FRINGILLID.E. 



h\ Bill more pointed and Bunting- 

 like, the upper and lower man- 

 dibles meeting at the tip. 

 /». Middle toe and claw very long, 

 and equal in length to the 



tarsus 19- Phonipara, p. 143. 



g'. Middle toe and claw less than 

 the tarsus. 

 c\ Plumage glossy black .... 20. \ olatinia, p. 152. 

 d". Plumage iron-grey without 



g] 0S3 . 21. Amaurospiza, p. lob. 



f". With a long crest. 

 g'". Bill swollen and curved, with a 

 notch in the cutting-edge of the 

 maxilla in advance of the line of 



the nostril 22. Pyrrhuloxia, p. 158. 



h'". Bill pointed, and with no notch ■ 



on the maxilla 2:3. Cardixalis, p. 100. 



Section a. Grocnd-Finches. 

 1. GEOSFIZA. 



Type. 



Geospiza, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 5 CI. niagmrostns. 



Head of Geospiza magnirostris. 



Range. Confined to the Galapagos Islands. 



No " key to the species " of this genus can be drawn up, as there 

 is no difference between them, except that of size, and the way in 

 which one form graduates into another is shown by Mr. Salvin in 

 his illustration of the heads of this species (Trans. Zool. Soc. ix.p.484). 



I must confess that I am not entirely satisfied with regard to the 

 changes of plumage in the Galapagos Finches, nor do I believe that 

 these will be properly understood until some naturalist resides on 

 the islands for at least a year, discovers the breeding-haunts of the 

 various species, and traces the development of the plumage from the 

 nestling to the adult stage. My own belief is that there is a distinct 

 winter or cold-weather (? rainy season) plumage, and that with the 

 seasonal plumage the colour of the bill changes. This would corre- 

 spond with the changes undergone by other Grosbeaks and Finches. 



Dr. Habel writes as follows (Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 478) : — " The 



