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Show 116 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Sept. and Oct.) . This species may at once be distinguished from the Z. aurzta, by the redder tint of its breast,-the greater number of black marks on the wing ~averts. and back-the outer half of some of the feathers on the wing coverts bemg whitethe marks on the under side of the tail being grey (instead of white as in the Z. au1·ita) and by the larger size of its beak. This dove is one of the most abundant birds in the Archipelago. It frequents the dry rocky soil of the low country, and often feeds in the s~me flock '":ith tl~e several species of Geospiza. It is exceedingly tame, and may be killed m numbers. Formerly it appears to have been much tamer than at present. Cowley,• in 1684, says that the "Turtle doves were so tame that they would often nlight upon our hats and arms, so as that we could take them alive: they not fearing man, until such time as some of our company did fire at them, whereby they were rendered more shy." Dampiert (in the same year) also says that a man in a morning's walk might kill six or seven dozen of these birds. At the present time, although certainly very tame, they do not alight on people's arms; nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such numbers. It is surprising that the change has not been greater ;-for these islands during the last hundred and fifty years, have been frequented by buccaneers and whalers ; and the sailors, wandering through the woods in search of tortoises, take delight in knocking down the little birds. 3. ZENAIDA BoLIVIANA. G. R. Gray. Columba Boliviana, ])'Orb.<$- Lafr. Mag. de Zool. 1836. Ois. p. 33. pl. 75. My specimen was obtained (end of August) at Valparaiso. 1. COLUMBINA STREPITA.NS. Spix. (Av. pl. 75, f. 1.) I procured specimens at Maldonado (where it was not common), on the banks of the Plata, and at Rio Negro, in Northern Patagonia. 2. CoLu~lBINA TALPACOTI. G. R. Gray. Columba Tnlpacoti, 1'emm. Pig. p. 22. t. 12. Columbina Cabocolo, Spia:, A..v. pl. 75a. f. 1. Le Pigeon rougcatro, Azara, No. 323. My specimens were obtained at Rio de Janeiro. • Cowley's Voyage, p. 10, in Dampier's Collection of Voyages. t Dampier's Voyngo, vol. i. P· 1 03. For some further observations on the tameness of the birds on this and some other islands, see my Journal of Researches, P• 475. BIRDS. 1. ATTi\GIS FALKLANDICA. G. R. Gmy. Tctrao Falklandicus, Gmelin, Syst. 1. 762. La Caille des Isles Malouines, Bttff. pl. enl. 222. Coturnix Falklandica, Bonn. Ency. Moth. Orn. 220. Perdix l!'alklandica, Latlt. Ind. Orn. 11, 652. Ortyx Fnlklandica, Steph. Shaw's Zoo!. xi. 386. 117 This bird is not uncommon on the mountains in the extreme southern parts of Tierra del Fuego. It frequents, either in pairs or small coveys, the zone of alpine plants above the region of forest. It is not very wild, and lies very close on the bare ground. 2. ATTAGIS GAYII. Less. Attagis Gayii, Less. Cent. Zool. pl. 47, p. 155. A specimen was given me, which was shot on the lofty Cordillera of CoqMimbo, only a little below the snow-line. At a similar height, on the Andes, behind Copiapo, which appear so entirely destitute of vegetation, that any one would have thought that no living creature could have found subsistence there, I saw a covey. Five birds rose together, and uttered noisy cries ; they flew like grouse, and were very wild. I was told that this species never descends to the lower Cordillera. These two species, in their respective countries, occupy the place of the ptarmigan of the northern hemisphere. TINOCHORUS RUMICIVORUS. Esc/lsC/t. Thinocorus rumicivorus, EaclmA. Zool. Atl. pl. 2. Tinochorus Eschscholtzii, Lus. Cent. Zool. pl. 50. This ver•v sino0 -ular bird , which in its habits and appearance partakes of the character both of a wader and one of the gallinaceous order, is found wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture land, in southern South America. We saw it as far south as the inland plains of Patagonia at Santa Cruz, in lat . .soo. On the western side of the C01·dillera, near Concepcion, where the forest land changes into an open country, I saw this bird, but did not procure a specimen of it: from that point throughout Chile, as far as Copiapo, it f~equ~nts the most desolate places, where scarcely another living creature can exist: It tho~ rang~s over at least twenty-three degrees of latitude. It is found either in pa~rs or In small flocks of five or six· but near the Sierra Ventana I saw as many as thirty and forty together. Upon b~ing approached they lie close, an~ then. are very difficult to be distinguished from the ground; so that they often r1se quite unexpectedly. When feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs wide apart. They dust themselves in roads and sandy places. They frequent particular spots, and may |
