( 83 ) 



in our expedition, and commanded the civil governors of the islands and those 

 in authority to afford us every facility in carrying out our work, and we were 

 consequently treated with the greatest consideration and courtesy by all with 

 whom we came in contact. I may here add that the whole of our baggage and 

 stores were passed through the Customs free of cost. 



We were obliged to remain at Ponta Delgada until the 7th, as Major F. A. 

 Chaves, the head of the Meteorological Service, to whom we had been specially 

 recommended, was absent for a few days at Fayal, and it was all-important that 

 before starting we should discuss our future plans with him. On his return he 

 received us in the kindest manner, and gave us a large amount of practical help 

 and valuable information respecting the various islands, for which we were most 

 grateful. In the course of his work he has visited all the islands of the Azores 

 many times, and travelled over the more remote and unfrecpieuted parts ; con- 

 sequently his topographical knowledge of the group is unrivalled, and he was able 



Toiila Uulgaila, Wan iligUL-l, ou a stonily cvcuiug. 



to point out to us the localities on each island which he considered would yield 

 the best results. At Ponta Delgada we found a very good local museum, containing 

 a fairly complete collection of zoological specimens, which has been entirely got 

 together by the energy of Major Chaves, who is dee])ly interested in all branches 

 of science and jiroficient in many. I went carefully through all the birds in 

 the Ponta Delgada Museum, and named those which in some few cases had been 

 incorrectly identified. The total number of Azorean birds amounts to about 120 

 species, of which 20 or 27 may be regarded as residents, while a few are doulitfnl, 

 and the remainder are occasional or accidental visitors. 



I decided to make three camps on St. Michael's, and moved first to Lameiro, 

 a country house near Ribeira Grande, on the north coast. This house, the property 

 of Manpiis Jacome de Correia, was kindly placed at our disposal, and there we 

 remained for si.\ days, working the woods and higher grounds towards Lake 

 Fogo. On March 13th we moved by the north road to Mr. George Hayes' 

 house above Furnas Lake, and worked all the surrounding country within reach, 

 especially the range to the north-east of Furnas, wiience wc obtained twelve 

 examples of the extremely local and almost extinct Bullfinch {Fyn-lada marina, 



