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Show 240 ISLAND LIFE. (rART II. . d 'th th improbable that the Azores have ever been umte Wl • .e European continent; while their being wholly volcamc lS equally opposed to the view of their having formed p~rt of an extensive Atlantis includinO' Madeira and the Cananes. The b • only exception to their volcanic structure IS the. occurren.ce in one small island only (Santa Maria) of some marme d~pos1ts of Upper Miocene age-a fact which proves some alteratwns of level, and perhaps a greater extension of this island at some former period, but in no way indicates a former union of the islands, or any greater extension of the whole group. It proves, however, that the group is of consioerable antiquity, since it must date back to Miocene times; and this fact may be of importance in considering the origin and peculiar features of the fauna and flora. It thus appears that in all physical features the Azores correspond strictly with our definition of "oceanic islands," while their great distance from any other land, and the depth of the ocean around them, make them typical examples of the class. We should therefore expect them to be equally typical in their fauna and flora; and this is . the case as regards the most important characteristics, although in some points of detail they present exceptional phenomena. Chief Zoological Features of the Azores.1-The great feature of oceanic islands-the absence of all indigenous land-mammalia and amphibia-is well shown in this group ; and it is even carried further, so as to include all terrestrial vertebrata, there being no snake, lizard, frog, or fresh-water fish, although the islands are sufficiently extensive, possess a mild and equable climate, and are in every way adapted to support all these groups. On the other hand, flying creatures, as birds and insects, are abundant; and there is also one flying mammal-a small European bat. It is true that rabbits weasels rats and mice, and a small lizard peculiar to Madeira' and Te~eriffe, are now found wild in the Azores, but there is good reason to believe that these have all been introduced by human agency. 1 ~or most o£ the facts as to the zoology and botany o£ these islands, 1 am mdebted to Mr. Godman's valuable work-Natural H1'story of the Azores or Western Islands, by Frederick Du Cane Godman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., London, 1870 CDAP. XII.] 'l'IIE AZORES. 241 The same may be said of the gold-fish and eels now found in so~e o~ the la:{es.' there being not a single fresh-water fish whiCh 1s truly md1genous to the islands . When we cons1' de r that the nearest part of the group is about 900 miles from Port~g~l, and more than 550 miles from Madeira, it is not surpnsmg tha~ none of these terrestrial animals can have passed over such a w1de 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 indiO'enous fau~a. These consist of birds, insects, and land-shells, ;ach of whiCh must be considered separately. Birds.-Fifty-three species of birds have been observed at the Azores, but t.he larger proportion (thirty-one) are either aquatic or waders-b1rds 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 beinO' straO'g'lers while . h 0 b ' e1g teen are permanent residents. The followino- is a list of these resident land-birds:- o 1. Common ·Buzzard 2. Long-eared Owl 3. Barn Owl 4. Blackbird 5. Robin 6. Blackcap 7. Gold-crest 8. Wheatear 9. Grey Wagtail 10. Atlantic Chaffinch 11. Azorean Bullfinch 12. Canary 13. Common Starling ... 14. Lesser Spotted Wood peeker •.• 15. Wood-pigeon . .. • .. 16. Rock Dove 17. Red-legged Partridge ... 18. Common Quail (Btdeo vulgaris) (Asia otus) ( Strix jlarnrnea) ( Turdtts rnerula) (E1·ythacus 1·ubecula) (Sylvia atricapilla) (Regulus cris tatus) (Saxicola mnanthe) (Motacilla sulphu1·ea) (Fringilla tintillon) ( Pyrrhula mu1·ina) (Sm·inus canarius) ( Sttwnus vulgaris) ( Dryo bates rninor) (Columba palwmbus) (Columba ·livia) ( Caccabis rufa) ( Coturnix communis) All the above-named birds are common in Europe and North R |