102 



THE OOLOOI81 



curious, wishing to investigate every- 

 thing that one does in the neighbor- 

 hood. The male is a very proud bird 

 and struts almost exactly like a fan- 

 tail pigeon; head bent back and tail 

 brought forward until they almost 

 meet over the back, all the while ut- 

 tering a peculiar metallic squeak. 



This bird like the Ani (Crotophaga 

 ani), locally known as Black Parrot, 

 likes to be around horses and cattle, 

 and it is no uncommon sight to see 

 them perched on them picking off ticks 

 which at certain seasons almost cover 

 the animals in pasture. These birds 

 don't seem quite as gregarious as the 

 Bronzed Grackles, and the usual flock 

 rarely exceeds six to eight. They nest 

 during May and June. 



The Ani (Crotophaga ani), is quite 

 abundant on the Isle of Pines. This 

 hird, although a member of the Cuckoo 

 family, is generally known as Black 

 Parrot, or Jew Bird, because of the 

 shape of its bill. It is entirely black 

 with bluish reflections, and measui-es 

 fifteen inches in length and wing 6.'^5 

 inches. This bird is gregarious antl is 

 found in flocks varying in size from 

 6 to 20. They feed on chameleons, 

 crickets and other insects. They may 

 be seen often just in front of tne 

 flames of a forest fire picking up the 

 chameleons that are fleeing before it, 

 or after it has passed over and is still 

 smoking, picking up the dead ones. 

 In order to see these birds, all tha: is 

 necessary is to build a big fire, make 

 lots of smoke and presently there ^^'ill 

 be a score of Bl?ck Parrots around in 

 company with several Cunan Spar- 

 row-Hawks and a pair or two of 

 Kingbirds. 



My list continuel to date is as fol- 

 lows: 



Quail Dove 1 



Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1 



Ward's Heron 1 



Louisiana Heron Several 



Blue-heade<l Quail Dove 1 



Solitary Sandpii)er 1 



Pied-billed Grebe 2 



Yellow-throated Vireo 1 



Black-billed Cuckoo 1 



Cuban Cliff Swallow Several 



Oven Bird, Common (Omitted from 



previous lists.) 



This makes a total of sixty-six spe- 

 cies identified by myself, on the Isle of 

 Pines. The nesting season is in its 



height, but I have been too busy to do 

 any collecting. 



I wish to make several corrections 

 in the list of birds which I have seen 

 on the Isle of Pines. 



1st. The Black Parrot is the Ani. 

 Crotophaga ani. 



2d. Cuban Bob-white, Colinus cub- 

 anensis, instead of Colinus virginianus. 



3d. Carion Crow, Catharista uruba? 

 probably an immature Turkey Buz- 

 zard. 



4th. Cuban Red-bellied Woodpecker. 

 Centurus superciliaris, instead of Cen- 

 turus carolinus. 



5th. Cuban Meadowlark, Sturnella 

 hippocrepis, instead of Sturnella 

 magna. 



6th. Cuban Crane, Gruonesiates, in 

 stead of Grus Mexicana. 



7th. Chimney Swift, Chaetura pela- 

 gica(?) probably some other swift, as 

 there are no records of this bird for 

 Cuba. 



I also wish to add to my list of birds 

 seen here, Cuban Oriole, Ictarus hy- 

 pomelas. 



A. C. READ. 



THE PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. 



(Protonotaria citrea.) 



The Prothonotary or Golden Swamp 

 Warbler, is one of the best known 

 members of the warbler family. Few 

 of that family exceed it in brilliancy 

 of plumage, and none in gentleness 

 of way. 



It is a bird that early attracted the 

 attention of students in ornithology. 

 It has been studied and written about 

 for many generations, and by some of 

 the greatest of all bird students. 

 This species has a peculiar fascina- 

 tion for the writer because in my ear- 

 lier bird studies it came under my ob- 

 servation oftener, was observed more 

 closely and furnished more interest- 

 ing incidents than nearly any other 

 bird in the entire list of North Ameri- 

 can birds. The larger port of my ear- 

 lier accumulations in the line of Oolo- 

 gy are the result of exchanges based 

 upon Prothonotary warbler eggs taken 

 myself. This little bird is a denizen 

 of the soft, moist, quiet sylvan swamps 

 of most of the interior rivers of the 

 Mississippi Valley; seldom venturing 

 far beyond their shady depths. Yet 



