Notes on some Jamaican Birds.



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Banana Bird (Icterus leucopteryx), whose two young resolutely

refused to be hand-reared. If you will follow me less than one

hundred yards from this imaginary arc-end I will show you one

more nest—also in an ebony tree—it is that of the Ground Dove

{Chamcepelia passerina), a poor platform nest the size of a small

man’s palm, in which the fully-fledged young can be seen side by

side, making as charming a picture as one could wish. No doubt

if we looked around a little, more than one Mocking Bird’s nest

could easily be found, and just over there in that bank it is safe

to say at least one Tody’s eggs or young could be found. We

are satisfied further that a pair of Long-tailed Humming Birds

(Aiihurus polytmus) have nested in the Banana Quit’s tamarind

tree, and, judging from the scores of Vervain Humming Birds

(.Mellisnga minima) that resort to its blossoms, there must be

several nests of such birds not far away, the size of which may be

incidentally mentioned as being, when the young has flown , no

bigger on the top than a two-shilling piece! I have proved this,

nor did the coin slip from the top into the nest. While digres¬

sing let me just add one other nest that is to be found in the

particular trees named. It is that of the common brown rat

driven to an arboreal life by the mongoose. I more than suspect

this animal has interfered with my Blackbirds in one instance

and ‘improved’ on the birds architecture to its own purpose.


Nor is the Savannah Blackbird’s nest much to brag about.

Let it be remembered the bird is nearly related to the Cuckoos,

and all honour to the Cuckoo that makes a nest. We may

congratulate the creature on its higher sense of duty ; it may,

however, be an open cpiestion as to whether the bird is 011 the

upgrade or the reverse.


Popular belief allows quite a number of these birds to

designedly assist each other in nidification. My own examples

do not completely confirm the argument, for in neither of two

instances was an unusually large structure made nor more than

eight eggs laid. I have examined several old nests, and in every

case have found one or more old eggs buried in the materials,

such being ebony and lignum vitae twig ends with upholstery

of maseberry leaves.


Did not a company of C. ani remain interested in what was



