BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. 13 



All birds desire shelter from the burning heat of the midday sun, 

 and this should be made available. Green herons, or martinetes, and 

 anis prefer clumps of bamboos, while blackbirds frequent palms. 

 Brushy growths on waste lands should not be cleared too closely, as 

 they harbor many useful birds, while in localities where birds are 

 scarce small plantings might be made on the least valuable soil for 

 their encouragement. Tobacco fields seem especially barren of shel- 

 ter, and though for a small portion of the year the more valuable 

 parts are shaded with cheese cloth, during the remainder birds would 

 perform valuable service in ridding the soil of insects. 



Another class of birds needs safeguarding in a different way. In 

 the coast region at present are found numbers of little blue herons, 

 snowy herons, and green herons, which nest in colonies in dense 

 growths of tall mangroves. From these rookeries they spread inland 

 into the cultivated areas in search of food, destroying large numbers 

 of mole crickets and other injurious insects. These swampy tracts 

 are being steadily cut over and cleared in the quest for wood for 

 charcoal, and thus breeding places are destroyed. The little green 

 heron, or martinete, can survive this, as it nests frequently in bam- 

 boos and other trees, but the other species will be greatly reduced in 

 numbers unless some of these shelters are preserved. Part of this 

 swampy territory is still under government control and could be set 

 aside as bird reserves and the important rookeries preserved; but 

 where these are found on private land the owners should be far- 

 sighted enough to leave untouched portions of the swamps occupied 

 by the herons, as such measures will repay them in the long run. 

 The most important localities where conditions should be investi- 

 gated are between Salinas and Guayama, below Yabucoa, Piriero 

 Island off Ceiba, Comezon Cove north of Mameyes, the lagoons north 

 of Rio Piedras, the region about San Juan Bay, the coast region 

 near Vega Baja, and the swampy regions about Porto Real and 

 Joyuda near Cabo Rojo. Suitable localities, even though at present 

 cleared, would in a very few. years be covered by new growth and so 

 furnish shelter. 



The martin, which nests in natural cavities in trees or in crevices 

 about buildings in towns, might be attracted to the country if nest- 

 ing boxes were provided. A hollowed-out calabash on a pole would 

 be as readily accepted as a more pretentious mansion capable of 

 housing several pairs, but the shelter should in all cases be placed 

 in an open location with a free sweep on all sides and well elevated. 

 At present no attempt is made to attract these valuable birds by 

 artificial nesting sites, but from their habits they should respond as 

 readily as the species found in the United States. 



Persons interested in watching birds about the house might at- 

 tract some species by planting a few of the wild fruits of which they 



