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Sanchez, San Domingo.
April 1st 1919 

carded [[checkmark]]

Dear Richmond

I am leaving 4 boxes (kerosene cases) of specimens here to be shipped to New York by the first available steamer--Probably the "Huron" in about 10 daystime. [The eggs of the "Sigu[[strikethrough]]r[[/strikethrough]]a" (Dulus domini[[strikethrough]]es[[/strikethrough]]censis) are there at last. one occupied nest with 4 eggs (spotted) & 5 (not yet used) nests were in a community house 25 feet from [[strikethrough]] a [[/strikethrough]] ground in a royal palm.] [Also 2 eggs of Geotrygon montana (ruddy grd. dove) which proves not to nest on the ground at all, but on a bunch of "wild pineapple" (Tillandsia) 6-8 feet from [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] ground on the trunk of a good sized tree. Saw several nests all in the same situation--This is a good discovery as the habitat may serve to preserve the bird from extermination by the rapidly spreading mongoose.] Am hoping to leave for the interior on the 3d. two Samana boys go with me as I don't speak Spanish--One, John King, was up with me to Constanza 2 1/2 years ago & is glad to go again, as he has a nagging wife who is making his home hot for him--she is an ugly cross grained bitch, half Indian, half Spanish--Hope to put in 2 months in the mountains, will probably make Constanza my headquarters & radiate out. Will try to do the highest possible levels & ought to find a good many new nesting species at this season.
[Am sending a pair of frigates & some eggs. They are nesting on Pelican Island, south shore of Samana Bay]--Pelicans are not nesting yes. [Saw one booby on the mid channel buoy, but did not have gun available.] But so far have not done much. Lots of species like C. inornata & squamosa are nesting, but cant find the nests. Corvus leucognaphalus is preparing (I think) but not yet nesting--They & [the little paroquet Aratinga used to be very common here at Sanchez, both are now unknown here. Old men tell me that when they were boys, the had to watch the maize field here in Samana with a gun against the vast flocks of Aratinga--They are now absent from this section tho still common in the interior. The Doctor here tells me he saw them last week on N.E. coast near Matanzas.] The common parrot (Amazona) is still common as it does not depredate on the maize fields.
[The yellow-billed cuckoo has been fairly common during the last few weeks-]-There is not much for Miller except 2 kinds of bats, & a few