A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 665 



parrat is a finne bird, and yellow upon the head and necke* — she 

 desyres my Lady to accept it in as good part as she in all love and 

 duty doth tender the same." 



Although it is not definitely stated that these were native Ber- 

 muda birds, the manner in which they are described would rather 

 imply that they were so regarded. It is, indeed, quite possible that 

 some species of parroquet did breed there at that time. An aged 

 citizen told me that he once saw a pair of green birds fly out from a 

 hole in a South shore cliff, where they seemed to have a nest. 

 According to his account they looked much like parrots. Of course, 

 it is also possible that parrots escaped from cages or liberated from 

 vessels may have bred here, without becoming permanent residents. 



Governor Butler, in his Historye of the Bermudaes (pp. 3, 4, 5), 

 gives the following account of the native birds : " Neither hath the 

 ayre for her part bin wantinge with due supplies of many sortes of 

 foules ; as the graye and greene plover ; some ducks, and mallards, 

 red-pskancks [red-shanks], sea-wigeons, graye bitturnes, cormorants, 

 the white and graye heme, great store of sparrowes and robins 

 (which have lately bin destroyed by the cats), woodpeckers, very 

 many crowesf (who for a while overboldly wonderinge at the newe 

 sight of man) many of them findinge the cost of their curiositie, the 

 rest are now flowne away and seldom seene, only some few are 

 sometimes found in the most solitary partes from whence, notwith- 

 standinge, they are generally observed to take their flight to se, 

 about the sunnes settinge, allwayes directinge their course to the 

 north-west ; whence many (not improbably) eonjectui'e that some 

 unknowen iland lieth out that waye ; nott farr of here are also, 

 sometimes of the yeare, faulcons, and farfaulcons, osprayes, and a 

 smale kind of hawke, in shape and plume like a sparrow-hawke, but 

 larger winged, and hoofers for her praye, like a caystrell,J but thes 

 being but seldome found, are (justly) thought to be only passengers. 

 But above all thes, most deserving observation and respect are thoes 

 two sortes of birdes the one (from the tune of his voice), the other 

 (from the effect) called the cahowe and egge-bird." 



* This peculiarity of a yellow head and neck would indicate that these birds 

 were Carolina parroquets (Conurus Carolinensis), or a closely related extinct 

 species. This is the only existing American species having that character 

 strongly marked. 



f This must have been the American Crow {Corvus Americanus), or the Fish 

 Crow (C. ossifraga Wils.). Perhaps both were native here. 



£ Probably the American Pigeon Hawk, a migrant still. 



