File:Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana (1910) (14752495755).jpg

Identifier: oursearchforwild00nile (find matches)
Title: Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Niles, Blair Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Natural history Birds
Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company

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d bird life of a tropical forest. Nine of us started out alonga faint trail used by black pork-knockers, which, after sev-eral miles of twisting and turning, led to an outcropping ofgold, known as England, all on Mr. Wilshires concession.Throughout the whole tramp, although we lagged behind,we noted not a single bird or animal of interest save fora scattering of Toucans and Parrots. Every living creaturefled before us or remained hidden. One might thus trampacross a continent and report the tropics to be barren of life,except in the tree-tops. Not only this, but the few birdswhich flew over or were otherwise seen momentarily werewithout exception brilliantly colored, and this would help tosustain the wide-spread impression that tropical birds areinvariably of bright plumage, which is very untrue. Thereare really more dull-colored than brilliant birds in thetropics. At last I slip aside, let my companions go on, and make adetour to the left of the trail. Here in the hearl of the jungle
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JUNGLE LIFE AT AREMU. 307 I discover an overgrown clearing with the skeleton of a hutin the centre. The ruin itself is a thing of exquisite beauty,the half-decayed uprights and roof saplings being interlacedand overhung with vines, the brilliant scarlet, poppy-likepassion flowers crowning all. From the blossoms comes abusy hum of insects, in sharp contrast to the silence of thetrail along which we have come. In the virgin forest thereis ever sharp contrast. Brilliant bits of sunlight alternatewith blackest shadow; deathly silence is broken by the ear-piercing call of the Goldbird; the dull earthy smell of themould is suddenly permeated by the rare sweet incense ofsome blossom or the penetrating musk of an animal or somehuge hemipterous insect. In a clearing — even a deserted one like this and only afew yards in extent — all is toned down. The odors arediffused and difficult to analyze; the droning of bees alter-nates only with the sharper whirr of a Hummingbirds wings,either the b

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