NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 213 



Young Blue Birds to be seen among the cedars. In 

 some seasons these beautiful birds are very abundant and 

 at others equally scarce. This spring their numbers are 

 decidedly reduced much below the usual standard. Is this 

 caused by migration ? or do these birds fall a sacrifice to 

 drought and scarcity of water? I think the former the 

 most likely cause, and that our native birds go off with the 

 large flocks of the same species which sometimes touch 

 here during the winter season. 



Several Night Hawks in White's marsh this evening. 



April 2gtfi. — A Green Heron was sent to me from 

 Riddles Bay, where it was shot by a coloured person. 



May 1st. — Met Captain Drummond, 42nd Highlanders, 

 in town this morning, who informed me that he saw a 

 number of Swallows on the wing near Hungry Bay, as he 

 came up from St. George's ; that they appeared to be of 

 different species, one of which was black. 



Walked out with my gun in the evening, and visited the 

 Chief Justice's pond, Hungry Bay, and Mr. Harry Tucker's 

 pond, but failed in meeting with a single bird of the Swallow 

 tribe. As the day was fair, and the breeze from the south, 

 these birds had probably passed onward to the north. Saw 

 a Woodpecker, which I took to be Picus varius, but failed 

 in getting a shot at it. 



Captain Drummond also informs me, that on the 24th 

 ultimo, he observed (at St. George's) a " Scarlet Tanager," 

 within a few yards of him. It was a male bird in splendid 

 plumage. 



