226 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES  [Proc. 4TH SER. 
On Tower, September 14, I saw three or four, and on the 
following day one or two. One was taken on a landslide on 
the north side of Culpepper on September 25. On Hood 
and Gardner-near-Hood they were quite common on all 
three of our visits: September-October, January-February, 
and June-July. 
This species feeds chiefly on the ground, and in the wet 
season (February) in the green bushes as well. On 
September 24, Hood, numbers of this species and the Sooty 
Ground Finch were sitting in the brush and cactus when 
not feeding. The following day some were noted on the 
rocks on the shore of Gardner Bay. On September 28. 
they were noted both in the brush and on the beach. When 
on the ground they feed on small seeds. On February 5, 
Hood, they were feeding chiefly on thorn bushes. I saw 
one eat a green leaf. 
In the early part of February, on Hood and Gardner, 
many were singing, and all had large reproductive organs, 
as this was the mating season. On February 3 I noted a 
pair pursuing each other about the bushes. One female had 
a large shell-less egg in her ovary. On the 5th of February, 
some were noted nest-building. One couple which I watched 
had a nest in a thickly-leaved Maytenus bush at the beach; 
it was about seven feet above the ground and built of grass. 
The male was doing the building, while the female was 
feeding. He would fly to the ground and pick up three or 
four pieces of grass, holding them crosswise in his bill at 
the base of the mandibles. He would then fly up to the nest 
and enter, returning in a minute for more. He sang nearly 
all the time—not one continuous song, but a short one oft- 
repeated. The female was silent and seemed to pay no atten- 
tion to his operations. The eggs of this species were not 
taken. 
On June 27, the majority of the few birds seen on Gardner- 
near-Hood were black. ‘Their chief associates, and doubtless 
competitors, are the Sooty Ground Finches and the Galapagos 
Doves. Finches were seen flying between Hood and Gardner 
quite often and doubtless some belonged to this species. 
Aside from this none were observed at sea. Like the re- 
mainder of the birds of Hood, this species was tame. 
