^°\'o<^^ 1 BowDiSH. Birds of Porto Rico. 1 9 



swamp on San Juan Baj, Feb. 12, 1900 ; stomach contents, long spider- 

 legs. Another male, March 10, near same spot ; stomach contained 

 insects. April 8, in same locality, a female, stomach contained insects. 

 A' large number of stomachs examined in Cuba contained seeds. 

 >/ 83. Dendroica discolor. Prairie Warbler. — Next to the Parula War- 

 bler the most common of the migrant warblers. Winter of 1899-1900, 

 first seen Jan. 17 ; last, no record ; 1900, first, Sept. 23 ; no record for last ; 

 1901-03, first, Sept. 30 ; no record for last. Stomachs of most Porto 

 Rican birds contained insects only, but I have found only seeds in the 

 stomachs of some Cuban birds. 



/ 84. Seiurus aurocapillus. Oven-bird. — Fairly common, though less 

 so than in Cuba. I have no dates to offer for arrivals and departures. 

 Shot a male at Vieques, Jan. 16, 1900 ; stomach containing eight good 

 sized seeds. Dec. i, 1900, male, at Mayaguez ; stomach contents, insects. 

 Saw one at Mayaguez, Oct. 14, 1901, and shot a male Oct. 21 ; stomach 

 contents, small quantity of insect matter. 



85. Seiurus motacilla. Louisiana Water-Thrush. — This bird was 

 not recorded from Porto Rico previous to the time I obtained it at 

 Vieques. Dec. 27, 1899, I shot a female ; stomach contents, fine insect 

 remains. Jan. 22, 1900, male ; stomach contents, insects. Jan. 22, 

 female, stomach contents, one small snail, and water insects. Nov. 30, at 

 Mayaguez, sex ?, stomach contained fine aquatic insects. Not rare. 



86. Seiurus noveboracensis. Water-Thrush. — Not found as com- 

 monly as the last. Shot a female at Mayaguez, Nov. 30, 1900 ; stomach 

 contents, small aquatic insects. Shot a female at Mona Island, Aug. 18, 

 1901 ; stomach empty, condition very fat. It seemed strange indeed to find 

 a bird of this kind on this bare dry rock. 



87. Setophaga ruticilla. American Redstart. — A quite common win- 

 ter visitant. Saw one at Mayaguez, Sept. 24, 1900. Noted one at Vieques 

 Nov. 30, 1899 ; another at Mayaguez, Nov. 4, 1900. One of the very few 

 warblers in whose stomach I have not found seeds. 



88. Mimus polyglottos orpheus. West Indian Mockingbird. — Com- 

 mon wherever I went, except on the islands of Mona and Decicheo. 

 Appearance, song, and habits much the same as those of the American 

 form. I found a nest at San Juan, March 12, 1899, containing three young 

 about ten days old. I also found a nest at Aguadilla, May 19, 1900, con- 

 taining seven eggs. It is possible that two^females laid in this nest but the 

 eggs were quite uniform in appearance, and were advanced in incubation. 

 This nest was about ten feet up in a small tree, by a fence near a house. 

 The nests, situations, eggs, etc., are apparently not different from those of 

 M. polyglottos. Stomachs examined contained : a single dragonfly ; blue 

 berries ; two small centipedes, and a large beetle, minus the head ; one 

 large striped beetle. The natives take the young from the nest and rear 

 them, and prize them very highly as cage song birds. They are appar- 

 ently very easily reared. A boy offered me a healthy young bird for ten 

 cents. 



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