Sydney Porter—Bermudan Notes



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nesting. They look very beautiful with their glistening snow-white

plumage and long streaming tail feathers. These birds bear no

resemblance to gulls but look like small Gannets, birds to which they

are allied. Their prey is secured in the same manner as a Gannet,

by diving into the water from a good height above the surface.


The feet of Tropic Birds are so tiny that the birds are practically

unable to move about on land. They nest in the crevices and holes in

the soft coral rock around the coast and I was told that they were

almost exterminating the Audubon’s Shearwater (Puffinus Iherminieri),

who use the same nesting holes, the Tropic Birds now arriving before

the Shearwaters have finished breeding and killing the nesting adults

and young birds.


The fore-mentioned birds with, of course, the exception of the

“ Cahow ”, were the only birds I saw as my call did not coincide with

the spring or autumn migrations of birds which use these islands as

a kind of half-way rest house. A sojourn during either of the migratory

periods would be of great interest for it seems that at some time or

another a large percentage of North American birds have been met

with on the islands and, as mentioned before, many European birds

have been also procured such as the Snipe, Skylark, Wheat ear, etc.

Mr. Mowbray possessed an immature Snowy Owl caught on the islands,

probably a young, inexperienced bird which had been blown out of

its course.


The English Sparrow is exceedingly abundant and is found every¬

where : it will even fly on to the ships before they have come into port

to see what there may be in the way of food. He looks a very different

bird in his spruce clean plumage to his grimy relations in London.

It is stated that this bird has become so numerous that there is a

grave danger of it displacing the endemic birds.


The European Goldfinch is also found in flocks in Bermuda, but

is nowhere as common as the Sparrow.


In the grounds of the Bermuda Aquarium is one of the most

delightful outdoor aviaries I have ever seen. It is a large and well-

built structure ; the span roof, which is of wire netting, was covered with

alternate board about 6 inches apart to give the birds shade from the

semi-tropical sun. Most of the floor space was taken up with a series



