Mr. E. Du Cane Godman on the Birds of the Azores. 95 
Azores. It was much exhausted; but he kept it alive on salt 
pork for three or four days. 
Turdus merula, Linnaeus. “ Melro.” 
Frequents the mountain-districts rather than the gardens and 
low country. It is very common, but shy. The note always 
struck me as harsher and louder than our Blackbird’s, but I 
find no difference in the size or form of the two birds. 
fORioLUS galbula, Linnseus. 
Whilst I was in Flores a bird I believe to have been of this 
species was caught and killed by some boys, who plucked all its 
feathers out and threw it away. I did not hear of it till the 
following day, when I went immediately to the village, but could 
procure no more than its tail- and wing-feathers, from which, 
together with the description I received, I do not hesitate to 
attribute it to this species. 
Erythacus rubecula (Linnaeus). “ Avinagreira.” 
Though common in the eastern and central groups, the Red¬ 
breast does not occur in the two western islands. Through the 
kindness of some of my friends I have been able to compare my 
specimens with examples from Algeria, Tunis, and Southern 
Italy, with which I find that they exactly agree in their light- 
coloured plumage. Mr. Gould showed me one he shot in Tene- 
riffe, which is precisely similar to our British and darker form. 
Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus). “ Toutinegro.” 
Abundant in the lower lands throughout the islands. A cu¬ 
rious variety is not unfrequently met with, having the black 
marking on the head extending to the shoulders and round 
under the throat. I only saw one individual, which was in a 
cage with a common Blackcap. It appeared to be slightly lar¬ 
ger, though in other respects the same, with the exception, of 
course, of the dark markings. I was told that some individuals 
have the whole of the under parts of the body black. The 
story current in the Azores with regard to them is, that, when 
the parent lays more than four eggs, one bird always proves to 
be this variety*. In Fayal it is known by the name iC Avina- 
* [This variety is doubtless the same as that mentioned by Heineken 
