BABES IN THE WOOD. 219 



Not the least interesting of the few land-birds which we 

 found on Orquilla, were the pallid Httle ground-doves 

 (Chamoepelia perpallida) which Dr. Hartert first described 

 as occurring on the Island of Curagao. They ran in front 

 of us, a few yards only from our feet, not deigning to fly, 

 and hardly to hurry, in their unsuspecting innocence ; 

 supremely unconscious, as they were, of the sordid cruelty 

 of the strange two-legged creatures, who had come so 

 suddenly among them, and the likes of whom they had 

 never set eyes upon before. Like so many other birds, 

 which five a peaceful and absolutely undisturbed existence, 

 as far as man himself is concerned, these little ground- 

 doves showed a most noticeable disinclination to use their 

 wings, and seemed almost as tame as birds which have been 

 found inhabiting oceanic islands. To our shame, be it said, 

 that before we left the island, we had hardened our hearts 

 and shot two of them, a cock and a hen. They were so 

 tame that we had to drive them sufficiently far away to 

 perform what seemed a cold-blooded act, and we felt 

 like the " wicked villains " in the " Babes in the Wood." 

 Our justification was, that it was necessary to have ocular 

 and scientific proof of the range of this new species. 



Another land-bird, which charmed us with its sweet 

 fluty notes, was the island grackle (Holoquiscalus insularis). 

 This grackle had only previously been described from 

 the island of Margarita. It is quite unknown on the island 

 of Blanquilla, only ten miles distant. A year before, when 

 we landed on this island, we found it feeding on the 

 agaves which were in full bloom. Doubtless it found 

 many insects in their honey-laden corollas. It was rather 

 curious that this time, although only a month earlier than 

 on our first visit, there was not a sign of an agave likely 

 to flower on the island. All around were the old dead 

 scapes of last year's flowers, but not a single budding stem. 

 Either, therefore, there is no continuous yearly succession 

 of flowering plants, or the season of flowering is an uncer- 

 tain quantity. 



The grackles appear to have been attracted to these 



