of the Mauritius. 127 



BIRDS. 



Mr. Bojer, with the praiseworthy intention of affording to the youlli of 

 our island, facilities for the study of this class of animals, which en- 

 livens so agreeably the different regions of the globe, has adopted the 

 happy idea of constructing tables accompanied by descriptions repre- 

 senting the different parts which characterize the orders and families. 

 He has on various occasions exhibited birds of our island, and explained 

 the characters which distinguish thern; and, in conjunction with Dr. 

 Lyall, he gave verbally an account of several birds from .Madagascar. 



Tin- Rev. J. Freeman having presented to the Society twenty species 

 of birds from the same country, Mr. J. Desjardins made a careful ex- 

 amination of them, and read, at subsequent sittings of the Society, 

 descriptions of those which he considered to be new, and the synonymes 

 of those which are known. As the Natural History of Madagascar ii 

 little known, we will cite here the species which he has determined, viz. 



Two species of the subgenus Falco, (Cuv. R.A.) 



The Barn Owl, (Strix Flammea. Lin.) 



The Madagascar Grosbeak, (Loxia Madagascariensis. Lin.) 



The White-bached Crow. (Corvus Daurieus. Lath.) 



A species of the subgenus Regulus, (Cuv. R. A.) 



The common Cuckoo, (Cuculus Canorus. Lin.) 



The common Quail, (Titrao Cotumix. Lin.) 



The Umbret of Senegal, (Scopus Fmbretta.) 



The Madagascar Bail, (Rallus Madag scariensis. J. Desj.) 



The common Water Hen. (Fulica chloropus. Lin.) 



The Madiigascar Coot, (Fulica cristata, L. Gm.) 



The Madagascar Snipe, (Scolopax Capensis. Lin.) 



The little Oribe, (Colymbus Minor. Lin.) 



Four species of the genus Anas. 



Mr. Desjardins has also read n description of a waterside bird, known 

 in the Mauritius by the name of Culblanc. It is a Plover properly so 

 railed (Scolopax). He has with hesitation given it the name of Scolopax 

 Mauritiana. 



REPTILES. 



A living Snake having been discovered in the demolition of a house at 

 Port Louis, al Caudan, Mr. J. Desjardins has examined it, and found it 

 to be the red Coluber (Coluber rufus). The appearance of an animal of 

 this order, in our island, in extremely rare, only one other such instance 

 is remembered. This animal is harmless. The specimen, probably, 

 came from the coast of Coromandol : the individual with which it was 

 compared, is in the collection of Mr. Lienard, and came from thence. 



Another memoir by Mr. J. Desjardins, has for its subject, three de- 

 posits of the bones of fossil Tortoises, which are in the district of Flacq : 

 two of these have been discovered, and announced by himself. Tin - 

 ought scarcely to be named fossils, as the bed of calcareous deposit, and 

 even of vegetable mould which contains them, is of modem formation; 

 we cannot assign an antiquity of more than two or three centuries, t<> 

 these remains. The first part of the memoir contains an enumeration of 

 the authors and travellers, who, at distant periods, have spoken of (! 

 animals, which used to abound in the Mauritius, and which have left 

 only such traces as we have montioned, of their existence. 



The inhabitants are familiar with the large lizard of Le Coin de Mire, 

 and of l'lsle Platte, and also with that commonly called I lie Rock 

 Lizard: but these animals have remained unknown i" Na'urnli 



