lO BowDisH, Birds of Porto Rico. I t" 



LJao. 



BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. 



BY B. S. BOWDISH. 

 (Concluded from Vo/. A'AV, Oct., /gos, />■ s66.) 



Si- Tyrannus dominicensis. Gray Kingbird. — Verj abundant 

 wherever I went, and equally so at all seasons. It is perhaps the most 

 conspicuous bird of Porto Rico, being very evenly distributed about the* 

 woods and fields, along the creeks, and about the houses in the towns. 



In general habits it is much like the common Kingbird ; it seems ever> 

 bolder in defence 6i its nest, while out of the breeding season it appears 

 rather less pugnacious, though not at all averse to indulging in many a 

 mock battle with its own kind in the tree-tops, uttering loud harsh cries. 

 Its nesting habits, and its eggs are scarcely distinguishable from those of 

 T. tyrannus. One pair, nesting about twenty rods from a ranch house 

 near Aguadilla, furnished IP'set of three eggs, slightly incubated, June 9, 

 1900. The nest was on a horizontal limb of a mango tree ten feet from 

 the ground, in an open field; diameter 7.00 X 2.25, depth 3.00 X 1.50 

 inches. It was composed of fine rootlets and dead vines. Another set of 

 three eggs, one fresh, the other two with incubation commenced, was 

 taken from a nest situated like the last, July 9, at the same locality. It 

 was placed twelve feet from the ground on a horizontal limb of a tree in 

 an open field. Diameter of nest, 8.00 X 3.12; depth, 2.50 X 1-25. It was 

 composed of twigs, exteriorly, and lined with rootlets. If a nest is- 

 destroyed the birds build another close by, often in the same tree, some- 

 times in the same position as the first. The number of eggs is almost 

 invariably three, and they apparently rear but one brood in a season, the 

 dates for fresh eggs ranging from June 20 to July 22. In the shade trees- 

 on a road leading from Cataiio to Bayamon, I have seen as many as eight 

 occupied nests at one time. Several stomachs examined showed the 

 following contents : male, few small berries; female, one large berry-seed 

 and remains of insects; male, berries; male, flies, grasshoppers and other 

 insects; male, berries, coleoptera, and other insects; two males, insects; 

 male and female, seeds and insects ; male, seeds and insects ; male, seeds 

 and insects; male, insects and two large seeds. The seeds were those of 

 wild fruits on which they feed quite largely. The voice when scolding 

 an intruder resembles that of T. tyrannus, and they usher in the morning 

 with notes at times quite similar to some the Phcebe occasionally utters. 

 At times their notes cover quite a wide range of variability. 



54. Pitangus taylori. Taylor's Flycatcher. — Of this species almost 

 the same description may be repeated throughout as for the preceding. 

 In some places it seems a little less common than the Gray Kingbird, in 

 others it seems fully to equal it in numbers. Its eggs I have not seen 

 but presume they resemble those of the Gray Kingbird. Two nests with 



