48 BULLETIN 326, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Food. — The two stomachs examined contained well-digested remains of min- 

 nows. One bird had eaten 12 or more and the other 6. These fish are not of 

 economic importance. 



CABOT'S TERN. Sterna sandvicensis acuflavida Cabot. 

 Gaviota., Gaviota de Pico Agddo. 



Gundlach (1878, p. 411) found Cabot's tern common along the coast of Porto 

 Rico, and secured a specimen at Mayagiiez (1878a, p. 191). Stahl (1883, p. 

 154) had two specimens in his collection and remarks (1887, p. 453) that it is 

 found throughout the year. It has not recently been seen here by naturalists. 



ROYAL TERN. Sterna maxima Boddaert. 

 Gaviota., Gaviota Regia, Chirre. 



Tolerably common along the coasts of Porto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra, the 

 royal tern is frequently seen in San Juan Harbor, usually alone but sometimes 

 in company with laughing gulls. At Mameyes in February there were a few 

 about Punta Picua, where they perch on posts standing in the water, always 

 facing the wind. Occasionally one would swoop down and capture a minnow 

 or circle around with harsh cries, but always returned to the same perch. 

 Their occurrence here was not regular and the birds were evidently wanderers. 



Food. — The three stomachs examined contained only fish, which without 

 doubt form the greater part of their food. One parrot fish (Sparuoma sp.) was 

 recognized, but the others were too well digested for identification. From 

 observation the royal tern seems to be almost entirely piscivorous. Examina- 

 tion of more stomachs will doubtless corroborate this. 



RUDDY Q,UAIL-DOVE. Geotrygon montana (Linnaeus). 

 Perdiz, Perdiz de Monte, Boyero. 



The ruddy quail-dove is a rather rare resident species except in a few locali- 

 ties where protected by dense cover or in regions high in the mountains. Some- 

 times they are found in coffee plantations, but usually occur in areas of second 

 growth on steep hillsides. The birds walk rapidly away before an intruder, 

 with nodding heads, or else crouch down and hide, and in the dim light it is 

 difficult to make them out. When frightened they fly with a loud fluttering, and 

 after a few feet set the wings to sail off noiselessly. The mongoose, the greatest 

 enemy of this bird, is abundant in the lowlands, but has not yet penetrated far 

 into the interior. Apparently it has exterminated the quail-doves in the coastal 

 region, as none were seen save near Manati. 



The breeding season appears to begin the first of March, and the quail-doves 

 seem to have but one brood a season. The natives say that they nest on the 

 ground. Males during this period have a low resonant note, coming apparently 

 from a distance, but finally resolving itself into a deep coo-oo-oo, with a peculiar 

 undertone, as of the humming of the wind across the end of a gun barrel, a very 

 striking sound, and one difficult to locate. 



Food. — Five stomachs of the ruddy quail-dove were examined and found to 

 contain vegetable matter alone, save that one bird had eaten an ant, taken prob- 

 ably by accident. During the orange season the birds feed largely on seeds of 

 sweet oranges (chinas), and these were found in four stomachs. One bird 

 had taken 17 seeds and another 13, while others contained smaller quantities. 

 Field observation showed that these seeds were taken from decayed fruit lying 

 under the trees. The fallen oranges were pecked open when they became soft 

 from lying on the moist earth, the birds going straight to the centers and 

 picking out the seeds, so that rotting oranges with neat round holes in them 

 were common in the haunts of the perdiz. The soft bill of this dove would 



