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S. Porter—A West Indian Diary



regretted, as I picked up only a few Parrots in this latter country.

The bird is about the same size and shape as the European Water Hen

and is a beautiful purple and green in colour with exceedingly long

legs and feet, red in colour, which rather resemble a Jacana. This

provision of Nature enables the bird to walk with ease over the floating

aquatic vegetation.


The Least Grebe ( Colymbus dominions ).—On a remarkable lake

near Moneague, which had appeared about eighteen months before and

inundated an area of about 800 acres, covering villages and plantations,

and which is now receding, I first saw this small Grebe. There was a

small family party of these birds and their nest was on the top of a

dead tree which was just on the level of the surface of the water.


This small Grebe is very common in Jamaica and is found wherever

there are stretches of fresh water. On the appearance of a stranger

the bird dives at once and remains under the water for an incredibly

long space of time. Once I watched one in the Rio Cobre. It got so

exhausted by repeated diving to escape our notice that it finally

emerged in such a bedraggled state that it was unable to dive again

and just floated away on the river.


The Antillean Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps

antillarum). —Only one specimen of this bird was seen, also on the

Rio Cobre. It is at once identified by the conspicuous pied bill; it

is also much larger than the other Grebe. It also appeared much

tamer than the other bird and I believe it is rather rarer.


The Brown Pelican (. Pelecanus occidentalis).— One of the first

birds one sees on approaching Kingston is this Pelican, and what extra¬

ordinary creatures they look sailing in the clear morning sky. They

certainly look at a distance more like some prehistoric reptile, a

Pterodactyl, more than any ordinary living bird. The flight consists

of a few leisured wing beats and then a long glide. The head is held

back and the huge beak thrust out from the breast. But no description

of this bird can adequately explain the weird and reptilian appearance

of it on the wing. In Kingston Harbour they can be seen on most of

the buoys, and all manner of posts, standards, etc., which mark the

courses for the ships. They fly in a regular line formation like Ducks.

The fishing is done from the air very much like that of a Gannet.



