1891-] Northrop oti the Birds of Andros hland. JO 



feeding, and Ihe ncjajro advances as hefbrc. I was assured by intelligent 

 men that in this \va\' they had sometimes captured the birds alive with 

 their hands. That the bird feeds in the manner described above is well 

 shown bv its mouth, which is peculiarlj adapted to sifting from the mud 

 any moUusks or crustaceans that might serve as food, and the gape of the 

 bill when opened to its fullest extent is only about half an inch. We 

 were also told that a screen is sometimes built of palm leaves, and behind 

 this the native can easily advance within shot of the flocks. A large 

 number of young birds are yearly destroyed by the people for food. We 

 ate the bodies of those we obtained and found the flavor most delicious. 

 We had for a long time been living practically upon flour and hominy, 

 and this may have made the Flamingo seem better than it really was ; 

 nevertheless I think it would bear comparison with any of tiie much 

 sought after game birds. The stomachs of the pair I obtained containcii 

 no fish, but many small shells and much mud. 



66. Dendrocygna arborea {Li'un.). Tree Duck. — A flock of Ducks was 

 seen in a lake on the west side on April 21, but we could ol)tain no speci- 

 mens. A negro who was with us said that they were 'Whistling Ducks' 

 and, as Cory * states that this species was quite abundant on Andros, the 

 negro was probably right. I was told that earlier in the year the Ducks 

 were very numerous on the swashes. The ground about the lake men- 

 tioned was pitted with shallow holes about two to four inches in diameter 

 which our man said had been made by the Ducks while feeding, when the 

 place had been covered with water. I also saw a smaller Duck near Wide 

 Opening on June 17. In answer to my questions, I was told that it was a- 

 'Summer Duck'. 



* 67. Fregata aquila {Lt'/ni.). Man-o'-\var-Bird. — A number of these 

 birds had their roosting place in the large mangrove near Mastic Point, 

 already spoken of in connection with the Red-winged Blackbirds. We 

 were told that formerly they used to breed there, but that of late yeais 

 they had gone farther from the settlement. 



* 68. Pelecanus fuscus Liini. Brown Pelican. — A few seen, and 

 one, a young bird, obtained. 



* 69. Phalacrocorax dilophus floridanus (A/uL). Florida Cormo- 

 rant. — Cor}' in his 'Birds of the Bahamas' states that this is an abundant 

 species, but in his 'West Indian Birds' says it is accidental in the Bahamas. 

 We often saw it, and on June 16 while sailing through the Northern 

 Bight, found them breeding on a small island known as Cormorant Cay. 

 Here were old and young birds, some not able to leave the nest, but the 

 majority able to walk. Those still in the nest were covered with a soft 

 sooty down, and their gular sacks were pale yellowish white, darker near 

 the bill. The nests were about eighteen inches in diameter, and about 

 one foot in height, roughly constructed of sticks. 



* 70. Anous stolidus (Lim».). Noddy. — -A flock of tiiese birds was 

 seen near Fresh Creek, on June 6. They were occasionally seen after- 

 ward. 



* Birds of Bahamas, p. 183. 



