ZOOLOGY OF Pl':ilNA>rDO XORONITA. 



479 



Fam. CoLUMBiDiB. 



3. Zenaida maculata. 



Zcuaida maculata (F.), Scl. Sj- Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neoir.]). 132 (1873). 



Zenaida aurita, Gray, List GaUiiKs- etc. Ihit. Mas. p. 14 (1855). 



Zenaida noronha, Gray, List Columbce, p. 47 (1856, descr. nulla). 



The bird from Fernando Noronha is merely a small race o£ the 

 ordinary Z. maculata of the South- American continent, with a 

 slightly shorter wing (5'l-5'4 inclies) and tail (2"75-3*2) ; but as 

 some Brazilian specimens are of the same dimensions, I do not 

 see how the idea of a small insular race can be maintained. 



[This little Dove is exceedingly common on all the islands where 

 it can find food, and flies about from one island to the other, 

 singly or in flocks of from 2 or 3 to 30. It is very tame, and 

 even when fired at, or alarmed, usually goes but a short distance 

 before settling. The nest is loose in texture, about 6 inches 

 across, and built of small sticks of the Spermacoce, vetches, &c., 

 and lined with roots. It is placed often in the bare branches of 

 a Spondias or Burra, with no attempt at concealment. The eggs 

 are two in number, white, blunt at both ends, and about IJ inch 

 long. One bird shot ofl* its nest proved to be a male. The convicts 

 catch these birds both for eating and as pets, keeping them in 

 wicker cages. They are fed on the seeds of Cassias and other 

 Leguminosse and CucurbitacesB, and probably the fig and other 

 succulent fruits. — H. N. B.'] 



Fam. Larid^. 



4. Angus melanoqenys. Gray ; Sliarpe, Pliil. Trans, vol. 1G8. 

 p. 467 (1879). 



Two adults and a young bird agreed perfectly with speci- 

 mens obtained on St. Paul's Hock by the ' Challenger ' Expedition 

 and determined by Mr. Howard Saunders. The young bird is 

 browner than the adult, and has the head sooty brown with 

 some wliite on the forehead, eyebrows, and occipital region. 



[This Noddy was very common on the island, and is called 

 " Viuva preta." A specimen also flew on board the vessel as 

 we were going to Pernambuco from Europe, about a day's steam 

 from Fernando Noronha. The species nests in small colonies on 

 the rocks in various spots, and also in trees in the Sapate. An 

 egg was obtained from a nest on St. Michael's Mount ; it was 



