354 AD. BOUCARb 



birds, the cane and other crops will sufTer in their turn. 

 A heavy export tax on birds skins has been proposed, 

 may it soon be laid on and the vegetable wealth of the 

 Island saved. » 



Page 2SS, Tortiiga [Extracted from Leotaud on Birds of 

 Trinidad) . 



« The Insectivonis tribes are the true representatives 

 of our ornithology. They are so many which feed on In- 

 sects and their larva that it must be asked with mach 

 reason : « What would become of our Vegetation, of 

 ourselves should these Insect destroyers disappear. » 

 Every luhere may be seen, M. Leotaud speaks of five and 

 twenty years ago, my experience would make me Substi- 

 tute for bis words : Hardly any where seen one of these 

 Insectivora in pursuit of seizure of its prey, either on the 

 wing, or on the trunks of the trees, in the coverts of 

 thickets or in the calice of the tlowers. Whenever called 

 to witnessone of these frequent migrations from one point 

 to another so offen practised by ants ; not only can the 

 Dendrocolaptes be seen foUowing the moving trail and 

 preying on the ants and eggs themselves ; but even the 

 black Tanager abandon bis usual fruits for this more 

 tempting delicacy. Ourfrugivorousand baccivorousgenera 

 are also pretty numerous and most of them are so fond 

 of Insect food that they unite as occasion offers with the 

 Insectivorous tribes. » 



Le resume de ce qui precede est que l'on tue telle- 

 ment d'Oiseaux et surtout d'Oiseaux-Mouches ä la 

 Trinidad, qu'ils deviennent de plus en plus rares, ce qui 

 est un tres grand malheur, que les plantations en souf- 

 frent et que les especes d'Oiseaux qui etaient tros 

 communes du temps de M. Leotaud sont devenues tres 

 rares. 



II est certain que la protection efiicace des Oiseaux est 

 absolument indispensable dans toutes les Antilles, et en 

 g^neral dans toutes les iles, parce que le nombre des 

 Oiseaux yest treslimite et que, dans ces conditions, si des 

 mesures rigoureuses ne sont pas prises immediatement 



