CANARY ISLANDS. 91 



provincial coat of arms are two dogs. The barking of the 

 dogs here, even those brought from Europe, has degen- 

 erated into a howling noise. At the equator, as well as 

 towards the poles, this animal almost entirely loses his 

 voice. It has been asserted, that there were formerly 

 large numbers of wild asses, (Eqmts asinus. Lin.) on some 

 of these islands, and many of their descendants exist here 

 at the present day, partaking of a considerable share of 

 native elegance. Although this animal has long been 

 condemned to a state of the lowest servitude in Europe, 

 and looked upon with contempt, it exhibits, in its natural 

 state, an appearance of great beauty and vivacity. It is 

 said that the original stock were white, or a pale silver- 

 gray, with a slight tinge of straw-color on the sides of the 

 neck and body ; along the back ran a deep-brown stripe 

 of thickish, wavy hair to the beginning of the tail, and 

 this stripe crossed over the shoulders, as in the domesti- 

 cated animal, by another of a similar color ; but it is said that 

 this was peculiar to the male only. At the time that these 

 islands were invaded by the Normans, the natives possessed 

 all the other animals before enumerated, except horses and 

 camels. There are but a few of the latter on Teneriffe, 

 while they live and propagate by hundreds in Lanzarote 

 and Fuerteventura. These "ships of the desert," as well 

 as horses, were brought to these islands in the 15th century, 

 by the Normans. 



Birch. Although the general aspect and situation of 

 these islands are unfavorable to the existence and multi- 

 plication of birds, there is a considerable variety. 



The first that claim our attention are the carnivorous 

 tribes. Of the falcon genus, there are several species, one 

 of which migrates to Africa. There are also several spe- 

 cies of striges, one of which is called by the natives, cl apa- 

 gador, and creates great terror among them in the night. 



Of the hirundine family, there are the swift, ( Hirundo 

 apiis) the common swallow, (H.rustica) and the martin, 

 (H. urhica. Lin.) the latter remaining here at least nine 

 months in the year. 



Among the fringillida?, we notice the goldfinch, (Frirt- 

 gilla carduelis) the chaffinch, (F. coelebs) and the green 

 canary-bird, (^i^. canaria. Lin.) the last of which I noticed 

 in a former letter. 



