the inhabitants are at times compelled to withdraw, with
all their live-stock, before the swarms of large migratory vampires
which in a single night can bleed the strongest animal to death. Most
of the domestic animals--the horse, ox, goat, sheep, pig, dog, rabbit,
common fowl, peacock and pigeon--are of European origin, and are
popularly grouped together as _animales de Castilla._ For the bird
collector there is a rich harvest. The catalogue of the National
Museum at Washington shows that Costa Rica alone possesses more than
twice as many species of birds as the whole of Europe. Among birds of
prey it is sufficient to mention _Corogyps atratus,_ the commonest of
the vultures, which acts as a universal scavenger, the _Cathartes
aura,_ the beautiful _Polyborus vulgaris,_ and the king of the
vultures (_Sarcorhamphus papa_). Neither the condor of the southern
continent nor the great eagles of the northern are known. The parrot,
macaw and toucan are found in all parts; the crow, blackbird, Mexican
jay, ricebird, swallow, rainbird, wood-pecker, humming-bird and trogon
are also widely distributed. A bird of the last-named genus, the
quetzal, quijal or quesal (_Trogon resplendens_) is of special note,
not only from the fact that its yellow tail-feathers. 2 or 3 ft. long,
were formerly worn as insignia by the Indian princes, but because it
has been adopted as the emblematical figure on the national arms of
Guatemala. The gallinaceous order is well represented, and comprises
several peculiar species, as the pavo de cacho, and the Peten turkey
(_Meleagris ocellata_), which has a bronze sheen on its plumage; and
aquatic birds, it is almost needless to add, are unusually numerous in
a region so richly furnished with lagoons, rivers and lakes.

Besides the alligator, which swarms in many rivers, the almost endless
varieties of Central American reptiles include the harmless boba or
chicken-snake, python and black snake; the venomous corali, taboba,
culebra de sangre and rattlesnake; iguanas of great size, scorpions,
edible lizards and other lizards said to be poisonous. In the rivers
and lakes, as in both seas, fish of many kinds abound; turtles and
tortoises are exported; and there are valuable pearl and oyster
fisheries. Insect life is even richer and more varied. Of the
_Coleoptera_, the Camelicorns, the Longicorns, the Curculionids, and
the Chrysomelines are sa