88 Mr. F. Du Cane Godman on the Birds of the Azores. 



On the 23rd of May I took a nest of four eggs, slightly incu- 

 bated, in a bank by the stream Mudavvarah, about half a mile 

 above the colony of C. rudis. The nest was at the end of a 

 tunnel, not more than 2 feet in, and directly facing the entrance, 

 with a very few straws for lining. The entrance was about 

 six inches above the level of the water, and in a deep, sluggish 

 part of the stream. The eggs were nearly spherical, and con- 

 siderably larger than those of C. rudis. 



VII. — Notes on the Birds of the Azores. By Frederick Du 

 Cane Godman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 

 (Plate m.) 

 On the 13th of March, 1865, the Brazihan mail-steamer 

 * Oneida' landed my brother. Captain Godman, and myself at 

 Lisbon. Here we found the ' Leal,' a small screw-steamer, 

 about to start for the Azores ; she runs with more or less re- 

 gularity once a month, and, calling at five of the principal 

 islands, returns direct to Lisbon. We took our passage in her 

 to St. Michael's, and, after a rough voyage of six days, were glad 

 to find ourselves at daybreak on the 21st at anchor in the road- 

 stead of Ponta Delgada, the capital of that island. 



The gales which had followed us on our voyage were now 

 succeeded by a perfect calm, leaving, however, heavy clouds 

 resting on the tops of the higher mountains, which, together with 

 the dark foliage of the orange-trees and native evergreens, gave 

 the island a particularly gloomy appearance. 



There were about a dozen English schooners anchored off the 

 town, waiting for cargoes of oranges; and two more at a short 

 distance out at sea were trjdng to come in, on board one of 

 which was my collector, Mr. Brewer. He also had experienced 

 heavy weather, but on the whole had had a fairly prosperous 

 voyage of a fortnight from London. 



The Azores lie between long. 25° and 31° 15' W., and the most 

 eastern islands are 16° west of Lisbon. They are nine in num- 

 ber, and may be divided into three groups, — St. Michael's and 

 St. Mary's forming the eastern ; Terceira, Graciosa, St. George's, 

 Pico, and Fayal the central; Flores and Corvo the extreme 

 western. They have an aggregate area of 700 square miles, and 



