100 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. 



for here they find, by scratching in the cindery soil with their powerful beaks and 

 claws, the seeds of grasses and other plants, which rapidly spring up during the 

 short rainy season, and as rapidly disappear. They often eat small portions of 

 the succulent leaves of the Opuntia Galapageia, probably for the sake of the 

 moisture contained in them : in this dry climate the birds suffer much from the 

 want of water, and these finches, as well as others, daily crowd round the small 

 and scanty wells, which are found on sovne of the islands. I seldom, however, 

 saw these birds in the upper and damp region, which supports a thriving vege- 

 tation ; excepting on the cleared and cultivated fields near the houses in Charles 

 Island, where, as I was informed by the colonists, they do much injury by digging 

 up roots and seeds from a depth of even six inches. 



1 . Geospiza magnirostris. Gould. 

 Plate XXXVI. 



G.fuliginosa, crisso cinerascoiti-albo ; roslro nigro-hrunnescente lavato ; pedibus 



nigris. 

 Long. tot. G Tiiic. ; aid', 3^ ; cai(da; 2 ; tarsi, 1 ; ro.ftri, f ; alt. 7-ost. 1 . 



Foem. vel IMas jun.; corpora intensh fusco sinoulis plumis olivaceo cine f is ; ahdomine 



pallidiore; crisso citicrascenfi-albo ; pedibus el roslro, nt in mare adulto. 

 Sooty black ; with the vent cinereous white, the bill black, washed with brownish, 



and the feet black. 

 Female, or young male : Deep fuscous, with each feather margined with olive, the 



abdomen much paler, with the under tail-coverts cinereous white, the feet 



and bill like those of the male. 

 Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Charles and Chatham Islands.) 



I have strong reasons for believing this species is not found in James's 

 Island. Mr. Gould considers the G. magniroslris as the type of the genus. 



2- Geospiza strenua. Gould. 

 Plate XXXVIL 



G. fidiginosa, crisso albo, roslro fusco et nigro tinclo ; pedibus nigris. 

 Long. tot. 51 line. ; a/o?, 3 ; cautlce, if ; tarsi, | ; rostri, | ; alt. rost. f. 



Fcem. Summo corpora fusco singulis plumis alarum caudceque plumis exceplis, pallide 

 cinerascenti-olivaceo cinctis ; gnld et pectore fuscis ; abdomine laleribus el crisso 

 pallide cinerascenli-fuscis ; roslro brunnesccnte. 

 Sooty black, with the under tail coverts white ; the bill brown, tinged with black, 



and the feet black. 

 Female : Upper part of the body fuscous, with the margins of each feather, 

 except those of the wings and tail, pale cinereous-olive ; the throat and breast 



