312 A DAY IN THE WOODS OF JAMAICA. 



grazing beast beneath, and now and then springing 

 upward to seize the insect prey. Away goes one, the 

 boat-shaped tail folded on itself, with a sharp metallic 

 cry, which reminds you of the smitings of a smith 

 upon his anvil. From this sound, we call the familiar 

 bird the Tinkling. 



As we proceed we hear the low sweet cooings of 

 hundreds of Doves of various species coming from the 

 woods. These sounds are eminently characteristic of 

 the early day, in these wooded slopes. The loud and 

 vehement call of the White-winged Turtle-dove, " Two 

 bits* for two I " is pertinaciously uttered ; or now and 

 again exchanged for its stammering cry of eight notes, 

 of which the last is protracted with a moaning fall. 

 The Pea-dove shews its plump form of purplish-fawn 

 colour, and its large melting gazelle-eye, on the road 

 before us, dusting itself almost under our horse's feet, 

 or sits in the shadow of the groves, and coos, " Sary 

 coat true-blue ! " And Ground-doves, no larger than 

 sparrows, congregate in small flocks on the pasture- 

 lands, searching for seeds of grass and weeds, and 

 shout " Meho ! meho!" or a loud and hollow 

 "Whoop!" 



The birds have their proper regions. We are at- 

 taining a considerable elevation, and are passing, by a 

 narrow path, through a dense copse of small trees ; 

 bastard-cedar and logwood, with fiddle-wood and 

 mahogany, much interlaced with briers and twiners. 



* A "bit" is the colonial appellation of three-halfpence sterling. 

 The renderings of the birds' voices are in Negro-English. 



