'■''•'. Turdus merula azorensis Mil]s[i. ikiv. 



The liliU'kljinl of the Azores agrees best with tlie form iiiliiNliitiiif;- I he (.'aiiiiries 

 aud Madeira. It has tlie same wiug, somewhat shortei' tliaii in Kuroi)eaii examples, 

 the same rather dark, not very rnfoiis eoloratioii of the females, the same very 

 deep glossy lilatU plumage, the sauu; large and ratiier (irange hill of the males. 

 It differs, liowever, in iiaving a sliorter tail, wjiicli is iiliout Ti ici lii mm. shorter 

 ill tlie males. I am therefore obliged to give this form a new name. Type in 

 the British Museum : c? ud. No. 44.S. South of Santa Cniz, Graeiosa, 22. iv. liM)3. 

 Generally the rudimentary first jirimary is rather longer, and the distance from 

 the tij) of the longest seeondariis to the tip of the wing rather short. The tail of 

 males is not over lUd, while in 7". m. cabreme it is generally about lOo to Ion mm. 



Mr. Grant collected a magnificent series of this Blackbird : 



2 <?(?, 2 ? ?, Sta. Maria, :30(l— ]3(M) ft., 27, 28. ii., 1. iii. Ip()r3. 



3 c?c?, 1 ?, Furnas and Lameiro, San Jligiiel, ."ii lo — 20i H ( ft., 12—11). 



iii. l!)i):i. 

 T d"(?, .") ? ?, Tcrceira, I.ioii -2i»ii(i ft., 2s— :30. iii. ];)(i;5. 



4 (JcJ, 1 ?, Graeiosa, 22, 23. iv. I'.iici. 



2 c? J, 3 ? ?, above Calheta, San Jorge, J20il-2u(lO ft., 3, 4, o. v. l'.M)3. 

 '2 SS,\ ?, Pico, 900— IIMIU ft., 13, 17. iv. 1003. 



1 (?, 1 S, above Caes de Pico, 8(MI ft., 20. iv. 1003. 



~ SS,\ ?, 1 (? jnv., above Horta aud Flamingos Valley, Fayal, ."lOO — 

 2.")00 ft,., 2o, 2(), 28. V. 1903. 



2 (?c?, 4 ??, near Sta. Cruz, Flores, about 200-1000 ft., io, 10, I'J. 



iv. 1',I03. 

 2 (?c?, 1 ?, Gorvo, 500 ft., 14. iv. 11J03. 



cJ ad. : " Iris brown ; bill and skin round eye orange-yellow ; legs brown." 



? ad.: "Iris brown; bill dull orange-yellow, dark (dusky) at base; legs 

 (dark) browu." 



[Local name : Melro. 



Sjieciraeus in the Ponta Uelgada Museum : 

 a — d. Ponta Delgada, San Jligucl. 



Some of the above specimens are ]iartial albinos, and locally known as 

 ]\I el ro-marchante. 



This species is found on every island of the grou|j, and common from sea- 

 level to the highest ground, wherever faya, heath aud other suitable cover 

 occurs. It is jierhajis most abundant on Terceira, St. Jorge and Fayal, and less 

 numerous on Grac'iosa ami ( 'orvo. AVIieii met with in the neighbourhood of 

 houses and gardens it is often very tame, and, unlike the Jladeiia Blackbird, 

 is seldom really diilicult to ajiproach even on tlie high ground. 



Its habits call for no special remark, but both its song and alarm-note 

 differ somewhat from those of Turdus merula in (Jreat Britain. 



On our arrival at Santa Maria, on February 27tli, its harsh, raucous 

 alarm-note, like a hoarse laugh, at once attracted our attention, and we noted 

 that it differed from that of the British bird in being pitched in a much 

 lower key. It was not until our visit to Terceira, on March 29th, that we heard 

 a number of male birds singing. Each note of their fine melodious whistle 

 was more sustained than that of the British bird, and the whole song delivered 

 in mucli slower time. 



