Notes on Birds in the Florida Keys 



By MRS. LUCAS BRODHEAD. Versailles. Ky. 



I SPENT from January 9 to April i, 1906, on upper Matecumbe, an island 

 five miles long, about eighty miles south of Miami, Florida. The climate 

 was very fine, the daily readings of the thermometer being from 50 to 74 

 degrees for the three months. There are seven or eight families residing on 

 the "Key," — a primitive, polite, simple-hearted, poor. God-fearing people, 

 three generations back from Nassau, and preserving in a remarkable manner 

 a,n intense form of cockneyism of speech. 



There are no mammals on the island except cats, which have a fine chance 

 at the birds in the undergrowth, and a few melancholy dogs, which subsist, 

 like the people, largely upon fish. The undergrowth is very dense, only pene- 

 trable where a number of paths have been cut leading to the clearings, called 

 farms, in the interior. Everywhere, and at all times, one must guard against 

 the very troublesome red-bugs. 



I did not find birds to be as abundant as I had anticipated. I did not get 

 near enough to identify a single Duck; learned to know but one species of Gull, 

 and one Tern; saw few species of Warblers; not a single Sparrow of any kind, 

 and identified only sixty-five species, of which sixteen were entirely new to me. 

 The continual blasting going on at Matecumbe and the adjacent islands during 

 most of my stay, for Mr. Flagler's marvelous railroad, building down the line 

 of Keys, probably had much effect upon the bird life. Myrtle Warblers, Mock- 

 ingbirds and Catbirds were the most common. Quite a number of Hawks, 

 also live on the island. Cardinals were plentiful, and were the only bird that 

 might be said to be in full song the three months. 



On March 28, I went to an uninhabitable island seven miles distant, to 

 see a Bald Eagle's nest. The old Eagles let me approach and look at them as 

 long as I chose, only the female showing any nervousness. The one black 

 Eaglet, with closed eyes, stood on the edge of the nest as long as I remained; 

 just as it was reported as doing thirteen days before. The nest was placed in a 

 black-wood tree at the edge of the water, and was twelve or fourteen feet from 

 the ground. 



On March 7, when returning from a day's fishing, I found in the possession 

 of a tourist a magnificent male Flamingo. It was shot that morning; it was 

 one of three that had been seen on a sand bank near Matecumbe. The bird 

 was unknown to most of the inhabitants of the island. Only one or two of the 

 older men had ever seen one. The fate of this beautiful specimen was melan- 

 choly to a bird-lover. The mail-carrier refused to handle it. The owner, when 

 he heard of the fine for killing or possessing one, had the wings cut oflf. The 

 body was given to a family for their dinner. When the writer learned of this 

 sacrilege, she rescued the head and a few of the tail-feathers which had been 

 thrown into the bushes. 



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