98 Mr. J. C. Melliss on the Birds of St. Helena. 



the rest, still it possesses one land- and at least eight sea- 

 species which are indigenous ; the first, the " Wire-bird " of 

 the Islanders, doubtless so named because of the similarity 

 between its legs and bits of thin wire*, was described by 

 Tcmminck (Nouveau Recueil de Planches Coloriees d'Oiseaux, 

 1838) as Charadrius jjecuarius, though he states that the spe- 

 cimen was obtained at the Cape of Good Hope ; it is not im- 

 probable, however, that in reality it came from St. Helena. 

 A later notice of this bird has been given by Mr. E. L. 

 Layard in this Journal (Ibis, 1867, pp. 248-251). The sea- 

 birds are the most interesting, inasmuch as they bear so great 

 an analogy to those of the Polynesian Islands in the South 

 Pacific ocean. 



In the following list several cage-birds have been included, as 

 being those most abundantly kept in the Island, and it being 

 just possible that, like the Java Sparrow during the last few 

 years, they may also breed upon it ; there are many other 

 West-African birds taken to the Island and kept as cage-birds 

 in addition to those mentioned. Not included in this list is 

 another land-bird, a small Finch, of the size of Crithagra buty- 

 racea or Euplectes mndagasmriensis, which during the last year 

 or two has made its appearance in the Island, and been called 

 the " Orange bird," — there being nothing to show how or 

 wlience this bird came thither. It has its name from its breast 

 being of the colour of a ripe orange. It is very scarce, and I 

 have not yet been able to ])rocure a specimen. 



It is also said that two more species not included in this list 

 exist in the Island, namely, a larger Ground-Dove, and a sea- 

 bird called the " Black bird." I have not met with either of 

 these, and although not quite sure that the latter may not be 

 found identical with the Noddy, I am inclined to believe, from 

 the description of it given by fishermen and others who have 

 seen it, that it may turn out to be a black Tern different from 

 the Noddy. Strange birds do occasionally visit the Island, but 



* [Mr. Eden Baker (Zoologist, 2ud ser. p. 1476) says that the local 

 name of this species " is taken from its haunt, the ' wire-grass,' a kind 

 of couch-grass that grows where the fertile parts of the island gradually 

 changes [s/c] to the barrenness of the outer rocks." — Ed.] 



