652 BIRDS FEOM MARGARITA— ROBINSON. vol.xviii. 



Again, Capt. W. J. Adam,' in alluding to the portiou of liis journey 

 from Juan Griego to Forte ISTorte, says : 



As we proceeded, we saw several flocks of a small species of Parrot, called l>y I lie 

 natives Paroquitta: the bill, wings, and plumage are uniformly gray ; they are njtt 

 scholars, and quickly taught to imitate the varieties of the human voice. "We al-o 

 saw the bird, from its cry called Tropyall, a bird much sought for, about the size of 

 our common thrush; it has n bright yellow top, with breast of the same color, whilst 

 the wings and back exhibit a mixture of white, red, and black; its jjlumagc is 

 highly prized as an ornament by tlie Indian chiefs on the Maine. The brill ir.nt 

 colors of the woodpecker frequently arrested our attention, and a numerous list of 

 other kinds which it would be foreign from my i)resent purpose to notice. 



Finally, the late Dr. John F. Chittenden,- speaking of his ride from 

 Pampatar to Porlamar, says : 



But the most interesting feature in my ride was certainly the marvelous collection 

 of birds of every variety and the gayest plumage. I never saw so many together out 

 of an aviary. Troupials, humming birds, ami some in full song, the " rossignol" 

 pointed out to me is probably a troglodyte, but to me appeared larger than the 

 " Oiseau de Bon Dieu"of Trinidad. The song is most melodious and comprises 

 many different notes, but not equal, of course, to the nightingale of Europe. 



At another point he refers to the large Hocks of pelicans along tlie 

 coast. 



From these extracts it is seen that before my visit our knowledge of 

 the ornithology of this island was limited to the facts that bird life there 

 was abundant, and that there occurred the pelican, the troupial. and 

 certain undetermined species of parrakeet, woodpecker, humming bird, 

 and mocking bird (the '^ rossignol" of Dr. Chittenden). 



Of the 71 species determined by my observations, 17 are water birds, 

 and include an undescribed form, and 54 are land birds including no 

 less than ten new species. 



In addition to the 73 species enumerated below, I observed an unde- 

 termined i)lover, a Hock of large waders which at a distance resembled 

 willets, and several species of huge heions, but no other land birds. 

 The natives described others to me, but I am unable to identify the 

 birds from their descriptions. The most striking among them was the 

 "nangaro," a si)ecies of parrakeet with a longer beak than C. arxgino- 

 sus. It may possibly be the bird referred to by Captain Adam. It is 

 to be found at the harvest season. Another bird, the "macagua," 

 lives on the mountain slopes, runs on the ground like a partridge, is 

 easily decoyed by imitating its call, and is tailless. It is probably an 

 ant thrush {Formicarins) or a tinamou. 



The avifauna of Margarita, as far as rei)resented in my collection, is 

 wholly derived from Venezuela. No purely west Indian forms are 

 present. In a very few cases the occurrence of a species in Venezuela 



'"Journal of Voyages to Marguaritta, Trinidad, and Maturin, 1819, 1820," Dublin, 

 1824, p. 22. 



-Port of Spain Gazette, Trinidad, Nov. 4, 1893. 



