313 
during a Cruise in the Caribbean Sea. 
West-Indian “Birch,” Guiaicum, Acacia, Tamarind, and 
Manchineel. Various kinds of Cactus grow on the lower 
slopes and on the smaller islets, and there is a great pro¬ 
fusion of flowering bushes and even flowering plants. Wild 
cotton grows in abundance. Except for the few miserable 
huts erected by the fishermen, and a modest plot or so of 
cultivated ground in their immediate vicinity, these islands 
remain as they have existed through the ages. Geologically 
they consist of masses of a coarse-grained granite (horn¬ 
blende), enormous fragments of which, much weathered, may 
be seen here and there amid the surrounding vegetation. 
On the weather side of one of the smaller islets this granite 
is overlaid by a layer of shaly rock. The general colour 
of the soil and exposed rocks in the lower parts of the island 
is deep ferruginous. I was much struck by the number of 
butterflies that we saw. Progress anywhere on the large 
island is laborious, owing to the thick bush and the ex¬ 
cessive heat. I have no doubt that other land-birds besides 
those observed would be met with if a more extended search 
was made for them; and sea-birds probably nest here also, 
especially on the north side of the large island, where the 
shore is sandy. I have met with the Sooty Tern in great 
numbers in the near neighbourhood of these islands, but 
saw nothing of it on any of the fallarones. 
Besides the few birds mentioned below as having been 
seen or shot, one or two unidentified Owls were seen, as well 
as a Buzzard ( Buteo latissimus ?) and a few Pelicans ( Pete - 
canus fuscus). I have no doubt that Margarops fuscatus 
or some other Thrush would be found towards the higher 
levels of the largest of the islands, as it exists on the Los 
Hermanos group; but we had no time in the two days 
at our disposal to cover all the ground, having unfortunately 
lost much valuable time in visiting some of the smaller 
outlying islands. 
Columba corensis Gmel. 
We saw several Pigeons on Goat Island which were no 
doubt examples either of this species or of C. leucocephala , 
but we were unable to get near enough to shoot any. 
