Meetings of Section I. 39 



5. Pe. Ernesto Schmitz : — On the Birds of Madeira. 



A complete list was given of the 185 species of birds stated 

 to have occurred in Madeira. The number of forms known to 

 breed there was 36, and of these about 12 were peculiar to the 

 Island, the remainder being- either summer visitors or acci- 

 dental stragglers. 



Of the 280 species of Portuguese birds, 140 had occurred 

 in Maderia ; only 18 of these, however, were known to breed. 



6. W. P. Ptcraft : — Nestling Birds and their Bearing 

 on the Question of Evolution. 



In this paper Mr. Pycraft contended that more attention 

 should be paid to the study of nestling birds than had up to 

 the present time been given. Within the last few years some 

 extremely interesting facts concerning the nestling plumage 

 had come to light, but these, without further data, could have 

 but a limited value for scientific purposes. 



He showed that though the condition of young birds at 

 birth could no longer be regarded as of value for the systeina- 

 tist, it certainly threw a very important light on some aspects 

 of the evolution of the group to which the nestling belonged. 

 The primitive condition of the nestling was undoubtedly of 

 what is known as the precocious or nidifugous type, but the 

 earliest nidifugous birds were hatched in trees — for example, 

 the Hoatzin. Some of the precocious types, such as the Game- 

 birds, still bore traces of this earlier arboreal phase. In 

 others, these traces had been lost. The helpless or nidicolous 

 type of nestling was the outcome of a process of selection, 

 whereby the less active nestlings survived, the more active 

 being eliminated ; their activity bringing about an enormous 

 death-rate, caused by their falling from the trees in which 

 the nest was placed. The less active type was brought about 

 by the reduction of the food yolk within the egg, thereby 

 inducing what may be called premature hatching-, and conse- 

 quent helplessness. 



The skeleton of the nestling, he remarked, promised to 

 yield much valuable information on questions of evolution. 

 Instances in support of this contention were given. 



