main is held in great 
haciendas, with cattle raising as the principal industry. Along the 
valley of the Rio Tempisque, and in limited areas elsewhere, as near 
Liberia, there are small farms where corn, rice, and beans are grown. 
Over vast sections one sees only scrub forest and pastureland traversed 
by cattle trails, with houses at long intervals. 
In Liberia, known as the Ciudad Blanca because of the white sand 
of its streets and its white-walled houses, Dr. Valerio left me, and with 
Aguilar I began at once field studies of the bird life of the region. 
The Rio Liberia (pl. 5, fig. 1), which passes through the edge of 
town, is here narrow and rather swift, with clear water. A forest of 
fair-sized trees lined its banks below town, with occasional stands of 
larger growth. Also I found open country with small lakes and 
‘ponds. Away from the stream the land was cultivated in places, 
and elsewhere was in pastures (pl. 3, fig. 1) dotted with groves or 
stands of rather dense scrub. Small quebradas with fairly level, 
sandy or stony bottoms draining into the river were common. To 
the east the river ran between hills, forested for a short distance, and 
then barren and dry, dotted with stunted oaks, and covered with 
Sparse grass, an arid, almost desert region, where birds and other 
forms of life were rare. 
