on some Bahama Birds.



93



with which it forms a rough cup. Many nests, however, were

placed on the bushes and were quite large structures composed

of a heap of twigs and dead vegetable matter, piled up with no

attempt at interweaving or of making a solid structure, and on

the top of this pile, as lining, were generally placed a few of the

small stones, as used when nesting on the ground.


Both these species frequently perch on the trees and

shrubs, and appear able to balance themselves with comparative

ease. The photograph shows one of each species on a dead

branch. The Sooty Tern is very noisy and may be heard by day

as well as by night as they hover, like flies, over the island;

towards dusk, however, appeared to be their chief feeding time

when most of the birds, except those actually engaged in the

duties of incubation, would fly out to sea. During the day, most

of the Sooties would spend their time sitting in flocks at the

margin of the vegetation, some three or four yards from the edge

of the rock ; the Noddies, on the other hand, would sit on the

outermost edge of the rock or on ledges down to the sea level.


The third species of Tern breeding on the Cay was the

Bridled Tern (.S’, anostheata'), a bird very similar in appearance

to the Sooty but smaller and greyer. These birds breed about

the same time as the Sooties, but place their single egg under¬

neath an overhanging ledge on the edge of the sea, or even two

or three feet down a hole with an aperture barely large enough

to admit one’s hand. These birds were much scarcer than

either of the other two species, and the majority w r ere found

breeding on a bare rock absolutely destitute of vegetation, and

inhabited almost entirely by themselves. No mention need be

made of the other species, as they were not breeding, and merely

used the rocks as resting places.


Three other kinds of birds are found on these Cays ; firstly,

the Tyrant or King Bird ( Tdominicensis) which arrives about

May, and nests on the low bushes in some numbers ; secondly,

the White-crowned Pigeon which is found sparingly on any Cay

on which there is a bush of sufficient size to bear the nest, but on

many of the Cays they nest by thousands, flying to their feeding

grounds, often over 20 or 30 miles of ocean, twice daily. There



