THE BIRDS OF THE BERMUDAS. 9 
spring, both stationary and on the wing, and continue their song, 
though with diminished ardour, till an hour or so before sunset. 
A warm sunny day in winter, however, is the time to hear them in 
perfection, when a favourite cedar grove will resound with their 
combined melody, each songster perched on the very topmost twig 
of a tall cedar. The song is merely a short, but sweet, wild little 
stave, sounding to me not unlike that of the Blue Thrush, Monticola 
cyaneus, as I used to hear it from the heights, far away above my 
head, on the rock of Gibraltar. The call-note is a soft twitter ; 
but they have also a loud double note, ‘‘ cher-wee,’’ reminding one 
forcibly of that of an Hyialitis. Attempts are made frequently to 
bring up young birds from the nest, but they rarely succeed. A 
few live ones are to be seen in captivity, presumably adults cap- 
tured by birdlime or in traps; but as a cage bird it isa failure. It 
occasionally drives the Red Bird, Pitylus cardinalis, from its nest, 
even after eggs have been laid, and uses it as a foundation for its 
own. This is somewhat extraordinary, when one considers the 
formidable bill of the victim; but the Blue Bird is a determined 
little fellow, and fortune favours the bold. A great number of 
*¢ crawlers ’’—long scaly grubs, with no end of legs—are destroyed 
by these useful birds, who will sit patiently watching for them on 
a convenient twig, swooping down on the first comer, and bearing 
him off in triumph. They will also dart into the air after passing 
insects much like a Flycatcher, returning each time to their 
starting-point. They are very bold in pursuit of prey when they 
have young to feed, but always visit their nest with extreme 
caution should an observer be near. [Mr. Bartram believes that 
they do ire migrate, but merely collect into flocks for the winter. 
—H. D. 
Sitta canadensis, Red-bellied Nuthatch.—One specimen only, in 
Mr. Bartram’s collection, shot by himself near his house at Stocks 
Point. 
[Certhia familiaris, Brown Creeper.—A male bird of this species 
was shot by Bendall, an old soldier of the 53rd. Regiment, out of 
three or four seen in Devonshire Swamp, on November 24th, 1876. 
—H. D. 
ee arvensis, Kuropean Sky Lark.—Mr. Hurdis shot the only 
example of this well-known bird on June 12th, 1850. It had no 
appearance of being an escaped cage bird; and I do not see why a 
strong gale should not have driven it even to such a distance from 
its ordinary line of flight. Prof. Newton, in his fourth edition of 
Yarrell’s ‘‘ British Birds,’’ alludes to this specimen in describing 
the geographical distribution of the species, but seems inclined to 
doubt its being a genuine wild bird. It is possible that it may 
have been the Missouri Sky Lark, Neocorys Spraguei, recently ascer- 
tained to be by no means uncommon in the ‘‘ Far West.’’ The 
bird, I believe, was presented’ to Major Wedderburn. A further 
examination might lead to interesting results. It is worthy of 
remark that this unfortunate bird was described to Mr. Hurdis by 
a ‘‘coloured’’ lad as being ‘‘less than a pigeon, and of a light- 
green colour about the neck;’’ also as making a ‘‘ curious noise’’ 
in the air, and as not knowing apparently ‘‘how to get down 
