to the Island of Rodriguez. 149 



European Goldfinch {Carduelis elegans), while the two other 

 species of Foudia, just mentioned, are almost songless. In habits 

 it resembles F. erythrocepkala in its way of picking amongst the 

 extreme buds and leaves of branches, hanging often back down- 

 wards. Its beak is long, and more like that of this species than 

 of F. madagascariensis. It is exceedingly numerous, and though 

 many had paired, and were evidently breeding, I saw a flock 

 of at least one hundred, all in the brown stage of plumage, 

 and probably many of them therefore immature birds. The 

 adult hens are dark brown, like the same sex in the other 

 two species. I shot two pair, and had them skinned by Isidore 

 Legentil, who had gone down in the 'Victoria' to collect plants 

 for M. Bouton. Soon after I shot them I came upon a small 

 flock of '' Perruches,'' and got a right and left shot, but the first 

 one the fellow did not mark (though it was as dead as a herring), 

 and I only managed to pick up the second. This was to all 

 appearance identical with the Mauritian and Madagascar species 

 [Agapornis cana), and as the bird is said to have been introduced 

 into Rodriguez, I have no doubt it is so. The man who was 

 with me tried to assure me that it came from America; but this 

 assertion was afterwards explained by the police magistrate, who 

 told me that the first examples were brought thither by an Ame- 

 rican whaler, which had got them in Madagascar. 



Going on to a hill, where the negro said there were wild 

 Guinea-fowl, I heard a deep and most melodious meruline 

 whistle — one note only, and then a sort of " tchou-ti-tchou,'' as 

 of a Nightingale. On my asking the Creole what the bird was, 

 he said, " 9a meme zozo du pays avec li bee et li queue long- 

 long. '' Going up, I saw what looked to me like a Calamodyta, 

 holding his head down, and jerking his tail over his back. He 

 almost immediately flew away, and I flred an ineffectual shot at 

 him ; but he stopped in another bush close by, and I killed 



gue "75, hallucis cum ungue "64, rostri a fronte "56, ejusdem a rictu •64 

 poll. Angl. et dec. 



" Descr. fcemincB adultce. Fusco-virens, dorso striolato ; subtus multo 

 pallidior ; alls late unifasciatis ; rostro et iridibus perfuscis ; pedibus 

 fuscis." — Ed. 



