MARINE ANIMALS. 57 



growth of low, thorny bushes, interspersed with tall cocoa- 

 palms. In this scrubby portion we shot a number of very 

 interesting specimens. The little Cactus Wren was very 

 abundant, constantly on the move among the bushes, 

 and very difficult to shoot. We frequently saw the Man-o- 

 War Bird flying several hundred yards off shore, but 

 although we fired at them constantly, we were not able to 

 shoot one. In the mangroves bordering the lagoon we found 

 numerous small birds, among them a number of flycatchers. 

 These birds were the most abundant in Yucatan, both in 

 species and individuals. About the edges of the mangroves 

 the White-rumped Swallow, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer 

 Plover, White Egret, and Louisiana Heron were quite 

 abundant; the Blue-winged Teal was often seen, but not in 

 any numbers. The Kingbird was not uncommon. Of this 

 bird {7yrannus melancholicus) we obtained three specimens. 

 The same species (apparently) was seen in the interior, al- 

 though but one specimen was shot in the latter region, and 

 that differed in some respects from the Progreso specimens. 

 The Progreso specimens are much lighter beneath and con- 

 tain much less red in the crest, than in the inland bird. 



We spent most of our afternoons and evenings in wan- 

 dering up and down the beach, picking up the specimens 

 which had been thrown up by the last tide. 



During our stay, I observed the habits of many of the 

 common marine animals. Among others, a large sea-slug 

 {Aplysid) was very common. This mollusk is about five 

 inches long; of a dirty yellowish color, veined with purple. 

 It feeds on the delicate sea-weeds which grow among the 

 stones in shallow water. When disturbed, this slug emits 

 a fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for some 

 distance. These harmless creatures were once supposed 

 to be poisonous, on account of this purple fluid. 



In many places the beach was fairly heaped with dead 



