﻿Aruba, Curasao, and Bonaire. 337 



35. Sterna maxima, Bodd. 

 See above, p. 326. 



36. Sterna hirundo, Linn. 



I have already mentioned that I found the broken eggs of 

 some Terns on the nests of the Flamingoes • but I regret 

 that I was so much occupied and excited by the Flamin- 

 goes and their breeding-place that I did not pay suffi- 

 cient attention to the Terns to say with certainty whether 

 S. dougalli is found here as well as S. hirundo. Two Terns 

 that came near to me and were shot were of the latter 

 species, and therefore I am quite sure that they breed here 

 and that the broken eggs belonged to them. 



37. Sterna antillarum, Less. 



These Terns were common, and had both nearly and quite 

 full-grown young ones. 



38. Larus atricilla, Linn. 



This Gull was seen several times on the coast. 



V. General Conclusions. 



(1) The three islands of Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire 

 have received the greater number of their birds from the 

 South-American continent, but some also from the West 

 Indies, for there are many pure West-Indian forms amongst 

 them besides the continental ones. 



(2) There are striking affinities between the avifauna of 

 these islands and that of the islands of St. Thomas and 

 St. Croix (Virgin Islands), but no similarity to that of the 

 Windward Islands ; for example, Conurus pertinax, Elainea 

 martinica riisii, Icterus icterus*, Tyr annus dominicensisf, 

 and Margarops fuscatus occur in both localities. Moreover, 

 we have in this avifauna Certhiola uropygialis (of which the 

 nearest allies are found on St. Croix and St. Thomas), Ammo- 



* It has been suggested that Icterus icterus has been introduced into 

 St. Thomas, but this seems to be doubtful. 



t T. dominicensis is replaced by T. rostratus, Scl., on most ot the Lesser 

 Antilles. 



SER. VI. — VOL. V. 2 B 



[49] 



