HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST OF YUCATAN AND OF THE ITZAS

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league, the path goes following its banks and the bed of the said
river. It is to be understood that in the rainy season it is full of
water. There is good hunting in the woods, especially peacocks and
pheasants. The most common animal in these woods is a leopard or false
lion, with a red skin and with spots of various colors. The natives
call it _Chacekel_. Among the birds are some which are very different
from those of the Province. I heard a little bird warble, which I knew
at once was a linnet like those of Spain; it imitated it much in its
song as in its size, though not in its plumage. There is another bird
with a body of a hen of Castile, called _Pan_. Its beak is very long
and thick; up to the middle it is yellow and the other half green; its
feathers correspond, being very yellow from below the beak to its
belly. The rest of the body is black, except under the tail, which has
a red plumage; the legs are green and in spite of so much beauty, it
utters only shrieks...."