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Sir William Ingram,



“ The apodas were set at large at the end of September,

1909, with the exception of a few weaker specimens, which were

set free later on. There were in all forty-eight birds.


At first they did not leave the place where the tents were

pitched, but kept roaming about the neighbouring trees, the

tents and their old cages. I captured them again and brought

them to a place which had been planted with pawpaw trees,

where I let them loose again. There they stopped and seemed

to get on very well, feeding on pawpaws, insects, etc., etc. About

the end of December, 1909, they took to other parts of the

Island, chiefly to those places where the biggest and highest

trees grow. At present they are all over the Island and liable to

be seen or heard anywhere.


Feeding.


At first the apodas fed as stated above, chiefly on pawpaws,

insects and bananas, brought to the place they frequented ; but

they left off feeding on pawpaws and took to the same food the

Orioles or Cornbirds feed on, viz., the berries of the wild cherry

tree, the grapes of palms, wild plums, and other wild fruit of the

trees the Island abounds with. A great part of their food also

consists of insects, and I have watched them pilfering the nests

of smaller birds, eating their eggs and young ones. I have put

water on different places of the Island for the birds to drink, and

keep the receptacles for the same constantly filled, but the apodas

seldom come there to drink now. I have watched them drink¬

ing the water collected in the hollow parts of trees, big leaves,

etc. With the exception of two or three months in the year, we

have rain enough here, which enables the birds to find water for

themselves. I have planted bananas, but I do not think the

apodas will take to that fruit very well, as I have never seen any

of the birds feeding on the bananas that already grow on the

Island.


Losses.


One day. at the beginning of December last, I found two

male apodas fighting, and as they were entangled with each other

I separated them. One bird died immediately as the other one’s

claws had lacerated its bowels. The remaining bird I took to

the camp, bandaged it up and kept it in confinement ; after four



