BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. _ 109 



PORTO RICAN BANANAQ,UIT, PORTO RICAN HONEY CREEPER. Coereba por- 



toricensis (Bryant). 

 REINITAj Reina, Gusaneko. 



The honey creeper was a common resident in all the localities visited. In 

 Porto Rico it is without question the most abundant bird, being found every- 

 where in the mangroves lining lagoons and bays, along maya hedges, through the 

 cane fields, in mango trees in the pastures, in coffee plantations, thickets, and 

 small forests, seemingly being able to adapt itself to all conditions. It is the 

 only bird common in the dense, humid forests clothing the higher slopes of El 

 Yunque, and the species is equally common on the dry south coast, where rains 

 are infrequent. Honey creepers are very quick and active, and when resting 

 for an instant flit the wings rapidly with a kingletlike motion. In the maya 

 hedges they work quickly along, going out frequently into the cane fields. It is 

 one of the few birds common in coffee plantations, far outnumbering all the 

 other species found there. These creepers are very tame and trusting, coming 

 about houses, searching the eaves for spiders, and even entering open doors and 

 windows. In the little cafetins in the barrios it is a common practice to place 

 sirup on the counter for them, and a pair will visit this supply daily. 



The song of this bird is incessant and is an insectlike trill that may be likened 

 to the syllables zee-e-e-e sivees se tee, the first part given slowly in a thin, high 

 tone and the last more rapidly. In the dark forests of El Yunque this was the 

 only song heard. Nothing appears to daunt them. Near Adjuntas, after a 

 cloudburst, where the torrents of rain were accompanied by violent, shifting 

 winds, the honey creepers were singing cheerfully the instant the heaviest part 

 of the downpour was over. The young begin singing as soon as they are fully 

 feathered and frequently are breeding before they have lost the Juvenal 

 plumage, when they can not be more than 6 or 7 months old. 



The nesting season extends without break throughout the year, though nests 

 are most abundant from February to June. Several broods are raised; how 

 many can be told only by extended observations of one pair. The nests are 

 common and many are built in exposed localities. They are globular affairs, 

 placed at the tips of limbs in a semipendant fashion, from 5 to 30 feet from the 

 ground, and built of weeds, leaves, and grasses, lined with finer material. The 

 opening is always underneath. Both sexes assist in building, bringing straws 

 and other material and fixing them in place, at first forming merely a rounded 

 mass. Although the male is allowed to assist, he brings material only when the 

 female is absent, as, should she catch him in the nest, he is immediately 

 driven out. 



The nests, when empty, are used as sleeping quarters, and these birds sleep 

 late, not coming out in the morning until half an hour after other birds have 

 become active. The usual number of young is two or three. The nests of this 

 species should be protected rigidly, as hundreds of eggs are now destroyed 

 wantonly by boys. 



All the flowering plants are searched by honey creepers in their quest for 

 food. The molinillo (Leonotis sp.) was perhaps visited most frequently, the 

 birds clinging to the rounded flower heads and probing each one in turn. The 

 muneco (Cordia collococca) and bucare (Erythrina sp.) also, when in blossom, 

 proved a great attraction. The flowers of the banana contain much nectar, and 

 these are visited often. The birds are said occasionally to pierce ripe bananas, 

 but as the bunches are usually cut while green, the damage is negligible. One 

 taken near Cayey January 17, 1912, had the throat filled with pulp of red rasp- 

 berries (Rubus rosifolius), and it was not unusual to find clear nectar in the 

 esophagus. Near Rio Piedras one visited a ripe guanabano (Anona muricata) 

 that had been torn open by a spindalis, and ate for nearly five minutes, hang- 



