(PLATE 37.)
_Procellaria jamaicensis_ Bancroft, Zoological Journal V, p. 81
(1835--Nomen nudum!).
_Pterodroma caribbaea_ Carte, P.Z.S. 1866, p. 93, pl. 10 ("Blue
Mountains in insula Jamaica").
_Aestrelata caribbaea_ Giglioli & Salvadori, Ibis 1869, p. 66.
_Fulmarus caribbaeus_ Gray, Handlist B. III, p. 107 (1871).
_Aestrelata jamaicensis_ Ridgway, Man. N. Am. B., p. 67; Cory, Cat.
West-Indian B., p. 84 (1892).
_Oestrelata jamaicensis_ Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus, p. 403 (1896).
It is surprising that the name _jamaicensis_ has generally been adopted for
this species, as Bancroft gave no description whatever. The first
description is that of Carte, in 1866, which is as follows:--"Head, neck,
back, and wings of a uniform dark sooty brown; vertex and external webs of
the primaries a shade or so darker; abdominal feathers and under
tail-coverts a shade or two lighter than those of the back; upper
tail-coverts and basal portion of tail-feathers of a light grey or dirty
white. The light-coloured patch on the rump is conspicuous when the wings
are expanded, but completely concealed when they are closed. Irides dark
hazel. Tarsi, toes, webs, and nails jet-black.
"Length about 12¾ inches; expanse of wings 34 inches; length from carpal
joint to tip of first primary 10¾ inches; length of bill, measured from
gape, 1-5/8 inches; length of nasal tubes 5/16 inch; length of interval
between nostrils and commencement of apical curve of upper mandible ¼ inch;
length of tarsi 1-5/10 inches; length of toes, outer and middle, sub-equal
2 inches; length of inner toe 1-5/8 inches. First and second primaries
sub-equal, and about ½ inch longer than the third. Tail about 4½ inches
long and round at extremity. The closed wings extend about 1½ inches beyond
the tail. Hallux small, and in shape triangular."
"With respect to the habits of the bird, Mr. March has most kindly
furnished me with the following interesting details:--
"It is a night-bird, living in burrows in the marly clefts of the mountains
at the east and north-east end of the island. The burrows form a gallery 6
to 10 feet long, terminating in a chamber sufficiently commodious to
accommodate the pair; from this they sally forth at night, flying over the
sea in search of food (fishes), returning before dawn. It is often seen on
moonlight nights and at sunrise running about the neighbourhood of its
domicile, and sometimes crossing the road, regardless of the labourers
going to their work. I know nothing of its nidification." {158}
The type of "_Pterodroma caribbaea_" is preserved in the Dublin Museum, and
three specimens are in the British Museum. This bird is one of the rarest
in collections, and all modern collectors have failed to obtain specimens.
Quite recently (1906) Mr. B. Hyatt Verrill published a pamphlet entitled
"Additions to the Avifauna of Dominica." In this unpaginated essay he said
under the heading "_Aestrelata jamaicensis_": "Not uncommon (on Dominica),
but seldom seen during the day. Breeds at La Bime, Pointe Guignarde, and
Lance Bateaux, as well as at Morne Rouge and Scott's Head. In many of the
above localities the musky odour of these birds is very pronounced when
passing the cliffs, wherein they breed, on a calm evening. At dusk they may
often be seen flying about the cliffs in company with myriads of bats that
spend the day in the fissures and crevices. They are very difficult to
procure, and although shot at repeatedly only two specimens have been
obtained."
From all former evidence we might have well considered this species to be
extinct, but if Mr. Verrill's statement is correct it would be far from
exterminated. I do not, however, know if the Dominica specimens have been
compared with Jamaica examples, and if Mr. Verrill's determination
(apparently made on Dominica) is therefore correct.