-1 Hoiidaii ill the Went Indies. 
187 
Woodpecker, except that it was of a greenish ground coh^ur, in- 
stead of black. There were scores of birds I could net identify, 
and I must here confess a lot of them did not interest me much, 
as they were not aviary birds : such as Ducks, Geese, Plover, and 
a great variety of Waders, also several kinds of Tyrants, and be- 
yond getting Skins of two of them, I did not bother with them 
further. 
The Savanna Blackbird or Tick Bird {GrotoplKuja 
ani) is very common and can be met with in small parties all over 
the Island. They are imputlent and familiar and will permit of a 
near approach, but always keeping one eye upon you and if you 
act in any way which they think suspicious, off they go screech- 
ing antl making a funny clacking i-ow. They are very slim, yet 
fairly large l)irds, being 14'75 inches long, of which the tail meas- 
ures 7'75 inches. The entire plumage is black, with rich purple 
reflections, and the feathers on the upper back, neck and head 
az'e edged with a lighter border : which in some lights look 
blue, and in others brown. Why nature has provided this i)ird 
with such- a length of tail, I cannot think, as when it flies, it 
hangs like a wet rag, and when on the grountl the tail seems 
to catch the least bit of wind, and flops over its back, 
and on one occasion, I saw it completely upset one. In fact the 
bird seems to be overgrown fore and aft, as the beak is out of all 
proportion to the size of the bird, it havingan arched culmen, giving 
them a very curious appearance, Gosse says he has found in the 
stomach of these )>irds caterpillars, moths, grasshoppers, beetles 
and other insects, also berries of the Suape-withe. They should 
therefore do well on the ordinary soft food. 
I should have sent some of these birds home but did not take 
any soft food out with me. I sent to New York for some meal- 
worms, and ants' eggs ; the former were sent ofl: in a hermetically 
sealed tin, and of course were nothing but a l)lack mas.^ on arrival. 
However I hope to get some of these birds before long, when 1 
shall perhaps be able to write more about their habits, underdose 
observation, as they are certaiidy very interesting, and unique. The 
best district 'm see them is Moneague, where a lot of cattle rear- 
ing goes on, they hop about amongst the cattle, and on tlieir 
backs, to get the ticks, which infest all live stock in Jamaici. 
The Tinkling Grackle (Quisaihis crassirostris) is one 
of those stately birds, which walk with a swagger, their total 
