9 



abundant, confining themselves, as far as my observation went, 

 entirely to the dead mangroves. These dead mangroves show a 

 great apparent change in the climate of this part of Florida. 

 They were all destroyed by the great frost as far south as Cape 

 Canaveral, and, from the size of the dead trunks that now cover 

 the marshes, must have been growing for a century. Since the 

 first destruction a second growth sprung up, and after attaining a 

 height of seven or eight feet, was in its turn killed by the cold, 

 and in 1854 a third growth was just making its appearance. 



Peuccea Bachmani. This was the only sparrow I saw in the 

 pine barrens near Enterprise, and this only occasionally. It is 

 one of the most difficult birds to shoot without a dog, as it runs 

 round in the grass and dwarf palmettos more like a mouse than a 

 bird, and will not fly until almost trodden on, and then only a 

 few feet at a time. A nest found April 20, resembled in its con- 

 struction that of the Savannah sparrow ; it contained five pure 

 white eggs, nineteen millimetres in length and fifteen in breadth. 



Quiscalus major. The boat-tailed Grakle was the most com- 

 mon bird in the neighborhood of Lake Munroe, and could be 

 seen at all times running along the edge of the water, almost in 

 the manner of a sandpiper. They were breeding by hundreds in 

 the reeds near the inlet to the lake. On the 6th of April some of 

 the birds had not yet commenced laying, though the majority had 

 hatched, and the young of others were almost fledged. 



Cyanocitta Floridana. The Florida Jay is said by Audubon 

 to be rare on the east coast. Never having visited the west coast, 

 I do not know how much more abundant it may be there, but in 

 the course of a morning's ride in the vicinity of Enterprise, I 

 have seen a dozen individuals. This is one of our most interest- 

 ing birds, as regards the geographical distribution of species, that 

 I am acquainted with ; inhabiting as it does the main land, and 

 with no apparent obstacle to its movements, it is yet confined to a 

 small part of the peninsula of Florida. The exact limits of its 

 distribution north and south I could not ascertain in a short visit, 

 but do not think it can exceed three degrees of latitude, if so 

 much. I saw none north of St. Augustine, or south of Jupiter's 

 Inlet. I never saw an individual either in the pine barrens or in 

 a hummock ; it is confined, as far as my observation goes, entirely 

 to the scrub, as it is called. This is a growth of scrub oaks, in 



