37-4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP 



Spelerpes. In the latter genus and its allies, the toes are distinct at all seasons 

 of the year, differing in this respect from the Tritons. 



Upon comparing the dorsal vertebras of the Geotriton fuscus and car- 

 bo n a r i u s, little material difference is apparent. Those of the former are not 

 so stout, and have the external ridge of the anterior zygapophysis more com- 

 pressed and elevated. In both, there is a single longitudinal spinous process, 

 but little elevated, obsolete upon the posterior part of the vertebra. 



The largest specimen of Geotriton carbonarius measured three inches 

 from the end of the muzzle to the vent: from the latter point to the end of the 

 tail is three in. three lines. The ground color above and below is black : the 

 back is marked with abroad, irregularly defined brownish yellow band, which 

 extends upon the base of the tail, and bifurcates upon the neck and occiput, 

 leaving a deltoid space of the ground color. This dorsal band is more uniform 

 in a younger specimen. The soles of the feet are pale. There are ten teeth in 

 each of the palatine series, and about three hundred and thirty in the conflu- 

 ent sphenoidal patches. These patches are distinct anteriorly and posteriorly. 

 In Spelerpes Bell ii, they are entirely distinct, and more clavate in outline. 



Catalogue of Birds from the Island of St. Thomas, West Indies, collected and 

 presented to the Academy of Natural Sciences by Mr. Kobert Swift. With 

 Notes, 



BY JOHN CASSIN. 



1. Tinnonculus sparverius, (Linnoeus). 



Falco sparverius, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 128, (1766). 

 Falco dominicensis, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 285, (1788). 

 Wilson's Am. Orn. ii. pi. 16, iv. pi. 32. Aud. B. of Arn. pi. 42, oct. ed. 

 i. pi. 22. 



In a very fine series of specimens in Mr. Swift's collection, I find some 

 characters which, are slight, but may be constant, and possibly indicate 

 specific distinctness from the common bird of the United States. The wing 

 coverts have much more numerous spots of black, and the outer tail feather 

 has its inner web always partly, and frequently entirely rufous, the same 

 color as the other tail feathers, and its outer web white, with segments or 

 semi-circular spots of black, having for their bases the shaft of the feather, 

 and all the feathers of the tail are more or less edged and banded with black 

 on their upper surface. These characters are not usually seen in F. spar- 

 verius of the United States, but are present in every specimen in the present 

 series, and seem especially to characterize the adult plumage. The colors 

 also are rather brighter than in our northern species. 



Seven specimens are in this collection, of which four are in adult plumage. 

 In all of them, of whatever age, there is a large rufous space on the crown, 

 and the size is very nearly the same as that of specimens from Pennsylvania, 

 or perhaps slightly smaller. The plumage of the present specimens does not 

 correspond with that of either of the proposed distinct species of authors. 



2. Gymnoglaux nudipes, (Daudin). 



Strix nudipes, Daud. Traite d'Orn. ii. p. 199, (1800). 

 Sclater's Ibis, 1859, pi. 1. Vieill. Ois. Am. Sept. pi. 16. 

 Two specimens in Mr. Swift's collection are much as represented in Mr. 

 Newton's excellent plate, and as described in his very valuable paper on the 

 Birds of St. Croix, in Sclater's Ibis, as cited above. A wide superciliary 

 band of white is, however, more conspicuous in both of the present specimens, 

 than as represented in the plate, and there are a few other not important dif- 

 ferences. The tarsus is bare for about its lower two-thirds, in this singular 

 species, and covered with very small circular or hexagonal scales. Bill and 

 claws light greenish-yellow, which is probably also the color of the feet in 

 the adult bird. 



rscpt. 



