360 



Scott on the Birds of Jamaicd. 



"Of the enormous lumiber of eggs taken unnnallj at the Morant anei 

 Pedro Cays, those of the Nodeij form perhaps not more than a third part. 

 They are usually longer than those of the Sooty Tern, and are also 

 .iiore pointed at the smaller end. The shell, too, has a rougher surface 

 and is 'chalky' to sight and touch. Six specimens are now before nie ; they 

 vary from dull white to bufty, sparsely blotched and spotted with dark 

 brown and a few neutral tint markings, chiefly round the larger end, where 

 the}' usually form a ring. Average measurements, 2 by 1.40 in." 



6. Hydrochelidon nigra surinamensis {Gmel.). Black Tern.^ — Mr. 

 Hill records this as one of the Terns frequenting the Cays. (Gosse, 

 Birds of Jamaica, p. 437.) 



Mr. Taylor says : "This species I have not niet with. It is said to fre- 

 quent the Morant and Pedro cays, where it is known to the egg gather- 

 ers as the 'Redshank.' It is described as breeding in small colonies on 

 the sand apart from the Sooty Terns. I have some eggs, labelled 'Red- 

 shank,' sent to me from the Morant Cays in May of last year. Their size 

 almost twice that of two specimens from Turks Island) alone renders their 

 identity doubtful; yet the description of the bird (black with red legs) 

 taken at the time will apply to no other species." 



While tiiis evidently does not relate to the species under consideiation, 

 I place it on record for the consideration of future workei-s in this field. 



7. Sterna anaethetus ^cci/. Bridled Tern. —The following is from 

 Mr. Taylor's notes : "During my stay at Port Henderson, small colonies 

 of this species were noticed on three of the outlying cays in the group 

 near Port Royal. On the smallest of them, a mere pile of loose coral rock, 

 totally devoid of vegetation, there were about a score of birds. We did 

 not know of their presence until in close proximity to the cay, when the 

 greater number rose to flight. A few, however, remained sitting until a 

 landing was effected. Almost immediately my companion found a young- 

 bird in down; it lay on a slab of the rock, uncovered. 



"We judged, from the actions of the birds (which kept flying round over- 

 head, crying plaintively), that incubation was still going on, especially as 

 on looking among the rocks at one or two places, they showed unusual 

 excitement, swooping down close to our faces and making attempts to 

 alight. We failed to find eggs, though we searched long a n'd carefully ; 

 if there were any, they were well concealed, and in many places the pas- 

 sages between the rocks reached down to more than an arm's length. We 

 did not find so many birds on the next cay, not more than twelve or so 

 perhaps. They all kept to tiie south and eastern sides where the. shores 

 were covered with the same loose coral rock ; like the last colony they 

 only flew off on our landing. 



"One bird flew up almost from our feet, and after a little search I found 

 the single egg under a slab of the rock, one end of which resting on another 

 and higher piece of rock, and the other on the sand, formed a sloping 

 roof that eftectually concealed bird and egg. On South-east Cay, the out- 

 ermost one of all, there was another and larger colony, and here too the 

 birds showed great reluctance to leave the land, alighting again almost 



