ELEVEN WEEKS IN NORTH-EASTERN BRAZIL. 243 



however, it was a Saint's day, or some similar "festa" and he was absent 



in the country and the Museum closed. The only birds of interest I 



saw at Lisbon were three nice living Blue Magpies (Cyanopica coold) in 



one of the numerous bird-shops near the river. Stormy Petrels (Procd- 



laria pelayica ?) had appeared on June 26th in the Bay of Biscay, and 



followed the ship for a day or two to Carril, and now, after leaving 



Lisbon, they were again seen once or twice. St. Vincent was reached 



on July 5th ; but unfortunately the ship was put into quarantine, having 



taken on board a passenger from the Lazaretto at Lisbon ; consequently Ibis, 1881, 



there was no getting on shore. Thus I had to console myself by **' 



watching from the ship the numerous Egyptian Vultures (Neophron, 



percnopterus) flying about the town, and was also gratified by seeing, for 



the first time, one or two Frigate-birds (Fregata aqulla) soaring high in 



the air. As I again saw several of these birds (all in immature plumage) 



on my voyage home in October at the same place, I have little doubt 



that Freyata breeds somewhere in the Cape-Verd group, very likely on 



the " Bird Eock " that lies at the mouth of the harbour of St. Vincent. 



After leaving these islands no birds appeared for some days, save a 



solitary black-and-white Petrel (? Freyettft gralkiria) seen in the distance ; 



its flight, I noticed, was very different from that of the Procellarial 



Passing Fernando Xoronha on the evening of July 10, a Koddy (Anous 



sp. *) flew on board and was caught by a sailor. 



Numerous flying-fish and Physalice, the usual accompaniments of an 

 intertropical voyage, helped to break the monotony of the sea, till Per- 

 nambuco was reached on July 12. 



Pernambuco or, as I shall henceforth call it, Recife (the latter word 

 meaning a reef, from the celebrated sandstone reef, described by Darwin 

 and others, which forms its harbour) lies low, being built t>n a sort of 

 delta of two small rivers, the Capibaribe and the Beberibe, which here 

 flow into the sea. A little to the north of Recife is the old town of 

 Olinda, situated on a hill of perhaps 200 feet or so above the sea, and 

 commanding an extensive view of the flat and marshy country to the 

 south which immediately surrounds Recife. Looking inland from this, 

 the ground is seen to rise gradually, and then becomes more or less 

 forest^covered, these low hills running to the south and west, and 

 continuing into the hilly country which runs thence, more or less parallel 

 with the coast, both north and southwards. 



Recife itself, now probably the second city of the Brazilian Empire, 

 with a population of about 90,000 souls, consists of three towns, con- 

 nected with each other by excellent iron bridges. That with the port is 

 Recife proper ; the other two are called San Antonio and Boa Vista. Ibb, 1881, 

 p.' 310. ' 



* I will not venture to ascribe any specific name to this bird, seeing the difficulty 

 that attaches to its correct determination. 



