Mr. E. Newton's Ornithological Notes from Mauritius. 271 



but here there are none of the former and very few of the latter. 

 My notes on the birds I met with are as follows : — 



TiNNUNCULUS PUNCTATUS. (Hartl. Orn. Beitr. p. 18.) Man- 

 geur-des-poules. 



A few, but not so many as I have found elsewhere. From the 

 appearance of a male that was shot^ I should think they must 

 breed at this time of the year. 



CoLLOCALiA FRANCiCA. (Hartl. l.c. p. 27.) 



Not so numerous as in the neighbourhood of Port Louis. 



Phedina borbonica. (Hartl. I. c. p. 27.) 



This very local species is tolerably common. They seem fond 

 of feeding over the sand at low water and sitting on it, after the 

 manner of Sand Martins in England, uttering at the same time 

 a most peculiar whistle for a Martin. When flying they have a 

 note which very much resembles that of a Bee-eater, as far as 

 my recollection goes of that bird's cry when passing through 

 Egypt in 1859. These birds are also given to perching on trees; 

 and I noticed three that were in the habit of taking up their 

 position on the same bough every day at about the same hour, 

 probably awaiting the falling of the tide. They are, I think, 

 early breeders. In a small cavern on the western face of the 

 east side of the Baie du Cap, I saw several, and, from their man- 

 ner, I am certain that they either had nests or were about to 

 build. I observed one which had its back of a dark ash-brown ; 

 I had no gun with me at the time, and the individual never 

 showed itself again. 



TcHiTREA BORBONICA. (Hartl. /. c. p. 46.) Coq-du-bois, Coq- 

 marron. 



A few seen, but not as many as the nature of the country 

 would have led me to expect. 



Hypsipetes olivacea. (Hartl. /. c. p. 44.) Merle. 



A few in the forests ; but I only saw them one day. They 

 seem to be entirely arboreal and frugivorous. The gizzards of 

 two that I examined contained berries. They are very stupid 

 birds, and by simply squeaking, in the manner that one would 

 to attract a Jay or a Magpie, one causes three or four to make 



