474 
NATURE 
[ Oct. 12, 1871 


nodon, Capromys, and Plagiodon ; and by several peculiar 
types of ornithic life, such as Spindalis, Sporadinus, 
Todus, and Saurothera, which run on as far as Porto 
Rico, but do not cross into the Lesser Antilles. The latter, 
if we put the Chiroptera aside, present but few traces of 
mammal_-life, except one or two species of Agouti (Dasy- 
procta) and Mouse (Hesferomys), but are tenanted by 
certain characteristic forms of birds, such as Rampho- 
cinclus, Cinclocerthia, Orthorhynchus, and Eulampis, 
which are not found in the Greater Antilles. 
The ornithology of the Greater Antilles is now tolerably 
well known to us, although specimens from most of the 
islands are rare in collections and difficult to obtain. The 
Lesser Antilles, on the other hand, are still very imper- 
fectly investigated as regards their birds, many of them 
being, so far as I know, still unvisited by any naturalist or 
collector. There can be no doubt, however, that every 
one of them is well worthy of being worked at, and that 
the results to be obtained from a thorough examination of 
the whole group would be of great importance towards a 
more complete knowledge of the laws of distribution. To 
show how slight our acquaintance is with this subject and 
how much remains to be done, I will mention the principal 
islands or island-groups in order, and specify what know- 
ledge we have of their ornithology. 
1. The Virgin Islands.—Out of these islands we may, I 
think, assume that we have a fair acquaintance with the 
birds of St. Thomas, the most frequently visited of the 
group, and the halting-place of the West Indian mail- 
steamers. Mr, Riise, who was long resident here, col- 
lected and forwarded to Europe many specimens, some of 
which were described by myself,* and others are spoken 
of by Prof. Newton, in a letter published in the Jdzs 
for 1860, p. 307. Mr. Riise’s series of skins is now, I 
believe, at Copenhagen. Frequent allusions to the birds 
of St. Thomas are also made by Messrs. Newton in their 
memoir of the birds of St. Croix, mentioned below. In 
the “ Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Philadelphia,” for 1860, p. 374, Mr. Cassin has given an 
account of a collection of birds made in St. Thomas by 
Mr. Robert Swift, and presented to the Academy : twenty- 
seven species are enumerated. 
Quite at the extreme end of the Virgin Islands, and lying 
between them and the St. Bartholomew group, is the little 
islet of Sombrero, “anaked rock about seven-eighths of a 
mile long, twenty to forty feet above the level of the sea, and 
from a few rods to about one-third of a mile in width.” 
Although “ there is no vegetation whatever in the island 
over two feet high,” and it would seem to bea most unlikely 
place for birds, Mr. A. A. Julien, a correspondent of Mr. 
Lawrence, of New York, succeeded in collecting on it 
specimens of no less than thirty-five species, the names of 
which, together, with Mr. Julien’s notes thereupon, are 
recorded by Mr. Lawrence in the eighth volume of the 
“ Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York” 
(p. 92). The remaining islands of the Virgin group are, I 
believe, most strictly entitled to their name, so far as 
ornithology is concerned, for no collector on record has 
ever polluted their virgin soil. Prof. Newton (Zdzs, 
1860, p. 307) just alludes to some birds from St. John, in 
the possession of Mr. Riise. 
2. Sz. Croix.—On the birds of this island we have an 
excellent article by Messrs. A. and E, Newton, published 
in the first volume of the /dzs.+ This memoir being 
founded on the collections and personal observations of 
the distinguished authors themselves, and having been 
worked up after a careful examination of their specimens 
in England, and with minute attention to preceding autho- 
rities, forms by far the most complete account we possess 
of the ornithology of any one of the Lesser Antilles. It, 
however, of course requires to be supplemented by addi- 
* Ann. N. H.ser. 3, vol. iv. p. 225 ; and P. Z, S, 1860, p, 314. 
t Ibis, 1859, pp. 59, 138, 252, and 365. 

tional observations, many points having been necessarily 
left undetermined, and it is much to be regretted that no 
one seems to have since paid the slightest attention to the 
subject. 
3. Anguilla, St. Martin, and St. Bartholomew.—Of 
this group of Islands St. Bartholomew alone has, as faras 
I know, been explored ornithologically, and that within a 
very recent period. In the Royal Swedish Academy’s 
“ Proceedings ” for 1869 will be found an excellent article 
by the veteran ornithologist, Prof. Sundevall, on the birds 
of this island, founded on a collection made by Dr, A. von 
Goés. Thespecies enumerated are forty-seven in number, 
amongst which the most interesting perhaps is the Zz- 
phonia flavifrons, originally obtained, along with one or 
two other species, in the latter part of the last century, 
and figured by Sparrman in his “Museum Carlsonianum,” 
along with several other species from the same island. 
4. Barbuda.—Of this British island I believe I am 
correct in saying that nothing whatever is known of its 
ornithology, or of any other branch of its natural history. 
5. St. Christopher and Nevis, to which may be added 
the adjacent smaller islands St. Eustathius and Saba.— 
Of these islands also our ornithological knowledge is of 
the most fragmentary description. Mr, T. J. Cottle was, 
I believe, formerly resident in Nevis, and sent a few birds 
thence to the British Museum in 1839. Amongst these 
were the specimens of the Humming-birds of that island, 
which are mentioned by Mr. Gould in his well-known 
work. Of the remainder of this group of islands we 
know absolutely nothing. 
6. Antigua.—Of this fine British island I regret to say 
nothing whatever is known as regards its ornithology, 
Amongst the many thousands of American birds that 
have come under my notice during the past twenty years, 
I have never seen a single skin from Antigua. 
7. Montserrat.—Exactly the same as the foregoing is 
the case with the British island of Montserrat. 
8. Guadaloupe, Deseadea, and Marie-galante.—An ex- 
cellent French naturalist, Dr. ! Herminier, was for many 
years resident as physician in the Island of Guadaloupe. 
Unfortunately, however, he never carried into execution 
the plan which I believe he contemplated of publishing 
an account of the birds of that island. He sent a 
certain number of specimens to Paris and to the late 
Baron de la Fresnaye, to whom we are indebted for 
the only article ever published on the birds of Guada- 
loupe,* or of the adjacent islands. 
9. Dominica.—Dominica is one of the few of the 
Caribbean Islands that has had the advantage of a visit 
from an active English ornithologist. Although Mr. E. 
C. Taylor only passed a fortnight in this island in 1863, 
and had many other matters to attend to, he nevertheless 
contrived to preserve specimens of many birds of very 
great interest, of which he has given us an account in one 
of his articles on the birds of the West Indies, published 
in the /dzs for 1864 (p. 157). It cannot be supposed, 
however, that the birds of this wild and beautiful island 
can have been exhausted in so short a space of time, even 
by the energetic efforts of our well-known fellow-labourer. 
10. Martinigue.—Thisisland is one of the few belonging 
to the Lesser Antilles in which bird-skins are occasionally 
collected by the residents, and find their way into the 
hands of the Parisian dealers. There are also a certain 
number of specimens from Martinique in the Musée 
d’Histoire Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes, which I 
have had an opportunity of examining ; but beyond the 
vague notices given by Vieillot in his “ Oiseaux de 
YAmérique du Nord,” I am not aware of any publication 
relating specially to the ornithology of this island. Mr. 
E. C. Taylor passed a fortnight in it in 1863, and has re- 
corded his notes upon the species of birds which he met 
with in the excellent article which I have mentioned 
* Rev. Zool, 1844, p. 167. 
