290 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



The Galapagos Archipelago was visited by Darwin in 1835; its 

 remarkable zoology, sketched by the 'Voyage of the 'Beagle,' at once 

 aroused the highest interest among naturalists, whilst Darwin's deductions 

 concerning the origin of the Galapagoan fauna are amongst the best 

 known passages in his writings. Since the visit of the ' Beagle,' our know- 

 ledge of the avian fauna has been increased by the large collections made by 

 Dr. Habel in 1868, the naturalists of the 'Albatross' in 1888 and 1891, and 

 by Messrs. Baur and Adams in 1891. In 1876 Salvin published his well- 

 known paper " On the Avifauna of the Galapagos Archipelago," which has 

 remained the most important contribution to the subject. Mr. Robert 

 Ridgway has now brought the subject thoroughly up to date by an 

 exhaustive contribution on " Birds of the Galapagos Archipelago," pub- 

 lished in the Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. xix., 1896. During recent years at 

 least one of the indigenous birds has become extinct, the larger Mocking- 

 bird of Charles Island, Nesominus trlfasciatus, being no longer found. 

 " Others appear to have become extinct on the islands where they were 

 originally found." Forty-six genera of birds have thus far been found in 

 the Galapagos Archipelago, of which six appear to be peculiar, but from a 

 study of the genera alone it is impossible to decide whether the " non- 

 peculiar portion of the Galapagoan avifauna is most nearly related to that 

 of lower Central America or the West Indies." The number of species 

 which have been ascertained to occur in the Galapagos Archipelago is one 

 hundred and five. Even now the study is incomplete, for Mr. Ridgway 

 mentions — "The anomaly of individuals adult as to plumage, but with 

 bills suggesting immaturity, and of others which show exactly the reverse, 

 remains to be explained ; and there are other questions which only 

 protracted field-studies by a competent investigator can decide." 



Mr Charles A. Witchell, writing in the June issue of ' Knowledge,' 

 describes ' The Swift's Night-flight': — " During June and July, dwellers in 

 places where the Swift abounds may investigate its recently discovered 

 habit of soaring upward at evening and (apparently) spending the night in 

 the sky." It was during the last cloudless Jubilee June (1887) that this 

 extraordinary incident in the life of a diurnal British bird was first noticed 

 in England. Mr. Witchell fiods, " It is convenient to watch the Swifts 

 from a somewhat elevated spot, so that they may be kept within view as 

 continuously as possible, since, if they pass out of the field of vision at a 

 distance, it is almost impossible to find them again. It is also desirable to 

 have a support to lean upon, for without this the constant gazing towards 

 the zenith becomes very tiring, especially if field-glasses are used. It is 

 not often that the birds can be seen during the whcle of the upward flight; 

 they generally swing around in wide circles for some time, and pass out of 



