ZOOLOGY OF PEBNANDO NORONHA. 479 



Fam. CoLUMBiD^. 



3. Zenaida maculata. 



Zeuaida maculata (V.), Scl Sf Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 132 (1873). 



Zenaida aurita, Gray, List GalUnce etc. Ihit. Mus. p. 14 (1855). 



Zenaida noronha, Gray, List Volumb<s,\i. 47 (185(5, descr. nulla). 



The bird from Fernando Noronlia is merely a small race of the 

 ordinary Z. maculata of the South-American continent, with a 

 slightly shorter wing (.5"l-5'4 inclies) and tail (2"75-3"2) ; but as 

 Rome Brazilian specimens are of the same dimensions, I do not 

 see how the idea of a small insular race can be maintained. 



[This little Dove is exceedingly common on all the islands where 

 it can find food, and flies about from one island to the other, 

 singly or in flocks of from 2 or 3 to 30. It is very tame, and 

 even when fired at, or alarmed, usually goes but a short distance 

 before settling. The nest is loose in texture, about 6 inches 

 across, and built of small sticks of the Spermacoce, vetches, &c., 

 and lined with roots. It is placed often iu the bare branches of 

 a Spondias or Burra, with no attempt at concealment. The eggs 

 are two in number, white, blunt at both ends, and about IJ inch 

 long. One bird shot offits nest proved to be a male. The convicts 

 catch these birds both for eating and as pets, keeping them in 

 wicker cages. They are fed on the seeds of Cassias and other 

 Leguminosse and Cucurbitacese, and probably the fig and other 

 succulent fruits. — H. N. i?.] 



Fam. Laeid^. 



4. Angus melakogenys. Gray ; Sharpe, Phil. Trans, vol. 168. 

 p. 467 (1879). 



Two adults and a young bird agreed perfectly with speci- 

 mens obtained on St, Paul's Eock by the ' Challenger ' Expedition 

 and determined by Mr. Howard Saunders. The young bird is 

 browner than the adult, and has the head sooty brown with 

 some white on the forehead, eyebrows, and occipital region. 



[This Noddy was very common on the island, and is called 

 " Viuva preta." A specimen also flew on board the vessel as 

 we were going to Pernambuco from Europe, about a day's steam 

 from Fernando Noronha. The species nests in small colonies on 

 the rocks iu various spots, and also in trees in the Sapate. An 

 egg was obtained from a nest on St. Michael's Mount ; it was 



