Galapagos field notes, v579
Page 381
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
DeBenedictis 1964 Feb 23 Wreck Bay, Isla San Cristobal, Galapagos. Vigorously, the song, as is typical here, was spaced out -- - - - of mono tone notes, although one bird gave two syllabled phrases constantly. The I also had a 3/4" long, green caterpillar in its gullet. The 4 mm. ova were orange, and the other ova were all less than 2's mm. in diameter, only 2 or 3 orange, the rest white. Male testis white. I saw only 1 in two dark headed Os of the 10 to so Cacomphalus I noted, a lower percentage than at Santa Cruz. It doesn't look as different as does the Geospiza, although it may be larger billed. Got another Geospiza further down and heard 5-6 more singing. Saw one gathering nest material. Most of the geospizine nests I saw were made of grass and lichen and placed 15-20 ft up in trees, in the lower canopy (shaded). Got a bloody Meso-minimus givest below when I took this Geospiza. The calls and what little song I heard is much like the Santa Cruz birds; foraging behavior very closely resembles that species. Seemed to be red-eyed and has blue-grey feet with yellow pads in lifts. The C. [illegible] here are very deep songed, and all have large bills. Fuliginosa is a long billed form with 2 or 3 distinct tone of song. Didn't see any others Geospizine. In town there is a small pop. of Rock doves, and Frigatebirds (Magnificens) may be seen soaring far inland. Cows and pigs roam the road freely. Tropidurus were fairly common in the Cradin down but