The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-12-30


nutralli), both Of which birds might
be obtained in California and both are
very useful.
$50 far as scale insects are con
cerned and other small insect pests. /
can unreservedlv recommend any of
, the chchadees. as the plain titmouse
tBaeolopnus Inornatus iuornatus),
mountain chichad-e tPenthestes gam
. bci gamheH), California chickadee
tPeuthpstes rlfescens negIactus}. the
bush-rir tPsaIrriparus Minimusmini-
NUS. also the wren-tit (Chamaea fas-
ciata fasciata.} Both the latter species
abound near San Francisco. | should
not hesitate TO recommend also any of
the hycatchers. or phoebes. like Say :
Hvcarcher iSayornis sayus), the black
iycatche- (Sayornis nigricans) OF Cali
tornia and the ash-throated tiycatcher
Mviarchus cinerascens). These three
species are, II IS true. migratory, and
il i by no means certain that they
would torego the migratory instinct
and consent to remain in the Islands.
On tins account it would be better to
select tropical nonmi gratory fycatch
ers. a species of the genus Mviarchus.
Pitanga and Myiozetetes. all of Mex
leo. The vermilion fycatcher of Tex
as. Arizona and Mexico. besides being
very beautiful. Is an active tivcatcher
living much in rather open fields and
Is nonmigratOrv owe" mach Of Its
range The little Australian flr- ltcher
Won mention might also prove E. very
desirable inhahitant Of the Islands. and
it is very likely to thrive there. as the
little fycatcher, or elepaio. now dis
persed over the uplands of several Of
the Islands was probably derived orig
inallv from Australian stock.
ANY species of swallow or night
hawk could be introduced with perfect
safety and with the certainty of yield
ing valuable service. since these birds
live almost exclusively on insects. Tn /
fortunately our American species are
migratory. but the purple martin of
norther Mexico Is nonmigratory. is .
greedy insect eater, and could be rather
easily obtained and transported, espe
cia3ly when Young. The same statement
NAV be made of a tropical swallow liv- /
ing on the coast of Mexico (Tachvci- /
meta albilimea) | should personally .
like to see an attempt made to intro [
duce one or more Of the several species .
of California humming- birds into the .
Islands, although the desirabilitv of .
doing this rests more upon esthetic
than economic grounds. They live to .
considerable extent upon minute in /
sectS, which they find within the corol- /
las Of flowers. and also upon the nectar .
of flowers. I DO not doubt for a mo-
ment that they would thrive wonder /
fully well in the gardens about Homo F.
lulu. and also in the mountain districts .
where the ohia abounds. the flowers of .
which would furnish them an abundance F.
of food. Nor do I see any difficulty
in the way of transporting them by .
steamer to Honolulu, as they could be !
fed upon water sweetened with sugar
during the six or seven days of the I.
voyage.
An attempt to acclimatize the
mocking- bird in the Islands would be
sure to arouse popular interest, would .
probably be successful, and would be at
tended with comparatively little risk.
1t is almost exclusively insectivorous
during the breeding season and largely
SO the year round The hooking bird .
would be a fine addition to the Island .
avifauna. though il can not be recon- ,
mended unreservedlv.
There is another bird which I
of bluebird, and known to dealers as
the "Peking nightingale or "Japa-
nese robin.''' It's scientific name is .
Liothrix lutea, and it is somewhat re- /
lated to the thrushes, but is probably .
nearer the fvcatchers It lives to
some extent on small fruits and on in
sects. 1t would be easy to obtain this
bird from San Francisco bird dealers. ,
There are a good many wild berries in
the Islands. including the native black
berry or akala. the introduced Jamaica
raspberry. the introduced mulberry and .
the native species, together with
number of berry bearing trees the /
names Of which [ have forgotten.
These should furnish abundant food for
such berry eaters as the ones lust men
toned, and would greatly lessen the
chances of their attacking cultivated /
ones.
- The game birds, like the turkey. J,
pheasants and quail, so far introduced
into the Islands have suffered from the .
mongoose. since they nest on the I
ground. and. together with the native F.
Hawaiian goose, are likely to ultimately
undergo practical determination. Should .
further Introduction Of game birds into
the Islands be contemplated, I would
suggest trial Of the following. all in
habitants of Mexico: Chachalaca (Or- .
taiis}, guam (Peneiope) and curassow
(traX). These galllnaceous birds are
10 a considerable extent forest inhahit-
ers, would furnish excellent sport and
are fine eating. The curassow would .
probably thrive best in humid regions. I.
the chachalaca in dryer parts. An
these are tanned readily. and in Mexico
Y n no ?
residents, mingliug freely with the do /
nestle fowls. They feed on wild her-I