The Naturalist in Nicaragua: A Narrative of a Residence at the Gold Mines of Chontales; Journeys in the Savannahs and Forests. With Observations on Animals and Plants in Reference to the Theory of Evolution of Living FormsJohn Murray, 1874 - 403 pages |
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Page v
... turned my face homewards again , and for weeks be speed- ing across the frozen Siberian steppes , wrapped in furs , listening to the sleigh bells , and wondering how my book has sped . It is full of theories - I trust not unsupported by ...
... turned my face homewards again , and for weeks be speed- ing across the frozen Siberian steppes , wrapped in furs , listening to the sleigh bells , and wondering how my book has sped . It is full of theories - I trust not unsupported by ...
Page 6
... turning their long , highly - coloured beaks from side to side with an old - fashioned look , and beautiful tanagers ( Ramphocelus passerinii ) frequent the out - kirts of the forest , all velvety black , excepting a large patch of ...
... turning their long , highly - coloured beaks from side to side with an old - fashioned look , and beautiful tanagers ( Ramphocelus passerinii ) frequent the out - kirts of the forest , all velvety black , excepting a large patch of ...
Page 9
... turned again , he was just disappearing into the water . It is the habit of these animals to lie quite still , and catch animals that come near them . Whether or not he was waiting until I came within the swoop of his mighty tail I know ...
... turned again , he was just disappearing into the water . It is the habit of these animals to lie quite still , and catch animals that come near them . Whether or not he was waiting until I came within the swoop of his mighty tail I know ...
Page 23
... turned to the only entrance , are in the best possible position to pick off the solitary parties when they first approach , and thus prevent them from carrying to the main army intelligence about the nest . Some of these birds , and ...
... turned to the only entrance , are in the best possible position to pick off the solitary parties when they first approach , and thus prevent them from carrying to the main army intelligence about the nest . Some of these birds , and ...
Page 58
... turning round first one eye , ther other , it disappears like a flash of light . Unlike the plains and savannahs we crossed yester where the ground was parched up in the dry season , Atlantic forest , bathed in the rains distilled from ...
... turning round first one eye , ther other , it disappears like a flash of light . Unlike the plains and savannahs we crossed yester where the ground was parched up in the dry season , Atlantic forest , bathed in the rains distilled from ...
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Common terms and phrases
amongst ancient animals ants Atlantic attacks beautiful beetles birds branches brook brown brushwood bushes butterflies carried cattle Central America Chontales clear colour couvade covered crossed dark descended dogs Ecitons epiphytes feet flowers forest fruit glacial glands grass green Greytown ground hills humming-birds Indians inhabitants insects Jinotega journey Juigalpa lake land larvæ leaf leaf-cutting ants leaves Libertad lodes longicorn look maize Marcgravia Matagalpa Mestizos miles mines mountain mules Nahuatls natives nearly nests never Nicaragua night numerous o'clock Ocotal passed Peña Blanca plains plants prey probably quartz rain range reached Rio Frio river road rock rocky San Ubaldo Santo Domingo savannahs seen shrubs side slope soon Spaniards species spiders steep sting stones tion told town trachyte travelling trees trogons tropical America valley variety veins Velasquez wasp whilst wings yellow young
Popular passages
Page 108 - I-have seen the female sitting quietly on a hranch, and two males displaying their charms in front of her. One would shoot up like a rocket, then suddenly expanding the snow-white tail like an inverted parachute, slowly descend in front of her, turning round gradually to show off both back and front. The...
Page 59 - To quote the words of Mr. Belt: "Unknown are the autumn tints, the bright browns and yellows of English woods ; much less the crimsons, purples, and yellows of Canada, where the dying foliage rivals, nay excels, the expiring dolphin in splendour. Unknown the cold sleep of winter ; unknown the lovely awakening of vegetation at the first gentle touch of spring. A ceaseless round of ever-active life weaves the fairest scenery of the tropics into one monotonous whole, of which the component parts exhibit...
Page 77 - Between the old burrows and the new one was a steep slope. Instead of descending this with their burdens, they cast them down on the top of the slope, whence they rolled down to the bottom, where another relay of labourers picked them up and carried them to the new burrow. It was amusing to watch the ants hurrying out with bundles of food, dropping them over the slope, and rushing
Page 83 - ... were continually passing and repassing. Every time they came along a number of ants were crushed to death. They persevered in crossing for some time, but at last set to work and tunnelled underneath each rail. One day, when the...
Page 29 - ... in necessity — and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich ; for what can make a man so rich as to lead a serene and cheerful life free from anxieties, neither apprehending want himself...
Page 345 - Jonnes took place in the Souffriere. According to him, with a terrific earthquake, clouds of ashes were driven into the air, with violent detonations from a mountain situated at the eastern end of the island. When the eruption had ceased, it was fouud that the whole mountain had disappeared.
Page 108 - ... back and front.... The expanded white tail covered more space than all the rest of the bird, and was evidently the grand feature in the performance. Whilst one male was descending, the other would shoot up and come slowly down expanded.
Page 219 - The leaf-catting ants attacked the young plants and defoliated them ; but I have never seen any of the trees out on the savannahs that are guarded by the Pseudomyrma touched by them, and have no doubt the acacia is protected from them by its little warriors. The thorns, when they are first developed, are soft, and filled with a sweetish, pulpy substance; so that the ant, when it makes an entrance into them, finds its new house full of food. It hollows this out, leaving only the hardened shell of...
Page 25 - They make their temporary habitations in hollow trees, and sometimes underneath large fallen trunks that offer suitable hollows. A nest that I came across in the latter situation was open at one side. The ants were clustered together in a dense mass, like a great swarm of bees, hanging from the roof, but reaching to the ground below. Their innumerable long legs looked like brown threads binding together the mass, which must have been at least a cubic yard in bulk, and contained hundreds of thousands...
Page 77 - ... picked them up and carried them to the new burrow. It was amusing to watch the ants hurrying out with bundles of food, dropping them over the slope, and rushing back immediately for more. They also brought out great numbers of dead ants that the fumes of the carbolic acid had killed. A few days afterwards, when I visited the locality again, I found both the old burrows and the new one entirely deserted, and I thought they had died off; but subsequent events convinced me that the survivors had...