Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-07-12

lOWll VI NdCCICS, L WOuld De met by Bra
lillian army colonel, himself chiefly Indian
by blood, Colonel Rondon. Colonel Ron
don was to accompany us over to the head
waters of the affluent of the Amazon down
which we were to go, where he would get
paddlers and canoes for us and probably
himself go with US. He was at the time in
Manaos, but his lieutenants were in Caceres
and had been notified that we were coming.
l had to travel through Brazil, Uruguay,
the Argentine, and Chile for six weeks to
fulfil my speaking engagements Fiala,
Cherrie Miller and Sigg left me at Rio,
continuing to Buenos Aires in the boat in
which we had all come down from New
York. From Buenos Aires they went up
to await me. The two naturalists went
first, to do all the collecting that was pos
sible; Fiala and Sigg travelled more leisure
ly, with the heavy baggage.
Old and New Feathered Friends
During the two months before starting
from Asuncion, in Paraguay, for our jour
ney into the interior, I was kept so busy that
l had scant time to think OF natural history.
But in a strange land man who cares for
hears something that is new to him and in
terests him. In the dense tropical woods
near Rio Janeiro l heard in late October
springtime, near the southern tropic-the
songs of many birds that could not iden-
tify. But the most beautiful music was
from shy woodland thrush, sombre-col-
ored, which lived near the ground in the
thick timber, but sang high among the
branches At great distance we could
hear the ringing, musical, bell-like note,
long drawn and of piercing sweetness,
which occurs at intervals in the song; at
first thought this was the song, but when
it was possible to approach the singer I
found that these far-sounding notes were
scattered through a continuous song of
great melody. l never listened to one that
impressed me more. In different places in
Argentina l heard and saw the Argentine
mocking-bird, which is not very unlike our
own, and is also delightful and remarkable
singer. But l never heard the wonderful
white-banded hooking bird, which is said by
Hudson, who knew we'll the birds of both
South America and Europe, to be the song
king of them all.
Most of the birds thus noticed while
hurriedly passing through the country were,
of course, the conspicuous ones. The
spurred lapwings, big, tame, boldly marked
plover, were everywhere; they were very
noisy and active and both inquisitive and
daring, and they have very curious dance
custom No man need look for them. They
will look for him, and when they find him
they will fairly yell the discovery to the uni
verse.
In the marshes of the lower Parana ! saw
flocks of scarlet-headed blackbirds on the
tops of the reeds; the females are as strik-
ingly colored as the males, and their jet
black bodies and brilliant red heads make it
impossible for them to escape observation
among their natural surroundings. On the
plains to the west l saw flocks of the beauti-
full rose-breasted starlings; unlike the red
headed blackbirds, which seemed fairly to
court attention, these starlings sought to
escape observation by crouching on the
ground so that their red breasts were hidden.
There were yellow-shouldered blackbirds in
wet places, and cowbuntings abounded.
But the most conspicuous birds | saw
were members of the family of Tyrant Fly
catchers, of which our own kingbird is the
CONTINUED on Pare Eirhtl