the Birds of Grand Cayman. 29 



suspended from a small branch about three feet from the 

 ground. It was compactly woven of spider's web, palm- 

 fibre, and similar material, the outside being finished off 

 with some pieces of bark covered with lichen, and the 

 remarkably deep cup being lined with fibre. The nest ended 

 below in a point, recalling, though in a less pronounced 

 manner, the pointed end of the Australian FantaiFs nest. 

 When found, the bird was sitting, though the two eggs 

 were evidently lately laid. They were pink in colour, with 

 very small round dark claret-coloured spots mostly around 

 the large end. One egg was only slightly spotted. Both 

 birds stayed close to the nest while it was being examined, 

 flying from branch to branch. The one which had been 

 sitting had a harsh scolding note, like a Whitethroat's ; the 

 other was silent. On the 8th of June the bird was still 

 sitting, and was not disturbed. Presumably because of the 

 depth of the nest, it was in a most constrained position, 

 with its beak pointing vertically upwards. On the 12th of 

 June there were young ones in the nest, which had the 

 appearance of having been hatched about two days. They 

 had greyish down, and the inside of their throats was 

 yellow. 



This was the only nest, old or new, of Vireosylva cayman- 

 ensis found by the writer; it would seem that it cannot 

 breed very freely in the north of Grand Cayman, which has 

 such a comparatively dry climate, that nests often remain 

 for years after they have been abandoned, without much 

 alteration in appearance. 



Dendrceca petechia auricapilla seems to breed much more 

 commonly in this district than the last-mentioned bird, and 

 its old nests are by no means infrequent in the " bush/' 

 It is locally known as the '' Yellow bird.'' A newly built 

 nest, found on the 20th of April, 1913, was made of dry 

 "turtle grass" (Thalassia) and spider's web not very neatly 

 put together, though the palm-fibre lining of the cup was 

 well finished ; it was in a bush of " button-wood " 

 (Conocarpus) about five feet from the ground. Though 

 there were no eggs until about ten days later_, the birds 



