Plate XVIII.
Orpheus parvulus. Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part v. 1837, p. 27.
M. vertice, nuchâ caudâque intensè fuscis, hujus rectricibus ad apicem albo notatis; alis fuscis secundariis tectricibusque notâ albâ apicali fascias duas transversas facientibus; loro plumisque auricularibus nigrescentibus; gulâ, colli lateribus, pectore, et abdomine albescentibus; plumis laterum notis fuscis per medium longitudinaliter excurrentibus.
Long. tot. 8⅛ unc.; rost. 1; alæ, 3⅝; caudæ, 3¾; tarsi, 1¼.
The vertex, the nape of the neck, and the tail intensely black; with the tips of the tail feathers marked with white; the wings brown with the secondaries and coverts tipped with white marks, giving the appearance of two transverse hands; the lores and the feathers of the ears black; the throat, the sides of the neck, breast, and the abdomen white; the flanks marked longitudinally with brown.
Habitat, Albemarle Island, Galapagos Archipelago. (October.)
It will be seen, that the three last species of the genus Mimus, were procured from the Galapagos Archipelago; and as there is a fact, connected with their geographical distribution, which appears to me of the highest interest, I have had these three figured. There are five large islands in this Archipelago, and several smaller ones. I fortunately happened to observe, that the specimens which I collected in the two first islands we visited, differed from each other, and this made me pay particular attention to their collection. I found that all in Charles Island belonged to M. trifasciatus; all in Albemarle Island to M. parvulus, and all in Chatham and James’s Islands to M. melanotus. I do not rest this fact solely on my own observation, but several specimens were brought home in the Beagle, and they were found, according to their species, to have come from the islands as above named. Charles Island is distant fifty miles from Chatham Island, and thirty-two from Albemarle Island. This latter is only ten miles from James Island, yet the many specimens procured from both belonged respectively to different species. James and Chatham, which possess the same species, are seventy miles apart, but Indefatigable Island is situated between them, which perhaps, has afforded a means of communication. The fact, that islands in sight of each other, should thus possess peculiar species, would be scarcely credible, if it were not supported by some others of an analogous nature, which I have mentioned in my Journal of the Voyage of the Beagle. I may observe, that as some naturalists may be inclined to attribute these differences to local varieties; that if birds so different as O. trifasciatus, and O. parvulus, can be considered as varieties of one species, then the experience of all the best ornithologists must be given up, and whole genera must be blended into one species. I cannot myself doubt that M. trifasciatus, and M. parvulus are as distinct species as any that can be named in one restricted genus.
The habits of these three species are similar, and they evidently replace each other in the natural economy of the different islands; nor can I point out any difference between their habits and those of M. Thenca of Chile; I imagined, however, that the tone of their voice was slightly different. They are lively, inquisitive, active birds, and run fast; (I cannot assert, positively, that M. Thenca runs). They are so extremely tame, a character in common with the other birds of this Archipelago, that one alighted on a cup of water which I held in my hand, and drank out of it. They sing pleasantly; their nest is said to be simple and open. They seem to prefer the dry sterile regions nearer the coast, but they are likewise found in the higher, damper and more fertile parts of the islands. To these latter situations, however, they seem chiefly attracted by the houses and cleared ground of the colonists. I repeatedly saw the M. melanotis at James Island, tearing bits of meat from the flesh of the tortoise, which was cut into strips and suspended to dry, precisely in the same manner as I have so often observed the M. Orpheus, in La Plata, attacking the meat hung up near the Estancias.
1. Furnarius rufus. Vieill.
Furnarius rufus, Vieill., Ency. Meth. 513.