68 DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF ICTERUS 



enough to get a male and female in full plumage. They were flying 

 about the palmettoes, and the flower stalk of an agave which was a mass 

 of golden blossoms and a great attraction to all the birds in the neigh- 

 borhood, as the flowers contained a large amount of nectar. While 

 near here one day, we heard a great commotion, and approaching 

 the scene, found two of these young birds fighting so violently that we 

 got almost near enough to take them up in our hands. The only 

 sound we heard them utter here was a rather plaintive call of two notes ; 

 but a month later, on May 22, we heard their song. It was a sort of 

 whistle of eight or nine notes, very sweet and pleasing, and almost 

 always given with the same intervals, and the same arrangement of 

 notes. The bird was observed in two other localities, the last time, June 

 18, near Wide Opening on the west side. It seems to inhabit the more 

 open portions of the island, near the coast, as we never saw any inland. 



"The natives say that it builds its nest in the cocoanut trees, and 

 is always about them, hence its local name of ' Cocoanut Bird.' They 

 also told us that it remained throughout the year; that the eggs were 

 pure white ; and that the young birds differed from the old in plumage. 

 From the condition of the organs of generation, it seems that the bird 

 breeds during the month of June. 



" The stomachs of those examined contained the remains of a grass- 

 hopper, beetles, and seeds; hence it may be inferred that its food con- 

 sists of fruits and insects." 



