134 Letters, Announcements, 8^c. 



that 27 species of birds are to be met with on the island ; and I 

 made particular enquiries as to whether the St. Jago Kingfisher 

 occurred there, but was told that it was limited to the islands of 

 St. Jago and Togo. I myself saw very few species of birds, but 

 had my first view of Egyptian Vultures in the wild state, con- 

 siderable numbers of the young birds in their dark plumage, and 

 of the old ones in their black and white attire, soaring about in 

 the air or perched on hillocks. Guinea-fowls were at one time 

 plentiful, but ai-e rapidly approaching extinction. The next place 

 we visited was Rio, where we arrived after a voyage of three weeks, 

 in the course of which but little worthy of note occurred. Swallows 

 making their appearance, or being heard occasionally, and a soli- 

 tary Tropic-bird being seen. During our ten days spent there I 

 took numerous walks in the neighbourhood of the harbour, and 

 saw much to interest me in the way of plants and insects, but 

 comparatively few birds. Gulls, Terns, Brown Gannets, and 

 Frigate-birds were constantly to be observed flying about, the 

 latter soaring high in the air and opening and shutting their 

 long forked tails. Brown Vultures were also seen in numbers 

 on land. From Rio we proceeded southwards to the Plate, 

 reaching Monte Video on the 23rd of November, after having 

 experienced two severe gales, in the course of which we saw nu- 

 merous Petrels and Albatroses. An attempt was made to procure 

 specimens of the latter by fishing for them with a line and hook 

 baited with a piece of pork, but without success. At Monte 

 Video I noticed a variety of small birds, several Muscicapida, and 

 so forth, and a Spur-winged Lapwing. On leaving Monte Video 

 we spent a single day at Maldonado, which seems to be a rich 

 locality for birds in general, large and small. A small Burrow- 

 ing Owl was abundant on the undulating plains, and was fre- 

 quently seen perched on a low bush and giving vent to a loud 

 drumming sound ; and an Ibis with sooty-black plumage was 

 shot in a marsh. W^e entered the Straits on the 21st of De- 

 cember, and, with the exception of a short trip to the Falkland 

 Islands to provision and call, remained there until the 12th of 

 June. During our stay in the Straits, which was very interest- 

 ing, I collected a good many specimens of birds, and did what 

 I could in the way of observing their habits. The following 



