The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-12-08

fowls are found everywhere, especially
along the southern coast in the neigh
borhood of Santiago and Guantanamo.
! Quails of the Bob White species, but
| larger and unlike our own birds, are
| plentiful, but owing to the cover 1t Is
| difficult to make good bag of these
birds. Dogs are of no use to hunt
| them, and the only way to enter a
| thicket and get a shot is by means Of
| the machete.
BEST GAME BIRD.
The tocaza, or wood pigeon, not
unlike our old passenger pigeon. is
the best game bird to be found in Cuba.
/ 1t grows to an unusual size In hot cll-
mates, and, strange to say, is found
| in the greatest numbers during the
months of April May and June. 1t is
not swift flying, and an Indifferent
marksman In almost any Of the woods
of the island would find little difficulty
in filing his game bag. Doves are
considered a plague by the planters,
who look upon these intruders as
American farmers regard crows
! There are four species Of la palama in
Cuba, the principal variety being the
| same as our Carolina turtle dove. They
I fly in great numbers through the for
csts and across the fields, but are lit
/ tie hunted owing to the lack of proper
shooting material and the inherent
| laziness of the inhabitants.
| Wild parrots and paraquets are plen-
tiful in Eastern Cuba, and they form
the favorite article of food for the
settler and planter. Undoubtedly this
liking is considerably enhanced from
the fact that the bird is simple in it's
nature and can be trapped, approached
or clubbed without much effort. So
tame are they that a man with a
long stout stick can enter the brush
and knock them from their perches in
almost any number he desires. They
can be seen flying so thick through the
| mahogany forests Of the Cauto river
| that q single shot Wbuld probably
bring down more than enough for a
days eating. These birds are cleanly
in habit and their flesh has a fine
taste. They are easily tanned, become
good takers, and aftcr being once
domesticated are never persuaded by
their fellow kind to escape. Indeed,
a soldier carried one fine bird entirely
across the island on his saddle how
u,
and although it had it's freedom In
camp and at night would fly away and
chatter with it's fellows, it always re-
turned in time to resume the journey
next morning. 1t had not been in cap
tivity more than a month.
THE RAIN CROW.
There are in Cuba neither the black
bird as we know III nor the full grown
! crow such as we have in the states;
but between the two, larger than the
| FORMER and smaller than the latter,
there is a creature which the natives
call the rain crow" 1t is found in
every part of the island. on the noun
tain tops and in the depths of tho
swamps, but 1t Is useful neither for
food nor song and is generally dis
liked. 1t has n curious, stumpy.
rounded bill which has caused some
to nickname it 'jewbird " The origin
of its title rain crow is the fact
that the bird does not seem to find
discomfort in exposing itself to the
heaviest showers, and after a. rain the
bushes, trees and plants for miles
in every direction present the curious
spectacle Of thousands of black wings
spread out to dry in the sun. No ono
disturbs them and, therefore, they do
not fear the approach Of man.
In no other land are the buzzards
SO numerous and so useful as they are
in Cuba. They hover over mountains
and valleys, Circling about and ever
| watchful for a mcrsel. and it must
be said that they have no di1iculty in
finding all they want. They are the
great scavenger force of every city,
and 1t is well that they are so indus
trious in their calling: for otherwise
much of the filth in the towns and in
the country surrounding would be left
where it lay one town near the north
coast in Santiago Province is called
La Ciudad de las Auras," which
means city of buzzards;" and it Is
correctly named. too, for these the
buzzardS are more numerous than the
inhabitants and share with the latter
their domiciles, taking the places of
dogs. cats. chickens and other domes
tic creatures. There is no law against
their destruction and yet no one
thinks of disturbing or injuring them.
They are as much at home about a
human dwelling as the owners them
selves.
MIGRATORY BIRDS.
Among the migratory birds that visit
Cuba in winter are the green-wingad ID
teal, the pintail, whistler, wood duck
and coot. Great sport can be had with
these birds If the sportsman is prop
erly equipped. Pelicans. water tur-
keys, fsh-duc,s, herons of all varieties
and colors, cranes, eagles, naminEoes
hawks and owls of several kinds, in
Guiding the rare white owl, wood
peckers, especially the ivory bill, the
ibis, and along the shores gulls and sea
beautiful bird of the interior deserves
especial mention. owing to the dis.
tance al which it was seen, the writer
was unable to identify it. II was a
tall, handsome creature, and was walk
ing lightly on the lily pads. It's color
above was a beautiful spectrum blue
fading into creamy white on the sides
and bursting into a brilliant sea r'ec
on the breast and lower body. Its
legs were green, bill orange, and tho
head was crowned with a coronet sim
liar to that worn by the California
quail. 1t was not weh-footed, but had
three broad toes branching to the front
and one to the side, which indicated
the wader rather than the swimmer.
Fifteen species Of the humming bird
are peculiar to the island, the largest
of which is the lonS-tailed hummer
measuring ten inches from tip Of beals
to end of tail and the smallest, the
verain, which weighs but twenty
4.