Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tree frogs (
Eleutherodactylus johnstonei
and
Eleutherodactylus gossei
), whose night-
time chirping newcomers sometimes mistake for the song of birds. Small and camou-
flaged by the leafy matter of the forest floor, the frogs appear between April and
November.
More visible are Bermuda's giant toads, or road toads
(Bufo marinus),
which some-
times reach the size of an adult human's palm. Imported from Guyana in the 1870s
in hopes of controlling the island's cockroach population, giant toads search out the
nighttime warmth of the asphalt roads—and are often crushed by cars in the process.
They are especially prevalent after a soaking rain. The road toads are not venomous
and, contrary to legend, do not cause warts.
Island reptiles include colonies of harmless lizards, often seen sunning themselves
on rocks until approaching humans or predators scare them away. The best-known
species is the Bermuda rock lizard
(Eumeces longirostris),
also known as a skink. It's
said to have been the only nonmarine, nonflying vertebrate on Bermuda before the
arrival of European colonists. Imported reptiles include the Somerset lizard
(Anolis
roquet),
whose black eye patches give it the look of a bashful bandit, and the Jamaican
anole
(Anolis grahami),
a kind of chameleon.
BIRD LIFE
Partly because of its ample food sources, Bermuda has a large bird population; many
species nest on the island during their annual migrations. Most of the birds arrive
during the cooler winter months, usually between Christmas and Easter. Birders have
recorded almost 40 different species of eastern warblers, which peacefully coexist
with martins, doves, egrets, South American terns, herons, fork-tailed flycatchers,
and even some species from as far away as the Arctic Circle.
Two of the most visible imported species are the cardinal, introduced during the
1700s, and the kiskadee. Imported from Trinidad in 1957 to control lizards and flies,
the kiskadee has instead wreaked havoc on the island's commercial fruit crops.
The once-prevalent eastern bluebird has been greatly reduced in number since its
preferred habitat, cedar trees, was depleted by blight. Another bird native to Bermuda
is the gray-and-white petrel, known locally as a cahow, which burrows for most of the
year in the sands of the isolated eastern islands. During the rest of the year, the cahow
feeds at sea, floating for hours in the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. One of the
most elusive birds in the world—it was once thought to be extinct—the petrel is now
protected by the Bermudian government.
2
Also native to Bermuda is the cliff-
dwelling tropic bird, which you can
identify by the elongated plumage of
its white tail. The bird resembles a
swallow and is the island's harbinger of
spring, appearing annually in March.
Although the gardens and golf
courses of many of the island's hotels
attract dozens of birds, some of the
finest bird-watching sites are main-
tained by the Bermuda Audubon Soci-
ety (www.audubon.bm) or the National
Trust. Isolated sites known for shelter-
ing thousands of native and migrating
Impressions
A major problem for Bermudians
remained the question of whether to
obtain independence. The Bermuda
people have always been under the
Union Jack, unlike many other British
colonies, and while the British Empire
has only a little of its former glory, it
still gives a degree of safety for those
who shelter under its wing.
—W. S. Zuill,
The Story of Bermuda
and Her People
