ST. PIERRE 141 



are by no means numerous, and the only ones 

 seen were a few starlings,* grass-finches, t and 

 flycatchers. J 



At one time most of the islands of the West 

 Indies were inhabited by peculiar forms of 

 parrots, while several parroquets inhabited the 

 larger islands. Many of these are now extinct^ 

 including the macaws, of Jamaica, and at the 

 present time the parrots of St. Vincent, St. Lucia, 

 Dominica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Bahamas 

 are the only living representatives of this group. 

 No parrot or parroquet is now to be found on 

 Martinique, and this is scarcely surprising, as there 

 are no forests existing there of sufficient size to 

 offer a home for these birds. 



The Governor of Martinique having kindly 

 granted us permission to land at St. Pierre, we 

 steamed round to that place on 7th February. 

 The whole town has been completely destroyed, 

 and that part which was situated at the foot of 

 Mont Pelee is buried under the ashes and debris 

 from the volcano. 



The anchorage has not been disturbed in any 

 way, so that we steamed up close to the shore 

 and dropped anchor in the once prosperous har- 

 bour. Lowering a boat we landed, and started 

 off for a walk, or rather a scramble, through the 

 ruins of the town. The largest wall standing was 



* Quiscalas inflexirostris. | Euethia bicolor. 



t Elainea martinica. 



