79 
In recent years St. Vincent has been subject to several 
visitations that have affected the growth of vegetation and no 
doubt, also, seriously influenced the bird-life of the island. 
On September 11, 1898, St. Vincent was overtaken by one 
of the most destructive hurricanes that has ever occurred in 
the West Indies. The centre of the storm passed’ over the 
island and almost entirely destroyed all the interior forests, as 
well as the fruit trees and crops on the cultivated lands round 
the coast. The number of birds was sensibly diminished, and 
it was feared that some of the rarer birds had either been 
killed or starved for want of food. 
On May 7, 1902, occurred the first of the series of eruptions 
of the St. Vincent Soufriére. On this oceasion the animal and 
vegetable life in the immediate neighbourhood of the Soufriére 
was destroyed and the pebbles and dust that fell in other parts 
of the island also caused much injury. Further’ voleanic 
eruptions, but of a less severe character, occurred on September 
3 to 4, and October 15 to 16, 1902; and March 22, 1903. 
As far as can be ascertained, no birds—not even the well- 
known Soufriere bird—have entirely disappeared. It is prob- 
able that with the favourable seasons of this and last year 
bird-life in St. Vincent, as well as at Barbados and elsewhere, 
will assume normal proportions. 
The following is a list of the birds which occur in the 
colony of St. Vincent, that is, the species inhabiting the island 
of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as far as, but not including,. 
Carriacou, prepared by Mr. Austin H. Clarke, of Harvard 
University, who has lately spent some time in these islands :— 
NAMES. 
e 
The scientific names of the birds are given together with 
their local designations. In the case of such species as appear to 
be without any common name, I have given that in common 
use at Grenada; or, if the bird does not occur on that island, 
I have adopted an arbitrary name to fit the case. Some of the 
local names are commonly used to include two or more different 
species. For instance, the word ‘grieve’ is applied to Merula 
migrirostris, Merula gymnophthalma, and Margarops mon- 
tanus; ‘blackbird’ is used for both Certhiola atrata and 
Quwiscalus luminosus. In such cases I have selected one bird to 
be referred to under that title, and have called the others by 
alternative names, if there are such in common use, or have 
borrowed .the local Grenada titles. In the case of such birds as 
visit the colony from North America, I have given the names 
which they bear in the United States and Canada as 
determined by the American Ornithologists’ Union. These 
names have now become definitely fixed in America, and the 
birds are always referred to under them in all modern 
ornithological notes in that country. This refers particularly to 
the shore birds (curlews, plovers, sandpipers, ete.). Where (as in 
the case of the chicken hawk or sea hawk) a bird is common 
enough here to have received a distinctive local designation, 
that is given first and the American name after it. 
