274- Mr. J. L. Bonhote on Birds 



large shallow sheet of water, called Turner's Sound, which 

 has another outlet to the sea. On the further side of 

 Turner's Sound is a small stream, some fifteen feet across 

 and eight to ten feet deep, which is the only fresh-water 

 river in the whole group. This stream winds its way eastwards, 

 occasionally widening out into small and very shallow lakes, 

 across which, however, the channel of the stream is always 

 well marked, and after a course of about three miles opens 

 out into an enormous stretch of fresh water extending east- 

 ward as far as the eye can reach. In these creeks and lagoons 

 Ducks and Herons abounded, and a good many Flamingos 

 were also to be seen, but, owing to the absence of vegetation, 

 Passerine birds were nearly entirely absent. 



Our next expedition was due north of Nassau; and skirting 

 the east coast of Great Abaco, we stayed on Little Abaco, 

 which lies off its north-western point. The country here is 

 mostly covered with pine-forest, and is locally known as the 

 " pine-barrens," consisting of dense bush and clearings for 

 sisal-plantations. A good many species of Passeres were col- 

 lected here, while we found the American Mocking-bird fairly 

 established as a resident and breeding bird, and have little 

 doubt of its eventually spreading considerably to the south. 

 In this connexion the curious distribution of two species is 

 worth noting : firstly, Sporadinus riccordi, a Cuban species, 

 which is found northwards at Andros, again in Abaco, and 

 probably also in Great Bahama; secondly, the Turk ey-Buzzard, 

 Cathartes aura, which has a precisely similar distribution, so 

 far as the Bahamas are concerned. But it is very strange 

 that neither of these species, and especially the latter, should 

 ever have been found on New Providence, which at its nearest 

 point is not more than twenty-three miles from Andros. 



At Little Abaco the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo borealis) 

 was found breeding ; a specimen of Kirtland's Warbler was 

 also procured, and the large Yellow-throat {Geothlypis tanneri) 

 was fairly numerous. 



In our third and last expedition, in which I was accom- 

 panied by Mr. Frank M. Chapman, of the American Museum 

 of Natural History, New York, and Mr. L. A. Fuertes, a 



