T)^(^ Scott o// the Birds of y amir lea . [October 



So eareful ami p.ii iislaki iig a woiker as the lalo Philip Henry Gosse, 

 Esq., only knew the bird by hearsay, and I quote as of interest the few 

 words he devotes to it (Birds of Jamaica, p. 437), he in turn quoting from 

 letters from his friend Richard Hill, Esq. 



"In the Blue Mountains, high up toward their summits, is a curious 

 BURROWING bird, which they call the Blue Mountain Duck. It is des- 

 cribed as having webbed feet and a hooked parrot-bill. This description 

 would indicate a species of Alca. It inhabits holes in the cliffs, and is 

 said to burrow to the extent of ten feet. Nothing is known of its habits 

 of feeding. E. M'Geachy, Esq., Crown Surveyor for the county of Sur- 

 rey, first informed me of the existence of such birds. He had himself 

 taken them from their burrows. These facts have also been assured me 

 by other observers." 



Gosse agrees with Mr. Hill that the bird "seems to be of the family 

 Alcadce," and speaks of a specimen "in the possession of George Atkin- 

 son, Esq., of Newcastle-on-Tyne." 



The only specimens I saw were the two in the collection of the Jamaica 

 Institute, referred to below by Mr. Taylor. 



In regard to the present status of these birds on the island, I believe them 

 to be nearly if not quite exterminated. The following details are from 

 my field notes. 



Mr. Herbert T. Thomas, Inspector of Jamaica Constabulary, Morant 

 Bay, Jamaica, whose explorations in the little known parts of the Blue 

 Mountains have added much to our knowledge, believes that certain notes 

 heard by him while camped at night on high altitudes, are to be attrib- 

 uted to these birds. This he bases on the knowledge of his guides who 

 assured him that they knew the peculiar sounds well. Mr. Thomas 

 kindly gave me this information personally. 



During my stay in the vicinity of Priestmans River, a black man of 

 great intelligence, some education, and a reputation for integrity not to 

 be questioned, aided me in procuring .certain of the rarer birds of the 

 island. His name is William King, and he was recommended to me as a 

 person familiar with the birds of the country, and as an expert woodsman 

 and hunter. After employing him for some three months I feel bound to 

 say in this connection that he did much to aid me in the work I was 

 engaged in, and that I have rarely had so careful an observer as he proved 

 to be, to assist me. Toward the last of my slay this man made two expe- 

 ditions for me into the mountains in quest of the Petrel under considera- 

 tion. The results of these two trips I summarize as follows : 



On the 25th February, 1891, I sent King to Mooretown to see what he 

 could learn in i-egard to the Jamaica Petrel, a bird which he had heard of 

 and described to me in a general way. He returned on the night of the 

 27th with the following information. At Mooretown he learned of a man 

 several miles from that place who.it was thought, might know of the 

 ])irds. Finding him the next day the man told him of a bird which he 

 called a"r/r)' lajid Booby " which lived in holes in the cliff"s and which hail 

 at one time been used by the people living in the mountains as an article 



