35° SNODGRASS AND HELLER 



do not go beyond the condition of " Stage I" in Geospiza (see p. 

 276), being thus nearest to the lowest member of the Geospiza series, 

 G. ( Cactospizd) pallida. 



73. THE CERTHIDEA OLIVACEA SERIES. 

 73a. CERTHIDEA OLIVACEA OLIVACEA (Gould). 



Certhidea olivacea Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., p. 7, 1837 ; Zool. Voy. 



Beagle, in. Birds, p, 106, 1841. — Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 



XIX, p. 498, 1896; Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 50, Pt. 11, p. 763, 1902. 

 Certhidea salvini Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xvii, p. 358, 1894, and 



XIX, p. 500, 1896 (Indefatigable Island). 

 Certhidea albemarlei Ridgway, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xvii, p. 360, 1894, 



and XIX, p. 500, 1896 (Albemarle Island). 

 Certhidea olivacea olivacea Rothschild and Hartert, Novit. Zool., vi, p. 



148, 1899. 



Range. — Indefatigable, Duncan, Jervis, James, Albemarle and 

 Narboro. 



Our collection contains of this species twenty two specimens taken 

 in January, February and March at Tagus Cove and Iguana Cove on 

 Albemarle ; two from Narboro in March and April ; two from James 

 in April ; and seven taken in April on Duncan. There are in the lot 

 males with rufous throats from all the islands except Duncan. 



The following good description of an adult male in full dress is 

 given by Rothschild and Hartert: "Upper side pale olive, pileum 

 and hind neck more olive gray, rump and upper tail coverts lighter 

 and more yellowish-brownish ; wings and tail dusky brown, outwardly 

 edged with light olive, inner webs of remiges edged with whitish-gray ; 

 upper wing coverts broadly bordered with light reddish-brown, under 

 wing coverts white, strongly washed with buff and yellowish-cinna- 

 mon ; short superciliary line, extending to about four millimeters 

 beyond the eye; chin, throat and fore neck bright rufous cinnamon; 

 remainder of under surface creamy buff, with an olive tinge ; sides 

 washed with olive brown ; breast with more or less concealed spots of 

 bright rufous cinnamon; under tail coverts washed with rufous cin- 

 namon." (Novit. Zool., VI, p. 148, 1S99. ) 



The species was not abundant on Albemarle at either Tagus Cove 

 or at Iguana Cove, but was more numerous at the latter place than at 

 the former. The birds are generally rather quiet. At Iguana Cove 

 they sang a song resembling tw'iil-ee, tw'iil-ee, generally uttering two 

 sets in succession as one song. They uttered also a sound like twee- 

 twee. At Tagus Cove the species was rare everywhere but was found 

 in the thick brush at the base and on the side of the mountain back of 



