152 BAHAMA BIRD-LIFE 



tome of its geolog'i<' liistoiy. Closer study would reveal tlie 

 gradual growth of animal and plant life, as the islands 

 themselves have increased in age and become suited to sup- 

 port a flora and fauna. 



Restricting our attention to birds, we find that they are 

 the very earliest forms of life to take possession of these 

 new bits of the earth's surface; these little worlds. Long 

 before plants obtain a hold on the water-worn limestone of 

 the just born key, the ^' Pimlico " (Audubon's Shearwater) 

 and the " Egg-birds" (Sooty, Bridled, and Noddy Terns) 

 come to them. The keys furnish a home in which free from 

 molestation — except by man — they maj^ lay their eggs and 

 rear their young, while the surrounding waters afford an 

 unfailing supply of food. Later, after sedge (Borrichia), 

 sea lavender {Tournefortia), bay cedar (Suriana) , sea 

 grape (Coccolobis), prickly pear {Opuntia), and other 

 pioneer forms of vegetation have covered the rocks with a 

 dense, scrubby growth, they become suitable for the occu- 

 pation of White-crowned Pigeons, Ground Doves, Honey 

 Creepers, Vireos {Vireo crassirostris) and Bahama Mock- 

 ingbirds. Thus we advance from stage to stage until we 

 reach the pine forests of the older islands with their Tana- 

 gers (Spindalis), Warblers, Woodpeckers, and Flycatchers. 



There have now been recorded from the Bahamas two 

 hundred and four species and subspecies of birds (Riley, 

 " The Bahaman Islands," Macmillan Co.) Of this number, 

 about one hundred and eight nest in the islands and most of 

 these are resident there throughout the year. The approxi- 

 mately ninety-six non-breeding birds are, with few excep- 

 tions, migrants from eastern North America. Many of them 

 winter in the Bahamas, while others use them as stepping 

 stones to and from more southern winter homes. In no in- 

 stance, unless they breed in the same latitude on the main- 

 land, have these migratory liirds become permanently res- 

 ident in the islands. 



Of the one hundred and eight breeding species, no less 



