56 THE BIRDS OF ANDROS ISLAND, Bx\HAMAS 



is one of the most conspicuous birds of the island, as well as one of the tamest, 

 being quite often caught by the children. They seemed to be particularly fond of 

 the fruit of the gum elemi {Bursera gummifera) and of the ripe figs. About May 20 

 the genital organs were enlarged. 



*24. Piranga rubra Linn. Summer Tanager. — A single specimen, a male, 

 was taken at Red Bays, April 19. We showed it to some of the natives, but they 

 had never seen any like it. As its color would render it conspicuous, we may 

 infer that it was not a regular visitor, but, as stated by Cory in his "Birds of the 

 West Indies," p. 85, is only accidental in the Bahamas. 



25. Loxigilla violacea Linn. Violet Grosbeak. — Known by the natives as 

 the "Spanish Paroquet," and quite abundant both in the coppet and the pines. 

 The males vary much in color, some being a brilliant black, while others are only 

 dusky; this difference is more apparent in living than in dead specimens. Both 

 sexes also vary in size. Some of these birds were brought to us alive by the negro 

 children, and I soon learned by experience that they not only were pugnacious but 

 could inflict quite a painful bite with their strong beaks. The generative organs 

 of a male collected May 30 were considerably enlarged. 



26. Euetheia bicolor Linn. Grassquit. — Very common both in the pine- 

 yard and in the coppet, and the most abundant species of land bird on the island. 

 They were very tame and allowed one to approach within a few feet, and while we 

 were at Nicol's Town, several of them flew through the house at various times. 

 They seemed to vary a great deal, some of the males having the head and breast 

 black, while others were much lighter with only the throat and chin black, more 

 like the average female; in these the under mandibles were also much lighter. 

 They seemed to have mated even in April, as they were usually seen hopping 

 about in pairs. 



27. Icterus northropi Allen. Northrop's Oriole. — (See PI. I.) Description 

 and notes of this bird were published in the Auk (Vol. VII, p. 343, October, 

 1890). 



28. Agelaius phoeniceus bryanti Ridgw. Bahaman Red-winged Blackbird. — 

 This bird was found generally distributed over the island, and was the presiding 

 genius of its creeks and swashes. On the west coast especially his flute-like "okra- 

 lee" was the most familiar note. The birds were usually in small flocks, but there 

 always seemed to be a great preponderance of males. Beyond doubt, however, 

 the latter knew that their plainly dressed mates were near, much oftener than we, 

 for a number of times we saw one half raise his wings so as to expose his brilliant 

 epaulets, and sing with all his heart, fluttering his wings at every note. On two 

 occasions while visiting a large mangrove near Mastic Point, we remained until 

 after sunset and watched the Redwings fly out to roost there. The mangrove, 

 about two miles from the shore, was very large, and accommodated hundreds of 

 feathered guests nightly. There were Man-o'-war Birds, White-headed Pigeons, 

 and Louisiana Herons, but the most numerous as well as the noisiest lodgers were 

 the Red-winged Blackbirds. They began to arrive about five o'clock, flying in 

 from the mainland by twos and threes, or sometimes singly, until at last the por- 

 tion of the mangrove that they occupied was seemingly alive with them. There 



