50 BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



singular, as well as pleasing, to see and hear on one of these lonely 

 and almost desert keys, this graceful bird, mounted on the topmost 

 spray of some dwarf shrub, singing with as much fervor and satisfac- 

 tion as if surrounded by listeners, instead of having for sole auditor 

 his faithful mate. The pairs seem to keep together after the period 

 of incubation has passed, as all I met with, as early as February, 

 were mated, and the inhabitants stated that they did not lay before 

 May ; and the sexual organs of all those dissected by me showed no 

 appearance of excitement. In its habits it differs very much from 

 our common species, delighting as much in solitude as the latter 

 does in the society of mankind. Its food, during my visit, consisted 

 almost entirely of the fruit of the prickly pear, with the addition of 

 an occasional insect. I presume that the insectivorous part of its 

 diet is proportionally greater when it inhabits the larger islands, but 

 on the barren keys, on which I procured my specimens, insects are 

 almost unknown, at least if I am to judge from the number seen 

 by myself. The stomachs of all those procured by me contained 

 a cjuantity of the seeds of the prickly pear, and a few remains of 

 insects; and the feathers near the bill of all of them were stained red 

 by the juice of the fruit." 



None were observed on the island of New Providence by our 

 party, although there is no reason why they should not be found 

 there, and the inliabitants claim that they are occasionally met with 

 in the vicinity of Nassau, but only on rare occasions. 



