SUB-GENUS.—CERTHIDEA. _Gould._ CERTHIDEA _differt a genere_ GEOSPIZA _rostro graciliore et acutiore; naribus basalibus et non tectis; mandibulæ superioris margine recto; tarsis longioribus et gracilioribus._ Of the foregoing sub-genera, Geospiza, Camarhynchus and Cactornis belong to one type, but with regard to Certhidea, although Mr. Gould confidently believes it should also be referred to the same division, yet as in its slighter form and weaker bill, it has so much the appearance of a member of the _Sylviadæ_, he would by no means insist upon the above view being adopted, until the matter shall have been more fully investigated. CERTHIDEA OLIVACEA. _Gould._ PLATE XLIV. _C. summo capite, corpore superiore, alis caudâque olivaceo-brunneis; gutture et corpore infra cinereis; rostro pedibusque pallidè brunneis._ Long. tot. 4 unc.; _rostri_, ½; _alæ_, 2; _caudæ_, 1½; _tarsi_, ¾. Upper part of the head, body, wings and tail, olivaceous brown; the throat, and beneath the body, cinereous; the bill and feet pale brown. Habitat, Galapagos Archipelago. (Chatham and James Island). I believe my specimens, which include both sexes, were procured from Chatham and James Islands; it is certainly found at the latter. PHYTOTOMA RARA. _Mol._ P. Bloxami, _Children_, Jard. and Selby’s Ill. P. rutila, _Vieill._ Mag. de Zool. 1832, ii. pl. 5. P. silens, _Kittl._ Mem. de l’Acad. des Sci. de St. Petersb. This is not a very uncommon bird in Central Chile: the farmers complain that it is very destructive to the buds of fruit trees. It is quiet and solitary, and haunts hedge-rows or bushes; its manners are similar to those of our bullfinch, (_Loxia Pyrrhula_). Iris bright scarlet. Mr. Eyton has given an anatomical description of this bird in the Appendix. DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS. _Swains._ Dolichonyx oryzivorus, _Swains._ Faun. Bor. Am. 2. 278. Emberiza oryzivorus, _Linn._ This one specimen only was seen at James Island, in the Galapagos Archipelago, during the beginning of October. It is remarkable that a bird migrating, according to Richardson, as far as 54° N. in North America, and generally inhabiting marshy grounds, should be found on these dry rocky islands under the equator. Mr. Gray and myself carefully compared this specimen with one from North America, and we could not perceive the slightest difference. 1. XANTHORNUS CHRYSOPTERUS. _G. R. Gray._ Oriolus cayennensis, _Linn._ Syst. 1. 168 ? Agelaius chrysopterus, _Vieill._ Psarocolius chrysopterus, _Wagl._ Syst. Av. p.