410 Wetmore, Birds of Vieques Island, P. R. [oct. 



ter of the forest growth. When flushed they flew heavily for a short dis- 

 tance and then perched again in the tree tops, seeming rather stupid. 

 They are considered a game bird. 



6. Butorides virescens cubanus Oberholser. Cuban Green Heron. 

 — Resident. Mr. Bowdish found the Green Heron very abundant at the 

 mouths of small streams. In 1912 though fairly common it did not com- 

 pare in abundance with the numbers found on Porto Rico. There were 

 few places suited for it, as cover was not common along the small streams. 

 One immature bird rather than fly attempted to escape by clambering 

 rapidly away through the branches of a clump of mangroves. Two adults 

 were secured on March 27 and an immature male on March 30. 



7. Florida caerulea cserulescens (Latham). Little Blue Heron. — 

 Resident. This species was the only heron that was common on the island. 

 It was seen often along the coast and' many were found inland in the high 

 dry pastures. An adult male was taken on March 29. 



8. Egretta thula thula (Molina). Snowy Heron. — A few were 

 seen along the beaches, around the lagoons, and at the mouths of the 

 streams. They were in full breeding plumage at this season. A bird seen 

 near Manuel Qui on March 25 was very tame. 



9. Herodias egretta (Gmelin). Egret. — Reported by Jose Barton. 

 [Phcenicopterus ruber Linnseus. Flamingo. — Gundlach ^ remarks 



that the flamingo is said to have been common on the small islands east 

 of Porto Rico. There are unconfirmed rumors of the former occurrence 

 of this bird on Vieques Island.] 



10. Marila afflnis (Eyton). Lesser Scaup Duck. — Reported as 

 occasional in winter. 



11. Dendrocygna arborea (Linnaeus). West Indian Tree Duck. — 

 Tree ducks (Yaguasas) were said to occur at times on the larger lagoons.- 



12. Falco sparverius loquacula Riley. Porto Rican Sparrow 

 Hawk. — Resident. Sparrow Hawks were fairly common in the tree dotted 

 pastures of Vieques. Tops of small trees or dead stubs made convenient 

 perches from which they watched for lizards and large Orthoptera. Their 

 numbers here must be regulated by the small number of available nesting 

 holes. Vieques Island is the type locality of this form (cf . Riley, 1904, p. 

 284). In a small series collected, one male taken March 27 has the distal 

 end of the rectrices much worn from clinging at a nesting hole or, question- 

 ably, from actually assisting in the duties of incubation. 



13. Buteo borealis (Gmelin). Red-tailed Hawk. — Resident. A 

 few Red-tailed Hawks were noted in the wilder parts of the island toward 

 the eastern end. A nest in a tree 40 feet from the ground was said to have 

 contained young two-thirds grown on March 10. The shrill scream of 

 these birds was heard almost daily. It is doubtful if there are more than 



1 Apuntes para la Fauna Puerto Riquefia, An. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., Madrid, 1878, p. 398. 



2 This species was listed by me from Porto Rico as D. aiiliimnalis through error 

 (Wetmore, 1916, p. 30). 



