peters: birds of the Dominican republic. 393^^ 



singing but most of these birds have nothing pecuHar to recall them 

 to my memory." 



Oviedo devotes a whole chapter to Diihis dominicus, see p. 418» 

 Another chapter has been devoted to "The nocturnal birds," i. e. 

 nighthawks and owls, see p. 410-411. 



Later the Spaniards appeared to lose their interest in science, and 

 it remained for the French who settled the western portion of the 

 island to take the first active interest in Haitian avifauna. 



Among them was a M. Chervain who apparently collected a con- 

 siderable number of both native birds and migrants which he sent to 

 M. de Reamur. Brisson examined these specimens in de Reamur's 

 /Collection and described and figured them in his Ornithologie, 

 (Paris, 1760). 



Both Linne and Gmelin based the names of Haitian species and 

 North American migrants on the birds he thus described or figured. 



The native species in question are: 



Colymhiis d. domiJiicus Linne, Nomo7iyx dominicus (Linne), Falco s. 

 dominicensis Gmelin, Anthracothorax dominicus (Linne), Tyrannus d. 

 dominicensis Gmelin, Dulus dominicus (Linne), Prague dominicensis 

 (Gmelin), Dendroica p. albicoUis (Gmelin), Phoenicophilus palmarum 

 (Linne), Tiaris o. olivacea (Linne). 



The names Enphonia musica (Gmelin) and Coereba bananivora 

 (Gmelin) are based on Buff on, while Holoquiscalus niger (Boddaert) 

 and Icterus dominicensis (Linne) are both based on Daubenton. 



It is also of interest to note that the type-locality of Ereunetes 

 pusillus (Linne), Mniotilta varia (Linne), Dendroica d. dominica 

 (Linne), D. p. palmarum (Gmelin), and D. c. caeridescens (Gmelin) 

 is Santo Domingo. The first three are based on Brisson; the last 

 two on Buffon. 



It is not until 1834 that we find any references in English. Then 

 in the P. Z. S. there appears two notes on Haitian birds by J. Heame 

 Esq. The following year the Secretary of the Zoological Society of 

 London exhibited a collection representing sixteen species of birds 

 "formed in Haiti by J. Heame Esq." The species, however, are not 

 listed. 



In 1857 Philip Lutley Sclater contributed to the P. Z. S. a Liste 

 des Oiseaux rapportes et observes dans la Republique Dominicaine 

 (ancienne partie Espagnogle de I'lle St. Domingue ou d'Haiti) par M. 

 A. Salle, pendant son voyage de 1849 a 1851. Salle's list contains 

 61 species all of them the commoner birds, although he includes 

 "RaUus — , "petit. ..." a bird not since found. 



