188 
A Holiday in the West Indies. 
length is 12^ inches, of which the tail measures 5"3. Their plu- 
mage is black and glossy, and they feed in precisely the same 
manner as the Savanna Blackbird, and are generally to be found 
in the same locality. 
I had great difficulty in identifying the Finches, or the so 
called Grass Quits, as they all resemble one another in size and 
shape, but I think the prettiest is the Yellow- faced Grass Quit 
{Sper. olivacia) or better known in Jamaica as the Mountain 
Grass Quit. It is found on waste land, and along the road sides, 
also in Gardens. I have seen it on the verandah of the Constant 
Spring Hotel, where a pair had a nest, built on a ledge at the 
back of a water spout. Their length is 4'1 inches of which the tail 
measures 2 inches. In the male the upper part is olive, a stripe 
over the eye, chin and throat rich yellow, narrowly edged with 
black, breast black, belly pale olive, under tail coverts almost 
white, upper tail coverts olive, shoulder patch yellow. In the fe- 
male the black is absent and the yellow markings much paler. 
They build a domed nest of dry grass lined with finer grasses or 
fibre, mixed with hair. 
The Black-paced Grass Quit resembles the former 
very much, except that they take the place of the Sparrow ; they 
are to be found in every yard and garden, and will come on to 
the verandah for crumbs. 
Length 4 inches, tail about \\ inches, the male is a dark 
olive brown, fore face and chin blackish, legs and feet blackish 
brown, and I understand from information gained, they often 
build in colonies. 
The Golden Crowned Canary (Cathagra hraaiUensis) 
is a very beautiful bird, but it is difficult to understand that this 
bird is a finch, as it is a slender and graceful bird, and has a beak 
more adapted to soft food, than seeds. 
Male : head bright yellow, striped with greyish blue ; 
upper plumage yellow ; wings and tail greyish brown, edged 
with yellow ; under parts yellow. Female : head and back grey : 
throat, breast and belly whitish ; wings and tail greyish brown. 
I obtained several of this species, but they all died in a few 
hours, and I am certain that the nigger boys squeeze them before 
handing them over. 
It will be perhaps interesting to describe how the nigger 
boys catch the small birds ; they take a tin half full of water, tap 
