PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 391 
lofty voleanic peaks, which cover the greater portion of the island. One 
of these peaks, ‘“ El Volean de Ometépe,” although there is no history 
of its being in eruption previous to my visit to the island, commenced 
to show signs of activity while I was there. At the request of the al- 
calde of Moyogalpa, I made the ascent to the crater, but the absence 
of water rendering it impossible to remain on the peak, I was unable to 
accomplish anything in the way of collecting. 
The island is an extremely fertile one, and is inhabited mostly by a 
race of the pure Indian or Aztec stock. Agriculture is the principal oc- 
cupation of the people. 
The main products are cacao, plantains, mangoes, watermelons, mara- 
fons, cocoanuts, corn, beans, and in fact all the fruits, natural or in- 
troduced, which thrive in the tropics, besides valuable woods of various 
kinds. 
The climate is simply delightful, a fact to which General Walker testi- 
fied by constituting Ometépe the sanitarium of his expedition. 
The avifauna of the island is not nearly so rich and varied as on the 
mainland. Numerically, birds are abundant, but the number of species 
is more restricted than elsewhere in the republic. Water birds are 
abundant, especially in a large lagoon about a mile north of the village 
of Moyogalpa. The Parrots, Kingfishers, and Jays are the most numer- 
ous and conspicuous birds on the island. 
An apparently entire absence of the Turdide, Tanagride, Dendrocol- 
aptide, Formicariide, and Rhamphastide, families well represented in 
other portions of Nicaragua, is noticeable. 
The deer is, so far as I have been able to learn, the only large mam- 
mal found on the island. 
Fam. TROGLODYTIDA. 
* 1. Thryophilus pleurostictus Scl. 
Abundant. This Wren seems to replace C. capistratus of the adjacent 
mainland. After a diligent search I was unable to find any other species: 
of Wren on the island. 
Song very melodious, clear, and sprightly, although not so loud as that 
of many of its family. Six specimens. 
Fam. MNIOTILTID A. 
* 2, Parula inornata Baird. . 
Common. Habits similar to our Warblers. Two specimens. 
3. Dendreeca estiva (Gm.),. 
The most abundant species of its family on the island. Nine speci- 
mens. 
* 4. Dendrceca maculosa (Gm.). 
Apparently rare. One specimen. 
