BIRDS COLLECTED IN CUBA AND HAITI BY THE 

 PARISH-SMITHSONIAN EXPEDITION OF 1930 



By Alexander Wetmore 

 Assistant Secretary, Smithsonian Institution 



INTRODUCTION ; . ' 



The Parish-Smithsonian Expedition of 1930 was organized by 

 the late Lee H. Parish, with the cooperation of his father, Semmes 

 W. Parish, for zoological exploration in Haiti, including also in its 

 scope studies along the northern coast of Cuba. Though planned 

 principally to cover work with birds and reptiles, so far as practica- 

 ble the investigations included also collections of mammals, fishes, 

 mollusks, and other groups. The present report is concerned with 

 the birds, of which 558 specimens and six sets of eggs were obtained. 



The party had at its service the yacht Esperanza (pi. 1), an 80- 

 foot ketch-rigged boat equipped with an auxiliary engine, so that 

 it was practicable to work at a number of important areas, particu- 

 larly in Haiti, that otherwise would have been difficult of access. 



Besides the two already mentioned, the party included Mrs. S. W. 

 Parish, who assisted in radio communication, in photography, and 

 in the care of specimens, and Watson M. Perrygo, of the staff of 

 taxidermists of the United States National Museum. In addition 

 to being head of the scientific party Lee Parish was captain and 

 navigator, and was untiring in his efforts to promote the success 

 of the work. The party devoted the major part of its time to 

 collections on islands lying off the Haitian coast, as the Esperanza 

 offered an exceptional opportunity for study in these comparatively 

 little-worked areas. 



The Esperanza left Miami, Fla., in the afternoon of February 

 15, 1930. The following morning a black-throated blue warbler and 

 two Maryland yellowthroats came aboard, and the first specimen of 

 the expedition, a yeliowthroat, was obtained. On the same day the 

 ship passed Bimini and that night anchored at Gun Cay in the 

 Bahamas, but no landing could be made because of stormy weather. 

 After a stormy passage the ship anchored at Gibara, Cuba, on 

 February 20, and remained there until February 28, allowing oppor- 



No. 2925.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum. Vol. 81, Art. 2 



1 



