Flora & fauna: flowers | birds | trees | vegetable gardens

Gardens

Melting snows from nearby mountains created torrents of water and a lake that covered all of the nearby valleys. Subsequent erosion created the rich, black lakebed soil of Cusin's present gardens. That rich soil, cool nights of 8,500', and a predictable equatorial sun have conspired with avid gardeners to create several acres of ever-blooming gardens.

Flowers and bushes - (over 60 species)

Belladonna, bougainvillea, agapantha, acanthas, foxgloves, malva, hollyhocks, roses, california poppy, poppy, cosmos, daisies - Aztec lily, cala lilly, kangeroo paws, orchids, hydrangea, gunnera, lantana, fuscia, ferns, lycheness, heliotrope, buddleia , pyrocanthus, a variety of vines including jasmine & thumburgia, many succulents, etc.

Trees (about 1,000)

cholan , avocado, banana, palm, eucalyptus, datura, magnolia, cedro , walnut, laurel , jacaranda, Brazilian pepper, broom, arayan, grapefruit, lemon, tomate de arbol , babaco, etc.

Vegetable gardens - including spices and fruit trees, for Cusin's menus.

Animals

Usually to be found in the stables : 8 horses, llamas, pigs, guinea-pigs, rabbits, guinea-hens, turkeys, chickens, dogs, cows, geese, etc.

Birds - a partial listing

First compiled by Peter Joost and the Brooklyn Bird Club, March, 1990, and later edited by Pablo Davila of Wilderness Travel in August, 1993, and Molly Milne, 1996.

Please inform Reception of any new sightings.

#	Common Name	Spanish Name	Scientific Name
1	American Kestrel	Cernícalo Americano / Quilico	Falco sparverius
2	Andean Siskin	Jilguero Andino	Carduelis spinescens
3	Band-Tailed Seedeater	Semillero Colifajeado	Catamenia analis
4	Band-Tailed Pigeon	Paloma Collareja / Torcaza	Columba fasciata
5	Barnowl	Lechuza Campanario	Tyto alba
6	Black-and-White Seedeater	Espiguero negriblanco	Sporophila luctuosa
7	Black-Crested Warbler	Reinita Crestinegra	Basileuterus nigrocristatus
8	Black-Tailed Trainbearer (Hummingbird)	Colancintillo Colinegro	Lesbia victoriae
9	Black Flowerpiercer	Pinchaflor Negro	Diglossa humeralis
10	Black Vulture	Buitre Negro	Coragyps atratus
11	Black-Backed Grosbeak	Picogrueso Dorsinegro	Pheuticus anreoventris
12	Blackburnian Warbler	Reinita Pechinaranja	Dendroica fusca
13	Blue-and-Black Tanager	Tangara Azulinegra	Tangara vassorii
14	Blue-and-White Swallow	Golondrina Azuliblanca	Notiochelidon cyanoleuca
15	Blue-and-Yellow Tanager	Tangara Azuliamarilla	Thraupis bonariensis
16	Blue-Hooded Euphonia	Eufonia Lomidorada	Euphonioa musica
17	Brown-Bellied Swallow	Golondrina Ventricafé	Notiochelidon murina
18	Cattle Egret	Garceta Bueyera	Bubulcus ibis
19	Cinareous Conebill	Picocono Cinéreo	Conirostrum cinereum
20	Cochabamba Mountain Finch
21	Common Ground Dove	Tortolita Común	Columbina passerina
22	Coscoroba Swan & Cygnets		Coscoroba coscoroba
23	Eared Dove	Tórtola Orejuda	Zenaida auriculata
24	Giant Hummingbird	Colibrí Gigante	Patagona gigas
25	Great Sapphire-Wing Hummingbird
26	Great Thrush	Mirlo	Turdus fuscater
27	Great Violet-Eared Hummingbird
28	Greater Peewee	Pibí Ahumado	Contopus fumigatus
29	Hooded Siskin	Jilguero Encapuchado	Spinus magellanicus (Carduelis magallanica)
30	House Wren	Soterrey Criollo	Troglodytes aedon
31	Lesser Goldfinch	Jilguero Menor	Cardnelis psaltria
32	Masked Flowerpiercer	Pinchaflor Enmascarado	Diglossopis cyanea
33	Merlin-Falco	Esmerejón	(Falco) Columbarius
34	Plain-Colored Seedeater	Semillero Sencillo	Catamenia inornata
35	Plumbeous Sierra Finch	Frigilo Plomizo	(Phrygilus unicolor)
36	Rock Dove	Paloma Doméstica	Columba livia
37	Rufous-Collared Sparrow	Chingolo (Gorrión)	Zonotrichia capensis
38	Russet-Crowned Warbler	Reinita Coronirrojiza	Basileuterus coronatus
39	Shining Sunbeam	Rayito Brillante	Aglaeactis cupripennis
40	Southern Yellow Grosbeak	Picogrueso Amarillo Sureño	Pheucticus chrysogaster
41	Sparkling Violet-Ear	Orejivioleta Ventriazul	Colibri coruscans
42	Streak-Throated Bush Tyrant	Alinaranja Golilistada	Myiotheretes striaticollis
43	Summer Tanager	Piranga Roja	Piranga rubra
44	Tufted Tit-Tyrant	Cachudito Torito	Anairestes parulus
45	Variable (Puna) Hawk	Gavilán Variable	Buteo poecilochrous (Buteo polyosoma)
46	Vermillion Flycatcher	Mosquero Bermerllón / Pájaro Brujo	Pyrocephalus rubinus
47	White-Bellied Woodstar	Estrellita Ventriblanca	Ancestrura mulsant (Chaetocercus mulsant)
48	*Yellow Grosbeak	Picogrueso Amarillo Sureño	Pheucticus chrysopeplus