Vol. XXII 

 1905 



G. M. Allen, Summer Birds in the Bahamas. 1IQ 



were heard overhead at night as we lay off shore which probably came 

 from these birds, fhough as noted by Mr. Bonhote, the cry is very similar 

 to that of the Sooty Terns. 



10. Oceanites oceanicus (Kuhl). Wilson's Petrel. — Petrels were 

 seen from the first morning out of New York until we bad crossed the 

 Gulf Stream off Hatteras. During this time large flocks of from 30 to 

 50 birds were occasionally seen, while a few were almost constantly 

 observed flying zig-zag back and forth over the steamer's wake some hun- 

 dred yards or more astern. After entering upon the Gulf Stream and 

 the warmer waters to the south, only one or two single birds were seen, 

 the last being in about lat. 28 N. Cory, while cruising among the Baha- 

 mas at an earlier time of the year, found petrels abundant at a short dis- 

 tance off the coast, which might indicate that the birds were at that time 

 passing through the latitude of the Bahamas and by July, when we made 

 our trip, the main flight had passed still farther to the northward. On 

 our return voyage, July 2S-31, the first petrels, three or four in number, 

 were observed after crossing the Gulf Stream off Hatteras Light, but they 

 did not become common until we were within some 300 or 400 miles of 

 Sandy Hook. 



11. Phaethon americanus Grant. Yellow-billed Tropic Bird; 

 "Tropic." — But few Tropic Birds were seen among the northern Baha- 

 mas. At Hurricane Hole, near the northeastern end of Great Abaco, a 

 small colony was nesting and a few other birds were seen about some 

 of the rocky islets near Elbow Cay. 



12. Sula sula (Linn.). Booby. — Mr. Bryant obtained a single imma- 

 ture specimen near Andros Island about August 1. 



13. Phalacrocorax dilophus floridanus (Aud.). Florida Cormorant ; 

 "Cormoril." — This appears to be an uncommon and local species at the 

 present day among the northern Bahamas. We found but three small 

 rookeries. The first of these was visited by Messrs. Barbour and Bryant, 

 July 7, and consisted of some ten pairs of birds which were breeding on 

 the south side of Great Abaco. On July 16, at Great Sale Cay, we came 

 upon a small colony of less than half a dozen pairs. Four or five new 

 nests were discovered about 15 feet up, in the tops of some large man- 

 groves by the water's edge. Only three of these nests were in use, appar- 

 ently. Two held newly hatched young while the third contained one egg 

 and one very young bird. A small isolated clump of mangroves near the 

 nests may have been used as a roost by the non-incubating birds for its 

 thick branches were well whitewashed with excrement. A third small 

 colony of cormorants was found at Great Bahama, near Riding Point, 

 but we were told that the birds were then through breeding. Two adult 

 specimens which we secured are scarcely different from the true dilophus 

 of the north, being rather larger than typical Florida specimens. These 

 latter, however, vary considerably in size among themselves. 



14. Pelecanus occidentalis (Linn.). Brown Pelican. — Although 

 Brown Pelicans are said to breed abundantly on some of the Bahama 



