pheasants of the Old World. There are about a dozen species of these fine birds, most of which are adorned with handsome curled crests. That figured, is distinguished by the yellow caruncular swellings at the base of the bill. The tall crane-like bird near the water is one of the trumpeters, (_Psophia leucoptera_), elegant birds with silky plumage peculiar to the Amazon valley. They are often kept in houses, where they get very tame and affectionate; and they are useful in catching flies and other house insects, which they do with great perseverance and dexterity. Plate XV. [Illustration] A FOREST SCENE ON THE UPPER AMAZON, WITH SOME CHARACTERISTIC BIRDS. {29}_Islands of Tropical South America._ These are few in number, and, with one exception, not of much interest. Such islands as Trinidad and Sta. Catherina form parts of South America, and have no peculiar groups of animals. The small islands of Fernando Noronha, Trinidad, and Martin Vaz, off the coast of Brazil, are the only Atlantic islands somewhat remote from land; while the Galapagos Archipelago in the Pacific is the only group whose productions have been carefully examined, or which present features of special interest. _Galapagos Islands._--These are situated on the equator, about 500 miles from the coast of Ecuador. They consist of the large Albemarle island, 70 miles long; four much smaller (18 to 25 miles long), named Narborough, James, Indefatigable, and Chatham Islands; four smaller still (9 to 12 miles long), named Abingdon, Bindloes, Hood's, and Charles Islands. All are volcanic, and consist of fields of black basaltic lava, with great numbers of extinct craters, a few which are still active. The islands vary in height from 1,700 to 5,000 feet, and they all rise sufficiently high to enter the region of moist currents of air, so that while the lower parts are parched and excessively sterile, above 800 or 1,000 feet there is a belt of comparatively green and fertile country. These islands are known to support 58 species of Vertebrates,--1 quadruped, 52 birds and 5 reptiles, the greater part of which are found nowhere else, while a considerable number belong to peculiar and very remarkable genera. We must therefore notice them in some detail. _Mammalia._--This class is represented by a mouse belonging to the American genus _Hesperomys_, but slightly different from any found on the continent. A true rat (_Mus_), slightly differing from any European species, also occurs; and as there can be little doubt that this is an escape from a ship, somewhat {30}changed under its new conditions of life (the genus _Mus_ not being indigenous to the American continent), it is not improbable, as Mr. Darwin remarks, that the American mouse may also have been imported by man, and have become similarly changed.