BAHAMA HONEYCREEPER 381 



paler grayish or dull grayish white, faintly tinged with yellow ; chin, 

 throat, and upper chest dull yellowish white; rest of under parts 

 similar, the lower chest, breast, and upper abdomen more distinctly 

 yellowish, the sides and flanks strongly tinged with brownish gray ; 

 bill and feet as in adults, but the former rather more brownish." 



Food. — These honeycreepers are called bananaquits or bananabirds 

 by the natives of the islands, but Mr. Maynard (1896) says : "I do not 

 remember having seen one eat any bananas. They are, however, very 

 fond of sapodillas and will eat them greedily. They also abstract 

 honey from the flowers of various plants and trees. "Wlien obtaining 

 honey from flowers, they alight on a convenient twig and insert their 

 bills into the calix, or when this is too deep, as in the case of the 

 long flower of the life leaf, they make an incision near the base, 

 much as is done by bees under similar circumstances and thus remove 

 the honey." 



They may also obtain some insects in the blossoms. J. H. Kiley 

 (1905) saw them apparently hunting for insects in another way: 

 "They seemed to be very industrious in searching the trees, presuma- 

 bly for insects, crawling up and down like Mniotilta varia; indeed, 

 their actions are very warbler-like." 



Behavior. — Mr. Maynard (1896) writes: 



Tlie flight of this species is swift and strong, quite unlike that of our warblers. 

 They clash quickly through the foliage, alight suddenly, and remain perfectly 

 motionless for a time ; then when ready to move again they will fly, even for 

 a short distance, rather than to hop from bough to bough. I have never seen 

 any movement which would suggest creeping, thus it is diflScult to say why the 

 name of creeper is applied to the species. They are not at all quarrelsome, and 

 I have seen half a dozen cling together on one sapodilla feeding from an orifice 

 in one side. They are not shy and I have had them alight within a foot or two 

 of my head as I have been standing in the scrub, but they appear to vary in- 

 dividually in this respect. Three, which were brought to me by some children, 

 exhibited different degrees of tameness. One male, which sang the full song, 

 was not at all shy, tasting sweetened water out of a spoon which I held in my 

 hand. Another male was moderately tame, while a female was so shy that she 

 would not allow me to approach her, but flew about the room in which they were 

 all kept, whenever I attempted to offer her food. 



Dr. Glover M. Allen (1905) says: "Everywhere on the islands, 

 among bushes and thickets, were little groups of these birds, old and 

 young. They were exceedingly tame and eyed us curiously, often 

 but arm's length away." 



John T. Nichols (1921) observed one of these birds at Nassau 

 "taking a morning bath, fluttering in the dew on the broad leaves 

 of a low plant." 



Voice. — Mr. Maynard (1896) writes: "The song of the Bahama 

 Honey Creeper consists of a series of low crackling notes, quite unlike 

 the sounds emitted by any other bird, excepting very closely allied 



