98 on the ‘ Mosquito Hawk ’ or Jamaica ‘ Give-??ie-me-bit.'


child, while her better half, with the superior wisdom already

referred to, seemed to look 011 with enjoyment at the thought of

the ‘picnic’ somebody was going to have over that baby. Eighty-

eight grains was that baby’s weight. Eighty-eight grains of

liveliness and loveliness, quite blind yet able to make sundry

little shuffling runs. The bird’s down, in colour, being a sandy

grizzle, would even better harmonize with its natural surround¬

ings than would either old bird or egg. For two days, and with

some difficulty, we kept the little stowawa_v going with moths;

then the inevitable happened.


Dusk is the time when ‘ Give-me-me-bits ’ are mostly in

evidence, and there must be singular aberration somewhere.

Noctural birds usually seek darkened resorts for repose and nidi-

fication do they not? Like some others of his kin, the ‘ Give-

me-me-bit’ differs, yet who can understand the reason for such

an opposite extreme? Instead of the shade and darkness with

consequent comparative cool this bird seeks the very hottest site

for incubating and also the most exposed. The glare and heat

reflected from such a situation as is usually chosen are enough to

blind the sitting bird and cook the egg. A thermometer laid on

the ground beside them would no doubt register upwards of i20 y

Fahrenheit. Does the bird cover the egg by day to keep it cool ?

When disturbed while so engaged I have known the ‘ Give-me-

me-bit ’ to take wing and, flying to and fro, to swoop immediately

overhead, making behind one such a startling whirr as to make a

nervous native almost justifiably superstitious, a whirr such as a

pheasant makes.


Not the least extraordinary habit of this bird is that of

choosing a conspicuous (yet inconspicuous again) roosting place ;

conspicuous when once noticed but only then. For some days a

forked branch of a lignum vitce tree, about nine feet from the

ground and but slightly oblique, nor more than xjin. in diameter

was the sleeping place of one in our garden. Quite aware of one’s

presence, the Mosquito Hawk made no other movement than to

blink his big eyes, a butterfly net would have captured him quite

easily.


Kingston , Jamaica ,


Sept. 1st, 1908.



