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Show 1866.] DR. H. DOHRN ON THE BIRDS OF PRINCE'S ISLAND. 331 to see this species, and settled for a fortnight in a negro's hut in those desert parts of the island. Whoever has visited those large tropical forests knows the difficulty of proceeding there. I enjoyed the special favour of heaven in arriving there when the rains set in a month before they usually do, and it was very hard work to run after these birds. I saw them daily at great distances, and heard them crowing like a Raven; but as soon as I entered the forests the monkeys made so much noise, barking and bowling, as to alarm all the animals in the neighbourhood. Thus I was finally very glad when one of my native hunters appeared with a female specimen of the Corvao, which turned out to be Geronticus olivaceus. M y specimen is not different from those described by Dr. Hartlaub ; the naked parts of the head are black ; the feet are dirty yellowish ; the long feathers of the head are not metallic; under the eye is a spot with very light-brown feathers ; the iris is dark brown. The measurements are-Long, circa 0*60, rostr. a fr. 0*95, alae 0*37, caudae 0*17, tars. 0*07 m. They feed upon snakes, snails, and large worms and insects. 28. NUMENIUS ARQUATUS, Linn. ") 29. TOTANUS GLOTTIS, Linn. I 30. ACTITIS HYPOLEUCUS, Linn, i 31. TRINGA SUBARQUATA, Gm. j These four species all live in the swamps in the neighbourhood of the town. They are not common ; the last, killed in June or July, exhibits winter plumage. 32. STERNA MELANOPTERA, Swains. Rare. I observed this species in Bahia d'Oeste, and never saw it % in any other part of the island. 33. PHAETHON ^ETHEREUS, L. I saw this bird a few times flying about the coast of the island. 34. SULA FIBER, L. Common on the west coast of the island, where some rocks are quite white with their excrement. These are the birds which I observed during my stay (from April to September 1865) in the island. A typical collection of all m y birds is in the possession of the Museum at Stettin. I have no doubt that there are a few more species, especially Sylviadar, Turdidar, and water birds; but I am sure that the following birds mentioned by Lopez de Lima and Erman do not occur in Prince's Island. These are- Neophron pileatus, Burch. (Lopez de Lima.) Nectarinia splendida, Shaw. (Erman.) senega/ensis, Linn. (Erman.) Lamprotornis arneus, Linn. (Erman.) Pogonias viei/loti, Leach. (Erman.) -• |
