( 388 ) 



{hi: l)ill a litllr wiiler, whilo he jilac.cs in it, as ubovo meiitioufJ, jml/ii/us, wliicli 

 lias a bill almost as diflerent from Cam/ir/n/nc/n/s as that of a Chri/soiuitri,^ from 

 a Coccothrauitcs. As we mentioned in onr former article ou Galaiiagos birds 

 (Nov. ZooL. VI (1899) pp. 142 to X'tio), we were able to trace nearly every 

 gradation between the birds placed formerly in Camnrh'inchus and Geospizu in 

 one direction, and between those included in Cartonii.s and (leospiza in the 

 other ; therefore we mnst again maintain onr assertion that all the Galapajian 

 finches must be inclnded in one single genus Geosit/.a. Although we have not 

 seen the finch from C'ocos Island described by Townsend as Cocornis agnsaizi, 

 we are now convinced by Mr. Ridgway's excellent diagnosis and figure that 

 here also we have to deal only with a slightly more modified form of Gcoxp'^'h 

 which is not generically separable from it. 



Mr. Beck has found many nests of Geosinzae with eggs, which were not known 

 liefore. The photograph gives an excellent idea of the manner in which these 

 finches j)lace their nests. 



Geospiza magnirostris Gould. 



Nov. ZooL. VI, 1809, p. l.")4.— Ridgw., Bmh Knrlh ,iiid Middle Amer. I, p. 495, 1901. 



Unfortunately we have nothing new to report on this form, as neither Green's 

 nor Beck's collection contained any large-billed Grospiza from Charles Island. 



We are glad to see that Mr. Itidgway (/.r.) agrees with onr contention that 

 this form must have come from Charles Island. However, we must again draw 

 attention to the fact that the specimen No. 115905 of the U. S. Nat. Mus. from 

 Charles Island, which Mr. Ridgway enumerates as stn'/ti/a, is an immature bird ; an<l 

 we are jierfoctly sure that, when examining large scries of Geospiza, it is very often 

 impossible to distinguish immature specimens of closely allied forms. Our contention, 

 therefore, is that the specimen under consideration in the U. >S. Nat. Mus. is a young 

 specimen of Geospiza mugniroslris, and must be enumerated under that form by 

 every one who considers (r. magnirostris different from strenua, 



Geospiza strenua Gould. 



Nov. Zijor.. VI, 1899, p. Wo.— Ridgw., BinU \„rll, uiid Middle Awn: I, p. 496, 1901.— GfOs/»>rt 

 pachyrlii/m:lm Ridgw., I.e., p. 498. 



We have now received a series from Mr. Beck i'roni Weuman and Abirjgdon 

 Islands, also two from Mr. Green collected at Tagns Cove, Albemarle. These birds 

 prove that we were ijuite right in identifying our former single Wenman bird as 

 G. strenua. 



The re-examination of our series in connection with this fresh material has 

 convinced us not only that Mr. Ridgway's G. pachyrhijncha belongs to the same 

 species, but that it is absolutely inseparable from G. strciiua. We found our 

 assertion on the fact that not only have we s[)ecimens from several islands ec[ual in 

 dimensions to our Tower birds, but we have immaXarc liirds from Bindloe Island 

 which have bills wider at the base and thicker than our adult specimens from 

 Tower. 



Beck writes about this bird : 



" On February 1st we took eleven sj)ecimens on Wenman. Eight of these are 

 from the lower flat, where we did not notice the birds in 1897, although we stayed 

 then much longer. A female was evidently ready to lay, but no leasts were foand. 



