62 A NATURALIST ON DESERT ISLANDS. 



drop in here for a few days on their way south to the 

 mainland. Once they shot forty canvas-back in a week ; 

 and American widgeon, shovelers, a few pin-tail, in 

 addition to blue-winged teal, seem to regard Swan Island 

 as a land-mark in their bi-annual migrations from North 

 to Central America or vice versa. The sora rail (Porzana 

 Carolina) is another occasional winter visitor to the island, 

 having been recorded by Mr. Townsend. 



At these busy seasons of migration there is always an 

 influx of birds of prey, which apparently follow upon the 

 tracks of migrants and harry the straggling weaklings in 

 the rearguard. We have ourselves seen the peregrine- 

 falcon (P. anatum) and the little American merlin hawk 

 (Falco columbarius) on the island, also a fine specimen 

 of the osprey (Pandion halioetus carolinensis), which was 

 here for other purposes, and Mr. A. told us the red-tailed 

 buzzard (Buteo antillarum) is a constant visitor. They 

 call it the *' chicken hawk." 



But we have wandered from the subject of Swan 

 Island's regular winter residents ; and if we want to see 

 them we must go into the woods, or hunt about for them 

 along their margins on the edge of the clearings. Here 

 we shall find them in plenty creeping about in the thick 

 imdergrowth or searching the curious leaf-Hke stalks of 

 the phyllanthus for insects. Most of them belong to the 

 large family of American wood-warblers {Mniotiltidoe). 



You have not gone far, for instance, before your atten- 

 tion is attracted by a little bird which reminds you of our 

 tree-creeper. It is the black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta 

 varia) which has its proper home in eastern North America. 

 This bird has the habits of both a creeper and a warbler, 

 and ten to one is cfinging to the smooth copper-coloured 

 bark of an Indian birch (Bursera) or creeping up and 

 down the branches of a bitter plum or dye wood tree. 

 Another, but very much rarer bird, has the same habit of 

 clinging to the bark of slender trunks of trees, where it 

 searches the nooks and crannies for insects. This is the 

 worm-eating warbler {Helmitherus vermivorus). It breeds 



