10 



THE OOLOGIST 



MOULDS AND BACTERIA ON EGG 

 COLLECTIONS 



Many Oologists in times past have 

 been seriously annoyed by moulds 

 and bacteria attacking their collec- 

 tions resulting in serious deterioration 

 of the specimens. Mr. Frederick H. 

 Kennard, one of the most thorough 

 going scientists of our acquamtanct. 

 undertook an investigation of the 

 cause, result and protective measures 

 if any with which these destructive 

 agents might be overcome in 1916 and 

 published the result of these investiga- 

 tions and conclusions in an eleven 

 page article under the above heading 

 in The Auk, of July 1921. 



The Fraternity votes Mr Kennard 

 a vote of thanks for his interest. 

 efforts in this matter. 



We would advise all who are pos- 

 sessed of egg collections to procure, 

 read and act upon the suggestions 

 contained in this valuable paper. 



R. M. Barnes. 



SOME IMPRESSIONS OF PORTD 

 RICAN BIRD LIFE 



The boat on which I sailed for Porto 

 Rico left early in October. Wilson's 

 Petrels followed the boat for a day. 

 The first day out of port a Sharp-tailed 

 Sparrow and a Blue-winged Warbler 

 flew aboard and we had them as fel 

 low passengers during the greater part 

 of the voyage of a week. They were 

 later joined by another Blue-winged 

 Warbler. When we were about east 

 of Florida and Cuba a few Royal 

 Terns flew around the ship. 



On arriving in Porto Rico the first 

 bird I saw was a Cabir Glassquit. 

 These small, dark colored birds are 

 one of the commonest species on the 

 island, especially where there is tall 

 grass or sugar cane. The next bird 1 

 saw was a Belted Kingfisher, wnicu, 

 like myself, had just arrived from the 

 North. 



I soon made the acquaintance of 



numerous other birds. Two kinds of 

 Kingbirds are abundant. One is the 

 Gray Kingbird, with a uniform gray 

 crown The other is the Porto Rican 

 Pitcharry, with a black crown. The 

 two species are about equally common. 



One of the most conspicuous birds is 

 the Mozambique, or Porto Rican 

 Blackbird It has a large tail, and a 

 striking white ring around the eye. 

 They are one of the birds with which 

 the natives are most familiar. 



Perhaps the most abundant bird is 

 the Porto Rican Honey Creeper, or 

 Bananaquit. It is a warbler-like bird, 

 with yellow breast and brilliant white 

 lines on the head. It seems to nest at 

 all seasons of the year, constructing its 

 nests (which are covered with an 

 opening at the side) near the outer 

 ends of palm leaves and orange 

 twigs. Their song is harsh and un- 

 musical. 



Brown Pelicans abound in the Maya- 

 guez harbor. Occasionally Man-of-war 

 birds soar overhead. Various species 

 of Northern Gulls and Terns are pres- 

 ent in the fall and winter, and North- 

 ern shore birds walk along the beach. 

 Among the latter are Spotted Sand- 

 pipers and Semipalmated Plovers, 

 but not in very large numbers. 



Four species of Hummingbirds 

 abound on the flowers, but I will wait 

 to tell of them later. 



Two species of Weaver Finch, origi- 

 nally introduced from Africa, are com- 

 mon. One, the Hooded Weaver Finch, 

 is especially common in the tall grass 

 on the Experiment Station grounds. 



The Porto Rican Tody is a little 

 jewel of a bird. It is not much 

 larger than a Hummingbird, but 

 shaped more like a Kingfisher. It is 

 brilliant green, with a scintillating 

 red patch under its throat. It is es- 

 pecially abundant in coffee fincas. 



A number of species of American 

 Warblers come here for the winter. 

 Perhaps the two commonest are the 



