Mr. E. C. Taylor on the Birds of the West Indies. 73 



134. CoRACiAS GARRULA. (Roller.) 

 Karnaclic or Farrug, Maltese. 



Appears annually in spring and autumn, sometimes in small 

 flocks of five or six. It is common in April and May^ a few 

 lingering till June. An instance is recorded of a pair breeding 

 in a ruined house in an unfrequented part of the country. 

 This bird is often called the " Jay," or " Blue Jay/' by English 

 residents and visitors ; and it is probably owing to some such 

 mistake that Yarrell and other authors have given Malta as a 

 locality of Garrulus glandarius (Linn.), which is never seen here. 



135. Merops apiaster. (Bee-eater.) 

 Kirt-el-nahal, Maltese. 



In April and May it arrives in large flocks, and its peculiar 

 gurgling note may be heard at a long distance. Towards 

 evening they settle to roost on the carob-trees, and nestle so 

 close to one another that I have known as many as twenty or 

 thirty to be brought down at one shot. Three were seen in 

 1861 as late as the 7th June. In Gozo they have been observed 

 to lay their eggs in the sand. They reappear in autumn. 



136. Merops persicus. (Blue-cheeked Bee-eater.) 



One example, killed in September 1840, noticed by Schembri. 



137. Alcedo ispida. (Kingfisher.) 

 Ghasfur ta San Martin, Maltese. 



An annual visitor; generally seen about the sea-shore in 

 pairs. Arrives in August and September, and occasionally 

 observed in the winter months. One was killed on the 14th 

 March, 1862. Said to breed here sometimes. 



[To be continued.] 



IV. — Five Months in the West Indies. 

 By E. Cavendish Taylor, M.A., F.Z.S. 



Part I. — Trinidad and Venezuela. 



Having determined to spend the winter of 1862-63 in the 

 West Indies, I left England the 2nd December, and went to 

 Trinidad, via St. Thomas, where I remained from December 22nd 



