ST. AUGUSTIN TO BAHAMA ISLANDS 291 



gently searched out by fishermen, but there is no 

 trouble involved, because these birds are so stupid that 

 they let themselves be handled on the nest and robbed 

 of their eggs. They lay throughout the year, except 

 in the month of May, only one tgg, and as often as 

 this is removed they lay another. The Noddys 

 (Sterna stolida L.) commonly keep them company. 

 The splendid Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber L.) 

 promenade in series, with measured steps, on the sandy 

 shores of Abaco and other little frequented islands. 

 They are said to be good to eat, but the Spanish are 

 superstitious about eating them, and for the reveren- 

 tial reason that the flying flamingo, with its long out- 

 stretched neck and feet and its two wings, presents the 

 form of a crucifix floating in the air. The often men- 

 tioned fact that the flamingo takes its food from be- 

 hind, bending and twisting its neck, is without sub- 

 stantiation. 



In the woods on Providence there are two kinds of 

 wild pigeons (Columba montana and leucocephala L.) 

 but they are continually being snared. Their favorite 

 food is a small, rather bitter fruit called the ' Pidgeon- 

 plumb.' Besides these I saw the Fringilla montana 

 and Ardea violacea L. The American mocking-bird, 

 and another sort of thrushes, green parrots and hum- 

 ming-birds, were met with also, but in general there 

 are few land-birds on these islands. 



Food-supplies are to be had with less difficulty and 

 in greater quantity from the different classes of 

 amphibia, fishes, insects, and reptiles. It seems that 

 the inhabitants of these islands have left no living 

 thing in peace. The turtles, which in general must 

 take the place of fresh meats, I have already described. 



