1 1 6 BIRDS THAT BREED IN MADEIRA DESCRIBED, chap. vi. 



BIRDS THAT BREED IN MADEIRA DESCRIBED. 



The Kestrels are very numerous and very tame, perching 

 on the roofs of houses, from whence they dart frequently at 

 Canary birds hanging in their reed cages outside the win- 

 dows, and generally succeed in securing their prey. They 

 live principally on lizards, grasshoppers, and mice. 



The Buzzard is seldom seen about the town, but confines 

 his flights to the highest mountains, feeding on small birds, 

 insects, and reptiles. 



The Bam Owl inhabits the ravines in small numbers: it is 

 a little darker than the British owl. It may be remarked 

 that all the birds of Madeira are darker than their European 

 brethren. 



The Blackbird, which in some parts is very plentiful, does 

 not differ from the English bird. 



The Redbreast, which more than any other bird reminds 

 one of home, is very common: it is frequently caged, and 

 seems to flourish in capitivity. 



The Black-cap Warbler, which is here the most domestic 

 songster, has been sometimes called the Madeira Nightingale. 

 There is a fulness in its warble which in a degree justifies 

 such praise. Its plumage is sometimes rather darker than 

 that of the English black-cap. A Madeiran variety of this 

 bird has been described by Sir W. Jardine* as a new species, 

 under the name of Curruca Heineken. Dr. Heineken, how- 

 ever, in a paper in the Zoological Journal, No. 17, Art. xvii., 

 controverted the supposition of its being a distinct species, 

 and there is reason to believe that he is right. The popular 

 belief amongst the natives is, that where the nest of a " Tinto 



* Edin. Journ. of Nat. and Geog. Science, Jan., 1830, p. 243, vol. i. 



