S. Porter—-A West Indian Diary



107



Although I sailed all round Jamaica I did not see these birds anywhere

else other than in the Kingston Harbour. Evidently they have greatly

decreased since Gosse’s time in 1845, for he wrote that the birds were

found in the greatest numbers all round the coast.


It is an amazing sight to see these huge birds fishing. They dive

from a height like a G-annet. Soaring over the ocean they will, upon

seeing a fish, drop with closed wings like a stone into the water. The

amazing thing is that they can rise up immediately out of the water

with no exertion again into the air. There is no laboured flapping of

the wings like a Gannet or Cormorant.


The Jamaican Mocking Bird ( Mimus polyglottos orpheus). —This

is one of the commonest of the Jamaican birds and is a great favourite

on account of its melodious song. It is one of the first birds that

attract the notice of the stranger, both by its song and pale grey

plumage and its habit of flying to the topmost branches of the trees.

In Kingston it is very common, being seen in the main streets and in

all the parks and gardens. On account of its vocal powers it is known

as the “ Nightingale


Of other birds seen, the Tyrants were the most common. Jamaica

boasts of quite a few species of these birds, which are usually known

under the name of “ Tom Fools ” and vary in size from that of a

Blackbird to a Flycatcher. They are very conspicuous from their habit

of taking up a point of vantage on the top of a tall tree and from there

making excursions after flying insects.


The Jamaican Grackle ( Holoquiscalua jamaicensis ) is another

very noticeable bird but not very common. It is of a Starling-like

appearance, glossy black in colour with a striking white eye. It is

extremely quick and businesslike in its demeanour as it searches for

insects in the grass, reminding one of the Starlings on the lawns at home

except that it is much more alert and quicker in its search for food.


The Little Honey Creeper ( Cceraba Jlaveola), as in most of the

other islands, is very common here and can be seen searching the

tangled masses of creepers for the tiny insects upon which it feeds.

It differs very little from the species from the other islands.


Of the two Thrushes one, “ Hopping Dick 53 or the Jamaican Ouzel

(Haplocichla aurantia), is fairly common in the wooded districts, where



