THE BIRDS OF THE BERMUDAS. 
‘By Lieut. Rerp, R.E., F.Z.8.* 
In March, 1874, when ordered to the Bermudas to complete my 
tour of foreign service, I made diligent and most anxious enquiries 
about the birds likely to be found there, and I must say the 
answers I got from brother officers and others who were familiar 
with the islands were anything but satisfactory in an ornithological 
point of view. I was informed that birds were few and far be- 
tween, with the exception of one or two common resident species, 
and a casual flock of plovers or waders in the autumn months. 
My ardour cooled to zero abruptly. I looked forward to the red, 
blue, black, and white birds of my informants, and the uncertain 
and erratic Plover, with a sigh of despair! Should I take a gun at 
all, to lie idle in the damp corrosive climate to which I was bound? 
However, on board the good ship Severn—a hired transport, 
which conveyed the company of Royal Engineers to which I then 
belonged across the Atlantic—I found some officers of H.M. 53rd 
Regiment returning to Bermuda from leave in England, one of 
whom (Capt. Rooke) was a great sportsman, and had shot and 
collected some birds during his previous residence in the ‘‘ beau- 
tiful isle of the sea.’? His account was decidedly reassuring. He 
spoke of twenty or more species, and delighted my ears with the 
magic words—‘‘Teal’’ and ‘‘Snipe.’? I was thankful then that 
my trusty 16-bore was lying snug and safe in my cabin, ready to 
add to the Bermuda lists when called upon. 
We left Gibraltar on the 12th, but did not land in Bermuda till 
March 30th, owing to a pleasant head-wind and somewhat limited 
powers of locomotion. My note-book was started next day—our 
first on shore—and was religiously kept up from that time till 
June 3rd, 1875, when I left again for English soil. 
In this brief sketch, and in face of the heading assigned to it, I 
must needs confine myself to the birds alone; and it would be out 
of place were I to attempt any description of the islands them- 
selves, their inhabitants, scenery, or productions. 
* These notes on the Ornithology of the Bermudas were origin- 
ally published in ten different numbers of The Field, in July, 
August, and September, 1875. They are now reprinted, with 
corrections and numerous additions by Lieut. H. Denison, R.E., 
F,Z,S., who has kindly assisted the author in revising them. 
