THE BIRDS OF THE BERMUDAS. 15 
scolding within a foot of one’s head, puffing itself out with malig- 
nant fury. I have touched one with my gun in the thick bushes 
before it would budge an inch. And when one is on the qui vive 
for rarities among the big cedars, the little wretches will come 
from all parts to irritate and deceive one, playing all sorts of antics 
on the topmost branches, apparently imitating the movements of 
a Dendroéca or other Sylvicola, in order to induce one to waste a 
charge on them. Several times they succeeded with me; and on 
one occasion, the bird having lodged at the top of a very ugly- 
looking tree, I tore my hands and clothes to pieces in my anxiety 
to secure the supposed prize. But in spite of this I have a great 
regard for the cheerful, restless little fellows, whose presence does 
so much to relieve the monotony of the everlasting cedars. They 
are very dexterous in catching insects among the foliage, their 
manner of feeding seeming to be intermediate between that of a 
Flycatcher and a Warbler. You can hear the ‘‘snip’’ of their 
mandibles as they secure their prey for a considerable distance. 
I have seen one catching flies off the back of a cow, jumping 
vigorously at them from the ground, and ‘‘snipping’’ them off 
neatly as they buzzed round the recumbent animal. Mr. Hurdis 
says (Nat. in B., p. 71) :—-‘*‘ In September it delights to feed on the 
small white berries of the sweet-scented Tournefortia, and it is also 
foud of the small fiery capsicum, known by the name of ‘‘ bird- 
pepper,”’ the pods of which it plucks and swailows entire.’’ It is 
on record that the newly-iledged young of this species have been 
found entangied in the meshes of the web of the ‘‘ silk”’ spider, 
Epéira claviprs. ‘These webs are of great size and strength, extend- 
ing for many feet between adjoining cedars, and the number of 
them among tiie woods in suminer and autumn is almost incredible. 
In all my rambles, however, I never met with an instance of poor 
little Vireo having walked into Lpéira’s parlour. 
Vireo olivaceus, Wed-eyed Vireo.—The first 1 met with was cap- 
tured in the officers’ quarters at Prospect Camp, on October 14th, 
1874. In March, 1875, 1 identified three specimens belonging to 
Mr. Bartram, all shot by himself near Stocks Point. This bird, 
though somewhat larger, is sufticiently like its brother, V. novebora- 
censis, to have escaped detection in previous years. 
Collurio borealis, Great Northern Shrike.—Not a great many have 
occurred, though it would appear to visit the islands on both 
migrations. One was shot by Dr. Cole, 20th Regiment, on 
October Sist, 1846; one by Mr. Hurdis, January 23rd, 1847; 
another by Major Wedderburn, near Harris Bay, March 12th, 
1850; and a fourth by Mr. J. M. Jones, on the ‘*‘ Model’? Farm, 
Smith’s parish, in January, 1872. Besides these there are three 
specimens in Mr. Bartram’s collection. Most of these above-men- 
tioned examples were in immature plumage. _[One shot near the 
garrison imstructor’s house, at Prospect, on January Ist, 1876, is in 
my collection.—H. D.] It is strange that the other North Ameri- 
can species, C. ludovicianus, of more southerly distribution on the 
continent than C. borealis, should not have been observed in 
Bermuda. 
Curviyostra americana, American Crosshill.—Of this species Major 

