D- 



BIRDS OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 



FAM. SYLVIIDyE. 



POL/OPT/LA C.-ERULEA. {Linn.) 

 Blue-gray Gnat-catcher. 



]Viutcr Plumage, Female. — Above, grayish blue; under parts 

 and lores, bluish white; quills edged with bluish gray, becoming 

 whiter on the tertials ; two outer tail-feathers white, becoming black 

 at the base, and extending obliquely forward on the inner webs ; 

 third tail-feather tipped with white, the others black. 



Adult Male. — With a narrow frontal line of black, extending 

 over the eye ; otherwise resembles the female. 



Length 4.40, wing 2, tail 2.20, tarsus .70, bill .40. 



This little species is a resident of the Bahamas, although much 

 less abundant in summer than in winter, as their numbers become 

 greatly augmented during the latter season by migrants from the 

 United .States. When we arrived at Inagua they were cjuite abun- 

 dant, and evidently breeding; so, being very desirous of procuring 



m 



the eggs of this species, I watched them carefully, and was rewarded 

 by finding a nest containing three eggs, on June ist, the eggs being 

 all quite fresh. The nest was a beautiful litUe structure, built in 

 the crotch of a diminutive palm-tree, about four feet from the 



