^°\"9^^^] BowDiSH, Birds of Porto Rico. 365 



is inclined to attribute the sound to the attenuate outer primary, stating 

 that the sound is not mentioned in descriptions of the Jamaican bird, T. 

 viridis, and that he finds the outer primary shorter and not so attenuate, 

 curved and stiffened as in the Cuban species.^ I have not had the oppor- 

 tunity of examining the Jamaican birds, but comparison of the few speci- 

 mens of T. hypochondriacHS with T. imiUicolor in my collection shows 

 the outer primary of the former to be decidedly shorter and less attenuate 

 than that of the latter. These birds sit on a twig watching for their prey 

 often with the beak pointed almost straight up, and darting suddenly from 

 this perch they sometimes take an insect on the wing, though more often 

 hover in front of a leaf or flower for that purpose, somewhat after the 

 manner of a hummingbird, but for a shorter period and with less rapid 

 wing-beats. Its food is entirely minute insects. I kept a wounded bird 

 in a cage for two days, during which time he ate voraciously of finely 

 chopped hard-boiled Q%%^ and drank freely from the water dish. He did 

 not seem to be at all put out by my presence, and ate and drank while I 

 was putting food in the cage. 

 ^^^49. Ceryle alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. — Though less abundant 

 than in Cuba, this bird is common throughout the winter. I noted it at 

 Aguadilla, Oct. 7, 1900, but have no record for their northward departure. 

 The food while here seems to be largely crawfish. 

 • 50. Melanerpes portoricensis. Porto Rico Woodpecker. — Abundant 

 wherever there is enough timber to attract it. I found it on Vieques but 

 not on Mona Island, nor on Decicheo. In general habits, notes, etc., it 

 strongly reminds one of M. erytJirocefhalns, and is equally noisy and vocif- 

 erous. It is a fruit-eater, even more so than its cousin, and the larger 

 proportion of its food is of a vegetable nature. I have never seen it take 

 food on the wing as does our Red-head. Near San Juan, on July 2, 1S99, 

 I made the following note: 



"Melanerpes portoricensis has many harsh notes somewhat similar to 

 notes of the Flicker, and like that bird it is quite garrulous." April 8, 

 1900, near Catano, I shot a female from a pair on a dead snag, and after- 

 wards discovered a freshly excavated cavity close to where they had been 

 sitting. Examination proved it to be not yet completed. It was in every 

 respect like a nesting cavity of the Red-head, and was about twelve feet 

 from the ground. Examination of the bird showed she would not have 

 laid for at least a week. Another pair taken near the same locality April 

 22, were evidently nearly ready for nesting. 



.51. Antrostomus carolinensis. Chuck-wills-Widow. — I found this 

 bird only on the island of Vieques, where in a certain creek bottom I shot 

 two and noted a number more, Dec. 15 and 28, 1899. I secured females 

 in both cases, the stomachs of which were well filled with insects. 



1 ' Notes on Birds and Mammals Observed near Trinidad, Cuba, with 

 remarks on the Origin of West Indian Bird-life.' By F. M. Chapman. Bull. 

 Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. V, pp. 279-330. 



