112 Bird - Lore 



their daint\- way as unconcerned as young chickens in a barnyard. The Warblers 

 were not associated so much with the larger birds, but kept more to themselves, 

 separated perhaps by their habit of feeding mostly in trees. They were most 

 numerous on Garden Key, about three miles from Loggerhead, where inside 

 Fort Jefferson there are more and larger trees than Loggerhead affords. The 

 gathering of birds at Fort Jefferson had been similar to that already described; 

 but, as the light there is of the fourth order, and not very high, above the bastion 

 of the fort, it had not attracted so many. The great first-order light on Logger- 

 head had evidently caught the attention of the flying multitudes and beckoned 

 ihem to a landing-spot, when trouble overtook them. 



IMales and females were in about equal numbers among them, the Indigo 

 "Buntings furnishing the only exception. Hundreds of the brightly plumaged 

 .males of this species were present, but I saw only three females. With the excep- 

 tion of the Orchard Orioles, there was no singing on the part of these birds. 

 The male Orioles were joyously vocal, and, from the additional circumstance 

 that they were fighting among themselves, I suspect that mating was in progress. 

 There were among them a considerable number of young males of a general 

 3^elIowish hue, with black throats, and against these the animosity of the older 

 males seemed to be particularly directed. Some of these young males had the 

 plumage more matured, black on neck and shcnilders, and l)rick red underneath 

 ibeing noticeably developed. 



Nearly all the birds observed were active and strong, and it was not ajjparent 

 why they had not resumed their journey; some, however, moved about pain- 

 fully, showing that they had not recovered from their rough experience, and a 

 good many had feathers missing or badly awry. Among the Lidigo Birds, espe- 

 cially, I noticed a number — at least two dozen — that had lost all their tail 

 feathers and could fly only short distances, like young birds. The keeper told me 

 that the watch-room had been recently painted and was not thoroughly dry on 

 •the outside, and that the morning after the storm it was lilerall\ plastered over 

 •with feathers of all colors. 



The birds already mentioned are those that were sunicienlly numerous to 

 prove that large numbers of their species were on the wing that night, and were 

 ■caught in the storm. Among the few dead remaining at Sand Key when I went 

 there, I identified a single specimen each of the Purple Gallinule, Blackpoll 

 Warbler and Prairie Warbler, which shows that at least some members of these 

 species were also abroad at that unfortunate time. I saw one living Prairie 

 Warl)ler at Tortugas, and three Yellow-billed Cuckoos at the same place. At 

 Key West, April i6, I identified positively a single male Yellow Warbler (Summer 

 Y^ellowbird), an unusual observation, as I believe the bird is rarely seen in 

 Florida. Several Palm Warblers and Black and White Warblers were seen 

 with the delayed migrants at both Key West and Tortugas, but I do not believe 

 they came with them, because I saw none dead or injured, and because I had 

 :seen them in -mall numbers at both places at intervals before. A few I'alm 



