ANIMALS
Cuba, like the other West Indian Islands, is strangely poor in its
indigenous mammals. The largest wild animal is the deer, a beautiful
creature, resembling much the graceful Cervidae of the Virginia
mountains. It is in fact a sub-species of the American deer. But these
were imported into Cuba from some unknown place, and at a time of which
there is no record extant. They are very plentiful throughout nearly all
of the thinly settled sections of Cuba, especially in the Province of
Pinar del Rio, where, in places not hunted, they exhibit very little
fear of man and frequently appear near native huts in the hills, drawn
there probably through curiosity, which is one of the weak points of
these most beautiful denizens of the forest.
The abundance of food and absence of cold throughout the year, as well
as the shelter given by the dense woodland and mountains, has led to
their rapid increase. The game laws also protect them from destruction
with the exception of a brief period during the late fall and winter.
A peculiar animal known as the Hutia, of which there are three varieties
in Cuba, together with the small anteater, known as the Solenoden,
represent the entire native mammalian fauna of the Island. Hutia is the
name given in Cuba to three species of the Caprimys, which belong to
this country. The largest of the three is distributed over the entire
Island. It weighs about ten pounds and is frequently seen in the tree
tops of the forest, living on leaves and tender bark. The other species
are only about half the size of the former. One of these has a long
rat-like tail with which it hangs to limbs of trees, as does the
American opossum. The third species is confined to the Province of
Oriente. Outside of Cuba only two of the Caprimys or Hutias are found,
one in the Bahamas, and the other in Jamaica and Swan Island, now almost
extinct. The Hutias are arboreal rodents. Those of the mountains rear
their little families among the boulders of the tall sierras, where the
feeble voices of the young can often be heard by one who listens
carefully. Their faint cry is very suggestive of the peep of little
chickens. Hutias are sometimes kept as pets in the country.
The large rodents, as a new world product, attained their maximum
development a very long while ago, during the middle Tertiary period.
Since that time the group has been steadily diminishing, and the
extensive land areas over which they once thronged have undergone many
changes. The Caprimys are a stranded remnant whose ancestral relations
are difficult to trace.
The largest bird of the Island is the Cuban sandhill crane (Grus
nesiotes). This rather rare representative of the feathered tribe is
found occasionally on grassy plains surrounding the western end of the
Organ Mountains of Pinar del Rio. They are also quite plentiful along
the foothills, and on the grass covered plateaus just south of the
Cubitas Mountains, in Camaguey, where they were at one time quite tame.
These birds are found also in Mexico and in the United States, and when
less than a year old are excellent eating. They stand about four feet in
height and are only a trifle smaller than the whooping crane of the
western plains of the United States.
The guinea-fowl is one of the most common birds of Cuba and was
introduced by the early Spanish conquerors who brought it from the Cape
Verde Islands, whence it had been carried from Africa. This bird, which
has exceptional ability in taking care of itself, while found on nearly
every native farm, soon became wild in Cuba, and is quite plentiful in
some of the dense forests of the Island, especially in the Province of
Camaguey, where it occasionally furnished food for the insurgents during
the War of Independence. The wild guinea is excellent eating, resembling
in size and quality the prairie chicken once so common on the western
prairies of the United States.
The domestic turkey is, of course, indigenous to almost all parts of
North and Central America. Of its introduction into Cuba there is
practically no record. The climate of the Island is very congenial to
turkeys, hence far less trouble is found in raising them than in the
United States.
The Cuban “bob-white” with its cheerful note is common throughout the
Island. He is slightly smaller and darker than the American quail, which
some time in the remote past migrated to Cuba. The game laws of the
Island protect both of these birds quite efficiently, otherwise they
would long ago have been extinguished.
The ubiquitous turkey buzzard is also common in Cuba and quite as
obnoxious as in the southern states of America.
The little Cuban sparrow hawk, similar to if not identical with that of
the United States, is also found in the Island, as is also the king
bird, which retains his pugnacious habits, not hesitating to tackle
anything that flies. Many varieties of the owl are also found in Cuba,
including the large handsome white owl.
The mocking bird of the South, that king of song birds, to which
Linnaeus gave the name of Minus Polyglottus Orpheus, is usually in
evidence with his beautiful song, if not always in sight. The sweet
voiced meadow lark of the United States also is very common in Cuba.
The wild pigeons, once so plentiful in the United States, are still
found in Cuba. Their roosting places are in the deep forests. The
Province of Camaguey seems to be their favorite rendezvous. Other
pigeons found in Cuba are the West Indian mourning dove, the Zenaida
dove, and the little Cuban ground dove. Another beautiful
representative of the dove family is the native white crowned pigeon
(Columba Leucocephala) gentle, lovable creatures that make delightful
pets for children. Two specimens of these doves are domiciled in the
Zoological Park at Washington.
Parrots, of course, are indigenous to Cuba. Several varieties are
represented, the largest of which, with its brilliant green plumage and
red head, can be easily tamed, while its linguistic ability rapidly
develops with a little patience. These birds when not mating fly in
great flocks, sometimes alighting near homes in the forest, their
unmelodious chatter rendering conversation impossible. The squabs are
excellent eating and are sometimes used for that purpose. Another Cuban
parrot, the Amazona Leucocephala, makes its nest in holes excavated in
the upper reaches of the royal palm, 50 or 60 feet above the ground.
A striking bird, peculiar to the coastal regions, is the Cuban oriole; a
black bird with bright yellow shoulders, rump and tail coverts, the
under side of the wings also yellow. As a general alarmist, he is equal
to the cat bird, also found in Cuba. A little sneaking about the thicket
will lure the oriole from his hiding place and cause him to scold and
revile the intruder. The Cuban green woodpecker and the white-eyed vireo
are also garrulous birds often met in company with the oriole.
One of the most beautiful birds of Cuba is the little tody, which, with
the exception of humming birds that are also very plentiful, is the
smallest of the feathered inhabitants of the Island. Its length from tip
of bill to tip of tail is only a little over three inches. The entire
back of the bird is a brilliant grass green. On its throat is a large
patch of bright scarlet, bordered by a zone of white at the angle of the
bill, replaced toward the posterior end of the patch by a bright blue.
The under parts are white and smoky, while the flanks are washed with a
pale scarlet. This little jewel of a bird may be found anywhere in
Western Cuba, usually in low shrubbery, bordering some path, from which
he invites your attention by a song that recalls faintly the note of the
kingfisher.
Scattered throughout the island and especially plentiful in the Sierras,
is the Cuban lizard-cuckoo, known to the natives as the arriero. He is
about twenty inches in length, the long broad tail representing about
three-fifths while the bill will add almost two inches. The arriero is
one of the most interesting members of Cuban avifauna. His color is a
pale greyish brown with a metallic flush. The throat and the anterior
part of the under-surfaces are grey, washed with pale brown, while the
posterior portion is a pale reddish brown. The large, broad tail
feathers are tipped with white and crossed by a broad band of black.
He is a veritable clown, of curious and inquiring turn of mind, and
extremely amusing in his antics. Having responded to your call, he will
inspect you carefully, moving his tail sidewise, or cocking it up like a
wren. He may slink away like a shadow, or he may spread his wings and
tumble over himself, chattering as if he had discovered the most amusing
thing in the world, and was bubbling over with mirth.
One of the most strikingly colored birds in Cuba is the trogon. The top
of his head is metallic purple, the entire back metallic green, while
the under parts are pale grey, a little lighter at the throat. The
posterior and under tail coverts are scarlet, while the primaries of the
wing, and part of the secondaries, are marked with white bars. The outer
tail feathers also are tipped with broad bands of white, the combination
giving to the bird a strikingly brilliant appearance. The Trogon is
inclined to conceal his beauty in thickets, and rarely displays himself
in the open. His call suggests that of the northern cuckoos.
Water birds are very plentiful, especially in the shallow lagoons that
for hundreds of miles separate the mainland from the outlying islands.
The largest and most striking of these is probably the flamingo, great
flocks of which may be seen in the early morning, spreading out like a
line of red-coated soldiers along the sand spits, or restingas, that
frequently reach out from shore a mile or more, into the shallow salt
waters. The flamingos are very shy, seldom permitting man to approach
within 200 yards.
Another beautiful water bird is the Sevilla that reaches, with maturity,
about the size of the Muscovy cock. Until nearly a year old this
beautiful inhabitant of the lagoons is snow white, after which his color
changes to a bright carmine red. In the unfrequented lagoons he is still
very plentiful. In the same waters are found many varieties of the heron
family, including the much sought for little white heron, with its
beautiful plumage, from which the aigrettes so popular among women as
ornaments are obtained.
One of the most peculiar and conspicuous birds in Cuba is the ani, found
everywhere throughout the Island where there are cattle, even
approaching the outskirts of large cities. The ani is about the size of
a small crow, jet black in color with a metallic sheen, and carries a
peculiar crest on the upper mandible. It lives almost entirely on ticks
or other parasitic insects that trouble cattle. It will sit perched on
the back of an ox, hunting industriously for ticks, which process or
favor is apparently enjoyed by the patient beasts.