282 Scott on the Bird Rookeries of Southern Florida. [October 



to see what birds I might find. From the water, as we ap- 

 proached, only a few Cormorants were to be seen, possibly 

 seventy-five in all, and though I spent several hours looking over 

 the various parts of the island I found no other large birds breed- 

 ing — absolutely not a single pair of Herons of any kind ; five or 

 six Louisiana Herons feeding on a small sand flat at one of the 

 extremities of the island were all the Herons observed in the 

 vicinity. 



When I previously visited this point A. Lechevallier had 

 located on the mainland about three-quarters of a mile away ; here 

 he had built a house and was killing birds on the island for the 

 feather market. He or his assistants had then been there a little 

 over a year, and I am told by persons living near, whom I have 

 ever}' reason to believe, that it took these men Jive breeding sea- 

 sons to break up, by killing and frightening the birds away, this 

 once incomparable breeding resort. Of course there were other 

 plume hunters who aided in the slaughter, but the old French- 

 man and his assistants are mainly responsible for the wanton de- 

 struction. He regarded this as his particular preserve, and went 

 so far as to order outsiders, who came to kill Herons and other 

 birds, off the ground. The rookery being destroyed, he had now 

 given up his residence here. 



In the afternoon we went on to John's Pass and stayed there 

 for the night. A few pairs of Snowy Herons and quite a number 

 of Louisiana Herons were breeding at the little rookery spoken 

 of in the first paper of this series, the young birds being from a 

 few days to a week or more old. 



I learned from Alfred Mears, that J. H. Batty had only just 

 left here, he having killed many birds on the beaches, and quite 

 a number at this rookery, and that he had offered to buy Heron's 

 plumes, at stated prices each, from any of the residents who would 

 collect for him. 



Thursday, June 3. To-day I spent on the beach to the south 

 of the pass, where I found all the Terns before enumerated in 

 great numbers, particularly Hydrochelidon nigra surinamcnsis 

 and Sterna sandvicensis acujiavida. Of this latter species I 

 collected a fine series of some sixty birds, and took a few speci- 

 mens, for comparison, of each of the other kinds. I hope at 

 some future time to discuss the conditions of plumage of the 

 species obtained this day in detail. 



