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



the birds were seen until April 4 when I left the island. They were found 

 along the beaches and near the small streams where in shallow pools min- 

 nows and tadpoles were abundant. An incident in which a wing tipped 

 kingfisher figured stands out clearly in my remembrances of Vieques. The 

 bird made into a thicket of thorny bushes and to prevent its escape I laid 

 my gun on it only to discover that I had also dropped it across a wasp's 

 nest. 



36. Gymnasio nudipes (Daudin) (?). Bare-legged Owl. — Seiior 

 Jose Barton told of seeing one of these small owls at close range in the hills 

 at the eastern end of Vieques a number of years ago. This bird may have 

 been true nudipes or the subspecies newtoni, as St. Croix is only a short 

 distance away, or it is possible that a new form may exist here. 



37. Antrostomus carolinensis (Gmelin). Chuck-will's-widow. — 

 A migrant species probably of regular occurrence in winter. Mr. B. S. 

 Bowdish (1902-3, p. 365) shot two of these birds in a creek-bottom on 

 December 15 and 28, 1899, and saw others. 



38. Microlyssa exilis exilis (Gmelin). Gilt-crested Hummingbird. 



— This bird was fairly common on Vieques Island during my stay and I 

 considered it a resident. It may be however that it is a migrant as Mr. 

 Bowdish does not record it nor had it been found here previous to my visit. 

 The first bird that I collected on the island was this beautiful crested hum- 

 mer and in suitable localities it was fairly common. The blossoms of the 

 Muneco {Cordia collococca) were attractive to them and others were found 

 about the thorny acacia known as rallo ( Vachellia farnesiana). With 

 other hummingbirds they visited the cultivated gonduros (Cajanus cajan). 

 They were quick and active and the flight was accompanied by a loud 

 buzzing or humming. Except for this they were silent. Specimens were 

 taken March 18, 19, 23, and 29. 



This species has been recorded from Porto Rico (cf. Wetmore, 1916, 

 p. 70) on the strength of specimens sent by Hjalmarson to Sundevall and 

 one of these is at present in the U. S. National Museum collection. Gund- 

 lach 1 however considers that these skins may have come from St. Bartholo- 

 mew and remarks as follows (loc. cit.) : 



" En mi segundo viaje .... volvi a ver .... el ejemplar de la coUecion 

 de Hjalmarson en Arecibo^ y encontre que teni una tarjeta con la palabra 

 Saint Bartholome, ecrita por otra persona y no por Hjalmarson, quien 

 preguntado por mi de nuevo, me dijo que no se acordaba si el habia tenido 

 ejemplares muertos en la isla de Puerto Rico, o si los ejemplares vistos por 

 Sundevall habian provenido de la de Saint Bartholome u otra, y habian 

 dada, como enviados de el, motivo a creerlos puerto-riquerios." 



39. Sericotes holosericeus holosericeus (Linnaeus). Green Carib. 



— A common resident species though like the Gilt-crested Hummer it may 

 be a migrant as it was not known from Vieques Island previous to my visit. 



1 Apuntes para la Fauna Puerto-Riquena, An. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat., Madrid, 1S78, p. 224. 



