Árdís - 01.01.1956, Page 20

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ÁRDÍ S
means of binoculars one can make some valuable observations of
nature. Most of the 320 species of birds recorded in Trinidad can
be found here. Where the road to the Estate reaches the main road
about three miles away, at an elevation of 1,800 feet, there is a
wonderful view—to the south one can see Piarco Airport, 12 miles
away, and to the north, over a great expanse of rolling wooded hills,
to the sea.
The verandah is furnished with easy chairs and hammocks.
On a handsome antique table, stood a decanter of rum, the national
drink, and a bottle of Angostura Bitters. Our hostess informed us
that if we preferred lime with our cool drink, we could go to the
back of the house and shake one down. She herself neither drinks
nor smokes and has only donned slacks once, and that occasion was
when she accompanied scientists down into the gorge. Her friends
were doubly rewarded as they saw the rare old bird and were con-
fronted with a boa-constrictor, a snake that crushes its prey by
winding around it.
The most glorious sight that meets the eye as one views the
countryside is the flowering Immortelle tree. Its orange-vermillion
cluster-like flowers, and the tropical green forest and blue sky as
a background, is a sight one can never forget.
When the Immortelles are in flower there are no leaves on the
trees. It is found in private gardens as an ornamental tree, but its
main usefulness is shade for the cocoa and coffee plantations and
is known as “Mamma of the cacao and coffee trees”.
The yellow-tailed corn bird often chooses this tree in which to
build its nest. These birds nest in colonies of hanging nests, some-
times several feet long, made of grass and suspended from the
extremities of twigs of the Immortelle.
About half a mile below the Estate House is a very narrow
gorge which looks somewhat like a cave. Here reside about a dozen
pairs of little known oil birds, Guacharo or Diablotis, which is prob-
ably the only nocturnal bird in the world that does not feast on
flesh. A handsome bird, chestnut colored and about the size of a
crow, it is hardly related to any other bird, but is classified between
the owls and nightjars, but is related to neither. Palm seeds are his
diet and that possibly is the explanation of his extreme oiliness
since oil is a product of the palm. Indians used to kill the birds
solely for their grease.