Of the cranes and partridges or turtledoves of the island of Cuba or Fernandina.

Translated by Isabella Perez ’21 and Yuming Ren ’21

On the island of Cuba, there are innumerable cranes of the same type often seen in Spain, I say of that same plumage, size, and song. They are native to that island, for they breed there. The boys (and anyone else who wants to) can take with them to the villages an infinite amount of eggs and crane chicks from the savannahs or fields where they breed. Throughout the year, these birds can be found on that island.

There are also some small partridges on that island, which to me resemble turtledoves in their plumage and coos, except they taste much better. They are captured alive in great numbers and are brought home wild; in three to four days, they act so domesticated and have been fattened up so much that it is almost like they were born there. Without a doubt, they are an exquisite delicacy and mild in flavor. Some even praise them and prefer them to the partridges of Spain not because they taste better but because they are easier to digest. They are not as large as the turtledoves of Castile, but they have a collar of the same plumage around their neck, black like that of the calandra lark,[1] although somewhat lower on the chest and wider. In the island of Cuba, most years or at least every three, the same migration of birds takes place as in the island of Hispaniola, as will be discussed in the following chapter.

[1] Melanocorypha calandra. [EE]