194 Rev. J. Sibree, Jr., on the 



grey to the base of the bill, and the latter has a longer 

 thinner bill, and the exposed portion of the inne]* webs of the 

 primaries beneath, near the larger coverts, is white. 



(E. ph(Eoj)ygia was first described from specimens obtained 

 in the Galapagos Archipelago (see Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 507, 

 pi. Ixxxviii. fig. 1). It has since been found in the Sand- 

 wich Islands, and has been again described by Mr. Ridgway 

 as (E. sandwichensis. 



The British Museum has recently received a specimen from 

 the Island of Kauai, which agrees accurately with the types 

 of CE. phceojnjgia. 



The only species of CEstrelata hitherto known from the 

 Kermadec Islands is (E. neglecta, Schl. (Mus. Pays-Bas, vi. 

 Procell. p. 10) . This is a smaller bird than that now described, 

 with much more white on the primaries beneath, besides 

 diflFering in other characters. 



XXI. — On the Birds of Madagascar, and their Connection 

 with Native Folk-lore, Proverbs, and Superstitions. By 

 the Rev. James Sibree, Jr., F.R.G.S.^ — Part I. 



The Natural History of Madagascar is a study of great 

 interest, not only to the zoologist, but also to the geologist 

 and physical geographer ; for although the animal life of 

 the great African island is by no means so varied and so 

 striking as that of some of the other large islands of the 

 world, its peculiarities and its omissions are extremely 

 significant ; and the many peculiar and isolated animals it 

 contains throw much light upon the physical condition of 

 the island and its surrounding groups in earlier geological 

 periods. This statement is true of the Mammalia, the 

 Reptiles, and the Insects of Madagascar, and it is no less 

 true of its Birds. 



My object in the present and subsequent articles is two- 



* Reprinted from the 'Antananarivo Annual,' 1889, with additions 

 and corrections bv the Author. 



