ORNITHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF CARIBBEE ISLANDS. 449 



Tlie Eev. Lansdowne Guildin^, a clergyman residing in St. Vincent at 

 that i^eriod, made many umsuccessful endeavors to procure it, and it was 

 an object of searcli for Hfty years. It was left for an American, however, 

 to settle the doubt hovering over its identity, and to establish the fact 

 that it is a sej:)arate species, and, what is of greater interest, a new one. 



The proudest moment of my life, I think, was that in which I held the 

 first specimen of that bird in my hand, after two days' search and the 

 use of all my arts of allurement as taught me by my Carib friends. With 

 the specimens of this genus, and the related genera of Dominica ai^d 

 Martinique, obtained by me, I feel assured that all doubts regarding their 

 affinity may be set at rest. I secured six specimens of this bird, and at 

 the same place and time the new sjiecies which they have done me the 

 honor to name for my friend Nathaniel H. Bishop, the famous canoe 

 voyageur. From the volcano I descended to the eastern slope, and passed 

 three weeks with the Caribs there. jNIany photographs and much valua- 

 ble matter relating to their traditions and language were obtained, but I 

 could not secure such a series of their former implements of agriculture 

 and warfare as I desired, owing to the same reason as in Dominica: the 

 mountainous character of the island giving hiding-place to thousands of 

 objects that in a flat country would be easily found, even after the lapse 

 of centuries. 



From the Carib country I returned to the west coast in a Carib canoe. 

 In December, 1877, 1 again crossed the souffriere or volcano, and took up 

 my line of investigation, to complete the circuit of the island. In this 

 trip I i:)rocured two species of that rare and beautiful parrot, the Chrys- 

 otis guildingi. 



In February, 1878, having recovered from my fever, I explored one of 

 the northern grenadines, where I found in a cave an elegantly carved 

 tortoise of wood. In this trip I also shot the first specimens of the black- 

 bird, afterwards obtained in Grenada, pronounced new, the Quiscalus 

 Imninosus, These were lost through the wrecking of our boat. In St. 

 Vincent I photographed and sketched two rocks which tradition affirmed 

 were sacrificial rocks of the Caribs, containing incised figures upon them, 

 fast being obliterated. A carefully drawn reproduction of this photo- 

 graph will be forwarded with my detailed description. There is a larger 

 rock of similar character in Guadaloupe. 



I reached Grenada, the southernmost of the volcanic chain, in latitude 

 12° north, early in March, and at once proceeded to the interior of the 

 mountains. There, in the high woods surrounding the famous mountain 

 lake or '■^grand etang," I procured the wren, since named {tiew) Thrijotho- 

 rus grenadensis, and two other birds from the coast, Quiscalus lionino- 

 sus and Turd us caribccus, three new species in all. Grenada is the only 

 ishmd containing the armadillo, and one of three only containing mon- 

 keys. 



In the fauna of Grenada I was much disappointed; hoping to find 

 many new and tropical species from Trinidad and the mainland of South. 

 S. Mis. 59 29 



