( 166 ) 



fact, in form of the bill there is not ii jireat difference between G. scaiuiens and 

 G. pallida, and, as G. srandt'iis (the Cactoniis of former authors) is connected 

 through intermediate species with Geospiza in the old sense, and G. palliila with 

 the Camarlq/iKliu-s in Salvin's & .Sharpe's sense, it is evident that the three 

 supposed genera cannot be sejiaratcd. 



G. yw//;V/a is apparently a somewhat rare s])ecies; for, althungli wo have now 

 thirty-nine skins before ns, this seems not much, as they are from five or six 

 islands, and there are not many adult males among them. Also the British and 

 U.S. National Museum have, if we are not mistaken, only three or four skins. The 

 adult male will be described below for the first time. 



We have united Ridgway's Camarhjnchns hypoleMus and C. prodnrtus with 

 our G. pallida, the differences stated to e.\ist between these forms evidently being 

 of an individual nature rather than specific. The adult bird of G. pallida may be 

 described as follows ; — 



Adult male : Hill horn-black. Upperside ashy grey, more brown on llic lower 

 back and rump, the centre of all the feathers blackish brown, more defined on the 

 crown. Wings and tail deep brown with narrow, light greyish outer and wider 

 almost white inner edges ; under wing-coverts white, with a slight yellow tinge. 

 Underside white with a very faint buff tinge, flanks shaded and faintly strijied with 

 brown, the chest tinged with brownish bull', all the bases of the feathers blackish 

 grey. "Iris brown, feet blackish." Wing, 76 — 78 mm. ; cnlmen,. 17 — 18 ; tail, 

 47—49 ; tarsus, 23 — 24. In some skins, especially in one almost adult male from 

 Albemarle Island, the cnlmen does not exceed 15 mm. in length, the wing not 

 75 mm. ; but as there are all intcrgradatious between these and others, the smaller 

 size cannot be considered as a s2Jecific character. 



Adultye/«a^e : Like the adult male, but (? always) slightly more brownish and 

 more uniform above ; dimensions smaller. ^Ving, 73 — 74 mm. ; cnlmen, Ki mm. 



The birds which are olive above and huffish yellow below are immature ones, 

 but it is somewhat puzzling to account for the distinct blackish brown stripes on 

 the lower throat, chest, and sides of the body in some of them. Neither the 

 apparently most adult ones, nor the most yellowish, and therefore, according to 

 our view, youngest of our series, have these strijies well develo[ied. These striped 

 birds may be the J'e males, but in that case several of our birds from different 

 collectious would be wrongly sexed. 



We have G. pallida from Indefatigable, Jervis, Duncan, James, and 

 Albemarle Islands. 



Tlierc is also a skin taken out of a jar of spirits said to contain Chatham Island 

 birds only, collected by Messrs. Baur ik Adams, but we are inclined to believe that 

 this specimen has by mistake found its way into the Chatham jar. 



27. Greospiza crassii-ostris (Uould). 



Camorliyiirhiis crassiroalris, Gould iu Proc. Zuut. Soc. Lund. 1837 p. G ; Zudl. Viiy. I3c(iijle, III. 



Birds, p. lii:i, pi, XLl. (1841) ; Salvin iu Tram. Zool. Sue. Loml. IX. p. 489 ; Sharpe, Cat. li. 



Bnl. .Vns. XII. p. IC (1888) ; Eidgway in Proc. U. S. Nal. .!/«». XIX. p. 551. 

 Cumarhyiichiis rarkgaliis, Sclater & Salvin in I'roc. Zonl. Sue. Loml. 1870, pp. ,323, 324, fig. 2 ; 



Salvin in Tram. Zool. Soc. Loud. IX. p. 489, pi. 85 (1876) ; Sharpe, Oil. B. Brit. Mus. XII. 



p. 15 ; Ridgway in Proc. U.S. Ifat. Mus. XIX. p. 549. 



There can be no doubt, in our opinion, that Camar//ynchi<s varicgatiis is a 

 synonym of C. crasniroadis, since specimens from Charles Island, and the other 



