THE AUK:

A QUARTE.RLYJOURNAL OF

ORNITHOLOGY.

VOL. LI. APRIL, 1934. NO. 2.

THE MT. SANGAY LABYRINTH AND ITS FAUNA. •

BY ROBERT T. MOORE.

Plates VI-VII.

MORE than fifty years ago Edward Whymper, pausingin his triumphant descentfrom the first conquestof Mt. Chimborazo, the giant of the EcuadorianAndes, caught sight of a formidable volcanoncady fifty'miles to the southeast.The blas4conqueror of the Matterhorn wasamazed at the outbursttaking placebefore his eyes. He madedrawings of the eruptions,which he then pre- sumed were "outrushesof steam" and calculated the velocity of ejection,determining it as "twenty-two miles per minute"I Whyroperundoubtedly witnessed the early stagesof one of the major eruptionswhich take place at periodicintervalS, ranging froma fewyears to fifty or more. Twelveyears later in 1892,when writinghis greatclassic, • he expressedastonishment that a volcano so formidableshould be known to Ecuadorians"only by name"! Whyroperdid not seemto know that thirty-four yearsearlierVilla- vicenciohad indictedSangay as the "most frightful-volcanoin the World."a Nor did his bookreveal acquaintance with the observa- tions of non-Ecuadorianscientists and explorerswho, for two centuries,had bornetestimony to its devastatingpower. As early as 1739 Monsieurde la Condamlnewitnessed a violent eruptionwhich seemed to him "to set on fire the wholemountain

• Contribution from the California Institute of Technology; Read at the Fifty- first Stated Meeting of the A. O. U., New York, November 14, 1933. • Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator by E. Whyroper, p. 73. 8 Geografia de la Republica del Equador, p. 51, New York, 1858. • 141 142 MOORr,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth and Its Fauna. [April[Auk and its crater," while a "burning river of sulphur and bitumen took its coursein the midst of the snowy slopes.m The geologistReiss, moreover, gave an amazingtestimony to its energy,when he stated that for four yearswithout intermissiona streamof incandescentlava flowedf•om the westernshoulder of the volcano.2 Many observershave noted that the roaringsof the volcanohave been heard in Guayaquil, one hundredand ten miles acrossthe Andes, and sea captains far out in thePadfie have'seen the decks of their vesselsdrifted with its ashes. So great is the massejected, Reelus assures us, that it wouldequal that of several mountains.3 "It seemsprobable," adds Dr. Mozans, "that the disastrousearthquake which destroyedthe old city of Riobamba in 1797 had its originin Sangay. So completeand suddenwas this visitation that few of the twenty thousandinhabitants were able to escape.TM And then comethe fablesand legendswhich always cling to the skirtsof terrifying phenomena. "Everyone had heard of the 'Flaming Terror to the East of the Andes,'" saidCommander Dyott, "but no one had ever ventured near it. Within several leaguesof its base(so ran the tale) werelakes whose waters spouted high in the air, drenchingthe country for miles aroundand form- ing a sort of water barrage."• And even the renownedHumboldt did not helpdissolve this atmosphereof superstitionby describing a fish, "Pimeloduseyelopum," which he sayswas thrown out in great numbersduring minor eruptionsof Cotopaxi,Tungurahua, and Sangay.q I have not spaceto quote from Wolf, Stiibel, Hans Meyer, Stevenson,and many otherswho have observedthe demon- strationsof Sangay. A final quotationfrom the El'Telegrafo at Guayaquil will suffice:"Alfonso Stiibel initiated an at- tempt to creepup on the shouldersof the colossusin April of 1872, but he, like G. M. Dyott, the intrepid Andean explorer,had to abandonthe enterprise,their audacitypunished by the imminence of destrnetion."7 There seemsto be no recordthat anyoneactually

• See Ecuador by (J. Reghmld Enoch, p. 163, and La Condamine, ¾oy., p. 77. 2 Reiss, Zeitschrift der dentsthen geologischen Geselschaft, XX-VI, p. 93. a Nonyello Geographic UniverseHe, ¾ol. X•FIII, p. 422 by Reclus. 4 Along the Andes and Down the Amazon, p. 76, by A. H. Mozans. • The Volcanoes of Ecuador by G. M. Dyott in National Geographic Magazine for January, 1929. Also see book: On the Trail of the Unknown, by same author. 6 Zoology of Humboldt's and Bonpland's Journey, ¾ol. 1, 1)19.21-25. * E1 Telegrafo, August 25, 1929. Vol.1934 LI] J MOOR•.,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth and Its Fauna. 143 crossedthe snow-line until November of 1925,1when Commander Dyott after monthsof effort cameto gripswith the ice-field. On his first attempt he was struck down with snow-blindnessand on his secondfell into a dangerouscrevasse on the southeastern shoulder,while his companionwas incapacitatedby siroche,both finally abandoningthe effort. E1 Telegrafoconcludes, "Sangay continued to guard its mystery inviolate--a mystery vast and sublimel" Familiarity breeds contempt for mysteries,legends, and the fearsthat they produce. After onehas threadedthe abyssesabout the baseof Sangayand surmountedits pall of cloud,a solutionof these so-calledmysteries becomes possible. Detached from the main chainof the easternAndes, Sangay juts out over the Amazon basin, a lonely sentinelnearly' 18,000 feet in altitude. Although only about one hundredand fifty miles south of the equator, the last half mile of altitude is covered with a crown of ice and snow. At the easternbase of the mountainbegins an interminableplain of tropical forest which stretcheswithout break three thousand miles to the Atlantic. So impenetrableare thesejungles of the steepeastern slope that no onehas madean attack on the summit from this side. On the other three sidesare one thousandsquare miles of volcanicash, which have been carvedby tropical rains into a labyrinth of black canyons500 to 2,000 feet deep. Down each one swirls an angry torrent--the whole constitutinga veri- table maze, whosedeeper intricacieshave never been threaded by the superstitiousIndians living about its margins. They never crossits borderssave for an occasionalforage among the rare wild animals, who here have made their last stand in a sanctuary createdby superstition.Above and about it all hasbeen hung by Nature a vast shroud of mist and cloud, which is lifted but for brief intervals. After twenty-six days of constantrains we climbed above the Shroud and at an elevation of 16,000 feet discoveredits cause. Humid currentsof air, superheatedin the cauldronof the Amazon basin,are forcedupward by the tendencyof heat to rise. Ascend-

• National Geographic Magazine, January, 1929. Commander Dyott does not staSe either in his book or article the year in which his effort was made. Fr•m other sources it seems to have take• place in 1925. 144 Moor•,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth andIts Fauna. [AprilAuk ing the 18,000foot slopethey enter an area, progressivelycooling, and soonreach the frigid atmosphereabout the snow-fields. The rapid decreaseof temperature sucksthe air columns upward at ever greater speed. The contactof heated currentswith freezing temperaturesresults in rapid condensationand vast billowing clouds are born in a moment before the astounded eyes of the climber. This processkeeps up for days, if not months, the "mushrooming" cloudsjoining the Shroud to the west and con- stantly reereatlngit at about the 16,000foot level. The rains con- geal on the upper slopesand thicken the collar of snowand ice. When Sangayblows off its cap, the snow-fielddissolves in a moment and the Labyrinth at its baseis chokedwith a stupendousdeluge of water and ice, cascadingdown the precipitoussides. The melting ice and snowmake the canyonsboil and churn tumultu- ously and the enormousmasses of ash, catapultedout of the crater, choke the canyonsand destroy almost every vestige of plant and tree life. A few stunted treesseem to surviveon the tops of the high ridgesbetween the canyons,and the warmer conditions at the bottom during'periodsof quiescenceereate a scanty amount of shrubbery and small trees. On the sides of the gray canyon walls, except on the slopesof the northwest margin of the Laby- rinth, are found today little elsebut clumpsof a large grasswith a sword-edgeknown to the natives as "paja." This would seemto establishall but the bottom of the canyonsand a few tonguesof tree growth,extending up the sides,as ParamoZone. A third impedimentto explorersof this regionlies in the super- stitious fears of the native eargo bearers. Terrified by every manifestation of the great volcano, they abandon the explorer at sight of its white cone,appearing through a rift of the Shroud. Three times our party was desertedby differentgroups or indi- viduals, which at Tres Aguas threatened disaster. With tents leaking, ammunitionand food supplieswet and fires refusingto catch flame, our party was in dangereither of being washedout or weakenedby lack of food. A fortunate kill of deer relieved the tension until four days later a new group of Indians was brought up from Alao. It seemsstrange that birds, possessingenduring powers of flight, suchas Thrushesand Hummingbirds,would make their homesin THE AUK, VOL. LI. PLATE VI.

UPPER: MT. SANGAY FROM CULEBRILLAS VALLEY. JUNCTION OF I-IuMID TEMPERATE ZONE WITH PARAMO. LEFT CENTERr APERTUREOF CANONWHERE TEPHROPHILUS WAS COLLECTED. LOWER: CAMp SITE ON DRIER I-•UMP OF MORASS OF CULEBRILLAS VALLEY. Vol. canyonssuch as these. The nativesclaim that it rains every day of the year in the Sangayarea and our experiencesoffer no proof to the contrary. It actually rained every one of the twenty-six days of our safari. Even when we climbedthrough the Shroud, to the coneof Sangay,snow fell intermittentlyabout the peakand the Indians, who refusedto budge from the base camp at the 14,000 foot level, stated that the rains had continuedduring our two days' absence. Yet throughout this period several pairs of the Hummingbird, Melallura alrigularis Salv., continuedto build their nests in a scattered colony among the overhanging grassroots and vinesof a cliff at the bottomof oneof the canyons. We had namedit Dorado Valley from the nameemployed by them to designatethis Hummingbird,under the belief it was the same as Metall•ra Fri•n,olina Bourc.,a bird of northernEcuador with whichthey were rs.miller. They had overlookedthe black throat of this mite. On July 27, 1929,I foundwhat seemsto be the •st nestof the speciesto be discovered,at the baseof hanging"paja" grasses,not three feet abovethe torrent of Dorado Valley. It was exquisitelysituated beside a largerock in the stream. The Hum- mingbirdflew to it severaltimes, watched, making some additions to the nest which was practically completed. Eleven days later on August 7, after our return from Sangay, the nest contained two eggsnearly fresh and the female bird was collectedas she was flying to it with a bit of white vegetablematter resembling cotton. In spiteof the fact that the rainshad continued incessantly throughoutthe periodwith only one or two respitesof an hour's duration, the bird had stuck to her task, even though the nest must have been water,soakedfrom the bank above throughout the period. A nestof anotherHummingbird, Chaleostigma herranl (Delatt. & Boure.),was foundon a perpendienlarcliff about twenty feet above the water among some ferns and hanging vines that fairly dripped with water. The nest was discovered on July 19 by TetrisMoore and yet on,August 7 the femalewas observedrepeatedly carrying material to it, althoughmist and drizzle were falling and water was dripping in streamsfrom the plants about it and the outsideof the nest itself. Despite the interval of eighteendays, no eggshad been deposited,and yet this Hummingbirdhad persistedin buildingoperations throughout the depressingweather conditions. 146 Moo•r,The Mt. Sangay Labyrinth and Its Fauna. [AprilAuk

On July 15, 1929, my party consistingof my son Tetris Moore of WilliamsCollege, Waddell Austin of the Universityof California, Lewis Thorne of Yale University, and three Quiehuacollectors, with myselfas leader,found ourselvesin the publicsquare of the Indian village of Lieto. Here our genial host, Senor Alphonse Merino, on whosecourtesies and thoughtfulnessthe successof our enterprise largely depended,introduced us to our caravan of eight horsesand ten pack mules. The followingmorning our equipmentof tentsand blankets,of gunsand traps, of cameras,color plates and films, were packedon the backsof elevenIndians and off they dog-trottedup the valley of Alao. Here was a paradiseof balmy Andean sun-lightand gorgeousflowers. The latter groupedin great clumpson either side of the trail along the stream that leaped from rock to rock downthe centerof the valley. Calceolariasproffered great dusters of goldenslippers. "Taxeus"dimbed here and there throughthe thick growth and droppedoverhead their great pink trumpets. Large patchesof the orangeparasite, called locally "picapus," broughtbeauty to the tree tops and lured the Sunbeams• to inves- tigate. But the glory of the valley was the wild fuchsia. Superb scarletbells hung in every conceivableline of grace,and tempted Hummingbirdsof severalspecies to exploretheir chalices. On all this lovelinessof flower and dashingwater the tropical sun shone with a balmy intensityfound only in favoredAndean valleys. But beautyand sunlighthad to be left behindwhen we began the steep ascentof the southernrim of the valley. For a while sunlitglimpses of the haciendacould be caughtthrough the heavy tree-growththat dung to the lower walls, but shortly thereafter we reachedthe wind-sweptparamo and under the wingsof inquisi- tive Condors,began our long trek beneaththe pall of cloudand mist, whichwe cameto call, "The Shroud" of Sangay. From this time on rain fell every day for the next twenty-six with only occasionalparting of cloud masses. Sometimesit drenchedus with sudden outbursts, sometimesit swathed us in chill mist, but for the most part contenteditself with a monotonousdrip, drip, drip--day after day--that gradually sappedambition and ren-

• Aglaeactis cupripennis cupripennis (Bouxc. & Muls.), a common but beautiful ]:Iummingbird of high Andean valleys from 10,000 to 13,500 feet altitxxde. Vol.1934 LI] I MOOR•.,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth and Its Fauna. 147 deredminor choresa Herculaeantask. With the sunlightdisap- pearedall semblanceof a trail. Our first campwas pitched at the top of a high passto the accompanimentof bleak windsand the howling of many dogs. The Indians insistedon taking these gaunt and ravenouscreatures to help in huntingtapir and deer. For thirteen days we followedthe generalcourse pursued by CommanderGeorge Dyott as far as his "Windy Ridge" camp.• Becauseof desertingIndians and otherdifficulties only aboutfour registeredprogress. Throughout this period we occasionallyhap- pened on machete marks on shrub or tree, where Dyott had passed. After the thirteenthday we descendedinto deepcanyons and never came acrosshis marks again. It is impossiblewithin the limits of this article to tell the many incidentsand "near- disasters"of thesedifficult days. Kaleidoscopicviews of rather looselyrelated events are the bestI can attempt. Towards the end of one day of almost constantclimbing, we reachedthe top of a high pass. The wind howledthrough the gap on a temperatureclose to freezingand droveus downthe opposite slopefor protection. My field-notesremark: "Trails there are none,except the bed of a stream. For hourswe have stumbledand slippedover hornmocksof paja, forever stubbingour toes and droppinginto concealedgullies. We are thoroughlysoaked. Wadingthe icy streamseems preferable to the poundingthat toes and anklesare taking. The earth has assumedthe consistency of a super-chargedsponge. We have fordedmany streams." As the light darkenedand the billowingShroud saggedinto the valley, we located the remainsof CommanderDyott's second camp-sitein CulebrillasValley. We pitched our tents in the dryestspot we couldfind in the hugemorass which filled almost the entire floor of the valley, and that samenight obtainedour first view of Sangay,seventy degrees E. of S. Incrediblyhigh it stood against the southernsky, ghostly and wan in a flood of moonlight. It seemedto fill the wholeend of the valley. And yet it must have been twenty-five miles away. But distance conveyedno feeling of safety, when an earthquakethat night brought us to our feetl

• The Volcanoes of Ecuador, by G. M. Dyott, in National Geographic Magazine for January, 1929. Also see his volume! On the Trail of the Unknown. 148 MOORE,TheMr. Sanejay Labyrinth andIts Fauna. [AprilAuk

We had now reachedthe margin of the real Labyrinth. Our valley facedapproximately southeast directly towards Sangay and not far away in that directionbegan the intricate systemof can- yonsthat we later termedthe "Labyrinth." If we wanted to pro- ceedvery far into it, a route straightdown the valley would mean nothing but endlesslycrossing canyon after canyon. The valley wall on the southernside seemedto be headingin the approximate direction we wanted to go. It was decidedthat Lewis and Terris should climb the wall and follow it in order to ascertain if it con- tinued for any distanceand would afford an easieraccess to the heart of the Labyrinth. While this reconnaissancewas being made, the rest of the party was to stay in Culebrillasand securea repre- sentation of its bird-life. Comment at this point from my field notes forecasts the difficulties that were to come. "Vinci, the leader of the peons,refuses to movewith the recon- naissanceparty. He claimsrheumatism! We suspectcowardice. He even refusesto let his peonsadvance without him, exclaiming 'There are no trails! We have to cut throughwith machetes!' A threat of punishmentfrom his master,Senor Merino, bringshim to terms. His sullenlook as he leavesindicates no desireto cooperate." As we watched the boys lightly plungeup to their waistsinto the main river, the rest of us gave attention to the explorationof the valley. The floor of it was fairly flat, exceptat the southeast end whereit was brokenup by the black front of an old lava flow, which probablyhad its origin in Sangay. The altitude was ap- proximately 11,000 feet, whereasthe mountainswhich framed in the valley roseto an elevationof approximately13,000 to 14,000. The entire floor consistedof a vast water-soakedswamp of "paja," through which wound numeroussmall streamsthat emptied into the Rio Culebrillas. A fairly heavy tree-growthcovered the lower slopesof the mountain walls but their low height and gnarled condition reflected the high altitude and severe climate. Small water-falls droppedhere and there down the slopesthrough the tree-growthand attracted a few insects,which in turn lured the five speciesof Hummingbirdsthat were found in the valley. The most conspicuouswas the largeHummer, Pterophanes cyanopterus (Fraser), its ultramarinewings flashing back and forth againstthe sunlit spray. It createda lastingmemory of colorand gracein motion. The bird hurls throughthe air at great velocity for so largea Hummingbirdand recallsthe motionof its cousin,the Swift. The Sunbeam,Aglaeaet•s c. c•uFr/pennis(Bourc. & Muls.), the green-frontletedHelianthea lutetiae and Lafre•ayea l. gayi (Bourc. & Muls.) with its black velvet abdomenand long curvedbill were scarcerdenizens of the woodlandgrowth. No doubt they fed from the clusteredcorollas of the parasiticorange "picapus," which in placesfeatconed the moss-coveredtrees. Of Metallura atrigularisSalv., another frequenterof the paja-drapedstream bedsand hithertoknown only from the Sigsigregion to the south, I have alreadyspoken. Individualsof the first and last of these specieswere very common. This seemsstrange in view of the bleak nature of the valley and the scarcity of both flowersand insects. All told eight differentspecies of Hummingbirdswere foundin theSangay area, which might be described asa wilderness of volcanicash, relieved only here and there by scattered,stunted treesand practicallybarren of flowers. But the most conspicuousbird of the valley, becauseof its abundanceand size, was the Snipe,Capella nobills Scl. At every movementthrough the central marshes,it hurtled into the air and providedan abundantfood supply. At sundownecstatic forms whirled overheadto the accompanimentof strangesotrods that reminded one of a deep-pitchedpoliceman's rattle. The old Quichua,Carlos Olalla, insistedthat these representeda larger form of Snipe, which he sometimestermed "Sumbadornegro." Subsequentlyspecimens were secured of the largegray Snipe, Capellajamesoni (Bonap.). The night calls may have repre- sentedthis species.High up on the pararnoof the mountainsabove CulebrillasValley, a specimenwas taken of the Tinamou, Notho- proetaeurvirostris Scl.& Salv. A nestwith eggsof this short-tailed bird was found on Mt. Pichincha in northcentral Ecuador. A Rail was collectedby the author which provedto be a race of our own Rallus limicola, namely, aequator/a//sSharpe. The lower tail- covertsare' largely white, as was notedby Dr. Chapmanin speci- mensfrom the La Carolina marshesnear Quito. Two Ducks were foundin the streams,Nettion andium (Scl. and salv.) and Merga- netta colombianaDes Mars, but neither was conspicuouslycom- mon. TheseDucks were remarkablyshy, a characteristictrue of 150 Moo•r,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth and Its Fauna. [AprilAuk all of the birdsof the Sangayarea. I attribute this to the fact that suchbirds as confinethemselves to this regionrarely or never see human beings,even Indians. The most persistentsound from the marsheswas the loud, low-pitchedcall of the long-leggedGrailaria monticola,Lafr. This bird dashedabout in the runways between the tall clumpsof paja and was very diftleult to flush. On one occasionI had the opportunityof observingit callingwhen only a few feet from me. It raised its entire body as well as head and stretchedits stilt-like legs to the full limit. When the call was completed,the bird collapsedlike a jack-in-the-box. A smaller Ant-Thrush,Oropezus rufula rufula (Lafr.), of distinctcinnamon east,was either muchscarcer or else more diftleult to flush. Fly- catchersof two or three specieshaunted the scatteredbushes on the dry moundsof the swamp and two large membersof the Thrushes,Turdus fuscater gigantodes Cab. and T. chiguancoconradi Sal. & Fes., confinedthemselves to the marginsof the tree-growth on the sides of the valley. Down at the southeasternend the Rio Culebrillascrossed over to the north sidealong the front of the lava flow and cut its way downtowards the first deepcanyon of the Labyrinth quickly reachingthe Humid TemperateZone. Here tree-growthwas heavier and in it wasfound the firstTanager --a large and extremelybeautiful bird in green,yellow, blue and black. It proved to be a new race of Buthraupiseximia. Two other Tanagers were obtained in the Sangay area, one, a new species,which will be mentionedlater; the other, Dubusiataeniata (Boiss.),was met with only twice. It is rather interestingthat all three of them are includedin Sclater'sdivision of the Thraupidae, which he calls "Tanagrinaefortirostres." Two large birds were observedin the valley, onebeing collected later on the mountains, namely,Ibycter carunculatus (Des Murs); the other a handsome red-backedButeo, either polysoma or poecilochrous,was seen several times. Two individuals of the latter were observed on a dead tree by the Rio Culebrillasa few hundredyards from our tent. One bird was tearingto piecesa freshlykilled rabbit and the other, presumablyan immature,was getting most of it. The nativescall this bird "Aigula" the equivalentof Eagle. A month and a half later I collecteda male and female,presumably B. poecilochrous,•

• See Ohapn•n (Dist. Bird Life in Ecuador, pp. 227, 229, on difficulty of differ- entiating this from B. polyosoma. Vol1934 J MOORE,The Mr. San•ay Labyrinth and Its Fauna. 151 on the northern cliffs of Mr. Chimborazo at an elevation of about 17,000 feet. They were building a nest on a precipitouscliff. The provedmating is interestingas the femaleis in the dark phase. Of all the birdsof the valley, the speciesthat interestedme most consistedof four belongingto the Furnariidae--Leptasthenura andicolaScl., Asthenesflammula•a flammulata (Jard.), Schigoeaca fuliginosa(Lafr.), and Margarornisperlata (Less.). Thesebirds fed amongthe drier parts of the morassand, when flushed,flew furtively to the smallbushes that dotted the humpsof the valley floor. The last with its brick-coloredback and large guttate yellow spots, thickly arrangedon the olive backgroundof its breast,is an extraordinarilystriking bird. Even in the dim light of the Shroud,that wasalways over our heads,these yellow spots like great tear-dropsstood out sharplyand lent the only touchof brightnessand cheeramong the dismallycolored birds of the marsh. On the otherhand Schizoeacais typical of the duller coloredbirds, all brown and gray, but its narrow tail featherswith their incom- plete barbules somehowrecall certain very delicate ferns. The most interestingfact regardingthe presenceof thesefour species is that Margarornisperlata has been assigned to the Humid Tem- perate Zone and the other speciesto the Paramo Zone by Dr. Chapmanin hisexcellent work on the 'Distributionof BirdLife in Ecuador.' With exceptionof oneof the paramospecies,--Leptas- thenuraandicola andicola Scl.,--they wereall commonin the same large swampwith the Snipe,Capella nobilis, which, according to Dr. Chapmanis chiefly a TemperateZone bird "rangingup- ward to the Paramo." The grass-coveredfloor of the valley certainly has the general appearanceof the paramo, but the tree-growthon the bordersat the base of the mountain walls formsa continuousconnection with the heaviertree-growth of the canyon at the southeastend of the valley and has undoubtedly inducedthe speciesof the Humid TemperateZone to follow the scatteredshrubs out on to the floor of the valley. With all hands collectingand Carloscontinuing to operateduring our absencein the deepermazes of the Labyrinth, we secured223 specimensin CulebrillasValley, includingsome species not mentionedabove, which I feel is quite representativeof the bird life there for the summer months. 152 MooRr,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth andIts Fauna. [AprilAuk

On the third day Terrisand Lewisreturned with a luringaccount of a volcanothat stood stark and gaunt on the skeletonieribs of theLabyrinth, and of a lofty watershed,bisecting it, whichproffered an opportunityto elirobover its canyons. On the followingday, leaving all heavy equipmentwith Carlosat Culebrillas,the main party crossedMr. Doradoto the southat an approximateelevation of 14,000 feet, laboriouslycutting a way through the gnarled tree-growthwith machetes,and plungeddown into the wilderness on the other side of the range. My notesremark: "We followed the stream through its boggy home. The paja butted our toes. The torrent filled our bootsat unexpectederossings. We slipped in countless mud holes. Late in the afternoon we reached the junction of three rivers, completely'bogged' as the boysexpressed it." A mile from our campingplace we passedby the water-soaked cliff where Tetris on the reconnaissance had discovered the nest of the fiery-throatedHummingbird, Chalcostigraa herrani (Delat. & Boure.). The mossybottom of the nest in a nicheof the cliff was soakedlike a spongeand continuouslydripped water down the rocks. Nevertheless,the interior was dry. The perseveranceof thesebirds was almost beyondhuman comprehension.That this leatheredelectron, splashed with the gloriousfire of the tropics, should choosea barren water-soakedwilderness as an abode, left the mentality of luxury-cravinghumans in completecoma. Inci- dentally, this nest provedthat one speciesof Hummingbirdcan tolerateanother, for it wasplaced in the samecliff with the several nestsof Metalluraatrigularis mentioned previously. At the foot of the cliff a pair of the curiousSpine-tailed Duck, Merganettacolorabi- ana DesMurs, wereholding their positionagainst the fiercetorrent. On the right hand sideof the narrow valley a fifty foot waterfall spectacularlydropped over a cliff besidean enormousbunch of paja grasswhich swungits streamersin the clear fifteen feet in length. Besideit, two femaleMetalluras were building their nests as werealso Swallows, Orochelidon raurina (Cass.), and a bird known locallyas the "Chungui grande," Upucerthia excelsior excelsior (Sel.). The Indians named the junction of the rivers which they had never seen, "Tres Aguas" and the main river "El Negro." My notesexclaim: "We are facingthe Negro! In its angrywaters lurks disaster. The peonsrefuse to build an adequate'ehozo.' They THE AUK, VOL. LI. PLATE VII.

;

UPPER: LABYRINTH LOOKING NORTH FROM EDGE OF CLIFF AT CARNECERIA. CULE- BRILLAS VALLEY LIES AMONG MOUNTAINS IN LEFT BACKGROUND. LOWER: CAMP SIrE AT ACTUAL BASE OF MT. S•NGA¾o HUMMINGBIRD (CHAL- COSTIGMASTANLE¾I) WAS I•ESTING IN ARROYAPOCKET AT I•IGHT. Vol. LII huddledall night and arosewet and disgruntled.The 'waterproof' coversof our sleepingbags leak like sieves. Films and cartridges are wet. The drenched wood cannot be coaxed into flame. We eat cold meals. We are in a cul-de-sac between mountain walls and can see nothing but fog and mist. Even the two faithful (•uichuasare discouraged.When I gaveorders to crossthe river, the peonsrevolted. They claimedI wastrying to drownthem, and added that, if a crossingcould be accomplished,the daily rains wouldswell the riverto frightfulproportions and prevent a return." Nine of them fled over the mountain,taking with them our only meat--portionsof a deer. A few dayslater with a freshgroup of peons,a crossingwas negotiatedand we climbedto the tops of the mountainridges again. At one point we were startledby the suddenappearance of a tiny Hummingbird, darting amidst the fantastic stunted growth that had collectedin a gap of the knife-edge. When I pickedit up, I discoveredit was a femaleof the extraordinarily beautifulpurple-breasted and golden-headedI•harnl•hornieron rni- crorh!tnchitrn•n•crorh•nebi,•n (Boiss.). Following a knife-like watershed,which gave uncertain.footing on its jaggededges, we came to a jutting escarpment,which we calledDesolation View. One set of notesremarks: "No one can exaggeratethe ghastly panoramathat fills the enormousbasin below us. It is the Grand Canyonall overagain, but this time donein blacksand livid grays and rifledwith a spectralatmosphere under the impendingShroud." We followedthe watershedwherever it twistedand turned through the Labyrinth. Late oneafternoon it widenedinto a plateau,ap- proximately13,000 feet in altitudeand coveredwith endlesspaja and a few stuntedtrees. We campedon the edgeof a cliff, nearly 2,000 feet in altitude, which gave awe-inspiringviews of the Labyrinth below. From this time on, becauseof the diminishing numberof Indians,double trips had to be takento previouscamp- ing placesto bring up supplies. Characteristicallydisregarding his nowbadly infected feet, Tenis performedmost of this double duty. Our faithful Quichua,Teodomiro, was in still worseshape from constan.tly walkingon the gritty ash. Reluctantlywe were forcedto leavehim behindat thiscamp, which we called Carneeeria. The killingof a tapir anda deerby the leaderprovided Teodomiro 154 Moor, TheMr. Sa•gay Labyrinth andIts Fauna. [AprilAuk with plenty of food, as well as a supplyfor our arduoustrip in the Labyrinth to come. The tapir provedto be the rare high mountain form, Tapirusroulini. Subsequentlyby the offeringof an enor- mous reward, two fresh Indians were inducedto carry out the heavy skin and skull of this beast. That night the Fire-throat (Chaleostigmaherrani) visited us again. Like a visitor from someother world, it volplanedout of the ether and droppedonto the only flowersof the paramo--a few yellow clusterson a strange,gnarled, pear4ike tree, which hung dizzily over the cliff. For one dazzlingmoment it hoveredbefore me--took one sip of chillednectar--and was gone! But that one moment of whirling tracery and iridescentfire had impacted on brain and soul a memory that would ever be challengeto feeble limbs to follow and weak brain to explain. A most efficientreconnaissance by Lewis causedus to take the plungeinto the canyons. Scannedin the calm of my home, my notes seem rather "purple" and pessimistic. At any rate they were immediately recordedand sincereimpressions of a trying situation. They read: "The rains have turned the ashinto a jelly- like paste. There is no trail! With heavy loads,neither ourselves nor the peonscan proceeduntil stepsare laboriouslyhacked into a slipperyseries of steps. It is all a phantasmagoria--icystreams-- raging torrents--moss-coveredblocks of lava, that proffer treach- erousfootholds--steep slopes and cliffsalways facing us on opposite sidesof streams--drippingclumps of paja massedto block ascents and laceratehands that grasp--endlessparamos on top of thissponge- likeworld--gnarledtrees that blockprogress along knife-edges-- at- tempts to crawl throughinterstices with sure knowledgethat one slipwill meana plungeinto the canyonson eitherside--and always streamafter stream,torrent after torrent, and fords so numerousthat definitememory will surelyfail. At lengthwe reachthe Volean?' Here in the very depthsof the Labyrinth was a narrow valley, which ascended one of the affluents of the main river of the Vol- can. Before us loomed a dark narrow cleft in the mountains which gave accesstowards the great volcano.! Beyondwas an

• On August 4, 1929, our party of three Americans, after two days on tJae ice- field hacked toe-holds on the steep slopes with ice axes and, with the aid of ropes, reached the ice-draped rim of the inner crater, completing the first successful ascent of this gi•mt volcano. Plans for a new expedition to explore the Labyrinth are completed. Vol.10s4 LI] J Moo•.•,The Mr. Sangay Lab•ffinth andIts Fauna. 155

amphitheatreof cliffsover which dropped numerous veil-like water- falls. Somethick shrubs,not over fifteenfeet high, and a quarter of a mile in extent, had clumpedthemselves in the bottom of the valley along the stream, having somehowdeveloped in the ashes sincethe last great eruption. As I pushedmy way throughthe ßdripping branches, I caughtsight of a glitteringcreature of gold, greenand black, obviouslya tanager,considerably larger than our ScarletTanager, and adornedwith black wingsand tail, its two azurewing patchesand its goldenbreast showing brightly through the drizzle. Shy like all the birds of the Labyrinth, it flitted furtively throughthe tops of the shrubs. A quick shot resultedin its fall and floating feathersin the air. But so densewere the grassesand so intertangledthe vinesthat searchas we did for over a half hour, no further sign of the bird could be found. Subse- quently,on our return to CulebrillasValley, threespecimens were obtainedof this beautifulnew species,• a male and two females. They weresecured in the thickergrowth of treesat the southeast end of the valley wherethe Rio Culebrillasplunges down toward the canyonsof the Labyrinth. The growthhere can be describedas a tongueof the upperHumid Temperatereaching up towardsthe PararnoZone of the main floor of the valley. But the bottom of the canyonwhere I securedthe first specimenmentioned, although probablylower in altitude, gave no evidenceof the Sub-tropical Zone,and wasdistinctly Humid Temperate. Probablythis Tana- ger will be found more abundant in the densergrowth of this Temperate Zone where the main canyon starts down towards the great basinof the Amazon,but I feel certain that its habitat doesnot extend very low. Were it commonin the Humid Sub- tropical Zone, it surely would have been obtainedbefore by the many expert collectorsand ornithologistswho have taken exten- sive seriesof many speciesfrom this zoneat pointsnot far to the south, northeastand west of the Sangay area. It seemsalmost certainthat this Tanager,so totally distinctfrom all otherspecies of the family, must be confinedchiefly to the bottoms of the intricate canyon systemof Sangay. The speculationthat it is strictly a Humid Temperatespecies will suggestthe causefor its isolation, for the extensivetreeless area of the Pararno Zone on the • Tephrophilus wetmore/Moore, see Auk, Jan., 1934, p. 1. 156 MooR•,The Mr. Sangay Labyrinth andIts Fauna. [April[Auk high mountainsto the north and west would create an effective barrier in these directions. The vast ice-field of Sangay blocks escapeto the southand an exit from the Labyrinth can be accom- plishedonly throughthe Sub-tropicalZone, down the main canyon as it plungeseastward into the Amazonbasin. Other specieswere found in this area and exoticforms of Tro- chilidae, such as the snow-defyingChaleostigma stanleyi stanleyi (Bourc.),--the last attempting to build in a small barfanta, not 500 feet below the ice-fieldsof Sangay, but even these doughty mites of the leatheredworld could not eclipsethe astonishment, createdby the presenceof the exquisiteTanager, which for ages had defiedthe terrific eruptionsof Sangay. In spite of decimated numbersthe refugeeshave returned,when the fury of the great giant has ceased,and oncemore have made their abode in their chosenhaunt at the bottom of bleak and inhospitablecanyons. CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, Pasadena,Calif.