90 



BULLETIN 326, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Besides these a caterpillar, a stinkbug, two earwigs, an ant, and a neuropterous 

 insect were identified. 



The vegetable food is mainly wild fruits or berries, though some of them have 

 but little pulp surrounding the seeds. The seeds are in most cases regurgitated, 

 as no trace of gravel for grinding them up and fitting them for digestion was 

 found, though some were soft enough to be broken up by the stomach alone. 

 Berries of palms were favorites and fruits of various shrubs of the family 

 Rubiacese were eagerly sought. The espino (Xantlwxylum sp.) and berries of 

 a palm (Coccothrinax sp.) were each found five times. A few of the seeds 

 identified (Hypoxis sp. and Sida sp.) do not come in the category of fruits and 

 berries, but with small quantities of vegetable rubbish may have been taken acci- 

 dentally. None of the vegetable food consumed has any value to man, while the 

 insects taken, though small in bulk, are of considerable economic importance. 

 Thus the bird may be classed as beneficial. Hunting it for food should be 

 prohibited, both because the bird is useful and because the hunter in pursuit of 

 small birds does not always distinguish between species but kills indis- 

 criminately. 



Following is a list of the seeds identified in the stomachs examined : 



Palmo {Coccothrinax sp.) 5 



Palmo real (Roystonea torinquena) _. 



Star grass (Hypoxis sp.) 



Phytolaccaeese sp 



Espino (Xanthoxylum sp.) 



Jatropha (Jatropha sp.) 



Bejuco prieto (Paullinia pinnata) 



Escoba (Sida sp.) 



Adelia (Adelia sp.) 2 



Nightshade (Solarium sp.) 2 



Moral (Cordia sp.) 2 



Tantillo (Randia acideata) 3 



Balsamo Colorado (Hamelia patens) 2 



Bejuco de berac (Chiococca aloa) 1 



Palo moro (Psychotria pinularis) 2 



JAMAICAN MOCKINGBIRD. Mimus polyglottos orpheas (Linnaeus). 

 RuiseS-or, Sinsonte. 



In Porto Rico mockingbirds are common residents in the lowlands, only a few 

 being seen above 1,000 feet elevation, though they were found in open pastures 

 at the highest points visited ; for example, near Aibonito, and on Mount Pelado 

 above Cayey. They seem to thrive best in a dry climate, and are most abundant 

 along the south coast, while on Vieques they are very common. As usual, these 

 birds frequent the tree-dotted pastures, hedges, and thickets, though near 

 Guanica they are common through the open cane fields, feeding on the ground in 

 newly plowed lands, and following the fences through the cane, where there is no 

 cover whatever. When flushed in the open fields they fly only short distances 

 before dropping back to the ground. They are common also in the citrus groves 

 around Bayamon and Manati. 



In pastures and thickets they are shy and secretive, though the males, singing 

 from the top of some tree or bush or flying up a few feet and then dropping 

 back, are a conspicuous feature in the landscape. They sang most from Janu- 

 ary until July, after which they were silent except for their scolding notes. 

 The nesting season extended from January until June, and after that young 

 were common. In July and August they were molting. Nest building was 

 noticed near Caguas January 5, and young birds a week old were found on 

 Vieques Island April 3. Near Mameyes in February nearly all the birds noted 

 were incubating. One pair here, by their outcries, drew attention to a small 

 owl hidden in the brush. 



In all the towns visited mockingbirds were prized as cage birds, and taking 

 the young birds from the nest was a common practice. Usually they were 

 taken when quite young, and their cages hung out in the bushes, where the 

 adults could feed them. Fine singers among the males were valued as high as 



