72 Canon Tristram — Notes on the 



Soon after I had secured my Chaffinches, I saw one and 

 another Columba laurivora, with their unmistakable long tail, 

 dash down the glen, but far out of shot, and I proceeded up 

 the forest to rejoin my companion. Two more C. laurivora, 

 two ineffectual shots ; but I secured another Chaffinch, and 

 the Robin, which in no way differs specifically from that of the 

 Island of Tenerife. This, I observe, has been recently de- 

 scribed by a German naturalist as distinct*; but I cannot 

 admit its validity, though certainly the coloration is more in- 

 tense than in most, not all, British specimens, but not more 

 so than in examples from Andalusia. I have examined the 

 large series in the British Museum, and in Lord Lilford's, 

 Mr. Seebohm's, and my own collections, and I cannot draw any 

 line. In fact, there are British specimens which will exactly 

 match every other. Still it is an interesting fact worthy of note, 

 that all the Robins from Palma, Canaria, and Tenerife are of 

 the deeper hue, those from Gomera of the paler. I soon met 

 Meade-Waldo, who had also seen several C. laurivora, and 

 had added the Chaffinch, Sparrow-Hawk, and various other 

 birds to his bag. Later in the day he shot a Pigeon, which 

 I marked down in the barranco; but so dense was the under- 

 growth, and so rugged the cliff-sides, that after an hour's 

 vain attempts to retrieve it, we had to abandon the quest. 



I may mention here that in Palma we frequently found 

 scattered Canary pines mingled with the evergreen forest, an 

 occurrence never noticed in Gomera, and very rare in Tene- 

 rife, where the pine begins about 5000 feet up, at the point 

 where the laurel ceases. 



Three days later, our appetites whetted by the discovery of 

 the new Tit and Chaffinch, and the sight of the big Pigeon, 

 we started on horseback for the circuit of the island — one 

 of the most delightful rides I ever enjoyed. We took the 

 south road from La Ciudad, and after passing Buenavista 

 turned straight up the mountain, passing a straggling belt of 

 chestnut well stocked with Chaffinches, and then at once 

 entering the lovely laurel-forest. Here the Chaffinch was 

 still not uncommon, and it seems to have a much wider per- 

 * [Erithacus superbm, Konig, J. f. 0. 1880, p. 183.— Ed.] 



