CHAP. XII.] 



THE AZORES. 



241 



The same may be said of the gold-fish and eels now found in 

 some of the lakes, there being not a single fresh-water fish 

 which is truly indigenous to the islands. When we consider 

 that the nearest part of the group is about 900 miles from 

 Portugal, and more than 550 miles from Madeira, it is not 

 surprising that none of these terrestrial animals can have passed 

 over such a wide expanse of ocean unassisted by man. 



Let us now see what animals are believed to have reached 

 the group by natural means, and thus constitute its indigenous 

 fauna. These consist of birds, insects, and land-shells, each of 

 which must be considered separately. 



Birds. — Fifty-three species of birds have been observed at the 

 Azores, but the larger proportion (thirty-one) are either aquatic 

 or waders — birds of great powers of flight, whose presence in the 

 remotest islands is by no means remarkable. Of these two 

 groups twenty are residents, breeding in the islands, while eleven 

 are stragglers only visiting the islands occasionally, and all are 

 common European species. The land-birds, twenty-two in 

 number, are more interesting, four only being stragglers, while 

 eighteen are permanent residents. The following is a list of 

 these resident land-birds : — 



1. Common Buzzard 



{Buteo vulgaris) 



2. Long-eared Owl 



{Asia ofus) 



3. Barn Owl 



{Strix flammea) 



4. Blackbird 



{Turdus merula) 



5. Robin 



{Erythacus rubectdd) 



6. Blackcap 



{Sylvia atricapilla) 



7. Gold-crest 



{Regulus cristatus) 



8. Wheatear 



{Saxicola mnantlie) 



9. Grey Wagtail 



{Motacilla sulphurea) 



10. Atlantic Chaffinch 



{Fringilla tintillon) 



11. Azorean Bullfinch 



(Pyrrhula murina) 



12. Canary 



{Serinus canarius) 



13. Common Starling 



(Sturnus vulgaris) 



14. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ... 



(Dry abates minor) 



15. Wood-pigeon 



{Columha palumbus) 



16. Rock Dove 



{Columba livia) 



17. Red-legged Partridge 



{Caccabis rufa) 



18. Common Quail 



( Coturnix communis) 



All the above-named birds are common in Europe and North 



11 



