Birds of the Southern Lesser Antilles (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905. Excerpt: ... (form saccharifia) occur only on the island of St. Vincent, and are all very rare. Therefore, unless it can be proved that specimens of Mangrove Cuckoos, blackbirds, or Yellow-breasted Honey Creepers could not by any chance have been procured on Bequia (only six miles from Kingstown) such specimens must be disregarded in considering the avifauna of this district. On the Grenadines, the plumage of birds fades with remarkable rapidity, owing to the small rainfall and general absence of trees, and the consequently dry, hot, and unsheltered conditions under which the birds live. This fading is very noticeable in the Mangrove Cuckoo, and it is unsafe to draw any conclusions from any but perfectly fresh material. Measurements. The seven specimens examined from St. Lucia all agree in color with the St. Vincent birds, but approach those from Dominica in the character of the bill. Only the two having the largest and the two having the smallest bills were measured. The Cuckoo Manioc is rare on St. Vincent at present. I met with several in the upper part of the Peter's Hope valley, near Barrouallie, and saw single individuals in the woods behind Chateaubelair (October, 1903), on Belleisle Hill (February, 1904), and in the grounds of the Agricultural school at Kingstown (February, 1904). Lister remarks that he has often heard its notes when entering the high woods, although he mentions that it also occurs in the lowlands. It appears to be now confined to the borders of the high woods and to clearings in the higher mountain valleys. Coccyzus americanus (Linn.). Yellow-billed Cuckoo.--Col. Feilden records the capture of a male of this species at Graeme Hall swamp, Barbados, on October 6, 1888. Wells saw a pair at Grand Anse pasture, Carriacou, in 1896, one of which, a ...