GLIMPSES OF LIFE ALONG A CORAL REEF. 323 



size of trunk compared with their height, which gives them a decidedly 

 dwarfed appearance. Some swollen boles, a foot or so in diameter, 

 are only four or iive feet tall. A pendulous spray of fine creamy 

 flowers hangs down from the base of the leaves. This is succeeded 

 by a small nut or berry, dried specimens of which were still on the 

 trees. Many of the trunks were tattooed by a woodpecker, which also 

 breeds on the island, as shown by its old nesting-holes. 



The mosquito, which abounds everywhere along the keys, did not 

 trouble us here, but the pest of the place w^as a microscopic midge, 

 called the "sand-fly," with black head and transparent body, whose 

 burning touch was like that of a sharp needle on the skin. 



The Bahaman red- winged starling, looking much like our northern 

 species {Agelaeus phceniceus), of which it is a variation, was common, 

 and probably breeding on this key. It delivered its flute-like icarble- 

 ee as assiduously from the top of a palm as its relative does his from 

 the button bush or alder of a New England meadow. 



The black-headed or laughing gull {Larus atricilla) was nesting 

 here also, as well as at most points where we touched. It is a common 

 resident all along the South Atlantic sea-board. We found its nests 

 and eggs at Portsmouth, on the Korth Carolina coast, the last week in 

 May. It is easily distinguished by its black hood, which completely 

 covers the head, ending abruptly on the neck. This cap is, however, 

 exchanged for a white one in winter. These birds dwell in small colo- 

 nies on the rocky keys, nesting a few feet above high-water mark. 

 The nest is indifferently made of grass and seaweed, varying much in 

 the amount of materials used, and contains from two to three large, 

 olive eggs, mottled or spotted with dai'ker pigment. 



A handsome spike-grass ( JJniola paniculata), whose wavy plumes 

 are sometimes six feet tall, grows above the sandy beach. This same 

 species occurs along the coast from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico, 

 where it is called " sea-oats," The green blades of the " West Indian 

 lily " {Pancratium CaroUnianiim), a member of the Amaryllis family, 

 are found growing in large clumps at the water's edge. Its flowers, 

 which were now nearly past, are pure white, and remarkably fragrant. 

 We found here also the Sabbatia gracilis in the sand, and a small legu- 

 minous tree, with clusters of reddish flowers, at which I saw the Baha- 

 man honey-creeper — a delicate little warbler — busily at work. 



The Cuban nighthawk {Chordeiles minor) was breeding here, as 

 at several other islands which we examined. It is called " pilepedick," 

 from its peculiar note, which is well reproduced in the name. It has 

 many of the characteristics of the bull-bat of the Eastern United States, 

 tumbling along the ground as if its wings and legs were broken, if 

 surprised on its nest, and producing that peculiar booming sound when 

 on the wing by sweeping down from a great height in the air. The 

 young, which we found as frequently as the eggs, resemble a pinch of 

 gray down, and so perfectly do both they and the eggs match the 



