Catalogue of the birds collected in Martinique by Mr. Fred, A. Ober for the Smithsonian Institution

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 349

Tlie solecharacterwhicliseparates

BMnonemus

from Onosisthepres- enceof a nasal cirrus, a characterto which

we

are unwilling to allow

more

than asubgeneric value.

We

^{believe that the species should} be called Onoscimbrius (Linn.), butarewilling toaccept provisionallythe

name

Rldnonemus cimbrius.

We

have examined

numerous

specimens whichjiurported tobelong to Giliata argentata (Reinh.) Gill,

and

have found

them

inevery caseto bethe

young

of this species,forsmallindi- viduals of R. cimbrius arefound

swimming

atthesurface,althoughthe adultfishesinhabitonlythedeeperpartsof Massachusetts Bay. Eng-

lish ichthyologists

now

regard Oiliataas the larval form of"Motella,"

and

if this be not the case,

we

doubtif this genus has ever beenob- servedinthe

Western

Atlantic.

The

National

Museum

has specimens of Onos mustela (Linn.), Onos tricirratus (Bloch),

and

Onos maculattis (Risso); the specificindividuality ofthelatter

two

seemsverydoubtful, aswell asthat they are distinctfrom Onosensis (Reiuh.) Gill,described from thecoast ofGreenland.

The synonymy

ofOnos cimbriusisgiven below.

Onos(Rhinonemus)cimbrius(LinnsGus) Gooclo

&

Bean.

Gadus cimirius,Linnaeus,Syst.Nat. ed. xii, 1766, p. 440.

—

LACKPi;DE,Hist.

Nat.Poiss.ii,1801,p. 442.

Motella cimhria,Bell, Canadian Naturalist and Geologist,iv, 1859,p. 209.

—

GuNTHER,Cat. FishesBrit.Mus.iv,18G2,p. 367.

—

Gill,Proc.Acad.Nat.

Sci.Phila.1833,p.241.

Encliehjopu8 eimbricus,Schneider,Bloch's SystemaIclithyologia;, 1801,x>. CO, pi. ix.

Motellacimirica,'NiLSSOTi,Prodr. Ichtb. Scand.ii. 48;Skand.Fauna,iv,1855,p.

587.

—

Yarrell,Hist. Brit.Fishes,2dcd. 1841,ii,p.274.

Motella vaudacuta, Storer, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, iii, 1848,p. 5; Mem.

Amer.Acad.Sci.1867,p.411; Hist.FishesMass.1867,p. 183.

BMnonemus caitdacuta, Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 1803, ^j). 241; Cat.

FishesE. Coast N. Am. 1873,p. 18.

—

Goode

&

Beax,Am.Journ.Sci.and

Arts, xiv,Dec.1877,p.476.

Washington, December31,1878.

CATAIiOGUE OF THE

B&ISDS COt.l.ECTEO IN MARTIIVIIQUE

BY

HIB.

FKEI>.A.

OBER FOB THE

SOTflTHSOIVSAIV flNSTiTUTflOIV.

By (KEOKGE

N.

I.AWREMCE.

After completing the exploration of Grenada,Mr.

Ober

leftthere the forepart of April andvisited the islandof Tobago,where he remained for

more

than

two

months,

and

did not arrive in Martinique until the beginning _ofJuly,remainingthere untilthe latterpartofAugust, llis collection

was made "from

July9th to

August

20th." It consists of ninety-one specimens.

He

givesan interestingaccount of the island,which, with hisother observations, aremdicated

by

quotation-marks.

350 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

"_Slcetcli ofMartinique.

"Martinique is the largest of the Lesser Antilles, being about 50 miles inlength and containing, ^it is estimated,about 380 squaremiles.

"The

^{surface is ver\^}uneven, the interior being one grand region of hills and mountains.

The

highestofthese^is

Mount

Pelee,northwestof the principaltown,St. Pierre,and inthe northwestern part of theisland.

Itisover4,000 feet in height; it is a volcano,

and

has emitted

smoke

and ashes within thirty years; now, however, there are no signs of an eruption. There ^{are inall}5 or G extinctvolcanoes.

Here may

beseen ingreat perfectionthose picturesquepitons, orpeaked mountains

—

^coni-

cal peaks.

One

group in the interiorshows itself in great beautyfrom Fort de Fi-ance. Mineral

and warm

springs occur in various parts of theisland, andsome of therivers are ofgoodsize.

"To

one glancing at a

map

^of the island

—

^{with its high mountains,}

dark ravines, gloomy gorges, tracts of elevated table land,

numerous

bays andstreams

—

^this

would

^{seem thepromised land for birds. Situ-}

ated, too,

midway

the volcanic chain, it should possess birds that no other islandcouldboast. Yet Ihave founditotherwise,

and

in

Domin-

ica, only30miles of latitude further north, I obtained

more

species

and

foumlbirdsingreater profusion. This isowingto at leasttwocauses

—

the

hand

of

man

being manifestinboth

—

^{1st,the densepopulation (the}

islaudhavingapopulation of notlessthan130,000)^; 2nd,tothethorough cultivation of

aU

cultivable land.

From

the coast tothehills,

and

even

up

themountainsides,caneis

grown

;

and when

thatisnotpracticable, are the provision grounds of the negroes.

The

rest is pasture land, trees, androcks. I found great difficulty in gettinga place of abode outside thecity,

and

itAvasa

week

or

two

after

my

^arrivalbeforeIcould getevenafloor tosleepupon. TherearenohotelsoutsideofSt.Pierre and Fortd(^ France, saveat the two

warm

springs,

and

noinns or hos- telries.

"

Had

itbeenpracticable,Iwould have

made

a

camp

inthemountains;

l)utthis I could notdo,asIdid inDominica

and

St.Vincent. Notwith- standing all this, I secured a roof

and

a rocmi ina little hamlet inthe mountains called

Morne

Eonge, and from there

made

excursions to

Morne

_Calebasse,

Morne

Balisier, JMountain Pelee,

and Champ

^Flore.

Birds were unusually scarce from the incessant persecution they are subject tofrom boys and

men

; lateron,after returningto St. Pierre, I

wentto Fort d§ France. Afterlosing severaldaysthere, I crossedthe bayofFortEoyaltoTroisIslets—whereI

had

greatdifficultyin getting shelter. FortunatelyIfound a hostinthe proprietorof anestate near Trois Islets; theestate

was

none other than 'Inhabitation dela Page-

ric

, wheretheEmjjress Josephine

was

bornandpassed herearlieryears.

"Finding lodgings _inthe negro barrai^ks,

and

])rocuring sustenance atthe houseof

my

friend thei)roprietor, I passed

some

time, obtaining therenearly allthebirdsthat Isecured atallin the island.

"Trois _Isletsis about 20 miles south of St. Pierre, onthe Caribbean

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 351

side.

From

there Iscoured thehills

and

valleys to 'Ance

du

Diamaut' on thesouthern point, near thefamous

Diamond

Eock,

and

thoroughly canvassedthat historic ground, trodden100 years ago bytheleetofthe beautiful

Empress

oftheFrench. In theJardin des Plantcs, inthesub- urbs of St. Pierre, I

had

permission to shoot, through the courtesy of thedirecteur,Monsieur Chs. Belanger.

But

though these gardensare extensive

and

beautiful, crowdedwithtrees

and

shrubs of the Tropics, secluded

and

forbidden to the ordinary chasseur,Ifound veryfew spe- cies

and

no great

numbers

of

any

one species.

"Throughout

the island there exists such adread of the 'serpent', the Iron lance{Trigonocephaluslanccolatus),thatIfounditimpossil)leto obtain a goodboy, to assist

me

in finding the haunts of birds.

More

than onceI have been startled

by

the cry of 'serpent'

and

found that

my

coloured brother

had

absconded.

"

Though

atfirstinclined to believe intheoft-repeated storiesofdeaths from snakebites, I soon found that the

number

of serpents

was

either grosslyexaggerated, ortheytookgood care to keepout of

my

way, for in all

my

tramps I

saw

bnt

two

large ones.

"There are, however,

numerous

deaths from these noxious reptiles during the cane season.

The

serpentprefersthecane fields,

where

he huntsthe

numerous

rats; and,as

my

groundforhuntingis any butthe cane,forbirds, this

may

be the reason

we met

so seldom. Icannotsay that I

was

anxious to findone,howcA'er^; though Ididnot letthepossi- ble i^resence interferewith

my

regular work.

"

My

thanks

and

those of theInstitution are dueto Capt.

W.

A. Gar-

field, U. S. Consul; Monsieur Chs. Belanger, directeur

du

Jardin des Plantes,

and

MonsieurLouisHartmann."

Fam. TURDIDtE.

1. Margaropshemiinieri(Lafr.).

"'Grivea pieds jaunes.'

" Eare,owingto the persecution of hunters."

2. Margaropsdensirostris(Vieill.).

'"Gros Grive.'

"Not common,

being thechiefbird sought

by

thehuntersinthe hunt- ing season,consequently shy."

3. Margaropsmontanus^(Vieill.).

"

'Grivette.' Irisyellow.

"Length, <?,10 in.; alar extent, 14; wing, ₄J.

"Like the

same

speciesof Dominica, it prefers the higherhills

and

mountains, the deep

woods and

their borders,

and

detached

wood

with deep shade.

As

numerous apparentlyas in Dominica."

4. Cinclocerthiagutturalis^(Lafr.).

"

'Trembleur.' Eesident. »

"Length,(?,0.^in.; alar extent, 13; wiug,4^.

352 PROCEEDINGS OF

^UiSITED

STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

"ThisTrembleur,

knovm

alsoasthe 'Grive trembleuse', isnotfound so easilyandfrequently as in Dominica. This Iattribute whollyto the fact thatitis pursued here with greatervigorthanin the otherisland.

So denseisthe population^of Martinique, that nearly every birdis con- sidered as litforfood,and anything above a sparrowisclassed asgame.

Even

the sparrows, the'peresnoires', arecaught with snares

and

shot with blowguus,

by

thelittlenegroes of the country. Infact,theywould always await

my

returnfrom anexcursion toobtain the mutilatedbirds thatIwould discard as useless.

"Itisnot strange that 'Le Trembleur', with all his queer

ways and

familiar habits, should

now commence

to disappear; not

many

years hencehewillnotbefoundinMartinique."

5. Ramphocinclus brachyunis(Vicill.).

'"Gorge blanc' Irishazel, in

some

red.

"Length, ^,^{8-| in.;} alarextent,12^; wing,4.

"Length, 9,8|^{in.; alar}extent, 12; wing,4.

"Obtained several specimens at Trois Islets in August. ^I

saw

one also in the Jardin des Plantes, at St.Pierre. Mr.

Semper

found^itin St.Lucia.

Not

foundinthe otherislands.

The

first I

have

seenIshot in this island. Itseemsconfined to Martinique

and

St.Lucia. Loves deep

woods and

the borders of streams; iseasilyattractedbj" animita- tionof itsnote. Thatis thereasonI

am

able to record thecaptiu-eof so

many

specimens."

Fam. SYLVIID^.

6. Myiadestesgenibarbis,Sw.

"

'SiffleurMontague.'

"Length, J,7^in.; alar extent, lOi; wing, 3^J.

"Length,9^,7^^in.; alar extent,11^; wing,_3|.

"The

fittest placeinwhich Icould have discovered

my

old favorite of Dominica,

was

in acharming ravine through whichflowed a limpid stream, at ^'

Champ

Flore'.

He was

clinging to a lianeon which

grew

numerouswild pines, and whistling exactly the

same

as his Dominica cong^ne*.

"i

rom

the appearance of the female

and

from

my

observationsin DominicaI think they breedlate."

Fam. TROGLODYTID^.

7. Thryofiorusmartinicensis,Scl.

"Wreu.

'Eossignol.'

"Len->th,<?,5Hn.; alar extent, 7A^; wing,2|.

"An

inhabitantofthewoods; Ihavenot seenitnear houses orsugar

mills,oaly inthe forests ofthe hills,

and

along the borders of streams where thebushes arethick."

Mr.

Ober

sentbutasinglespecimenofthis species: itsdimensionsare

J

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 353 somewhat

larger tliau given

by

Mr. Sclater.

Compared

witli T. rufes- ccns, tliebill is longer; the color above is duller,being brownish; the undersurface isvery

much

paler; in riifescensthe bands onthe tail are more numerous andbetter defined.

Fam. SYLYICOLID^E.

8. DendrcBcaruligula,Bainl.

'•YellowBird. 'L'OiseauJaune.'

"Length,(?,5in.; alarextent,7^-; wing,2|.

"Is generally distributed throughout the island. In the old fields oncecultivated for cane,

and now

suffered toreturn topasturage,where generally the guavas are abundant, this birdwill be found, searching aboutthestemsand leaves of the shrubfor insects. These

same guava

bushesare alsothechosenhiding places of the

venomous

spiders

—

^the

Tarantula, and

many

a hairymonster

came

to grief,while myself and

littleblackassistants were beating the bushes for birds. It isa most thorough exterminatorof the smallinsectsof theisland."

This species is surely the one referred to Sylria rnficapiUa, Lath.

{MotaciUa ruJicapiUa, Gm.),

by

Yieillot (Nouv. Diet, xi, 1817, 228), sup- posing it to be the same.

They

^differverymaterially, theentirehead

and

throat being rufous in the Martinique bird,

and

so described

by

Vieillot; whereasin D.rvJlcapiUa,thecrown onlyisstated toberufous.

Martinique is the localitygiven, also, forJ>. ruJicapiUa,which prob- ably

was

thecause ofYieillotbeingmisled.

As

the

name

of rtificapilla belongs to another species. Prof. Baird (Rev. of

Amer.

Birds, p. 204)applied to Yieillot's species that of riiji- gula.

He

thenspeaksofa specimeninthe

Museum

ofthe Philadelphia

Academy

of Sciences, labelled ";S'. nificapiUa,''^ without indication of locahty.

He

says: ''Itagreesverywell,especially in the greaterexten- sion of the rufous of thethroat, withthe Sylvia ruJicapiUa ofYieillot,

from ]Martinique;

and

it

may

bereallj'a

West

Indian species."

Since then, in "Xorth

American

Birds," p. 217, under I). rnfujuJay there being under examination a bird from

Panama,

which it

was

thought might bethespeciesdescribed byA^ieillot, hehasin afootnote the followiug remark^{: "}Should Yieillot's species be really from Mar- tinique, inallprobabilitytlie present biidwill befoundto bedifferent,

and

therefore notentitledtothe

name

here given."

It

now

beingestablished that Martiriique is the true patria of this form. Prof. Baird's

name

of I), riifigula nuist be used for it.

The

male agreeswiththe description given by

him

ofYieillot'ssi>ecies, viz, in having "therufous ofentire head extending

down

the neck tojugu- him."

The

measurements of the

wing

and tail aie just the

same

as given

by

Prof.Baird, i. e., wing,2.25; tail, 2.

Thereis but one specimen of the female in ^h\ 01>ers collection, in Proc. l!^at.Mus. 78 23

Mar.

IO, I

S 79o

354 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

very poor ^{conditiou; it} has tlie upper

plumage

olivaceous,

and

on the crownisofa ratherdeeper shade.

9. Setophaga ruticilla (Liuu.)-

^''Le Gobe-monclieaiirore.^

"_]S^otoften seen."

Fam. VIREONID^.

10. Vireosylvia calidris v;u.domiiiicana, La^Yl.

''• Qucc:

Fam. lilRUXDINID^.

11. Progne dominicensis (Gm.).

••Flying-abovetheseanear the elitits between St. Pierre

and

Fortde France."

Fam. CGEREBIDJC.

12. Certhiola martinicana, Eeirh.

'••Hitcrler.'

" Length, S, 4^{J in.;} alar extent, 7f|; wing, 2i.

"Not

so abundant as in Dominica, l>nt in greater

numbers

than in St.Vincentand Grenada.

The

Jardin des Plautes, near thecityof St.

Pierre, istheonlyplacein which I ha^e seen itj)lentiful. In thetrees overhangingthe suburbs oftheciry it i.snot aninfrequent^-isitor,espe- ciallytothe tamarindtree.

'•

As

itlivesfora while contentedlyin a cage,

many

ai'ccaught

by

the negroand coloredboj's, with bird lime,

and by

the useof the blowgun.

Hence

their scarcity

f I have walked

some

days for several mileswith- out seeing tliisoranyotber^l)ird. along the shore ofthewest coast."

Fam. TAXAORIDaE.

13. Ei'phonia flavifrciis (Spanju).

'•

'Pcyroiichc'

'•Length, ,?, 5 in.; alar extent, 8; wing, 2.^.

'•Xowhere is this bird abundant. Iliave already chronicledits dis- covery in Dominica, St. Vincent, and (rrenada, but in no island is it

numerous. Imightset it

down

asrare, did 1not thinlv itpossible that

it

may

occur in greater

numbers

tliau

my

researcheshaveled

me

to sup- pose, from theliK.'t thatits .sec^luded habits

and

its peculiarfood cause

it to betake itself to the tops of the highest trees, where itmight be passed ahundred timeswithout discovery.

Though

undoubtedlygen- erallyas.sociating in small tiucks,

Ihave

not as yet (withone exception), foundit otherwise than ahme. Itsstomach always containsa peculiar viscid greenflat seed, the

name

ofwhich I cannot at this time recall."

14. Saltator guadeloupensis, Lafi.

"

' Gros-hec.^

"Length, S, 8|^in.; alar extent, 12; wing,

L

"Length, _5,8in.; alar extent, 12^; wing,S?.

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 355

" Prefers the skirts of

woods

and open fields,utters a sharpAvhistle, not veryloud, and flits from bush to tree in lowflight. Ratherabun- 4laut at TroisIslets on thehillsides.

More

numerous thanI founditin Dominica; evenplentiful in thelowscrub, orsecond growth, that cov- ered the hillsides

upon

oldplantations."

Fam. FRINGILLID^E.

15. Loxigilla noctis (Liuu.).

^'^Fere jwir.' ^'Jloisson.''

"Length, <?, 5i^in.; alar extent, 9; wing, 3.

" Length, ₉, 5 in.; alar extent, 8J^; wing, 2f

.

" In the Frenchislands

and

in those inwhich the patois is spoken, the

names

of thisbirdare thesame; themale^is calledthe ^Fere noir\

the female the ^'moisson\

"

They

areas abundant here as

any

species

and

confinedto the open

fields

and

cultivated districts without regard to altitude."

16. Phoniparabicolor(Liuii.)

'•

'Maugeur

desherbes.' 8eed-eater.

"Length, 2, 4i^{in.; alar}extent, CJ; Aviug, 2.

"

The

most

common

species, Ithink, inthe island. Feedsprincipally

upon

the seeds ofgrass andnoxious weeds,

and

hence cannotbeother- wisethan ofgreatbenefit to the island."

Fam. ICTERID.E.

17. Icterusbonana(Liuii.).

"'Carouge.'

"Length, ^, 8in.; alar extent, 10}; wing, ^oh.

'Length, 9, 7i- in.; alarexrent, 10; wing,3J.

"I

saw my

firstspecimenof this bird at ^lorne Ilonge, anotherhalf-

May up

rhe volcano of

Montague

I^elee; but did not obtain one until

my

A'isit to Trois Islets, south of Fort de France. It is not in abun- dance that one sees it; separately

and

in pairs. I found it chiefly in clearings on the hills

and

elevated i)laius. It prefers the vicinity of gardens

and

hedges,

and

shuns thick Avoods; though Ihave found^itin dense scrul).

Upon

the hills near Trois Islets I secured it in such a situation. I

was

recliningbeneaththe shadeofalowtree,oneveryhot

day

in August,lookingout over thebeautiful

bay

of PortRoyal,

when

1

was

suddenly brought to

my

feet

by

the shock of an earthquake, which, repeated twice, startkd the birds as well as myself.

Then

I noted forthefirst time thisbird in the scrub beneaththe trees."

18. Quiscalusiuflezirostris, Sv,-.

"'Le

Meile.' Iris,<?, hazel; _9, pale yellow.

"Length. (^,10^- in.; alar extent, 15; wing, 5.

"Length, 9, 9 in.; alarextent, 13y; wing, 4}.

356 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

"This ^is the first island in wliicli I

saw

this bird, nnless the black- bird of Grenada and the Grenadines be the same. It is abnudantin the Jardin des Plantes and veryunmerons at

Morne

Eonge. Itsnotes are entirelydiiferent from the 'Bequia sweet' of the Grenadines; bnt that

may

be owing ^{to the difference in season.}

The

savannas of this high region contain

many

inpaities of from 3 to5.

"At

^{Trois Isletstheywerein abundance}

and

^{there Igotmany,show-}

ing thedifferent changesin

plumage

from young'to adult. Therethey built their nestsinatallsilk-cotton tree.

They

lovethe frondsof the

palm

asaretreat,doubtless feedingupontheberries that

hang

beneath the overarching boat-shaped spathes^{in large}bunches. Their cryisnot like those of the Grenadines, nor like that of the north, the Q.^versi- color

—

but has notesinitreminding

me

of both. Gregarious."

Ihave followed Mr. Sclater in referring this birdtoMr, Swainson's species; hesays (P. Z. S.for 1874, p. 175):

"In

ordertoavoid givingit

afresh

name

I call^it Q.inflexirostris, Sw.,thougbthebillcertainlydoes not quite agree with Swainson's figure (An. in

Menag.

p. 300)."

The

specimens before

me

^differ from Swainson'sfigureof thebillspoken of above in being apparentlyshorter

and

stouter. Swaiuson says, 1. c.

:

"Size and colour preciselylike Q. Itigiibris; butthe greatdifference iii

theirbillsinduces

me

to consider

them

^{quite distinct. In thistbe bill}

islonger

and much more

slender," &c.

A

comparison with Q. lugiihrls shows the present bird to closelyre- semble it in coloration: it is, however,

somewhat

larger,thebilllonger andmorecurved, butproportionatelynot

more

slender.

Mr. Cassin in his Studyof the Icteridw (Proc. of Acad. ISTat. Sci. of Phila._{18(JG, p.}407)refers aspecimeninthe

Museum

of the

Academy

to Q. injlcxirostrisy Sw.; he says:

"One

specimen only in theAcad. Mus.

seems to be this species, but which is, unfortunately, without label stating locality.

The

bill is exactly the length and otherwise very nearly as given

by

Mr. Swainson as cited above, though

somewhat

thicker. Itistheoidj-specimenthatIhaveever seeninwhichthecom- missure is an uninterrupted curve or arc ofacircle,

—

not straight nor sinuated as in all other species knowai to

me

(excex>t Q. nUjcr of St.

Domiago) anddescribed in thismemoir."

The

dimensions given

by

Mr.Cassin are about the

same

^asthoseof specimensfrom Martinique,butthebills differ; he gives, "chordof up- permandible about one

and

fourfifth inches." In the present bird^it measuresbut one

and

a quarterinches.

A

specimen_{of Q.} nigerfrom St.Domingo, presented

by

Prof. Gabb,is of about thesamesize,anddiffersincolorationonlyinhavingthe breast

and abdomen

without lustre

—

^{the bills though areverydifferent, that}

of _(J. niger iswideratthe base, longer, straighter,

and

narroweratthe end; the commissiu^eisnearlystraight,and the ridge oftheupper

man-

dible is percei)tibly flattened.

The

localityof Mr. Swainson's type is unkiiovv-ii, ;uid possiblyit

may

not he the Antilliau species referred to

PROCEEDINGS

OE^

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, 357

it; but forthe present,it is ilo]il)t]ossbesttoletit remainasMr.Swain- son'sspecies.

On

looking- at

my

Q. hDinnosus from Grenada, I find itlias alonger

and

more curved billthan theMartini(pie bird; thechord of the upper mandible measures one

and

ahalf inches.

But

withitshighlylustrous

and more

violaceous plumage,togetherwith the decided bright green color ofthe wings, it does not agree Avith the descrii)tion given of _Q.

iiifiexirostris.

In the account of _Q. Juminosits I stated that it

was

the only

West

Indian species of Qui.wahis I

knew

of in which both sexes were not black; butthefemale of the present bird is

brown

also.

Of

thatsex, Mr.

Ober

sentbut oneadultexam^de; theui^j)eri)lumageisofasmoky- brown, thefeathersof the

crown

edged with fulvous; thetail-feathers have their inner

webs

black, the outer

webs

are brown; sides of the head

and

the throat light ashy-gray; the breast

and

upperpart of the

abdomen

are brownish-ash; lower part of abdomen, flanks,

and

under

tail-covertsdark

smoky

-brown; thighsdullfulvous-l>rown; bill

and

feet black.

Fam. TYRANNID.E.

19. Eiaineaniartinica(Linu.)-

"Flycatcher. 'Gobemouche.'

"Length, _^, 7in.; alarextent, 9J; wing, 3^.

"Length, _9, 6}in.; alarextent, 10; wing, 3^.

"

Veiy

fewof this species to be seen; frequents the highhills, espe- cially'the

wooded

hollows andravines."

20. Myiarchussclateri,Lawi.

''Flycatcher.-'

The

upper

plumage

isdeep darkolive,thehead aboveblackish-bro^vn.

Unfortunately, the onlyfeathers left^nthetailare the outerfour on one side; the outermost twoare dark

brown and

without rufous edgings

on

the inner

webs

; the other

two

feathers are brownish-black, with their inner

webs

edgedwith light rufous for about one-quarter theirwidth;

quills dark brown, their iiuier

webs

bordered with pale salmon-<!olor;

>Adng-coverts edged withdullwhite; underwing-covertslight ash,with justatingeof yellow; throat

and

breast ofaclear cinereous gray; ab-

domen and

undertail-covertsdull paleyellow; sidescinereous; bill

and

feetblack.

Length

(fresh), 7i in.; wing, _Sf; tail, 3^; tarsus, 1; middle toe

and

claw, \%; hindtoe toendofclaw, -^.

The

single specimen sentis of about thesizeofilf. eryflirocercus, Scl.,

but the

plumage

of the

new

speciesabove is dark, with no a])pro;uihto the earthy-brown colorof theother; belowthe\ do not differ somuch, but in M. sclafcrithe yellow is duller

and more

restricted; they difler materially inthe rufousmarkings on the inner

webs

ofthetail-feathers;

in M. crythrocercus this color occupies about one-half the

web

on the

358 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

outermosttwo^feathers, and onthe others two-thirds ormore; the

new

| j

species diifersconspicuously inits

much

longer

and

stronger tarsi

and

^{I '}

toes.

Named

in compliment ^{toMr. P. L. Sclater. ,}

21. Tyrannusrostratus, Scl.

"'Piperee.' liesident.

"Length, _^,9Jin.5 alar extent, 14f^; wing,_4f.

"Length, 9, 10in.; alar extent, 15|; wing,_4f.

"These two specimensare the only ones I have seen.

Though

un- common, inDominica, it

may

be considered rare here. Itslocalname,

'Piperee,' isinuse throughout the islands,

and

isderivedfromitscry."

Fam. TROCHILID^.

22. Eulampisjugularis(Liun.).

"

'Colibri gorge rouge.'

"Length, _^, o^in.; alarextent, 7^; wing, 3.

"Leugtli, 9, 54in.; alarextent, 7; wing,3.

"The

most abundantofthehumming-birds inthe mountaindistricts,,

butofrare occurrenceinthelower portions ofthe island. ISTotsoabun- dant, however, asin Dominica."

23. Eulampisholossriceus(Liun.).

"Length, ^, 4j|in.; alar extent, 0; wing,2^-.

"Length, ₅, 4^-in.; alarextent, G^; wing, _2^.

"Thisspeciesisfound in the mountains as well as in thevalleys of thelowlands. ItisfoundintheJardin desPlantes,

and

onthe elevated plateauof

Morne Eonge and Champs

Plores. In the elevated districts it isnotin the

numbers

ofJE. jiKjularu.'''

24. Orthorhynchusexilis (Gju.).

"'Foufou.'

"Length, _^j, ohin.; alar extent, 4^; wing,2.

"Length, _9, ohin.; alar extent, 4f^; wing, IJ.

"Thislittle

gem

isfoundallover theisland, thoughnotinsuchprofu- sion as Ifoundit inDominica. IntheJardin des Plantes it isthe most numerousspecies,perhaps.

At Morne Eonge and

atTroisIslets, Ifound

itoccasionally.

"As

intheotherislandswheretheFrench

and

Frenchpatoisisspoken, thislittlebirdis

known

tothe

common

peopleas^'fou fou',orcrazycrazy, from itseccentric motions whileinflight.

"

They

havealso asuperstition thatif you eat its

body

itwill

make

youcrazy, andintheirignorance theybelieve it is used

by

the physi- ciansin

some

mysterious medicine

—

henceitsvulgar

name

intheEnglish

slands of'DoctorBird'."

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 359

Fam. CYPSELID^E.

25. "Chaetura. Seen.

"Apparently the

same

a.s

my

Dominica specimens."

Fam. ALCEDINIDiE.

26. Cerylealcyon(Liun.).

"Seen; rare and shy."

Fam. CUCULID^.

27. Coccyzus minor(Gm.).

'^'(Jloucon manioc'

"Length, $,14,in.; ahirextent, 17; wing,6.

"Length, 9, 13^Jin.; ahir extent, 10^J; wing,6.

I

"I found this species abundant, if one can say that anyspecies is

abundantin anisland so barren of birds asthis.

At

least I coidd

hud

onealmost

any

day,

by

beating the scraggybushes

upon

the hillsides

' of Trois Islets.

The same

in habits

and

notesas the 'Coucou' ^of the otherislands."'

Fam. FALCONID.F:.

28. Tinnunculus sparveriusvar. antillaruni (Gni.).

"•Seen^;

uncommon."

Fam. FREGATTD.F.

29. Pregata aquila (Linn.).

"Seen^"

Fam. PH^ETHONID^.

30. Phaethon flavirostris Brandt.

"Itundoubtedly has its hauntin the cliffs near St. Pierre, south, as I have seenitnear there

and

the cliff wallis

honeycombed

with holes, justsuchasthe Tropic bird chooses foritself."

Fam. PELECANID^.

31. Pelecanus fuscus (Linn.),

"Seen

^"

Fam. ARDEID.E.

32. Ardea herodias(Linn.).

"Seen

flyinghigh above

Champs

Flores from the mountain forest to the ocean."

33. Plorida caerulea (Linn.).

"Seen^; inblue

and

white plumage."

34. Butorides virescens (Linn.).

"The

most

common,

thoughnot plentiful."

360 PROCEEDINGo OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Fam. COLUMBID^.

35. Coluaiba corensis (Gm.)-

"

'Eiimiei'.' Irisyellow.

^'Tuougli persistentlyhimted, this bird sfciil iuliabits tiiemountains, making- its liome especially

upon

the volcano of

Mountain

Pelee. In

all the highest hills and mountainsit

may

be foundin sparse numbers.

Several attemptsthat I

made

to securethis species, on thesides of the volcano, werei'riiitiess owingtoits wildness."

36. Zenaida niartinicana, I3p.

^"Tourterelle.'

"Earelyseen,butinhabits thedryslopesnear thesea."

37. Chaaiaepelia passerina (Limi.).

'^'

'Ortolan.' Eesident.

"As

the extent ofcultivated

and

pastiue landis greater than inDo- minica, so isthisbird foundin greater numbers, though not abundant in eitherisland."

33. Geotrygon montana (Linn.).

''•Perdix.' Iris goldj resident.

''Length, c?,ll:iin.; alar extent, 10; wing, Gi.

"Though

this speciesisfarfrom abundant, the natives occasionally bring the birds in for sale.^

The

'Eamier'is, perhaps,

more

plentiful, bat liomits

more

secluded habits

and

fromitskeepingitself in the air

and on the tallest trees,never touching the ground, isless subject to persecution thanthe 'Perdix'.

As

inthe UnitedStates, the snare

and

trapkilltwoto one killed

by

thegun;

and

thespringesof the natives willsoon exterminate thisbirdfromtheisland

and add

it to the already growinglist of animals thaticcreand

now

are not."

Fam. SCOLOPACID/E.

39. Tringoides macularius (Liuu.).

"'Becasse.'

"Length, S, 7h ^in.; alar extent, 13|; wing,

U.

"A

resident, but merely a straggling one, left from the flocks that visithere inthe winter months."

Fam. LARID^.

40. Sterna dougalli, Mout.

"'Hirondelle deMer.'

"The

sea birds are mostlyfound on the Atlantic sideof the island, which Ididnotvisit. This species is

common, now

(xVugust),aboutthe shores of Port Eoyal Bay."

New

York, December31, 1878. ^{* "}