BAHAMA HONEYCREEPER 379 



but it does appear to influence the bird later, for then during the cool 

 and lowery days its song is shorter and longer intervals elapse between 

 the renditions. And should a day come that is stormy, then the bird 

 may not be heard at all. During the flood period of its song the singer 

 is seemingly carried away by his efforts, often singing continuously 

 for many seconds, renditions of his song flowing along like the cur- 

 rent of a stream. Its song practically ceases by July, and in this month 

 is heard more often in the morning hours. It seems to cease singing 

 sometime in early August, but we have heard it warble a little in 

 September during the time it is moving south." 



COEREBA BAHAMENSIS (Reichenbaeh) 



BAHAMA HONEYCREEPER 



HABITS 



The Bahama honeycreeper is the only one of some 18 species of 

 honeycreepers, or bananaquits, quite generally distributed in the West 

 Indies, the islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in Neotropical regions in 

 South America, that has occurred within the limits of our Check-list 

 and then only as a straggler on the east coast of Florida and in the 

 Florida keys. This species seems to breed only in the Bahama Islands. 

 Apparently there are only two published records of its occurrence in 

 Florida; Baird (Baird, Cassin, and Lawrence, 1858), reported one 

 taken on Indian Key on January 31, 1858; and John T. Nichols (1921) 

 reported one seen at Miami Beach on February 7, 1921. 



All visitors to the Bahamas have reported this honeycreeper as 

 abundant on practically all the islands where there are trees or shrub- 

 bery. C. J. Maynard (1896) , to whom we are mostly indebted for our 

 knowledge of the habits of this species, says : "The Honey Creeper is 

 an abundant and widely distributed species throughout the Bahamas, 

 being found on all of the larger islands which I have visited and they 

 also occur on some of the smaller keys. * * * They inhabit the 

 scrub, and in the neighborhood of settlements live on the borders of 

 the plantations being attracted there by the fruit." 



Nesting. — Mv. Maynard found a number of nests during March, 

 April, and May, which seems to cover the nesting season. He says 

 that the nests are — 



very large for the size of the birds, supported by forliing twigs in a bush, or small 

 tree, with the entrance on one side above the level of the bottom. Composed 

 of the stems of a small vine, hemp-like fiber woven closely, forming either 

 a spherical or balloon-shaped structure. The lining is composed of finer material. 

 Dimensions of nest, externally, 4.40 by 5.00; internal, 3.00 by 3.50; entrance, 

 1.25 in diameter, * * ♦ 



As a rule, neither male nor female pays much attention to the intruder when 

 the nest is visited. In most cases, I find that I have recorded that the female 

 slipped quietly out of the nest and instantly disappeared. This was especially 



