. Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana . he mirror-like surfaceof the river and go skimming off through the air left us amazed. TheS2 fish were silverv in color, marked with irregularblack markings, w ith long, wing like pectoral (ins and aremarkably deep keel, like the keel of a racing yacht. As we went on, the walls of foliage became higher and moredense, stretching up, far up above our heads, until the topmostbranche- were from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five feet above the water. Majestic vistas opened out a
. Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana . he mirror-like surfaceof the river and go skimming off through the air left us amazed. TheS2 fish were silverv in color, marked with irregularblack markings, w ith long, wing like pectoral (ins and aremarkably deep keel, like the keel of a racing yacht. As we went on, the walls of foliage became higher and moredense, stretching up, far up above our heads, until the topmostbranche- were from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five feet above the water. Majestic vistas opened out ahead WATER TRAIL FROM GEORGETOWN TO AREMU. 253 of us, and now and then great solid banks of flowers hung likehuge tapestries upon the foliage walls. One white flower witha plume-like tuft of long slender stamens, rilled whole bendsof the river with its sweet perfume and formed aerial banksof bloom fifty feet square. We saw here for the first timethe Green River Ibises 26 looking dull black in the were of the same size as Scarlet Ibises but with ashorter tail, and flapped more slowly in Fig. 106. Salt-water Flying Fish. Just before dusk we reached the house of the governmentagent of this district, Mr. Nicholson, and were made welcomeat his little home in the heart of the wilderness. The houseis on a steep bluff of red clay, changing to yellow near thewater and commanding a fine view up and down the , the river is smooth and shining, while a quarter ofa mile above the house a mass of tumbling w hile w ater blocksfurther progress and marks the second portage. In the yard near the house one passes through a cluster ofyoung fruit trees and here two small colonies of Yellow-backed Cassiques151 had located, clustering their pendentnests almost within arms reach about two big nests of sting- 254 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. ing ants. At dusk several hundred Smooth-billed Anis80dropped into a clump of bamboo and with much racket andsquabbling settled fo
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