liso? 1 ] Field, Birds of Port Henderson, Jamaica, W.I. I in 



Through his kind attention I was introduced in proper form to 

 the birds of Jamaica. Mr. Taylor is undoubtedly the best 

 informed man in Jamaica upon the native birds, and he is glad to 

 place his fund of information at the disposal of the visiting orni- 

 thologist. 



As is well-known, the fauna of Jamaica has been greatly 

 modified during the past few years through the introduction 

 of the Mongoose, and in this part of the island the animal is 

 found in great numbers. Through its agency, the snakes, notably 

 the yellow boa, until within a few years very common, and also 

 the larger lizards, particularly the iguana, have been almost if not 

 quite exterminated ; but the ground nesting birds have been the 

 greatest sufferers ; the Quail, the wild Guinea Fowl, and the 

 Limpkin are now very scarce. In this connection it is particu- 

 larly interesting to note that the Ground Dove has here very 

 quickly changed its nesting habits, and now builds at some 

 distance from the ground upon broken cacti, or on large or broken 

 limbs of low trees, in any spot where a surface large enough for 

 laying the nest is to be found. Attention is also called to the 

 occurrence of Sterna ancethetus in Jamaica ; of the occurrence 

 of Splza americana in the West Indies; to the peculiar nesting 

 habits of Coereba Jlaveola, upon which point we may hope to 

 have some interesting notes from Mr. Taylor, and also to the 

 occurrence at Port Henderson of Mimus hillii. 



It may be of interest, too, to add that on the visit which we 

 made to the summit of Blue Mountain Peak we were unable to 

 find any evidence or informatian that the Jamaican Petrel or 

 'Blue Mountain Duck' (^'Estrelata jamaicensis) resorts regu- 

 larly to this locality, though such is said to be the case. 



i. Colymbus dominicensis Linn. Diving Dapper. — Common. Breeds 

 in the bogs along Ferry River. It fights fiercely when captured and the 

 negroes are fond of telling tales of the execution which it can do with its 

 sharp beak. 



2. Podilymbus podiceps {Linn.). Diving Dapper. — Not so common 

 as C. dominicensis. 



3. Sterna anaethetus Scop. — At the entrance to Kingston Harbor are 

 several cays varying in size from a mere sand bank to islands of an acre 

 or more in area. The larger of these are dignified by names. Between 

 South Cay and Drunkenman Cay there is a small island composed 

 entirely of broken coral rock ; in reality it is merely a part of the barrier 



