° 1918 ] Wetmore, Birds of Desecheo Island, P. R. 335 



ered with vegetation. The core of the island is made up of volcanic 

 rock upon which are deposits of limestone. Along the shore this 

 limerock is eaten and eroded by wave action and shallow caves 

 are found in several places. 



The island was very dry, with no springs or watercourses. I was 

 toM that heavy rains fell at irregular intervals, and small basins in 

 the rock had been dammed to catch rainwater. The sun was 

 intensely hot during my stay, but the nights were cool and pleasant. 



General Conditions. 



The vegetation somewhat resembled that of wooded hills on 

 Culebra Island. The short-stemmed, heavy-limbed West Indian 

 Birch (Elaphrium simaruba) grew on the hill slopes mingled with 

 the Palo de Burro (Capparis cynophallophora). Near the shore the 

 Te de la Playa (Corchorus hirsutus) was common; the Bejuco de 

 Paralejo (StigmaphyUon lingulatum) grew everywhere. There 

 were great beds of Opuntia along the cliffs, Cercus was abundant, 

 and a large branched cactus formed dense thickets. Small openings 

 in the brush were grown with Panicum utowanoeum and Valota 

 insularis. These grass-grown openings were few in number and 

 small in extent. Cacti and thorny creepers, that bound the shrubs 

 together, made a dense jungle through which progress was difficult, 

 so that it was necessary to stay in the trail skirting the shore or 

 make a new one with the machete. 



I noticed many signs of rodents in the grass and under the bushes 

 and one evening after sunset found rats abundant and very tame 

 while taking a walk beyond the rookeries above camp. Three 

 that I shot with an automatic pistol were RaJttus rattus, and as 

 nearly as I could tell in the dim light all were of this small species. 

 They were feeding on the seeds of low plants and tender herbage. 

 A few bats were seen but under conditions that did not allow identi- 

 fication. I saw no trace of the wild goats that were said to range 

 here at one time. From the dense growth of vegetation I judged 

 that thev had disappeared many years before. 



The c^-ious Siguana (Ameiva sp.) a terrestrial lizard, was found 

 in sandy localities and was fairly common. One that lived near 



