iSgiJ CoRV on Birch of Cuba and BdJiama fslands. 2Q7 



{S(ar/itciias cyanoccpJiala') ^ the latter seeiv.ing to l)e C(;iniiion, 

 as they were nearly always to lie found in the markets. 



In crossing the harbor to take the train for Cienfuegos, we saw 

 a number of Brown Pelicans and Buzzards flying ahout the bav, 

 nn)stlv near the entrance of the harbor, in the vicinitv of Moro 

 Castle. 



From Havana to Cienfuegos bv rail is a ride of about eleven 

 hours, and the countrv through whicli the road passes is prettv 

 and fertile. To oui good fortune, a heavy rain had fallen during 

 the night, so that we were not troubled with dust, which is usuallv 

 the great objection to this ride. 



Much of the land along the road is cleared and cultivated, the 

 fields broken here and there by clumps of royal palms and 

 cocoanut trees, or by extensive plantations of sugar cane, with the 

 picturesque houses of the planters, and the tall chimneys of the 

 sugar works standing out clearly in the distance. Along the road 

 Buzzards, Anis { Crotophaga ani)^ Cuban Meadow-larks and ^»^ 

 Sparrow Hawks were common. Numerous small birds were 

 flitting about the hedges of cacti and pineapple plants, and once, 

 while stopping at a station, two Finches {Ruethcta Icpida),^ 

 came within a few feet of the car window, lighting on a banana 

 tree, which grew so close to the track that its leaves touched the 

 cars. At San Domingo, a station where the passengers for Cien- 

 fuegos changed cars, we observed a number of Swifts, Cypselus 

 'Phccnicobius (Gosse), flying about the houses, and a Ground 

 Dove i^CohimbigaUina passerina) flew from a field and lit 

 *for a moment near the platform. The market in Cienfuegos is 

 not attractive, and very few birds are oiFered foi sale there. The 

 only species observed, during two visits, were the Oriole {Icterus '^' 

 hypomelas^ a Finch {Eiiiheia lepida), and some Cuban Parrots, u^ 

 From Cienfuegos to Santiago de Cuba is a run of some thirty 

 hoiu^s by steamer, much of the time in sight of land. 



In Santiago de Cuba, with its wonderful river-like harbor and 

 its quaint, many colored houses, we found a most interesting city, 

 but very little in the way of birds to repay our getting up at day- 

 break to explore its market. The onl}^ birds oflered for sale were 

 a few which had been trapped alive, and included Cuban Parrots, 

 several Black Finches {Mdopyrrha nigra) ^ and a pair of Non- v^^ 

 pareils. Near the entrance of the harbor a pair of Tropic i^irds 

 {^Phaethon Jlavirostris) were flying about or floating on the ^ 

 water. 



