BIRDS OF THE TRES MARIAS ISLANDS. 



61 



land, as is shown by a perfectly typical specimen (a female in worn 

 plumage) taken at Santiago, Territory of Tepic, June 20, 1897. On the 

 islands it was found from the shore to the forests of the higher sloj)es 

 and was also very plentiful and familiar about the settlement. It had 

 a variety of notes, among them a rich warbling song and a character- 

 istic clear, mellow, whistling call. While among the trees, or during 

 their search for food upon the ground, these birds closely resemble the 

 common robin in habits and general appearance. At the time of our 

 visit a species of wild fig was in fruit, and the tops of the trees were 

 swarming with these robins, tanagers, orioles, lovebirds, and trogous, 

 all eagerly feeding upon the figs. 



Merula graysoni is another of the Tres Marias birds which are evi- 

 dently offshoots from species now resident on the adjacent mainland, 

 but with differences sufficiently pronounced and constant to warrant 

 their recognition as separate species. Merula flaviroxtris, the main- 

 land representative of the Tres Marias robin, is much more richly 

 colored than grayxoni, and the differences mentioned by Mr. JJidgway 

 are constant and well shown in the present series. The following aver- 

 age measurements show the relative dimensions of the two species: 



Measurements of Merula graysoni and M. Jlarirostris. 



BIRDS ERRONEOUSLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE TRES MARIAS. 



Among the birds sent to the Smithsonian Institution from western 

 Mexico by Mr. John Xantus are five species of humming birds named 

 below which were not found on the Tres Marias either by Colonel Gray- 

 son or myself, and which are not known even from the adjacent parts 

 of the mainland. These specimens are now in the National Museum, 

 all labeled "Tres Marias, July, 1861." The improbability of their cap- 

 ture on the Tres Marias is very great, and the fact that species from 

 such widely separated areas should be credited to these islands during 

 a single month can be accounted for in only one way. Probably Mr. 

 Xantus purchased these specimens from some one who misled him con- 

 cerning their origin. That this could be done very easily I know from 

 personal experience. Some years ago I purchased a small collection of 

 birds from a San Francisco dealer, who claimed that they came from 



