Sacrifice of Buntings (18 page)

“It fits Aponi Carter’s era,” said Detective Stone. “Though where she would have laid her hands on one of these, we’ll never know.”

“They were used on stagecoaches,” Dorothy said. “Maybe one ended up in the swamp.”

“Open it,” Dwayne said. He had edged closer, his guard on his tail.

The deputy who had unearthed it reached for a pry bar and torqued open the lid. Glass beads spilled onto the ground, along with several glass rings and a rosary made of coral. Inside, several old iron tools were nestled in rotting cloth.

“There’s got to be more in there than that.” Dwayne said.

The deputy dug deeper. “Wait. Here’s something.”

He came up with a brass plaque. It was embossed with the image of a king, and inscribed across the bottom were the words “King Felipe II, Don Carlos de Hapsburg.”

“He was the King of Spain at the time of the conquistadors,” Dorothy said.

“That’s it?” Dwayne’s voice rose in anger. “That’s the treasure?”

“It looks like it,” Detective Stone said. “Doesn’t seem worth it now, does it?”

“Well, it’s got to be worth something,” Dorothy said. “A few thousand dollars.”

Everyone stared at her.

Kent
.

“Did you hear that?” Cecilia asked.

“Hear what?” Dorothy cocked her head to listen.

Kent
.

“It sounds like a clarinet, or a child’s horn,” Lark said.

“That’s the call of the ivory-billed woodpecker,” Rachel said.

Kent
.

“How do you know that?” Lark asked.

“I looked it up on the Internet.”

“It could be the pileated,” Dorothy said.

“No, their call is different. The ivory-billed’s call is softer and has characteristic pauses between the notes.” Rachel wished she had thought to bring her binoculars. At least Dorothy, Cecilia, and Lark had remembered. “Look in the trees. They don’t call in flight.”

Everyone was listening now.

Kent. Kent. Kent
.

“Who cares about a bird?” said Dwayne.

The deputy yanked on his cuffs, and he fell quiet.

Suddenly a large bird swooped from the trees. It was a female, but the black and white of the wings were unmistakable. It lit on a tree at the edge of the clearing. Rachel pulled her camera phone out of her pocket, focused, and shot. She recorded three pictures before the bird flew away.

“We have to call the hotline,” Cecilia said.

“No,” Dorothy said. “We need to call the state. The last thing we want is a horde of birders descending on the island and disturbing the birds.”

“I agree with Dorothy,” Lark said. “What do you think, Rae?”

Rachel stared at the photographs on her camera phone. “I need to e-mail Kirk.”

Painted Bunting

Passerina ciris

Family: Fringillidae

APPEARANCE
: A small, beautiful bird, the male painted bunting is the most spectacularly colored of all North American songbirds, with a gaudy combination of red, blue, and green feathers. He has a blue head, a green back, a dark red nape, and red under-parts, rump, and eye ring. The females are plain green with no markings.

RANGE
: Painted buntings have two distinct breeding populations. The eastern population—found along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to central Florida—winters in southern Florida and the northwestern Caribbean. The western population—covering much of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and southward into northern Mexico—winters in southern Mexico and Central America.

HABITAT
: The painted bunting favors somewhat open areas with dense brush at all seasons. A fan of the southeastern thickets, males often sing from perches well-hidden among foliage in low trees.

VOICE
: Painted buntings have a bright, fast warble:
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.

BEHAVIORS
: Males defend their territory by singing from a high perch, often hidden among the uppermost foliage of a tree. Males, who may have more than one mate, will actually fight to hold territories. These fights are sometimes bloody and even fatal.

CONSERVATION
: The painted bunting diet consists mostly of seeds and insects, with insects predominating during the breeding season. There has been a significant decline in the numbers of painted buntings over the past thirty-five years. While the exact cause is unknown, it is most likely related to habitat. Both the eastern and western populations have been negatively impacted by an increase in land development resulting in the degradation or destruction of habitat. Cowbird parasitism may also be impacting the eastern population. Finally, because of their spectacular appearance, male painted buntings are popular as cage birds, and thousands are taken annually in Mexico and Central America for export to bird dealers in Europe.