Geospiza fortis.Gould.

Birds. Pl. 36.Geospiza magnirostris

Birds. Pl. 37.Geospiza strenua

Birds. Pl. 38.Geospiza fortis

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago (James and Chatham Islands.)

Plate XXVIII.

G. intense fuliginosa, crisso albo; rostro rufescenti-brunneo, tincto nigro; pedibus nigris.

Fœm. (vel Mas jun.)Corpore suprà pectore et gutture intensè fuscis, singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; abdomine crissoque pallidè cinerascenti-brunneis; rostro rufescenti-fusco ad apicem flavescente; pedibus ut in mare.

Long. tot. 4¾ unc.;alæ, 3;caudæ, 1½;tarsi, ¹⁰⁄₁₂;rostri, ⁷⁄₁₂.

Deep sooty black; with the under tail-coverts and the bill reddish brown tinged with black; the feet black.

Female (or young male): The body above, breast and throat, deep fuscous, with each feather margined with cinereous olive: the abdomen, and under tail-coverts pale cinereous brown; the bill reddish fuscous, with the apex yellowish, and the feet like those in the male.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Charles and Chatham Islands.)

G. summo capite et corpore nigrescenti-fuscis; singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; corpore subtus pallidiore, abdomine imo crissoque cinerascentibus; rostro et pedibus intensè fuscis.

Long. tot. 5 unc.;alæ, 2¾;caudæ, 1¾;tarsi, ¾;rostri, ⅝; alt.rost.½.

Male.—Upper part of the head and body blackish fuscous, with each feather margined with cinereous olive; the body beneath paler, with the lowest part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts ashy; the bill and feet deep fuscous.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Charles Island.)

G. intensè fuliginosa, crisso albo, rostro fusco; pedibus nigrescenti-fuscis.

Long. tot. 4½ unc.;alæ, 2½;caudæ, 1⅝;tarsi, ¾;rostri, 1½; alt.rostri, ⅜.

Fœm.Summo corpore, alis, caudâque intensè fuscis; singulis plumis cinerascenti-ferrugineo marginatis; corpore infra cinereo, singulis plumis medium versus obscurioribus; rostro brunneo; pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis.

Deep sooty black, with the under tail coverts white; the bill fuscous, and the feet blackish fuscous.

Female: Upper part of the body; the wings and tail deep fuscous, with each feather margined with ashy ferrugineous; beneath the body cinereous, with each feather towards the middle darker; the bill brown, and the feet blackish brown.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Chatham and James’ Island.)

G.(Fœm. vel Mas jun.)mandibulæ superioris margine in dentem producto, vertice corporeque supra fuscis; singulis plumis medium versus obscurioribus; secundariis tectricibusque alarum ad marginem stramineis; gutture et pectore pallidè brunneis, singulis plumis medium versus obscurioribus, imo abdomine crissoque cinerascenti-albis; rostro rufo-fusco; pedibus obscurè plumbeis.

Long. tot. 4¾ unc.;alæ, 2⅜;caudæ, 1¾;rostri, ½; alt.rost.⅜.

The margin of the upper mandible produced into a tooth; the vertex and above the body fuscous, with each feather towards the middle darker; the margins of the secondaries and wing coverts straw colour; the throat and breast pale brown, darker towards the middle of each feather; the sides and under tail-coverts cinereous white; the bill rufous fuscous, and the feet obscure lead colour.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago.

Mr. Gould considered this specimen a female, from the appearance of its plumage; but from dissection, I thought it was a male.

Plate XXXIX.

G.(Mas)capite, gutture, et dorso fuliginosis; uropygio cinerascenti-olivaceo; caudâ et alis nigrescenti brunneis; singulis plumis caudæ et alarum, cinereo-marginatis; lateribus olivaceis, fusco guttatis; abdomine et crisso albis, rostro et pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis.

Long. tot. 4 unc.;alæ, 2⅜;caudæ, 1½;tarsi, ¾;rostri, ⅜; alt.rost.⁵⁄₁₆.

Fœm.Summo capite et dorso cinerascenti-brunneis, gutture, pectore, abdomine crissoque pallidè cinereis, stramineo tinctis.

The head, throat, and back, sooty black; the lower part of the back cinereous olive; the tail and wings blackish brown, margined with cinereous; the sides olive with fuscous spots; the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; the bill and feet blackish brown.

Female: The upper surface cinereous brown; the throat, breast, abdomen, and the under tail coverts, pale cinereous tinged with straw colour.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (James’ Island.)

Birds. Pl. 39.Geospiza parvula.

Birds. Pl. 40.Camarhynchus psittaculus.

Birds. Pl. 41.Camarhynchus crassirostris.

8.Geospiza dubia.Gould.

G.(Fœm. Mas ignot.)summo capite et corpore suprà fuscis, singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceo marginatis; strigâ superciliari, genis, gutture, corpore infrà cinerascenti-olivaceis, singulis plumis notâ centrali fuscâ; alis caudâque brunneis singulis plumis olivaceo-cinereo marginatis; rostro sordidè albo, pedibus obscurè fuscis.

Long. tot. 3⅜ unc.;alæ, 2¾;caudæ, 1⅝;tarsi, ⅞;rostri, ⅝; alt.rostri, ⅜.

Upper surface fuscous, with each feather margined with cinereous olive; the streak above the eye, cheeks, throat, and beneath the body, cinereous olive, with the middle of each feather fuscous; the wings and tail brown, with each feather margined with cinereous ash; the bill white, and the feet obscure fuscous.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Chatham Island.)

Camarhynchusdiffert a genereGeospiza,rostro debiliore, margine mandibulæ superioris minùs indentato; culmine minùs elevato in frontem et plus arcuato; lateribus tumidioribus; mandibulâ inferiore minus in genas tendente.

Camarhynchus psittaculusis the typical species.

Plate XL.

C.(Fœm.)summo capite corporeque superiore fuscis; alis caudâque obscurioribus; gutture corporeque inferiore, cinerascenti-albis, stramineo tinctis; rostro pallidè flavescenti-fusco; pedibus fuscis.

Long. tot. 4¾ unc.;alæ, 2¾:caudæ, 1¾;tarsi, ⅞;rostri½; alt.rostri, ½.

The upper part of the head and body fuscous; the wing and tail darker; the throat, and beneath the body cinereous white, tinged with straw colour; the bill pale yellowish fuscous, and the feet fuscous.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (James’ Island.)

The species of Camarhynchus do not differ in habits from those of Geospiza; and theC. psittaculusmight often be seen mingled in considerable numbers in the same flock with the latter. Mr. Bynoe procured a blackish specimen, which, doubtless, was an old male; I saw several somewhat dusky, especially about the head.

Plate XLI.

C.(Mas jun. et Fœm.)corpore superiore intensè brunneo, singulis plumis cinerascenti-olivaceomarginatis; gutture pectoreque cinerascenti-olivaceis, singulis in medio plumis obscurioribus; abdomine, lateribus crissoque cinereis stramineo tinctis.

Long. tot. 5½ unc.;alæ, 3¾;caudæ, 2;tarsi, 1⅛;rostri, ½; alt.rostri, ½.

Upper part of the body deep brown, with each feather margined with cinereous olive; the throat and breast cinereous olive, with the middle of each feather darker; the abdomen, sides, and under tail coverts cinereous tinged with straw colour.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (Charles Island?)

I am nearly certain that this species is not found in James Island. I believe it came from Charles Island, and probably there replaces theC. psittaculusof James Island. I obtained three specimens, one male, and two females; from the analogy of so many species in this group, I do not doubt the old male would be black.

Cactornisdiffert a genereGeospizarostro elongato, acuto, compresso, longitudine altitudinem excellente; mandibulæ superioris margine vix indentato; naribus basalibus et vix tectis; tarsis brevioribus, unguibus majoribus et plus curvatis.

Cactornis scandensis the typical species.

Plate XLII.

C. intensè fuliginosa, crisso albo; rostro et pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis.

Long. tot. 5 unc.;rostri, ¾;alæ, 2⅝;caudæ, 1¾;tarsi, ¾.

Fœm.Corpore superiore, gutture pectoreque intensè brunneis, singulis plumis pallidiorè marginatis; abdomine crissoque cinereis, stramineo tinctis; rostro pallidè fusco; pedibus nigrescenti-fuscis.

Deep sooty black, with the under tail-coverts white; the bill and feet blackish brown.

Female: Upper surface of the body, throat and breast intensely brown, with the margins of each feather paler; the abdomen and the under tail coverts cinereous, tinged with straw colour; the bill pale fuscous, and the feet blackish fuscous.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago, (James’ Island.)

Birds. Pl. 42.Cactornis scandens.

Birds. Pl. 43.Cactornis assimilis.

The species of this sub-genus alone can be distinguished in habits from the several foregoing ones belonging to Geospiza and Camarhynchus. Their most frequent resort is theOpuntia Galapageia, about the fleshy leaves of which they hop and climb, even with their back downwards, whilst feeding with their sharp beaks, both on the fruit and flowers. Often, however, they alight on the ground, and mingled with the flock of the above mentioned species, they search for seeds in the parched volcanic soil. The extreme scarceness of the jet black specimens, which I mentioned under the head of the genusGeospiza, is well exemplified in the case of theC. scandens, for although I daily saw many brown coloured ones, (and two collectors were looking out for them), only one, besides that which is figured, was procured, and I did not see a second.

Plate XLIII.

Tisserin des Gallapagos, (île St. Charles,)Neboux, Revue Zoologique, 1840, p. 291.

C.Mas (jun?)corpore suprà fuliginoso, (gutture abdomineque exceptis,) cinereo marginatis; rostro pallidè rufescenti-brunneo; pedibus nigrescenti-brunneis.

Long. tot. 5½ unc.;rostri, ¾;alæ, 2¾;caudæ, 1¾;tarsi, ¾.

Upper surface of the body sooty black, margined with cinereous, as well as the throat and abdomen; the bill pale rufous brown; the feet blackish brown.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago.

I do not know from which island of the group this species was procured; almost certainly not from James Island. Analogy would in this case, as in that ofCamarhynchus crassirostris, lead to the belief that the old male would be jet black. By a mistake this bird has been figured standing on theOpuntia Darwinii, a plant from Patagonia, instead of theO. Galapageia. I may here mention that a third and well characterized species of Cactornis has lately been sent by Captain Belcher, R.N. to the Zoological Society; as Capt. Belcher visited Cocos Island, which is the nearest land to the Galapagos Archipelago, being less than 400 miles distant, it is very probable that the species came thence.

Certhideadiffert a genereGeospizarostro graciliore et acutiore; naribus basalibus et non tectis; mandibulæ superioris margine recto; tarsis longioribus et gracilioribus.

Of the foregoing sub-genera, Geospiza, Camarhynchus and Cactornis belong to one type, but with regard to Certhidea, although Mr. Gould confidently believes it should also be referred to the same division, yet as in its slighter form and weaker bill, it has so much the appearance of a member of theSylviadæ, he would by no means insist upon the above view being adopted, until the matter shall have been more fully investigated.

Certhidea olivacea.Gould.

PLATE XLIV.

C. summo capite, corpore superiore, alis caudâque olivaceo-brunneis; gutture et corpore infra cinereis; rostro pedibusque pallidè brunneis.

Long. tot. 4 unc.;rostri, ½;alæ, 2;caudæ, 1½;tarsi, ¾.

Upper part of the head, body, wings and tail, olivaceous brown; the throat, and beneath the body, cinereous; the bill and feet pale brown.

Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Chatham and James Island).

I believe my specimens, which include both sexes, were procured from Chatham and James Islands; it is certainly found at the latter.

P. Bloxami,Children, Jard. and Selby’s Ill.P. rutila,Vieill.Mag. de Zool. 1832, ii. pl. 5.P. silens,Kittl.Mem. de l’Acad. des Sci. de St. Petersb.

P. Bloxami,Children, Jard. and Selby’s Ill.

P. rutila,Vieill.Mag. de Zool. 1832, ii. pl. 5.

P. silens,Kittl.Mem. de l’Acad. des Sci. de St. Petersb.

This is not a very uncommon bird in Central Chile: the farmers complain that it is very destructive to the buds of fruit trees. It is quiet and solitary, and haunts hedge-rows or bushes; its manners are similar to those of our bullfinch, (Loxia Pyrrhula). Iris bright scarlet. Mr. Eyton has given an anatomical description of this bird in the Appendix.

Dolichonyx oryzivorus,Swains.Faun. Bor. Am. 2. 278.Emberiza oryzivorus,Linn.

Dolichonyx oryzivorus,Swains.Faun. Bor. Am. 2. 278.

Emberiza oryzivorus,Linn.

This one specimen only was seen at James Island, in the Galapagos Archipelago, during the beginning of October. It is remarkable that a bird migrating, according to Richardson, as far as 54° N. in North America, and generally inhabiting marshy grounds, should be found on these dry rocky islands under the equator. Mr. Gray and myself carefully compared this specimen with one from North America, and we could not perceive the slightest difference.

Oriolus cayennensis,Linn.Syst. 1. 168 ?Agelaius chrysopterus,Vieill.Psarocolius chrysopterus,Wagl.Syst. Av. p.

Oriolus cayennensis,Linn.Syst. 1. 168 ?

Agelaius chrysopterus,Vieill.

Psarocolius chrysopterus,Wagl.Syst. Av. p.

This bird generally frequents marshy grounds. I procured specimens from La Plata and from Chile; in the latter country it extends at least as far north as the valley of Copiapo, in 27° 20′: on the eastern plains it does not range, according to Azara, north of 28°. It builds in reeds. Molina says it is called by the Indians Thili, or Chile—hence he derives the name of the country.

Birds. Pl. 44.Certhidea olivacea.

Birds. Pl. 45.Xanthornus flaviceps.

2.Xanthornus flavus.G. R. Gray.

Plate XLV.

Oriolus flavus,Gmel.Psarocolius flaviceps,Wagl.Syst. Avium.Troupiale à tête jaune,Azara, No. 66.

Oriolus flavus,Gmel.

Psarocolius flaviceps,Wagl.Syst. Avium.

Troupiale à tête jaune,Azara, No. 66.

This species is common at Maldonado in large flocks.

Icterus anticus,Licht.Cat. p. 19.Agelaius virescens,Vieill.Ency. Meth. 543.Psarocolius anticus,Wagl.Le Dragon,Azara, No. 65.

Icterus anticus,Licht.Cat. p. 19.

Agelaius virescens,Vieill.Ency. Meth. 543.

Psarocolius anticus,Wagl.

Le Dragon,Azara, No. 65.

This bird is exceedingly abundant in large flocks on the grassy plains of La Plata. It is noisy, and in its habits resembles our starling.

Icterus fringillarius,Spix, Av. Sp. No. 1. t. lxv. fig. 1 & 2. p. 68.Psarocolius sericeus, juv.,Wagl.

Icterus fringillarius,Spix, Av. Sp. No. 1. t. lxv. fig. 1 & 2. p. 68.

Psarocolius sericeus, juv.,Wagl.

This species is rare at Maldonado, but appears more common on the banks of Parana in Lat. 31°. S. Spix says (vol. i. p. 68, Birds of Brazil), it is found in Minas Geraes.

Turdus curæus,Gmel.Le Chopi,Azara, No. 62.Icterus unicolor,Licht.Icterus sulcirostris,Spix, Av. Br. pl. 64. f. 2.

Turdus curæus,Gmel.

Le Chopi,Azara, No. 62.

Icterus unicolor,Licht.

Icterus sulcirostris,Spix, Av. Br. pl. 64. f. 2.

This species is common in flocks on the pasture grounds of Chile, and along the whole western shore of the southern part of the continent. In Chile it is called, according to Molina, “cureu.” It is a noisy, chattering bird, and runs in the manner of our starlings. It can be taught to speak, and is sometimes kept in cages. It builds in bushes.

Tanagra bonariensis,Gmel.Icterus niger,Dand.Passerina discolor,Vieill.Icterus maxillaris,D’Orb. & Lafr.Icterus sericeus,Licht.Psarocolius sericeus,Wagl.

Tanagra bonariensis,Gmel.

Icterus niger,Dand.

Passerina discolor,Vieill.

Icterus maxillaris,D’Orb. & Lafr.

Icterus sericeus,Licht.

Psarocolius sericeus,Wagl.

This Molothrus is common in large flocks on the grassy plains of La Plata, and is often mingled with theLeistes anticus, and other birds. In the same flockwith the usual black kind, there were generally a few dull brown coloured ones, (Icterus sericeusofLicht.) which I presume are the young. Azara states that the brown coloured birds are smaller than the black glossy ones, and that they sometimes form one-tenth of the whole number in a flock. In the single specimen which I brought home, the size, with the exception of the length of the wing, is only a very little less. Sonnini, in his notes to Azara, considers the brown birds as the females; I can, however, scarcely believe that so obvious a solution of the difficulty could have escaped so accurate an observer as Azara. These birds in La Plata often may be seen standing on the back of a cow or horse. While perched on a hedge, and pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes attempt to sing or rather to hiss: the noise is very peculiar; it resembles that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. Azara states that this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other birds’ nests. I was several times told by the country people, that there was some bird which had this habit; and my assistant in collecting, who is a very accurate person, found in the nest of theZonotrichia ruficollis(a bird which occupies in the ornithology of S. America the place of the common sparrow of Europe), one egg larger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. This egg is rather less than that of the missel-thrush, being ·93 of an inch in length, and ·78 in breadth; it is of a bulky form, thick in the middle. The ground colour is a pale pinkish white, with irregular spots and blotches of a bright reddish brown, and others less distinct of a greyish hue. This species is evidently a very close analogue of theM. pecorisof North America, from which, however it may at once be distinguished by the absence of the glossy brown on the head, neck, and upper breast,—by the metallic blueness of its plumage in the place of a green tinge, and by its somewhat greater size in all its proportions. The young or brown coloured specimens of these Molothri resemble each other more closely; that of theM. pecorisis of a lighter brown, especially under the throat, and the small feathers on its breast and abdomen have each an obscure dark central streak. The eggs of the Molothri, although having the same general character, differ considerably; that of theM. pecorisbeing smaller and less swollen in the middle; it is ·85 of an inch in length, and ·78 in breadth. Its colour cannot be better described than in the words of Dr. Richardson[15]—it is “of a greenish white, with rather small crowded and confluent irregular spots of pale liver brown, intermixed with others of subdued purplish grey.” From thisdescription it is obvious that the egg ofM. nigeris larger and of a much redder tint; the more prominent spots also are larger, the subdued grey being quite similar in both.

If we were to judge from habits alone, the specific difference between these two species of Molothrus might well be doubted; they seem closely to resemble each other in general habits,—in manner of feeding,—in associating in the same flock with other birds, and even in such peculiarities as often alighting on the backs of cattle. TheM. pecoris, like theM. niger, utters strange noises, which Wilson[16]describes “as a low spluttering note as if proceeding from the belly.” It appears to me very interesting thus to find so close an agreement in structure, and in habits, between allied species coming from opposite parts of a great continent. Mr. Swainson[17]has remarked that with the exception of theMolothrus, the cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such as “fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they alone live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy.” It is very remarkable, that the cuckoos and the molothri, although opposed to each other in almost every habit, should agree in this strange one of their parasitical propagation: the habit moreover is not universal in the species of either tribe. The Molothrus, like our starling, is eminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or disguise:[18]the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird; it frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars.[19]

Oriolus ruber,Gmel.Amblyramphus bicolor,Leach.Sturnus pyrrhocephalus,Licht.Sturnella rubra,Vieill.Leistes erythrocephala,Swains.Class. Birds.

Oriolus ruber,Gmel.

Amblyramphus bicolor,Leach.

Sturnus pyrrhocephalus,Licht.

Sturnella rubra,Vieill.

Leistes erythrocephala,Swains.Class. Birds.

This bird frequented marshy places in the neighbourhood of Maldonado, but it was not common there. It is more solitary than the following allied species; I have, however, seen it in a flock. Seated on a twig, with its beak widely open, it often makes a shrill, but plaintive and agreeable cry, which is sometimes singleand sometimes reiterated. Its flight is heavy. The young have their heads and thighs merely mottled with scarlet.

Sturnus militaris,Gmel.Etourneau des terres Magellanique, Pl. enl. 113.

Sturnus militaris,Gmel.

Etourneau des terres Magellanique, Pl. enl. 113.

I met with specimens of this bird on the east coast of the continent from the Falkland Islands to 31° S., and on the western coast from the Strait of Magellan to Lima, a space of forty degrees of latitude.

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