6/6 A. E. Verritt — The Bermuda Islands. 



the rubbish heaps about the old forts on Castle Island, but though 

 we found numerous bones of fishes, hogs, etc., and a few of birds, 

 none of them belong to the cahow. But probably the deposits that 

 we excavated were of too late a date, for the Castle Island forts were 

 again garrisoned during the war of 1812. See pp. AV>2, Ki3.) 



We were, much to our regret, unable, for lack of time, to dig for 

 the bones of the cahow on Cooper's Island. Much of the land there 

 is now cultivated. The loose ground is full of the holes of two 

 species of land crabs. One of these is a very large species ( Cardi- 

 soma Guanhumi), whose holes may easily have served the cahow 

 for nesting places in early times. 



The chances of finding bones of the cahow would probably be 

 much better on Cooper's Island than elsewhere, judging by the 

 above quoted narratives of Governor Butler and Mr. Hughes. 



The soil of calcareous sand on these islands is admirably adapted 

 for the long preservation of bones and shells. Therefore it is rea- 

 sonable to expect that some fortunate party may yet discover the 

 skeleton of a cahow, by which its real nature may be determined. 



That its identification with the shearwater or " pimlico" by Mr. 

 Hurdis was an unfortunate error, seems absolutely certain. The 

 latter differs in size, color, structure, manner and time of nesting, 

 and other habits, flavor of flesh and eggs. 



It even seems improbable that the cahow belonged to the petrel 

 family. It appears to me more probable that it was allied to the 

 auks (Alcida?), many of which burrow in the ground and lay white, 

 edible ego's. The northern auks have edible flesh and often a strong 

 hooked bill. But no existing species breeds so far south, nor do 

 they breed in winter. The cahow may have spent the summer in 

 the southern hemisphere ; or it may have been a localized pelagic 

 species, coming to the land only for breeding purposes. 



Known Characteristics of the Cahow. 



The peculiarities of this bird, so far as known, can be briefly sum- 

 marized as follows : 



1. The cahow is an extinct web-footed sea-bird, unknown to ornith- 

 ologists. It rapidly became extinct about 285 years ago, as the direct 

 result of the occupation by the earliest settlers of the islands mi 

 which it bred. 



2. It was not a shearwater, nor like any other member of the 

 petrel family. It may have been related to the auks (Alcida>), some 



