FOR THE PEOPLE FOK EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY V THE IBIS, A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. EDITED BY OSBERT SALVIN, M.A., F.R.S., PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., E.R.S., SECRETAEY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. VOL. III. 1879. FOURTH SERIES. Ibis avis robusta et multos vivit in anuos. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, 1 PATERNOSTER R0^\' 1879. FLAMMAM. PRINTKB Bi' TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, BED I.IOK COl'P.T KLEET STREET. TO THE READER OF THIS VOLUME Kindly handle this book with the utmost care on account of its fragile condition. The binding has been done as well as pos- sible under existing conditions and will give reasonable wear with proper opening and handling. Your thou glitf Illness icill he appreciated eluding the i not every Judging from the recent announcements of new Bird-books, and the vigour with which others already started are continued, it would appear that the " de- pression " now generally supposed to be everywhere prevalent has not affected our favourite Science. On the contrary, ornithological work increases apace ; and, as will be seen from the pages of this year's volume, though some of our old contributors may have relaxed their efforts to assist us, others have come forward from nearly every part of the world. The Editors have no fear of the future good progress of Ornithology and of ' The Ibis.' O. !S. P. L. S. Office of the British Ornithologists' Union, 6 Tenterden Street, London, W. ALKRR FLAMMAM. PRINTED Bi' TATLOR ANB FKANCIS, RED I. ION COURT FLEET STREET. ■''Suiabm;^^ PREFACE. The Editors have great satisfaction in concluding the twenty-first volume of ' The Ibis.' It is not every periodical that lives to attain its majority ! Judging from the recent announcements of new Bird-books, and the vigour with which others already started are continued, it would appear that the " de- pression " now generally supposed to be everywhere prevalent has not affected our favourite Science. On the contrary, ornithological work increases apace ; and, as will be seen from the pages of this year's volume, though some of our old contributors may have relaxed their efforts to assist us, others have come forward from nearly every part of the world. The Editors have no fear of the future good progress of Ornithology and of ' The Ibis.' O. 8. P. L. S. Office of the British Ornithologists' Union, 6 Tenterden Street, London, W. BRITISH ORXITHOLOGISTS' UNION. 1879. [An asterisk indicates an Original Member.] Date of Election. 1874. Edward R. Alston, P.Z.S. ; 14 Maddox Street, London, W, 1879, Yalentine Ball ; Geological Survey of India, Oriental Club, Hanover Square. 1872. Haxbury Barclay, F.Z.S. ; Middleton Hall, Tamworth. 1875. John Bidditlph, Capt. 19th Hussars ; Gilgit, Cashmere. 1873. W. T. Blanford, F.E.S. &c. ; Geological Survey of India, Calcutta. 1878. William Borrer, M.A., F.Z.S. ; Cowfold, Horsham. 1870. Sir Victor Brooke, Bart. ; Colebrooke, Fermanagh, Ireland. 1871. Arthtjr Basil Brooke; Cardney, Duukeld, N.B. 1866. Hexry BrcKLEY, F.Z.S. ; Edgbaston, Birmingham. 1868. Thomas Edward Buckley, B.A., F.Z.S. ; Balnacoil, Brora, N.B. 1877. Lieut.-Col. G. E. Bulger, late 10th Foot, F.L.S. &c. 1872. Walter Lawey Buller, C.M.G., Sc.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. ; Wellington, New Zealand. 1879. Thomas David Gibson Carmichael ; Castlecraig, Dolphinton, N.B. 1876. Lord Clifton ; Cobham Hall, Gravesend. 1874. John Cordeaux ; Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lincolnshire. 1866. Arthur William Crichton, B.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; Broadward Hall, Salop. 1877. T J. Dalgleish ; 8 Athole Crescent, Edinburgh. 1874. Charles Danford, F.Z.S. ; 2 Norfolk Street, Park Lane. 1865. Henry Eeles Dresser, F.Z.S. ; 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, London , W. . Date of Election. *Hexry Maurice Dkummond-Hat, C.M.Z.8., Lieutenant-Culo- iiel, Royal Perth Rifles ; Seggieden, Perth. 1 878. W, Arthur Durnford ; Barrow-in-Furuess. 1876. Lieut. Egerton, R.N. ; 68 West Cromwell Road, Kensington. 1870, Daniel Giraud Elliot, F.R.S.E., &c. ; New York. 1866. Henry John Elwes, E.Z.8. ; Preston, Cirencester. 1879. Arthur Humble Evans, B.A. : Hcremerston Vicarage, Ber- wick-on-T weed. 1877. Rev. T. J. Ewinr, D.D. ; 4 St. James's Terrace, Plymouth. *Thomas Campbell Eyton, F.Z.S. ; Eyton Hall, Wellington, Salop. 1873. H. W. Feilden, Captain and Paymaster, Royal Artillery ; 2 Grosvenor Terrace, Aldershot. 1877. W. A. Forbes ; Wickham Hall, West Wickham, Kent. 1867. George Gooch Fowler, B.A. ; Gunton HaU, Lowestoft, Suffolk. 1865. Rev. Henry Elliott Fox, M. A.; 30 Warwick Square, London, S.W. 1873. Alfred Henry Garrod, M.A., F.R.S., &c. ; 10 Harley Street, London. 1879. Ernest Gibson ; Estancia de los Yngleses, Buenos Ayres. *Frederick DuCane Godman, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; 10 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, W. *Percy Sanden Godman, B.A., C.M.Z.S. ; The Grange, Sher- man bury, Henfield, Sussex. 1874. Lieut.-Col. H. Godwin- Austen, F.Z.S. ; ShaLford House, Guildford, Surrey. 1871. Robert Gray, F.R.S.E., F.S.A.S. ; 13 Inverleith Row, Edin- burgh. 1878. Henry Grey, Bengal Staff Corps. 1876. Albert C. L. G. Gunther, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., &c. ; Keeper of the Zoological Department, British Museum, London. *JoHN Henry Gurnet, F.Z.S. ; Northrepps, Norwich. 1870. John Henry Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S. ; Northrepps, Norwich. 1877. E. y. Harcourt, M.P. ; Nuneham Park, Oxford. 1876. H. C. Harford ; 99th Regiment, Chatham ; 2 Eldon Villa, Granada Road, Southsea. 1877. E. Hargitt ; 10 Alexander Square, Brompton. 1868. James Edmund Habting, F.L.S.. F.Z.S.; 22 Regent's Park Road, Gloucester Gate, N.W, Date of Election. 1873, John A. Harvie Brown; Dunipace House, Larbert, N.B. 1868. Rev. Herbert S. Haavkins, M.A. ; Beyton Rectory, Suffolk. 1875. J. C. Helk ; Knowles, Newton-Abbot. 1873. Charles B. Hodgson, F.Z.S. ; 13 Waterloo Street, Bir- mingham. 1877. E. W, H. Holdsavorth; 84 Clifton Hill, St. John's Wood. *Wilfrid Hpdleston Hudleston, M.A., F.Z.S. ; 23 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea. 1879. Baron A. von Htjgel ; 116 High Street, Camden Town, N.W. 1869. Allan Octavian Hume, C.B. ; Agra. 1870. Lord Hylton ; Merstham, Red Hill, Surrey. 1870. Col. Leonard Howard L. Irbt, F.Z.S. ; Hythe, Southampton. 1874. Capt. Alexander W. M. Clark Kennedy, F.L.S., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. ; Carruchan, Dumfries, N.B. 1878. Arthur John Clark Kennedy, F.Z.S. ; 14 Prince's Gardens, London. *Arthur Edavard Knox, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; Trotton House, Petersfield, Sussex. 1876. Captain Vincent Legge, R.A. ; Aberystwith, Wales. *Right Hon. Thomas Lyttleton, Lord Lilford, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. ; Lilford Hall, Oundle, Northants. 1874. Major John Hayes Lloyd, F.Z.S. ; Colebrooke Lodge, Bognor, Sussex. 1877. J. LxiMSDEN, Jun. ; 20 Queen's Street, Glasgow. 1875. John Wingpield Malcolm ; 7 Stanhope Street, Mayfair, London, W. 1 877. Hon. Graham Manners-Sutton ; 50 Thurloe Square, S.W. 1 878. Henry Stacey Marks, A.R.A. ; 15 Hamilton Terrace, London. 1870. C. H. T. Marshall, F.Z.S. ; Captain, Bengal Staff Corps. 1870. G. F. L. Marshall, F.Z.S. ; Capt. Royal (Bengal) Engineers. 1878. Rev. Murray A. Mathew, M.A. ; The Vicarage, Bishop's Lydeard, Taunton. 1879. Frederick Shaw Mitchell; Clitheroe, Lancashire. 1864. Alexander Goodman More, F.L.S. &c. ; 3 Botanic View, Glasnevin, Dublin. 1876. Hugh Nevill ; Newton Villa, Godalming. 1872. Francis D'Arcy William Clough Neavcome ; Feltwell Hall, Brandon, Suffolk. *Alfred Newton, M.A., F.R.S., V.P.Z.S.; Professor of Zoology in the Universitv of Cambride-e. Date of Election. ♦Edward Newton, M.A., C.M.G., F.L.S., C.M.Z.S., Colonial Secretary, Jamaica. 1876. Fkancis Nicholson, F.Z.S. ; Stamford Road, Bowdou, Cheshire. *SiR John Orde, Bart., F.Z.S., late Captain, 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ; Kilmory House, Loch Gilf Head, N.B. 1879. Thomas Parkin ; Halton, near Hastings. 1872. Capt. R. G. Wardlaw Ramsat, 67th Regiment ; Whitehill, Rosewell, N.B. 1879. Herbert Evelyn Rawson ; The Vicarage, Bromley, Kent. 1877. Lieut. S. G. Reid, R.E. ; South Camp, Aldershot ; Straw Hall, Fermoy, Co. Cork. 1873. Oliver Beatjchamp Coventry St. John, Major R.A., F.Z.S. *Osbert Salyin, M.A., F.R.S., &c. ; Brooklands Avenue, Cam- bridge. 1870. Howard Saunders, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; 7 Radnor Place, Hyde Park. *Philip Lxjtley Sclater, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S., &c. ; 44 Elvas- ton Place, Queen's Gate, London, W. 1873. Henry Seebohm, F.Z.S. ; 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, London. 1871. Richard Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; Senior Assistant, Zoological Department, British Museum. 1870. G. Ernest Shelley, F.Z.S., late Captain, Grenadier Guards ; 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, London, W. 1865. Rev. Charles William Shepherd, M.A., F.Z.S.; Trotters- cliffe, Kent. 1878. George Monlaw Slaughter, Suvgecm-Major ; Farningham, Kent. 1864, Rev. Alfred Charles Smith, M.A. ; Yatesbury Rertory. Wiltshire. 1874. Cecil Smith ; Lydeard House, Tauuton, Somersetshire. 1875. A. C. Stark ; Engadine, Torquay. 1864. Henry Stevenson, F.L.S. ; Unthank's Road, Norwich. 1868. Hamon Le Strange, F.Z.S. ; Hunstanton Hall, Norfolk. 1875. Paget Walter Le Strange, Lieut. -Col. Royal Artillery; Guernsey. *Edward Cavendish Taylor, M.A., F.Z.S. ; 74 Jerniyn Street, London. IX Date of Election, 1864. George Cavendish Taylor, F.Z.S. ; 42 Elvaston Place, Queeu's Gate, London. 1873. William Bernhard Tegetmeier, F.Z.S. ; Finchley, Mid- dlesex. *Ilev. Henry Baker Tristram, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., «fec., Canon of Durham ; The CoUege, Durham. 1864. Henry Morris Upcher, F.Z.S. ; Sheringham Hall, Norfolk. 1872. Herbert Taylor Ussher, C.M.G. 1874. Charles Bygrave Wharton, F.Z.S. ; Hounsdown, Totton, Hants. 1878. Henry Thornton Wharton, M.A., F.Z.S. ; 39 St. George's Road, Abbey Road, London, N.W. 1871. E. Perceyal Wright, M.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S., Professor of Botany in the University of Dublin. 1875. Charles A. Wright ; Kayhough House, Kew-Gardens Road, Kew. 1876. CLAruE W. Wyatt; Addorbury, Banbur5^ 1878. John Young, F.Z.S. ; 64 Hereford Road, Westbourne Grove, London, W. 1877. Lieut. J. H, Yule ; 11th Regiment, Poena, Bombay. Extra- Ordinary Member. 1860. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.Z.S. ; Waldron Edge, Duppas Hill, Croydon. Honorary Members. 1860. Professor Spencer Fullerton Baird, Secretary to the Smith- sonian Institution, Wasliinyton. 1860. Doctor Eduard Baldamus, Moritzwinger, No. 7, Halle. 1860. Doctor Jean Cabanis, Erster Custos am koniglichen Museum der Friedrich-Wilhelm's Universitat zu Berlin. 1870. Doctor Otto Finsch. 1860. Doctor Gustav Hartlaub, Bremen. 1860. Edgar Leopold Layard, C.M.G., F.Z.S., H.M. Consul, New Caledonia. 1869. August von Pelzeln, Custos am k.-k. zoologischeu Cabinete in Wien. 1860. Professor J. Reinhardt, Kongclige Naturhistoriske Museum i Kjobenliavn. SER. IV. VOL. III. ^ Foreign Members. Date of Election. 1872. Prof. J. V. Baeboza du Bocage, Royal Museum, Lisbon. 1875. Hans Gkaf von Berlepsch, Witzenhausen, Hessen- Nassau. 1873. Robert Collett, Christiama. 1872. Doctor Elliott Cotjes, U.S. Army, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. G. 1875. Marchese Giacomo Doeia, Genoa. 1872. Doctor Victoe Fatio, Geneva. 1872. Doctor Henry Hillyer Giglioli, Royal Superior Institute, Florence. 1872. George N. Lawrence, New Yorh. 1872. Baron De Selys Longchamps, Liige. 1872. Doctor A. J. Malmgren, Helsingfors. 1872. Doctor A. von Middendorff, Dorpat. 1872. Prof. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, Jardin des Plantes, Paris. 1872. Prof. Gttstav Radde, Tiflis. 1872. Prof. Tommaso Salvadori, Royal Museum, Turin. 1872. Prof. Herman Schlegel, University Museum, Leyden. CONTENTS OF VOL. III.—FOURTH SERIES. (1879.) NuMBBK IX., January. I. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By Henry Seebohm Pago II. Remarks on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. By Henry Seebohm. (Plate I.) . . . III. Field-notes on the Birds of Celebes. By A. B. Meyer, M.D., C.M.Z.S., Director of the Zoological Museum, Dresden . lY. Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum/ by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. Gurney . V. On Agajiornis swinderniana. By Dr. G. Hartlaub . VI. Note on the American Crows of the Subgenus Xanthura. By P. L. Sclaxer 87 VII. On recent Additions to our Knowledge of the Avifauna of the Sandwich Islands. By P. L. Sclater. (Plate II.) . . 89 VIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 1. ' Bulletin ' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club ... 92 2. ' Bulletin ' of the Zoological Society of France, 1877 . 93 3. Godwin-Austen on Birds from North-east India . . 94 4. Gould's ' Birds of Now Guinea ' 94 5. Grandidier on a new Owl . . 95 6. Layard on new Birds from Lifu 95 7. Legge on a new Scops Owl 96 8. Masters on Birds from Port Darwin 96 9. Meyer on a Cassowary from New Guinea .... 96 10. Nares and Feilden's ' Voyage to the Polar Sea ' . . 97 18 43 71 84 Xii CONTENTS. Page 11. Oustalet ou the Ornithology of the Seychelles ... 97 12. OnatsHet on the Ycmale oi Pitta ellloti 97 13. Oustalet on South-American Pelicans 98 14. Owen on the Extinct Birds of New Zealand ... 98 15. Ramsay on Edoliosoma scMsticeps 98 16. Ramsay on a new PacJujcephnla . 98 17. Ramsay ou a new lanthcenas 99 18. Ramsay on Birds from the New Hebrides .... 99 19. Reich enow on Foreign Cage-birds 99 20. Russ on Foreign Cage-birds 99 21. Russ on a new Parrot 100 22. Salvadori on new Species of Rectes 100 23. Saunders on the Distribution of the Laridae . . . 100 24. ' Stray Feathers,' Vol. vi 101 25. Taczanowski on the Birds of Poland 102 IX. Letters, Annouuceraents, &c. ; — Letters from H. Giitke, H. W. Feilden, T. Salvador!, E. L. Layard and E. L. C. Layard (two), Dr. Otto Finsch, A. B. Brooke, and T. M. Brewer ; Habits of Trogon s^irucura ; Dr. Finsch's Expedition ; A New Form of Certhiidae ; Additions to the Collection of Birds in the British Museum in 1877 ; The Swinhoe Collection ; Substantives as Specific Names ; New British Bird ; The Breeding-places of the Black Stork ; Geary's ' Asiatic Turkey ;' New Avorks in preparation; Obituary of Mr. H. Durnford ; Death of Dr. Stolker ; Death of Mr. G. D. Rowley 102 Number X., April. X. Field-notes on the Birds of Celebes. By A. B. Meyer, M.D., C.M.Z.S., &c 125 XI. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By Henry Seebohm 147 XII. On a Collection of Birds made by the late Mr. E. C. Buxton in Western Java. By Francis Nicholson, F.Z.S. . .104 XIII. Notes upon Three American Raptorial Birds appa- rently new to Science. By John Henry GuRNEY. (Plate III.) 171 CONTEXTS. Xlll Page XIV. Note on an unusually rufcscent Example of Archi- buteo hemiptilopus, Blyth. By John Henky Gurney . . . 178 XV. Notes on Collections of Birds sent from New Caledonia, from Lifu (one of the Loyalty Islands), and from the New Hebrides by E. L. Laj-ard, C.M.Gr., &c. By H. B. TpasTRAM, F.R.S. (Plates IV.-VI.) ISO XVI. Note ou the Name of the Purple Waterhen of South- western Europe. By P. L. Sclater 195 XVII. On a Collection of Birds from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Columbia. By 0. Salvin and F. D. Godman . 196 XVIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 26. Sennett on the Birds of the Lower llio Grande . . 207 27. MerriU on the Ornithology of Southern Texas . . . 207 28. Ridgway ou the American Species of Scops .... 209 29. Ridgway on a new Humming-bird from Guatemala . 209 30. Lawrence on the Birds of St. Vincent 209 31. Lawrence on the Birds of Dominica 210 32. Lawrence on the Birds of Antigua and Barbuda . .211 33. Lawrence on a new Species of Chcetara 211 34. Cordeaux on the Migration of Birds 212 35. A. Milne-Edwards on the Genus Mesites .... 212 36. Elliot on the Genus Forpliyrio and its Species . . . 213 37. Salvadori on the Subgenus Glohicera 213 38. Salvadori on new and rare Birds from the Sanghir Islands 214 39. Salvadori's Prodromus of Papuan Ornithology . . . 214 40. Boucard on Guatemalan Birds 214 41. ' BuUetin ' of the NuttaU Ornithological Club . . .215 42. Sharpe on the Birds of Rodriguez 216 43. Sharpe's Notes from the Leyden Museum .... 217 44. Sach's Llanos of Venezuela 218 45. Dalgleish's List of the Birds of Ardnamurchan, Argyllshire 219 46. Moore's 'Columbarium' 219 47. Oustalet on Ibises 219 XIX. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from Messrs. H. Gatke, E. L. Layard, D. G. Elliot, and J. H. Gurney ; Note on the Orthography of Phainojtepla . . 220 CONTEXTS. Page Memoir of the late Marquis of Tsveeddale 223 Anuouncement of General Index to the first three Series of The Ibis ' 231 XUMBER XL, July. XX. Contributions to the Ornithology of Borneo. By R. BowDLER Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S. «&:c. Part IV. — On the Birds of the Province of Lumbidan, North-western Borneo. (Plates VII. & VIII.) 233 XXI. Notes on a Collection of Birds' Skins and Eggs made by Mr. D. Gill, F.R.A.S., on Ascension Island. By F. G. Penrose 272 XXII. Notes on the Milvus govinda of Sykes, By W. Edavin Brooks 282 XXIII. Additional Notes on the Ornithology of Transvaal. By Thomas Ayres. Communicated by John Henry Gitrney . 285 XXIV. On Melaniparus semilarvatus. By T. Salvadori, C.M.Z.S. (Plate IX.) 300 XXV. On the Systematic Position and Scientific Name of " le Perroquet mascarin " of Brisson. By W. A. Forbes . . 303 XXVI. Remarks on the Genus Sylvia and on the Synonymy of the Species. By Henry Seebohm 308 XXVII. Remarks on the Second Part of Mr. Ramsay's ' Con- tributions to the Zoology of New Guinea.' By T. Salvaboki, C.M.Z.S 317 XXVIII. Report on the Ornithological Acquisitions of the British Museum in 1878 327 XXIX. Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum' by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. Gurnet 330 XXX. Notes on the Birds of the Straits of Gibraltar. By L. Howard Irby 342 XXXI. Remarks on the Nomenclature of the British Owls, and on the Arrangement of the Order Striges. By P. L. Sclater 34G . CONTENTS. Xy Page XXXII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 48. Barboza du Bocage's ' Melanges Ornithologiqiies ' . . 352 49. Barboza du Bocage on West-African Birds .... 352 50. Barrows's Catalogue of the Alcidae 353 51. Beccari's Ornithological letter from Sumatra . . . 353 52. Bendire on the Birds of South-eastern Oregon . . . 353 53. Cabanis on East- African Birds 354 54. Coues on the Birds of Dakota and Montana . . . 354 55. Coues on the Birds of the Colorado Valley .... 355 56. Fischer and Reichenow on Birds from Zanzibar , . 355 57. Gibson on Birds from the Straits of Magellan . . . 356 58. Gould's ' Birds of New Guinea ' 356 59. Hooker and BaU's Tour in Morocco 356 60. Lawrence on the Birds of Grenada 357 61. Merriam on the Birds of Connecticut 357 62. Meyer on the Sexes of Eclectus 358 63. Moseley's ' Naturalist on the Challenger ' . . . . 358 64. Miiller on the Vocal Organs of the Passeres . . . 358 65. Newton on Hawking in Norfolk 359 66. Oustalet on a new Bronze Starling 359 67. Pelzeln's Report on the Progress of Ornithology in 1877 359 68. Ramsay on a new Ptilotis 360 69. Ramsay on a new Myiolestes 360 70. Ramsay on new Birds from Torres Straits and New Guinea 360 71. Ramsay on Birds from New Guinea 360 72. Reichenow's Catalogue of the Bird-show of the "^gintha" 361 73. Rosenberg's ' Malay Archipelago ' 361 74. Reinhardt on a new M'ltua 362 75. Reinhardt on a Bird new to Greenland 362 76. Sharpe's Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum , 362 77. Sharpe on the Birds collected by Dr. A. B. Meyer in New Guinea 363 XXXIII. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from Messrs. T. Salvador!, E. L. Layard (two), R. Bowdler Sharpe (two), Lord Clifton (two), Dr. T. M. Brewer, Hr. V. Pelzeln, Sir J. W. P. Orde, and Hr. H. Giitke ; Proposed Index to Reichenbach's 'Avium Svstema Naturale;' NeAv XVI CONTENTS. Page " Index Zoologicus ; " The New U.S. Natioual Museum at Washington ; The Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. ; Eare British Birds in the Zoological Society's Gardens. Obituary : Dr. H. G. L. Reichenbach ; Valerian von Bussow ; and Thomas Knight Salmon. Breed- ing of Darwin's Bhea ; Progress of Ornithology in India ; Date of Prjevalsky's ' Birds of Mongolia ; ' Latest News from Heligoland ; The generic Name EucJicetes 364 Number XII., October. XXXIV. Additional Notes on the Ornithology of Transvaal. By Thomas Atres. Communicated by John Henry Gurnet . 389 XXXV. Ornithological Notes from the Neighbourhood of Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. By Ernest Gibson, F.Z.S, 405 XXXVI. Descriptions of some new Tanagers of the Genus Buarremon. By P. L. Sclater and 0. Salvin. (Plate X.) . 425 XXXVII. Remarks on certain Points in Ornithological Nomenclature. By Henry Seebohm, F.Z.S 428 XXXVIII. On a Collection of Birds from the Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. By H. B. Tristram, F.B.S. (Plates XI., XII.) 437 XXXIX. Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan. — No. I. By Lieutenant R. G. "Wardlaw Ramsay, 67th Regiment, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U 444 XL. On the Orthography of some Birds' Names. By Henry T. Wharton, M.A., F.Z.S 449 XLI, On a new Species of Rail from Macquarie Island. By F. W. Hutton, Professor of Natural Science in the Otago University 454 XLII. On Harpa novce-zealandice (Gmel.). By F. W. Hutton, Professor of Natural Science in the Otago University. 456 XLIII. On a new Pheasant from the North-west Himalayas. By Capt. G. F. L. Marshall 461 XLIV. Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum' by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. Gurney . 464 CONIENTS. Xvii Page XLV. On the Occurrence of Ninox homeemis in Java, and of a largo Form of Scops lempiji in Sumatra. By J. H. Gxjrney 470 XLVI. On a new Thrush from the Loyalty Islands Group. By E. L. Latard, C.M.G. «&c., and H. B. Tristbam, F.R.S, . 471 XLVII. On a new Hawk of the Genus Urospizias, Kaup, from Bouru. By T. Salvadori, C.M.Z.S 473 XL VIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 78. Giinther on a Land-Rail from Aldabra Island . . . 475 79. Berlepsch on new American Birds 475 80. Rartlaub on rare Birds of the Bremen Museum . . 475 81. Harvie Brown on the Capercaillie in Scotland . . 475 82. Collett on the Norwegian Avifauna 47 tj 83. CoUett's Zoogeographical Map of Norway .... 476 84. Collett on two Birds new to Norway 477 85. Reichenow and Schalow on the Biography of Orni- thologists 477 86. De Heldreich, ' Fauna of Greece ' 477 87. Dr. Cones on Private Letters of Wilson, Ord, and Bonaparte 477 88. Cecil Smith on the Birds of Guernsey 478 89. J. H. Gurney, Jun., on the Gannet on the Bass Rock 478 90. Sharpe on the Ornithology of New Guinea .... 478 91. Elliot's Classification of the Trochilidce 479 92. Newton on moot Points in Ornithological Nomenclature 480 93. Salvadori on Birds from Sumatra 480 94. Salvador i's ' Prodromus of Papuan Ornithology ' . .481 95. D'Albertis and Salvadori on Birds of the Fly River . 482 96. ' Bulletin ' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club . . .482 97. Gundlach's Ornithology of Cuba 483 XLIX. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from E. L. Layard, H. "W. Feilden, A. Hume ; Date of and Birds figured in Prjevalsky's work on Mongolia, &c. ; Salvadori's Papuan Ornithology ; Appointment of Major 0. B. C. St. John, C.S.I., to the new Consulate of Astrabad ; News from Dr. Finsch 484 Index 491 SER. IV. VOL. III. ■ c PLATES IN VOL. III. FOURTH SERIES. Page J J Eig. 1. Emberiza passerina 1 39 I Fig. 2. yessoensis J II. Loxioides baiUeni 90 III. Morphnus taeniatus 176 yy r Fig. 1. Zosterops minuta 1 -.gg I Fig. 2. inornata J V. Tardus pritzbueri 187 VI. Pachycephala littayei 190 VII. Microhierax latifrons 237 VIII. Dendrocitta cinerascens 250 IX. Melaniparus semilarvatus 301 ^ J Fig. 1. Buarremon latinuchus 426 * 1 Fig. 2. melanolaemus 425 XI. Ceyx gentiana 438 XII. Charmosyna margarethse 442 ERRATA ET CORRIGENDA. Page Line 35, 25, for Arudinnax read Arundinax. 199, 4, for Coerebra read Ccereba. 215, 5, for Mymotherida read Myrmotherula. 244 wrongly numbered 424. 271, 7, for Totanue read Totanus. 277, 29, a/?'e>' one «(^t^ of. 310, 23, after between dele the. 315, 3, for minula read minuta. 361, 28, /oj- Die rea«^ Der. 378, 4, for Syrnmn read Syrnimn. THE IBIS. FOURTH SERIES. No. IX. JANUARY 1879. I. — Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By Henry Seebohm. [Continued from 'The Ibis/ 1877, p. 352.] Ampelis garruluSj Linn. On the 14th of June I recognized the note and caught a distant sight of a small flock of about half a dozen Wax- wings ; but the forest was so much flooded that I was unable to do more than watch the birds through my binocular. Parus ateRj Linn. I did not meet with the Coal-Tit until I reached Yen-e- saisk' on the return journey. Parus major, Linn. The Great Tit is a winter resident in the whole of South Siberia; and at various villages on the journey as far north as Yen-e-saisk' it was frequently seen. I did not observe it further north. Parus palustris, Linn., subsp. camtchatkensis, Bon. The only time that I met with a Marsh-Tit was on the 12th May. I only saw one pair, in company with a small party of Lapp Tits. They certainly belong to the north- eastern form, with grey rather than brown backs, and with SER. IV. — VOL. III. B 2 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. the black on the head extending far down the back. I can- not distinguish a Yeu-e-say' skin from others from Irkutsk and Archangel. It seems to me impossible to allow specific rank to the arctic and subarctic forms of P. palustris, and I think they ought to figure as subspecies only — P. palustris, subspecies borealis, and P. palustris, subspecies camt- chatkensis. Parus cinctus^ Bodd., subsp. grisescens, Sharpe et Dresser. I found the Lapp Tit tolerably common in the forests on our arrival on the Arctic circle. It was seldom that I made a round on snow-shoes in the forest without falling in with a small flock of these birds, I did not, however, observe them further north. I brought home a very large series. They agree with skins from Lake Baical in being much less rusty on the flanks than specimens from Europe usually are. They vary considerably inter se ; and it would be easy to make a series from the Norwegian bird, through Archangel and Petchora skins, to the extreme Siberian form. My Yen-e- say' skins certainly belong to the Parus grisescens of Sharpe and Dresser ; but the authors of that title would now, I believe, scarcely claim specific rank for the bird they described. TuRDUS PILARIS, Linn. The Fieldfare arrived at the Arctic circle on the 8th of June, and soon became very abundant. I took several nests with eggs during the first week in July. It seemed to be generally distributed over the country, breeding alone or in small parties, and not in the large colonies wdiich are so fre- quently met with in Norway. The call-note of this bird, a loose tsik-tsak, was almost constantly to be heard ; but the song seemed to be confined to the pairing-season. It is a low and not particularly melodious warble, and is generally commenced when the bird is on the wing. The last nest of the Fieldfare which I found was in lat. 69°, on the tundra. Here the bird was breeding on the ground under the edge of a cliff", in a situation such as a Ring-Ouzel might have chosen. I did not see the Fieldfare further north than lat. 70^°; but I shot them as far south as Yen-e-saisk', in lat. 58', Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 3 where they appeared to have been breeding, as it was only the middle of August. TuRDus iLiACUs, Linn. I shot the lirst Redwing on the 5th of June. It appears to arrive earlier than the Fieldfare, and to go further north. On the Arctic circle it built its nest in the willows and birches, but generally nearer the ground than the Fieldfare usually does. In lat. 71° the Redwing was still common and breed- ing on the ground, generally on a sloping bank. I did not see it further north. TuRDus DUBius, Bcchst. The first Thrush to arrive at the Arctic circle was this species — the Dusky Thrush [T. fuscatus of Pallas). Small parties of it arrived on the 4th of June, and were to be found feeding on the steep banks where the sun had melted the snow. Their call-note reminded me of that of the Redwing. During the next week they were very plentiful, and I began anxiously to look out for their nests ; but within a fortnight after their arrival they had all disappeared, and I saw no more of them until the 12th of July, during our voyage down the river. On this day we cast anchor for a few hours in lat. 69°, and I went on shore to explore for the first time a Siberian tundra. 1 climbed up the steep bank, and found myself in a wild desolate-looking country, full of lakes, swamps, and rivers, in some places a dead flat, in others un- dulating, and even hilly, brilliant with gay flowers, swarming with mosquitoes, and full of birds. In sheltered places dwarf willows and creeping-birches were growing, and (because we were only some fifty versts from the forests) here and there a few stunted larches. Winding through the tundra was the bed of a river, now nothing but a small deep valley, forming a chain of isolated lakes and pools. This river-bed bears the name of the dried-up Doo-din'-ka, and is about fifty versts to- the north-west of the real river Doo-din'-ka. On some of the northern slopes large patches of snow were still lying. Most of the birds evidently had young. I found myself generally the centre of attraction of a little crowd of birds B 2 4 Mr. H. Seebohm on the OrnithoJoyy of Siberia. uttering their various alarm-notes as they flew round or waited on some shrub or phxnt with their bills full of mos- quitoes, anxious to feed their young as soon as I was out of their way. As I was returning to the shore, and descending a steep sloping bank covered with patches of dwarf birch and willow, overlooking a flat willow-swamp which evidently once formed a little delta at the mouth of the dricd-up Doo-din'-ka, my attention was attracted by a pair of Dusky Thrushes loudly proclaiming the vicinity of their nest. I shot one of them, and, after a diligent search of half an hour, found the nest in tlie fork of a willow bush level with the ground. It was exactly like the nest of a Fieldfare, lined with dried grass, and contained, alas ! five young birds about a week old. At noon we weighed anchor ; but at midnight it was blow- ing such a stiff gale that we were afraid to round the " broad nose " of Tol-stan-os' in the ^ Ibis -,' so we cast anchor under the lee of the mud clifts of the Yen-e-say', and I again went on shore. In some places the cliffs were very steep, and were naked mud or clay. In others the slope was more gradual, aud was covered with mud and alder bushes. Among these bushes I found the Dusky Thrush again breeding, but was only able to find one nest with five nearly fledged young. The nest was placed, as before, in the fork of a willow, level with the ground. This was the last time that I saw this species of Thrush. There is considerable variation in the colour of the skins of this s|>ecies which I Ijrought fi-oni the Yen-e-say', espe- cially in the amount of black on the breast and red on the upper plumage. Some specimens have more or less rufous on the tail-feathers, approaching T. naumanni. One male in particular has scarcely any red tinge in the plumage, and has even grey instead of chestnut axillaries. The young in nest- ling plumage differ from the young of T. pilaris, T. iliacus, T. obsciirus, and T. atrigularis, in having more buff on the wing and less buff" on the breast. TURDUS OBSCURUS, Gm. During the first week of June tlie forests were jiractically Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 5 impassable. The deep snow was in process of melting, and too soft to bear the weight even when distributed over a pair of snow-shoes each measuring 4 feet 6 inches long and 10 inches wide. On some of the steeper slopes exposed to the south small oases of bare ground were to be found. One of these, close behind my quarters, thinly covered over with bushes, was a very prolific hunting-ground for me during the spring migration. On this piece of ground, on the 7th of June, I had the pleasure of shooting my first brace of Dark Thrushes (the Tardus p aliens of Pallas, but not the Turdus pallidus of Gmeliu) . A couple of days afterwards I shot two more on the same ground. As soon as the forests were pass- able I made daily rambles, and almost always heard the song of this bird. Turdus diibius had gone further north to breed ; but this species was evidently stopping and making prepa- rations to build its nest. This Thrush is a very poor songster, but he has a splendid voice. He warbles two or three clear rich notes, as mellow as those of a blackbird. He stops ; his song is finished ; and you hear no more for a minute, when the same brilliant prelude is repeated. On the 27tli of June I had the good luck to take the nest of this bird. It was placed upon a horizontal branch of a somewhat slender spruce, about fifteen feet from the ground. The female flew off as I approached the tree. I shot her, and soon had the nest with five eggs in my hand. The nest is carefully made, neatly lined with mud and afterwards with dry grass. The eggs resemble small but richly marked Blackbird's eggs. I did not meet with this interesting Thrush further north than the Arctic circle ; but on my return journey, in iat. 6G°, on the 3rd of August (and afterwards in Iat 63°, on the 6th of August), I shot the young in first plumage, with spotted backs and spotted breasts. One of these skins will be figured in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe.' Turdus sibiricus, Pallas. Whilst the remains of the ice were still straggling down the Yen-e-say' I occasionally caught a hasty glance at a dark-coloured Thrush with a very conspicuous white eyebrow ; 6 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. but I did not succeed in shooting one until the 19th of June. It "vvas feeding amongst the dead leaves on the ground in a dense birch plantation. It proved to be a fine male in adult plumage. I made the following memorandum of the colours of the soft parts: — ''Bill black. Iris dark hazel. Pupil blue-black. Legs very light browm yellower at the back of the tarsus and on the soles of the feet." In lat. 68° my com- panion assured me that he saw one of these very handsome birds on the wing ; but I did not observe it myself after we left the Koo-ray'-i-ka_, nor did I observe it at all on the return journey. - It seems to be a very shy and wary bird, and it is evidently a very rare Thrush in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. MiddendorfP does not mention it ; but I heard of it from a Polish exile at Toor-o-kansk' as the Chor'-noi drohzd, or Black Thrush. TuRDUs ATRiGULARis, Tcmm. I did not meet with the Black-throated Thrush until the 6th of August, in lat. 63°, when I shot two bii'ds in first plumage, which puzzled me. Two days later, in lat. 61^°, I secured a third young bird, and was fortunate enough to obtain the adult female also. The chestnut colour of the wing-lining and axillaries of the young of this species serve to distinguish it from the young of T. pilaris and T. obscurus. In the young of T. iliacus the chestnut of the wing-lining and axillaries is much deeper in colour, and extends onto the flanks, whilst it is scarcely perceptible on the under tail- coverts. HUTICILLA PHCENICURUS (LiuU.). My sole authority for including the Common Redstart among the birds of the Yen-e-say' is a fine skin of a young Hedstart in first plumage, which I shot on the 3rd of August in lat. 66°. The j)lumage of this skin agrees exactly with that of the young in first plumage of our bird ; and since it was found by Harvie Brown and myself in the valley of the Petchora in about the same latitude, I see no reason for sus- pecting ray Yen-e-say' bird to be the young of any other allied species, though it has not hitherto been recorded from so far east. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 7 Cyanecula suecica (Linn.). I found the Blue-throated Warbler very common in the valley of the Yen-e-say'. It was amongst the earliest insect- eating birds to arrive at our winter-quarters. I shot several on the 5th of June. For a week or two they were very com- mon ; but as the snow on the tundra melted they gradually left us, only a few remaining to breed. I lost sight of the Blue-throat in lat. 71°. Nemura cyanura (Pall.). Curiously enough the first Warbler I shot on the Yen- e-say' was the Blue-rumped Warbler. It was, of course, only an accidental straggler, who had strayed away from his companions and reached the Arctic circle before his time. It was the 21st of May, a bitterly cold day, no sunshine, a sou^-west wind, but nevertheless a keen frost. I did not turn out in the morning ; but in the afternoon I put on my snow- shoes and had a round through the forest. There was hardly a bird to be seen ; but as I was returning to the ship I caught sight of a little bird flitting about from tree to tree, apparently seeking insects on the trunks below the level of the surface of the snow in the hollows round the stems, caused by the heat of the sun absorbed by their dark surfaces. It gave me a long chase, flying rapidly, but never rising higher than three or four feet above the level of the snow. At last I got a long shot at it. It was alive when I secured it ; and I re- marked its brilliant, large, pale, blood-red eye. The legs were brown, and the bill nearly black. I shot a second ex- ample on the 14th of June; it was busily engaged in search- ing for insects, principally at the roots of trees. This was all I saw of this bird. Both my birds are males, but not in the fine metallic blue plumage which old birds attain. I was probably at the extreme limit of this bird^s northern range. Calliope camtchatkensis (Gmel.). I only met with this very handsome bird once within the Arctic cii'cle. This was on the 14th of June, whilst the ice was still straggling down the river. Early in the morning, before breakfast. Blue-throats were singing lustily. One bird 8 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. struck me as having a wonderfully fine song, richer and more melodious than that of the Blue-throat, and scarcely inferior to that of a Nightingale. I shot him to be quite sure that he was only a Blue-throat, and waa astonished to pick up a fine male Ruby-throated Warbler. I did not meet with this bird again until I reached Yen-e-saisk' on my return journey. It was then the 16th of August, and I was exploring the reedy swamps near the river. My attention was attracted to a bird hidden among the Carices, which was uttering a very loud harsh cry, like tic, tic, tic. After waiting some time I got a shot at it in a tall bunch of rushes. I felt quite sure that the bird was a large Acrocephalus, and was astonished to find a second male Ruby-throat. Saxicola (enanthe (Limi.). The Wheatear arrived at our winter quarters on the 3rd of June, and was common as far north as we went. Pratincola indica, Blyth. The Indian form of the Stonechat, with pure white un- spotted rump and nearly black axillaries, was rare. I noticed it first on the 11th of June on the Arctic circle, and after- wards in lat. G7°. Sylvia curruca, Linn., subspecies affinis, Blyth. I first noticed the Lesser Whitethroat on the 8th of June, and did not observe it further north than lat. 67°. In ' Stray Feathers,' iii. p. 372, Mr. Brooks endeavours to show that the Indian bird differs from ours. Of the six difl^erences which he there points out I cannot detect any but the first. There is no doubt that in the eastern bird the wing is generally somewhat more rounded than in the western form; but whether this is sufficient to entitle the two forms to specific rank I feel considerable doubt. In ten skins from England, Norway, Heligoland, Russia, Turkey, and Asia Minor, the second pri- mary is decidedly longer than the sixth. In one skin from India and one from the Yen-e-say' this is also the case. In five skins from India and five skins from the Yen-e-say' the second primary is shorter than the sixth, but longer than the scvcntii ; and in one skin from Cawnporc and one from Be- Mr. li. Seebohm on the Ornitholoc/y of Siberia. 9 loochistaii the second primary is shorter than tlie seventh, but longer than the eighth. More evidence must, I think, be collected before we admit S. affinis even to be a satisfac- tory subspecies. Phylloscopus borealis (Blasius). A fortnight after the arrival of Phylloscopus trochilus, P. tristis, and P. superciliosus I had given up P. borealis in despair, when suddenly it arrived in great numbers, and be- came the commonest of the four species. The song is almost exactly like the trill of the Redpole, but not quite so rapid, and a little more melodious. Its call-note is generally a single monotonous dzit, but sometimes made into a double note by dwelling on the first part, d — z, zit. It is less restless than the other Willow-Warblers, by no means shy, and is easy to shoot. When I left the Arctic circle it had probably not commenced to breed ; but on the 6th of July I had the good fortune to shoot a bird from its nest at Egaska, in lat. Q7°. The eggs are larger than those of our Willow-Warbler^ s, pure wliite^ and profusely spotted all over with very small and very pale pink spots. They were five in number. The nest was built on the ground in a wood thinly scattered with trees, and was placed in a recess on the side of a tussock or little mound of grass and other plants. It was semidomed, the outside being composed of moss, and the inside of fine dry grass. There was neither featlier nor hair used in the con- struction. I did not see this bird further north than lat. G9°. Phylloscopus trochilus (Linn.). " Sylvia icterina, Vieill.", Eversm. (nee Vieill.), Add. ad Pall. Zoogr. Rosso- As. fasc. iii. p. 14 (1842). Phyllopneuste eversmani, Bp. Consp. Gen. Avium, p. 289 (1850). It was with very great pleasure that I heard the familiar song of this European bird on the 4th of June on the Arctic circle, in the valley of the Yen-e-say', so much further east than it has hitherto been recorded. I afterwards found it common extending as far northwards as lat. 70°. As this bird has never been found in India, it would seem probable that 10 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithologg of Siberia. the Yen-e-say' Willow-Warblers winter in Persia, whence Blanford records them. In the St, -Petersburg Museum I had an opportunity of examining the type of Eversm anna's Sylvia icterina, which was afterwards rechristened by Bonaparte Phyllopneuste evers- manni. I found it to be a typical specimen of Phylloscopus trochilus. Phylloscopus tristis^ Blyth. The Siberian ChiffchaflP arrived on the Arctic circle on the 4th of June^ and was a common bird there until we left. Even before the snow was melted in the forests its cheerful chivit' -chivet' was constantly to be heard. When feeding it is a most restless bird, seeming always to be in a hurry, as if its object were to cover as much ground as possible. Later on in the season it was much less difficult to shoot. Although it arrives so early, it appears to be a late breeder. The first nest I found was on the 2nd of July in lat. 67°. We were taking in ballast after our second narrow escape from ship- wreck. I went on shore for a few hour's shooting. Along- side the ship, on a grassy part of the river-bank, there were three Ost'-yak chooms, with a herd of about fifty reindeer. Fifty yards above this encampment the shore w^as very muddy, and between the river and the forest was a long gently sloping bank sprinkled over with willows. In these trees wisps of dry grass were hanging, caught between the forks of the branches, and left there after the high water had subsided. In one of these, about two feet from the ground, a Siberian ChiffchaflF had built its nest, or rather it had appropriated one of them for its nest. There was scarcely any attempt at interlacing stalks. It was undoubtedly the most slovenly and the most loosely constructed nest I remember to have seen. It was scarcely more than a hole, about two and a half inches in diameter, with one side a little higher than the other. The entrance was somewhat smaller than the greatest size inside, which was very globular and carefully lined with Caper- calsie and Willow-Grouse feathers, plenty of which would naturally be found vso near to an Ost'-yak choora. I shot Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 11 the bird from the nest, which contained three eggs. My next nest of this bird was taken on the 14th of July, and contained four eggs. It was placed in the branches of an alder-bush, about four feet from the ground, and within twenty yards of the water's edge. It was rather more carefully constructed than the one I previously found, and composed of dry grass, semidomed, and lined with Willow- Grouse feathers. The third nest I took on the island of Mah'-la Brek'-off-sky, about lat. 70^°. This nest was similar in construction to the others, but was placed in the rank herbage within a few inches of the ground. The eggs in this and a fourth nest which I took the same day (July 15th), were somewhat incubated. The Siberian ChifFchaff lays a bold round egg, large for the size of the bird, pure white, spotted with dark purple-red, almost black. Sometimes the spots are of considerable size. I have no hesitation in saying that the eggs which Har^de-Brown and I brought from the Petchora, which we supposed to be eggs of this bird, were only unusually small varieties of those of the common Willow-Warbler. I did not meet with the Siberian Chiffchaflf further north than 70^°; but on the return journey I continually met with it as far south as Yen-e-saisk'. On these occasions it was carefully tending its newly fledged young. Its plaintive mono- syllabic call-note was then often heard; but it appeared to have dropped the chivit' chivet.' Phylloscopus fuscatus, Blyth. On my return journey I spent a few days in the middle of August at Yen-e-saisk', devoting some time to the explora- tion of the banks of the Yen-e-say'. The country was almost flat, and for miles I wandered across an extent of meadow- land which had recently been cut for hay. This meadow- land is intersected with numerous half-dried- up river-beds running parallel to the Yen-e-say'. These river-beds are full of tall Carices and various water-plants, and are almost concealed by willow trees. Occasionally the water is open. One of the commonest birds in these swamps was Phyllo- scopus fuscatus ; what we saw were mostly young birds not fullv fledcred. 12 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. Phylloscopus suPERciLiosus (Gmel.) . On the 4th of June, while the ill-fated ' Thames ' was in the agonies of its first shipwreekj I was delighted to have my attention called away by the note of this interesting bird, which I recognized at once as the same which I had heard in Gaetke's garden on Heligoland the year before. It is very fairly represented by the word iveest. The bird soon became very common, frequenting almost exclusively the pine-forests on the banks of the Koo-ray'-i-ka and the Yen- c-say'. It was not particularly shy ; and on more than one occasion I watched it for some time at a distance of only a few feet. On one occasion only I heard it make any attempt at a song; this was on the 21st of June. The bird was perched upon the extreme summit of a spruce, and stood shivering its wings, uttering a few plaintive notes, most of them poor and feeble variations on its call-note. On the 2Gth of June I was fortunate enough to find its nest. Curi- ously enough I was this time also in company with a Hcligo- lander, Mr. Boiling, the ship-builder of Yen-e-saisk'. Late in the evening we were strolling tlirough the forest between the Koo-ray'-i-ka and the Yen-e-say'. As we were walking along a little bird started up near us, and began most per- sistently to utter the well-known cry of the Yellow-browed Warbler, As it kept flying around us from tree to tree, we naturally came to the conclusion that it had a nest near. We searched for some time unsuccessfully, and then retired to a short distance, and sat down upon a tree-trunk to watch. The bird was very uneasy, but continually came back to a birch tree, from which it frequently made short flights to- wards the ground, as if it was anxious to return to its nest, but dare not whilst we were in sight. This went on for about half an hour, when we came to the conclusion that the nest must be at the foot of the birch tree, and commenced a second search. In less than five minutes I found the nest, with six eggs. It was built in a slight tuft of grass, moss, and bil- berries, semidomed, exactly like the nests of our Willow- Warblers. It was composed of dry grass and moss, and lined with rcindccr-hair. The eggs were very similar in colour to Mr. H. Seebohni on the Ornithology of Liberia. 13 those of our Willow-Warbler, but more spotted than usual, and smaller in size. I did not meet with this bird further north than lat. 70"^, nor did I see it on the return voyage. ACROCEPHALUS SCHfENOB^ENUS (Limi.). It is rather remarkable that the Sedge- Warbler should have hitherto been overlooked in Siberia. It arrived on the Arctic circle on the 15th of June, and soon became very abundant ; but I did not observe it fiirther north than lat. Q7°. AcROCEPHALUS DUMETORUM, Blyth. I did not meet with this bird until the 8th of August, on my return journey, in lat. G2°, where it was evidently breeding. LOf;USTELLA CERTHIOLA (Pall.). As I passed through Yen-e-saisk' on my return journey, towards the end of August, I found this rare Grasshopper- Warbler breeding in the swampy thickets near the banks of the river. The young in first plumage from this locality will be described and figured in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe.^ I found it very shy and skulking in its habits. The young birds, some only half fledged, were still in broods ; and occa- sionally I got a shot at one which left the sedges and ventured into the willows. They were calling anxiously to each other, the note being a harsh tic, tic, tic. Authentic skins of this bird in first plumage, now for the first time obtained, are very interesting. They prove that the various skins to be found in collections labelled L. ocho- tensis by Dyboffsky, from Lake Baical, are simply the young of L. certhiola. The general colour of the underparts of the young in first plumage is huffish yellow, darkest on the breast and flanks, and inclining to chestnut on the under tail-coverts. In first winter plumage this yellow tinge is retained ; but it is lost in the spring moult, tlie general colour of the underparts being then huffish white, darkest on the breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts. A third state of plumage is that of the adult after the autumn moult, in which the buff" of the under- parts almost approaches chestnut. In this state (gradually becoming duller by abrasion as the winter wears on) it is the 14 Mr. H. Seebohra on the Ornithology of Siberia. L. rubescens of Blyth. Jerdon seems to have been acquainted with all three states of plumage. The young and adult in summer plumage he describes under the name of L. certhiola (Pall.); but doubtful of the identity of the Siberian and Indian birds, he proposes the name of L. temporalis for the latter, in case they should afterwards be found to be distinct. The autumn plumage of the adult he describes as L. rubescens, Blyth, but alludes to that ornithologist's opinion that it might be identical with Pallas's bird. Salvadori's Calamodyta dories is h. certhiola in winter plumage from Borneo. When I was in Paris Tabbe David told me that the type of Locustella minor, David et Oustalet, was lost ; but he assured me, what I was already prepared to assert, that it is a bad species, and the name must sink into a synonym of L. certhiola. Full references to all these synonyms will appear in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe.' Locustella ochotensis, Midd. Sylvia [Locustella) ochotensis, Midd. Sib. Reis. ii. p. 185 (1851). Young in first plumage. Sylvia [Locustella) certhiola, Midd. Sib. Reis. ii. p. 184 (1851, nee Pall.). Adult. Locustella japonica, Cassin, Proc. Ac. Sc. Phil. 1858, p. 194. Young. Locustella subcerthiola, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1874, p. 154. Adult. Arundinax blakistoni, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1876, p. 332. Young in first winter plumage. The synonymy of L. ochotensis and L. certhiola have hitherto been in such hopeless confusion that I am glad to have an opportunity of putting them in something like order. When I was in St. Petersburg the curator of the Museum, with the politeness so characteristic of the Russians, gave me every facility for inspecting types and other interesting skins in the collection. I found that all the skins collected by Mid- dendorflf near the shores of the Sea of Ochotsk, lal)elled re- spectively L. certhiola and L. ochotensis, belonged to one species, the former being adult birds, and the latter young in first plumage. The difference between them lay solely in the Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 15 general colour of the underparts. This was huffish white in the adult birds, and huffish yellow in the young, precisely the difference which I had found only a few weeks before between the adult and young of the very closely allied L. certhiola. None of Middendorff's birds, however, were the true L. certhiola of Pallas. The name L. ochotensis, Midd., therefore stands for this species, with L. certhiola, Pall, apud Midd., as a synonym. Besides Middendorff^s type I found a fine series of skins of this bird collected by Wosnessensky in Karatchatka and the Kurile Islands. This bird differs from L. certhiola in having the upper parts plain, like L. luscini- oides, instead of spotted, like L. ncevia. Young birds have, however, traces of obscure spots on the head and back. In this state it was described by Cassin as L.japonica from Japan. The young in first winter plumage was described by Swinhoe as Arundinax blakistoni, from the same locality. One of Wosnessensky^s skins from Kamtchatka came into Swinhoe's possession, and was described by him as L. subcerthiola. It is that of an adult bird, and agrees exactly with a skin in my collection collected by Wosnessensky on Ui^up island, one of the Kurile Islands, between Kamtchatka and Japan. In the British Museum is a skin from Labuan, in Borneo, where this species winters. LocusTELLA FAScioLATA (Gray). Acrocephalus fasciolatus, Gray, P. Z. S. 1860, p. 349. Acrocephalus insularis, Wallace, Ibis, 1862, p. 350. Calamoherpe fumigata, Swinhoe, P. Z. S. 1833, pp. 91, 293. Calamoherpe subflavescens, Elliot, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 243. It may at first sight appear a somewhat bold step to take to unite two species hitherto considered so distinct as A. fas- ciolatus and A. insularis, and a still bolder one, after having married the two species, to send them to spend their honey- moon in the genus Locustella. The fact is that they agree in every particular, except in the colour of the underparts. The difference of colour, however, is exactly what we have just found to be the difference between young and adult plu- mage in two species of the genus Locustella. I have already 16 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithologij of Siberia. given my reasons in the last number of ' The Ibis ' for placinp; this species in that genus. In the Museum at St. Petersburg are two very beautiful skins of adult birds of this species from the Ussuri river. Young birds have been obtained by Dy- boffsky in Daouria, and have been described by Elliot as C. subflavescens from the same locality. Swinhoe described the adult passing through China on migration, as C.fumigata, and also recorded it from Japan. Wallace described A. insularis from Gilolo and Morty ; and Gray described his A. fasciolatus from skins collected by Wallace in Batchian, Gi- lolo, and Morty. I think I may fairly claim that all the known facts of the geographical distribution of these two birds are in favour of my theory that they are young and adult of one species. Accentor montanellus (Pall.). I first noticed this bird on the 19th of June, a quiet skulk- ing bird, rarely seen on the wing, and principally frequenting the willows near the banks of the Yen-e-say'. Four days afterwards I had a long chase on the Koo-ray'-i-ka side of the river after a bird whose song I had frequently heard before. It was a short unpretentious song, something like that of our Iledge-Sparrow. The bird was generally on the top of a high tree, where it sang its short song, and went onto another tree. At last I succeeded in shooting it from the top of a pine, and was astonished to find it the Mountain- Accentor. I did not meet with it again until I reached lat. 70^°, where I found it breeding in the island of Mah'-laBrek'-olf-sky. Here it was skulking among the willows, like a Grasshopper-Warbler. The nest was within a foot of the ground ; but I was so worried with mosquitoes that I neglected to note the materials of which it was composed. The eggs are blue, like those of our Hedge-Sparrow. I did not meet with it further north. HiRUNDo RUSTicA, Linn. On the IGth of May a solitary Barn-Swallow appeared. I did not see another until we were within a hundred miles of Yen-e-saisk' on the return journey. At that town they were common enough. Mr. H. Seebohm on the Ornithology of Siberia. 17 Chelidon lagopoda (Pall.). In the ' Proceedings ' of the Zoological Society, 1863, p. 320, Svvinhoe described a Martin which differs from ours in having the upper tail-coverts white to the tips of the feathers, and the axillaries and Aving-lining dark broAvn. He gave it the name of C. whitelyi; but in ' The Ibis," 1874, p. 152, he pointed out that it is identical with the Hirundo lagopoda of Pallas. This bird was the only Chelidon which I obtained on the Yen- e-say'. Several pairs arrived on the Arctic circle on the 11th of June, and were soon busy hawking for flies and examining their old nests. In the village of Koo-ray'-i-ka, opposite the mouth of the river of that name, they swarmed in thousands. The nest exactly resembles that of our House-Martin; but the birds seemed to be very capricious in selecting a house where they might trust their young. One house in particular seemed to be the favourite ; and here the eaves were crowded with rows of nests, in some places three or four deep. The eggs are, if any thiug, larger than those of our bird, but also pure white. I observed this bird up to lat. 69°, where a few pairs were breeding. I could not perceive any difference in the habits or notes of these birds and those of our own species. On the return journey I noticed a colony, doubtless of these birds, which had built their nests against the limestone clifPs of the Kah'-nin Pass, as our bird frequently does in the limestone districts of Yorkshire, the Parnassus, &c. As I passed through Yen-e-saisk' in the middle of August, the House-Martins were swarming on the church-towers, preparing for departure on their autumn migration. When these Swallows began to make preparations for breed- ing, the ' Thames ' was riding at anchor in the Koo-ray'-i-ka. Some scores of these birds evidently took a great fancy to the ship, and began to build their nests on the sails under the yardarms. CoTYLE RiPARiA, Linn. The Sand-Martin arrived on the Arctic circle on the 9th of June. Both on the banks of the Ob and the Yen-e-say' large colonies of these birds were frequent. I did not see SER. IV. VOL. III. c 18 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's any further north than lat. Q7°. Siberian birds, like those of North Europe, are somewhat darker brown above and purer white below than our Sand-Martin. [To be continued.] II. — Remarks on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. By Henry Seebohm. (Plate I.) Through the kindness of the Editors of 'The Ibis ' two small collections of birds from Japan have been placed in my hands for examination. The first collection contains 38 skins, seiit by Mr. Blakiston from Hakodate for identification, to which Mr. Pryer has added 12 skins at Yokohama. The second collection contains 64 skins, and is the result of a visit paid by Mr. Heywood Jones to the village of Shim- bashiri, about 2000 feet above the level of the sea, on the volcanic mountain of Fusiyama, near Yokohama. The numbers and the names in the subjoined remarks are those used in the ' Catalogue of the Birds of Japan,' by Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer, published in ' The Ibis ' of last year (pp. 209-250) . The birds of Japan possess a special interest to the British ornithologist. These islands occupy a somewhat analogous position on the east of the mainland of the Palsearctic region to our own islands on the west of the same great zoological district. Similar facts of geographical situation appear to have produced similar results in the two groups of islands, namely the presence of insular forms diff"ering too slightly from the continental types to admit them to specific distinc- tion. In order that these interesting facts should not be lost sight of, I have been obliged to admit the use of sub- specific names. It is the boast of British ornithologists that their system of nomenclature is binomial. When Linnaeus substituted a word instead of a sentence to designate a spe- cies, he made an immense stride towards simplicity of nomen- clature. The practice of Brisson and the earlier ornitholo- Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 19 gists, if it aimed at scientific accuracy, failed in consequence of the multiplicity of facts with which it had to deal. There seems, however, to be a tendency at the present time to carry the idea of a binomial nomenclature to a pedantic extreme. It is a common practice amongst ornithologists to quote specific names without authorities, under the cover of ad- hering to a strictly binomial nomenclature. In nine cases out of ten no harm is done by omitting the authority ; but in the tenth case it leaves the precise species intended to be dis- criminated open to doubt. Exactness is the foundation of all scientific research; and the moment any doubt attaches to the meaning of a term, that moment such term ceases to be scientific. The fact that the same specific term has been applied by diflerent ornithologists to different species, makes the addi- tion of the authority to the specific name in many cases a neces- sity,— an unwelcome necessity, no doubt, to the binomial no- menclator, but not the less an absolute necessity to the truly scientific student. It would be well if the complication stopped here. Unfortunately, in too many instances, a dif- ference of opinion exists amongst eminent ornithologists as to which species were intended to be discriminated by certain terms made use of by some writers. For example, Saxicola stapazina is a name intended to discriminate a certain species of Chat. Saxicola stapazina (Linn.) professes to restrict that name to the species of Chat to which Linnaeus gave the name of Motacilla stapazina; but since the publication of Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' the title Saxicola stapazina (Linn.) ceases to have a definite meaning, and the reader must always be in doubt as to whether a bird so described be the Saxicola stapazina of Linnaeus apud Latham, Vieillot, Temminck, and a host of other authors, or the Saxicola stapazina of Linnaeus apud Dresser, two totally distinct birds. At all costs scientific accuracy must be preserved ; and I see no pos- sible alternative but to complicate our ornithological nomen- clature still further by calling the Black-eared Chat Saxicola stapazina (Linn.) et Dresser. It would be well for the simplicity of ornithological no- menclature if its complications could even stop here. From c 2 20 ^Fr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's the days of Liimseus to those of Wallace and Darwin most ornithologists were agreed that species were divided by a hard and fast line, and that the difficulty which the student had to surmount was the discovery of the lines of demarcation which nature herself had drawn between the various specially created species. Now that most scientific ornithologists have adopted the theory that these hard and fast lines seldom exist in nature^ that species were not specially created but were gra- dually developed according to certain more or less known fixed laws, and that consequently there must be at any one period of the workVs history a large number of species in process of diflFerentiation^ our difficulties are largely increased. The question naturally arises, What is a species ? We must either draw an artificially hard and fast line where nature has drawn none, or we must accept nature as she is, and make the best of the complications which necessarily arise in our nomenclature in attempting to harmonize it with facts which we cannot, as scientific students, ignore. Hence it appeal's to me to be absolutely necessary for modern ornithologists to recognize the existence of subspecies — that is, species in the process of difierentiatiou, incipient species, where the inter- mediate forms have not yet died out, but Avhere a series gra- dually leading from one extreme to the other may be obtained. I fully recognize the danger of such a practice. It is easy to imagine the abuses of which it is capable. Inexperienced ornithologists will be tempted to think that diflferences of age, sex, and season, to say nothing of accidental individual varia- tions, are intermediate forms worthy of the rank of a sub- species ; and our nomenclature may run the risk of being still more flooded M'ith names as injurious as the useless synonyms of the elder Brehm. I am, however, of the opinion that these difficulties will have, sooner or later, to be faced. It seems to me that the scientific ornithologist cannot afford any longer to ignore the existence of subspecies in nature, or to attempt to make ornithological nomenclature simpler than the facts of nature which it is intended to discriminate. Another point to which I wish to call the attention of or- nithologists is the recognition of subgenera. The non- Catalogue, of the Birds of Japan. 21 recognition of subgenera is causing sucli a multiplication of genera that ordinary memories are unable to cope with the difficulties of modern nomenclature. Suborders and sub- families are almost universally recognized ; but it is feared by some that the adoption of subgeneric names is a virtual vio- lation of the system of binomial nomenclature. It must constantly be borne in mind that genera are as artificial as species. There is no hard and fast line between different genera except in those instances where the intermediate species have died out. The divergence of opinion as to the value of specific difierences is small compared with that which we find when generic characters are the question in dispute. To a very large extent the subdivision of genera is a matter of con- venience. Very large genera are unwieldly ; and the temptation to restrict them for the sake of simplifying the identification of skins is very great. This process of simplification might be accomplished by means of siibgenera having as accurate a definition as the circumstances Avill admit. These subgenera would form no part of the name of the bird, which would remain binomial. They would not be quoted in designating a species any more than the name of the familj'^ or subfamily. The object of introducing subgenera is to facilitate the iden- tification of species and to stop, if possible, the unnecessary multiplication of genera. I have endeavoured to carry out these views in the folIoAv- ing attempt to correct the nomenclature, as well as to dis- criminate the species of the birds hitherto found in Japan. 2. MOKMON CIRRHATUM (Gm.). The skin sent (No. 1883) is correctly identified. 3. Phaleris mystacea, Pall. The two skins sent by Mr. Whitely were identified by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1867, p. 209) as P. cristatella (Pall.). Their identification was doubtless correct, the length of wing, 5^ in., being too large for the other species. 14. PODICEPS CORNUTUS, Gm. From his description of the bird (Ibis, 1875, p. 456) Swinhoe evidently meant to identify the Japanese bird with our British Eared Grebe, Podiceps nigricoUis, Sund. 22 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Biakiston and Pryer's 16. CoLYMBUs ADAMsi, G. R. Gray. The skin sent (No. 134^9) is the Black-throated Diver, C. arcticus, Linn. There is, however, no reason to suppose that Swinhoe was wrong in his identification of C. adamsi (Ibis, 1877, p. 146). The latter bird is a form of C. glacialis, with a white bill, found in Siberia &c., and probably entitled to specific rank. 23. Anser erythropus, Linn.? In the Swinhoe collection is a skin (No. 2007), a female, dated "Tokio market, Jan. 1876," which is unquestionably Anser erythropus. The wing from the carpal joint measures 15i in. Two females of A. erythropus, from the Yen-e-say, measure respectively 13^ and ]3|. These measurements are made wath a tape across the upper surface of the wing. 29. Anas boschas, L. In Swinhoe's collection are two skins of the Mallard from Hakodate, (No. 1190) a male and (No. 1717) a female. 35. Dafila acuta (L.). In Swinhoe's collection are two skins from Awomori, (No. 1183) a male and (No. 1185) a female. 36. QUERQUEDULA CRECCA (L.). In Swinhoe's collection are two skins from Yesso, (No. 1444) a male and (No. 1719) a female. 39. QuERQUEDULA FORMOSA (Gcorgi) . In Swinhoe's collection are two skins, (No. 1180) a male from Anoraori and (No. 1981) a female from Yeddo. 43. FULIGULA CRISTATA (L.) . The skin sent (No. 2266) is a male, in full breeding-plumage, of the Tufted Duck, Fuligula cristata (Leach) . 45. Fuligula nyroca (Gm.). The skin sent (No. 45), from the Yokohama market, appears to be correctly identified. It is an immature male of Nyroca ferruginea (Gm.). 47. Clangula histrionica (L.). In Swinhoe's collection are two skins, (No. 1449) an im- Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 23 mature male from Hakodate and (No. 1452) a female from South Yesso. 48. Clangula glaucion (L.). In Swinhoe's collection are two skins, (No. 1028) a male and (No. 1448) a female, both from Hakodate. 49. Harelda glacialis (L.). In Swinhoe's collection is the skin of a female Long-tailed Duck (No. 1025) from Hakodate. 52. CEdemia AMERICANA, Rich. The skin sent (No. 2152), from Hakodate, is that of the American form of the Black Scoter, (Edemia americana (Swains.), Avith the entire protuberance at the base of the upper mandible yellow. 53. MeRGELLUS ALBELLUS (L.). The skin sent (No. 52), from the Yokohama market, is a female Smew, Mergus albellus, Linn. 62. Sterna, sp. inc. The " wholly white " Tern referred to may be an albino, or possibly Gygis Candida (Gmel.), though that species has not hitherto been recorded from any locality so far north as Japan. 63. Sterna, sp. inc. The skin sent (No. 2306) from Eturup, one of the Kurile Islands, has been identified by Mr. Howard Saunders as Sterna lorigipennis , Nordm. In Lord Tweeddale's collection there is a skin of this species from Yesso (P. Z. S. 1876, p. 650). 64. Larus crassirostris, Vieill. This Gull was originally described from Japan. 65. Larus glaucus, L. Mr. Howard Saunders in his paper on the Larinse, in the P. Z. S., mentions having identified skins of L. glaucus, Fabr., obtained by Capt. Blakiston at Hakodate. QQ. Larus glaucescens, Brandt. Mr, Howard Saunders informs me that he has identified 24 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's skins of L. glaucescens , Licht.^ obtained by Capt. Blakiston at Hakodate. 67. Larus occidentalism And. Mr. Howard Saunders informs me that the skins in S win- hoe's collection from Japan^ labelled L. occidentalis, were certainly not that species, but were the Mediterranean Her- ring-Gull, L. cachinnans, Pall. L. affinis, Reinh., has not yet been recorded from Japan; but there cannot be much doubt that it passes the coasts of the Japanese islands on migration, since the Museum of St. Petersburg possesses skins of this species collected both in spring and autumn by Wosnessensky at Ayan on the sea of Ochotsk. 68. Larus niveus, Pall. Mr. Howard Saunders informs me that the Gulls from Japan attributed to this species by Swinhoe are undoubtedly Larus canus, Linn. 69. Larus marinus, L. Skins of this Gull collected by Capt. Blakiston in Japan have been carefully identified by Mr. Howard Saunders. 70. Larus tridactylus, L. Skins of Rissa tridadyla (Linn.) from Japan have not yet found their way to this country. 71. ChROICOCEPHALUS RIDIBUNDUS (L.) . Mr. Howard Saunders gives Japan as a Avinter residence only of Larus I'idibundus, Linn. (P. Z. S. 1878, p. 201). On the other hand, Capt. Blakiston's observations seem to prove that this bird is only a summer visitor to Yesso (Ibis, 1874, p. 165; and 1878, p. 217). Larus leucopterus, Faber, must also be added to the Japa- nese list, on the authority of a skin collected by Capt. Bla- kiston and identified by Mr. Howard Saunders (P. Z. S. 1878, p. 166). We must also include Larus delaivarensis, Ord, on the authority of a skin in the collection of Mr. Howard Saun- ders, obtained by Mr. H. Whitely at Hakodate (P. Z. S. 1878, p. 177). Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 25 74. FULMARUS GLACIALIS (LIdII.) . The skin sent (No. 2048) is the Pacific form of the Fulmar. It is said to be darker in colour than our bird, and to have somewhat slenderer bill and feet. It is the Procellaria pacifica of Audubon and the Fulma^nis pacificus of Lawrence, but not the F. rogersii of Cassin. I have not had access to a sufficiently large series of either form to give any opinion as to its claim to specific or subspecific rank. 79. Charadrius fulvus, Gm. There are several skins of the eastern Golden Plover in Swinhoe's collection from Japan. C. virginicus is a distinct species, a larger bird, and has not yet been found in Asia. 81. tEgialitis dubia (Scop.). The skin sent (No. 2252) is that of the European Little Winged Plover, probably the Charadrius dubius of Scopoli, and certainly the Charadrius curonicus of Gmelin. 83. iEoiALiTis RUFiCAPiLLA (Tcmm.). Two skins sent (Nos. 1738 and 1411) are too small for ^. geoffroyi (Wagl.), and doubtless belong to the nearly allied species, jE. mongolica (Pall.), of which jE. rujicapilla (Temm.) is a synonym. The former is a male in breeding- plumage from Hakodate, and the latter a female in autumn plumage from South Yesso. These species scarcely difi'er in colour, and very slightly in size. The best character by which they may be separated is the length of the convex portion at the end of the upper man- dible, which xn. ^ . geoffroyi varies from '41 to '51 inch, whilst in j^. mongolica it varies from -3 to '34. The other differ- ences of measurement are scarcely so marked, and require to be carefully measured, whereas the difference in the shape of the bill is apparent at a glance. In the length of the wing from the carpal joint jM. geoffroyi varies from 5'6 to 5*2, and y®. mongolicus from 5*3 to 5 in. In length of culmen ^. geoffroyi varies from 1*15 to 1"05, and ^. mongolica from "9 to '7 ; and in length of tarsus ^.geoffroyi varies from 1*5 to 1*35, and ^. mongolica from 1"3 to 1*2. Both Harting (Ibis, 1870, p. 379) and Oustalet (Ois. de la 26 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's Chine, p. 426) give Japan as a locality for ^. geoffroyi ; and in Dresser^s collection there is a skin of jE.veredus (Gould), obtained by Capt, Conrad at Saigon ; so that both these birds must be added to the Japan list. jE. veredus may at once be recognized by its smoke-gray axillaries, which in ^. mon-' golica and ^. geoffroyi are pure white. 87. Strepsilas interpres (L.). The skin sent (No. 85) , from the Yokohama market, is that of the common Turnstone in winter plumage. 88. H^MATOPUs oscuLANs, Swinlioc. The skin sent (No. 86), from the Yokohama market, is correctly identified. It differs from the common Oyster- catcher in having a long bill (the culmen measures 3"4 in.), and in having the longest upper tail-coverts tipped with black. 98. Tringa tenuirostris, Horsf. This hird should stand as T. crassirostris, T. & S. (See Ibis, 1874, p. 147.) 102. Tringa damacensis, Horsf. A skin in the Swinhoe collection*(No. 1681), a female, ap- parently in first winter plumage, dated " South Yezo, Aug.,^' is quite distinct from T. minuta, Leisl. Although of the same size, the feet of the Japanese bird are much larger, the middle toe being longer by the whole length of the claw. In T. minuta the shafts of all the primaries are white ; but in T. damacensis only the first shaft is whitish, the rest being brown. This bird should stand as T. ruficollis, Pallas. 108. SCOLOPAX RUSTICULA, L. A skin of a male (No. 1178) in the Swinhoe collection, dated " Hakodate, ApriV^ agrees exactly with European examples. 109. Gallinago australis (Lath.). A skin of a male (No. 1228) in the Swinhoe collection, dated " Hakodate, May,^^ agrees with Australian examples. It is a miich larger bird than G. major (Gm.), and has the Catalogue of the Birds of Japan, 27 broad white feathers on each side of the tail replaced by narrow coloured feathers, almost as stiff as those of G. stenura (Kuhl). 110. Gallinago scolopacinAj Bp. Two skins (No. 1333 and 1335) in the Swinhoe collection, both dated '' ^ , May, Hakodate," agree exactly with European examples. Another skin (No. 1503), a female shot at Hako- date in September, was identified by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1875, p. 454) with the American species G. wilsoni (Teram.). On comparing it with skins of G. scolopacina, Bp., shot in Heligoland in November, I have little doubt that Capt. Blakiston is perfectly right in pronouncing the bird to be that species in autumn plumage. The axillaries of the Heligoland bird are barred quite as uniformly as those of the Japan skin. 120. Platalea major, T. & S. 121. Platalea minor, T. & S. These two birds are now considered by Schlegel and others to be merely large and small examples of a species of Spoonbill very nearly allied to, but specifically differing from, the European bird. 126. Ardetta, sp. inc. The skin sent (No. 2042) appears to be an immature bird of Ardetta sinensis (Gm.) . 128. Egretta modesta. Gray. The Great Egret of China and Japan is generally con- sidered by ornithologists to be only a small race of our European Herodias alba (Linn.), scarcely deserving of specific rank. 129. Egretta intermedia, Hasselq. This bird, Herodias intermedia (Wagl.), appears to be a good species. 130. Egretta garzetta (Linn.)? The skin sent (No. 130) is that of the Little Egret, Hfrodias garzetta (Linn.), 28 Mr, H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's 133. Grus cinerea, Linn. The Japanese bird is not usually considered specifically distinct from our Common Crane^ which stands as Grus communis, Bechst. 137. Grus, sp. inc. The description given by Mr. Blakiston of this bird agrees best with Gi'us antigone, Linn. 150. COTURNIX JAPONICA, T. & S. Ornithologists differ in opinion as to whether the Japan bird is specifically distinct from our common Quail. The only constant difference is said to be the dark throat. It may probably rank as a subspecies, with intermediate forms occurring in China. 156. CucuLUs, sp. inc. " Hototogisu.^' The skin of a Cuckoo brought by Mr. Heywood Jones from the mountain of Fusi-yama, near Yokohama, and identified by Mr. Pryer as the " Hototogisu,^^ appears to belong to Cuculus poliocephalus, Latham. This bird is a miniature of our European Cuckoo, the wing from carpal joint measuring from 6 to 6^ inches. According to Jerdon, C. himalayanus, Gould, C. bartletti, Layard, C. intermedins, Vahl, C. lineatus, Lesson, and C. tenuirostris, Temm., are synonyms of this species, to which we must add C. tamsuicus, Swinhoe. 157. Cuculus, sp. inc. " Juichi.^^ Two skins brought by Mr. Heywood Jones from the volcano near Yokohama are identified by Mr. Pryer as the " Juichi." The nearly even tail and the longitudinal streaks on the breast identify them as immature birds of sonue species of Hierococcyx. They further agree exactly with both the description and plate of C. sparverioides, Vig., of Schrenck's ' Vogel des Amurlandes ' (p. 257, pi. x.). We may safely go one step further, and identify the Japan and Amoor birds with C. hyperythrus, Gould. According to Jerdon this bird should stand as Hierococcyx fugax, Horsf., of which C. flaviventris. Scop., C. radiatus, Gmel., and C. pectoralis, Cab., are additional synonyms. Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 39 159. PiCUS MAJOR, L. A skin brought from the neighbourhood of Yokohama by Mr. Heywood Jones agrees with European examples. 161. Picus Kisuo, T. &S. A skin brought by Mr. Heywood Jones agrees with Tem- minck and Schlegel's description. Picus minor, Linn. The skin sent (No. 2346), from Yezo, is somewhat inter- mediate in colour and size between the large brilliant form of P. minor found in North Europe and Asia, and the small dingy race found in West and Southern Europe. 168. Halcyon coromandeliana (Scop.). The correct name of this Kingfisher is Halcyon coromancla (Bodd.) . In Swinhoe^s collection there is a skin of this bird collected by Mr. Blakiston at Hakodate, Avhich is no doubt the skin referred to. Ceryle rudis must therefore be struck out of the list of Japan birds. 170. ZOSTEROPS JAPONICA, T. & S. The skin sent (No. 171) is correctly identified. 172. HiRUNDO GUTTURALIS, ScOp. Dresser unites this bird with H. rustica, Linn., on the ground that intermediate forms occur. In Swinhoe's col- lection there is a fine series of twenty-six skins of H. gutturalis from Japan, Peking, Formosa, Amoy, Hongkong, and Hainan. In one skin from Amoy the pectoral band which separates the chestnut throat from the white belly is almost if not quite as dark as in European examples ; but in most cases it is very narrow, and frequently only observable on the sides of the breast. In two skins from Amoy a broad black band crosses the longest under tail-coverts near their apex. Young birds, besides having the outside rectrices short, have less chestnut on the forehead and are much paler in colour on the throat. Adult birds dated February, March, May, July, November, and December show no seasonal variation of colour. Until the intermediate forms have died out, it will perhaps be best to consider the China and Japan 30 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer^s birds as Hirundo rustica, Linn., subspecies gutturalis, Scop. Such a form of nomenclature may be complicated, but it is not more complicated than the form which it attempts to dis- criminate. It would be a great pity if, in consequence of a too pedantic adherence to supposed simplicity of nomen- clature, such an interesting local form as that under con- sideration should be ignored or forgotten for want of a name. 173. Cecropis japonica, T. & S. The common Indian Red-rumped Swallow, doubtfully the Hirundo daurica of Linnseus, but certainly the Hirundo erythropygia of Sykes, is the eastern form of H. rufula, Temm. It differs from the latter bird in being more dis- tinctly striped on the underparts, and in having the chestnut ring round the nape interrupted by the black of the head joining that of the back. The chestnut band across the rump varies in width from '6 to 1*2 in., and in colour from pale to deep chestnut, and has generally a striolated appear- ance owing to the feathers having dark shafts. The latter character, however, is often absent. These variations have given rise to several synonyms, H. japonica, Temm. et Schl., H. ardivitta, Swinh., &c. Swinhoe^s collection contains a series of thirteen of these birds ; but none of them are from Japan. My own opinion is that the variations alluded to are only such as arise from difference of age, sex, and season, and that none of them entitle their possessors to rank as subspecies or local forms. The Swallow mentioned by Capt. Blakiston from Kamt- chatka (Ibis, 1878, p. 386) is no doubt H. americana, Wilson, the oldest name of which bird is H. horreorum, Barton, as has already been pointed out by Swinhoe (Ibis, 1876, p. 331)* 174. COTYLE RIPARIA (L.). Four skins sent (Nos. 2501, 2502, 2503, & 2504) agree exactly with skins from Archangel, the Petchora, and the Yenesay. The primaries and the tail-feathers are perceptibly darker than in the British and South-European form. The • [Butif, as we believe to be the case, the N.- and S.-American Swallows are identical, H, erythrogmtra, Bodd., is the oldest name for the species. — Ed.] Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 31 difference, however, is not sufiScient to found even a sub- species upon. 176. Cypselus pacipicus (Lath.). The skin sent (No. 2188) is correctly identified. 181. CORVUS CORAX, L. The skin sent (No. 2304), from Eturup, one of the Kurile Isles to the north of Japan, is quite as large as our Raven. It measures 17 inches in length of wing, and has quite as large a beak. I cannot detect any difference in the colour or degree of gloss of either the upper or under parts. It has, however, the wing-formula of a Crow, and not of a Raven. The first and second primaries are too short for those of the Raven. The skin is dated September ; and the wings have not yet completed their full growth since the autumn moult, the first and second primaries in both wings being still " in the pen.^^ The probability is that the skin is correctly named. 182. CoRVUS PASTINATOR, Gould. The skin sent (No. 2182) is correctly identified, 195. Lanius excubitor, Vig. ? This bird will most likely prove to be L. major, Pall., a subspecies of L. excubitor. 197. BUTALIS LATIROSTRIS (Rafflcs). The skin sent (No. 2407) is Hemichelidon latirostris (Raffles). 202. Pericrocotus cinereus, Lafr. The skin sent (No. 2218) is correctly identified. 205. Parus ater, L. The Japanese Cole Tit appears to be the same species as the European bird. One skin in the Swinhoe collection (No. 1152) has some of the occipital feathers longer than usual, and forms an intermediate link between P. ater and P. pekinensis. The latter bird was described by David in ' The Ibis ' (1870, p. 155) ; and a skin collected by him is in the Swinhoe collection. At best it can only rank as a sub- species, and that a somewhat doubtful one. Two skins in the Swinhoe collection from the Ussuri river, and one col- 32 Mr. H. Seebolim on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's lected by Schrenk also in the valley of the Amoor, agree with European skins, whilst a second skin from the Araoor has some of the occipital feathers as much developed as in the intermediate forms previously mentioned from Japan. Other skins from Japan, as well as a skin which I procured at Yen- e-saisk, in Central Siberia, cannot be distinguished from European skins. 206. Parus borealis, Selys. I have lately received a fine series of Marsh-Tits from Kras-no-yarsk, in Central Siberia. I had already a good series of these birds, and have now had an opportunity of comparing them with the skins in Dresser^s collection and in the Swinhoe collection. The whole series comprises skins from England to Japan. English skins are the brownest. Skins of P. palustris, Linn., from Italy and Asia Minor are a shade paler, and cannot be distinguished from Chinese skins. Two skins from Japan are decidedly greyer, and form an intermediate link betAveen P. pahistris and P. borealis from Norway. Skins from Archangel are slightly greyer still, but not so grey as skins from the Petchora, the Ob, and the Yenesay, whilst the greyest skins of all are those from Kras- no-yarsk and Lake Baical. The black of the head extends lowest down the back in grey skins from Siberia, and in intermediate skins from Japan ; it is less developed in greyish skins from Archangel, and least so in greyish skins from Norway and brown skins from Europe and China. The conclusion I come to is that there is only one spe- cies of Marsh-Tit, which may be split up into an indefinite number of ill-defined subspecies, of which the following may be most worthy of record : — P. palustris. Back brown. Black of head extending to the nape. P. palustris, subspecies borealis. Back grey. Black of head extending to the nape. P. palustris, subspecies japonicus. Back greyish brown. Black of head extending onto the upper back. P. palustris, subspecies camtschatkensis. Back pale slate- grey. Black of head extending onto the upper back. Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 33 207. Parus minor, T. & S. A skin (No. 1119) in the Swinhoe collection from Hako- date agrees with the plate in the ' Fauna Japonica/ and with skins from China in the same collection. This is a very good species, and differs from skins of P. major, Linn., in my collection from Heligoland, Asia INIinor, and Kras-no- yarsk in Siberia, in being somewhat smaller in size, and in liaving the greenish yellow of the . underparts replaced by huffish white. 208. Parus varius, T. & S. A skin in the Swinhoe collection (No. 1195) labelled " ^ , Hakodate, April," agrees with the plate in the ' Fauna Japonica.^ Since the article on the birds of Japan was published I have received a skin of an /Egithalus from Capt. Blakiston (No. 2545), labelled " S , Nagasaki, Japan, Feb." This bird is yS. consobrinus, Swinhoe (P. Z. S. 1870, p. 133). It agrees exactly with the type in the Swinhoe collection from China. Egithalus penduVmus (Linn.) seems to be subject to as much variation as his cousins just spoken of; Severtzoff described four supposed new species from Tui'kestan, but he afterwards reduced them to two. It is impossible to form any opinion as to the probability of any of these forms being entitled to rank as subspecies. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I am inclined to pronounce the skin from Japan and Swinhoe^s type of M. consobrinus to be females, or not fully adult males, of JS. pendulinus. They are scarcely to be distinguished from a skin of a female in my collection from Asia Minor, and another from Piedmont in Dresser's collection. Capt. Blakiston writes, " I found three specimens among some skins sent me by Mr. F. Ringer, of Nagasaki. Two I retain, one a male identical with that sent you now, and the other a female, which differs in wanting the black line through the eye, and chestnut collar on the hind neck. The head is dull brown instead of ash ; and altogether the plumage is less brilliant." This descrip- tion I take to be that of a bird of tiie year. It agrees very SER. IV, VOL. III. u 84 Mr. H. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakistoii and Fryer's closely with the figure of the young of ^. pendulinus in Dresser's ' Birds of Europe.' 211. SiTTA EUROPiEA, L. A skin (No. 1153) from Hakodate agrees exactly with skins from the Yen-e-say, having the underparts almost pure white. It is the Sitta uralensis, Licht., of some authors ; but the difference is not sufficient to entitle it to more than subspecific rank. 213. Accentor, sp. inc. Probably A. erythrojjygius, Swinh., figured in the P. Z. S. 1870, p. 124, pi. ix. 214. PiPASTEs AGiLis, Sykes. Pipits from Japan are not uncommon in collections. I have never seen more than one species of Tree-Pipit from these islands, Anthus maculatus, Hodgson. This is no doubt the species intended to be identified by Swinhoe as P. agilis. This latter name has lately been proved to l)e a synonym of our European bird, A. trivialis, Linn. {' Stray Feathers/ iv. p. 278). 215. Anthus japonicus, T. & S. In Swinhoe's collection there are three skins of this species — two from Ningpo in China, and one from Yesso (Blakiston, No. 1566). These skins agree Avith the descrip- tion and plate in the ' Fauna Japonica/ and with the type in the Leyden Museum, and are in my opinion Anthus ludo- vicianus, Gra. This bird is common in Alaska ; and I have a skin in my collection collected by Wosnessensky on Urup, one of the Kurile Islands between Yesso and Kamtchatka. 216. Anthus, sp. inc. The skin scut (No. 2056) is an undoubted specimen of A. cervinus, Pall. 217. MoTACiLLA japonica, Swiuh. In my paper on the ornithology of Siberia in ' The Ibis ' (1877, p. 346), I have endeavoured to show that there are two species of White Wagtail in Japan — M. lugens, T. & S., and a second species to which I have given the name of M, amurensis. ;;} Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 35 218. MoTACILLA MELANOPE, Pall, This is the common Grey Wagtail of Europe {Motacilla boarula auctorum, nee Scopoli) . 219. Calamodyta maacki, Schrenck. 222. Herbivox cantillans ?, T. & S. The two skins sent are Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Swinh. {Ibis^ 1860^ p. 51, Jan.) — a name which takes precedence, though only by five months, of Salicaria [Calamodyta) maacki, Schrenck (Reis. u. Forsch. ira Amurlande, i. p. 370, 1860, June). 220. Calamodyta insularis, WaU. Correctly identified by Swinhoe, who described this species as Calamoherpe fumigata. I have endeavoured to prove (see above, p. 15) that both these names must give way to Aa'o- cephalusfasciolatus, Gray ; and in ' The Ibis ' for 1878, p. 490, I have pointed out that this bird is a Locustella, and must stand as Locustella fasciolata (Gray). 223. Herbivox cantans, T. & S. After carefully examining the series of types of Salicaria cantans and *S^. cantillans in the Leyden Museum, I have no hesitation in refei'ring them to one species. The larger birds are principally males, and the smaller ones females. They vary in length of wing from 2'2 inches to 2" 7. The name cantillans must therefore sink into a synonym of cantans. This species is very nearly allied to Arudinnax canturiens, Swinh., but differs from the Chinese bird in being more olive in colour. In 1871 (P. Z. S. p. 353) Swinhoe remov^ed these birds from the genus Arundinaoc, and placed them in a new genus Herbivox. In this, however, he was forestalled by Salvadori, who in the previous year (Atti R. Ace. d. Sc. di Tor. V. p. 510) had established the genus Homochlamys for their reception. It is somewhat remarkable that neither of these authors mentions, as a character of his new genus, the important fact tliat these birds have only teu instead of twelve tail-feathers. Both these generic terms Avill, how- ever, in all probability have to be consigned to the limbo of synonyms. J>2 36 Mr. n. Seebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Pi'yer's The genus Cettia of Bonaparte (1838), of which C. sericea is the type, appears to me to be capable of embracing a small group of about a dozen species distinguished by having only ten tail-feathers. They have moderately slender Ijills with feeble rictal bristles, very rounded wings, the first primary being more than half the length of the second, and a mode- rately rounded tail, the outside feathers being generally three fourths the length of the longest. The tarsus and feet are robust, the former indistinctly scutellated in front. This genus might contain Cettia sericea, Bon., C. canturiens (Swinh.), C. cantans (T. & S.), C. minuta (Swiuh.), C. rode- ricana (Newt.), C. brunneifrons (Hodgs.), C. major (Hodgs.), C. flavolivacea (Hodgs.), C. paliidipes (Blanf.), C. assimilis (Gray), C.fortipes (Hodgs.), and C. pallida (Brooks); but I think that the three latter names will be found to be synonyms, C. fortipes (Hodgs.) being the oldest. All the birds in this genus are more or less remarkable for iiaviug the feathers of the rump much developed. 224. Arundinax blakistoni, T. *i 228. LOCUSTELLA SUBCERTHIOLA, Swiull. J I think there can be no doubt that the former of these birds is the young in first winter plumage, and the latter the adult of Locustella ochotensis , Middendorf. 225. Phyllopneuste coronata, T. & S. 226. Phyllopneuste xanthodryas, Swinh. In Mr. Dresser^s and Lord Tweeddale^s collections are skins of Phylloscopus borealis (Blasius) from Japan. In the British Museum is a skin of P. xanthodryas, Switih., obtained by Capt. St. John at Hakodate ; and in Lord Tweeddale's col- lection is a skin of P. tenellipes, Swinhoe, labelled " Hako- date, 5th May, 1865.'' Skins of P. coronatus, T. & S., from Japan are not uncommon in collections. 229. Locustella, sp. inc. This will probably prove to be Locustella hendersoni (Cassin) , originally described from a skin obtained at Hako- date. From the description of this bird it appears to be the same as Locustella minuta, Swiuhoe, an intermediate form (Uitaloyuc nf the Birds of Japan. 37 between L. macropus, Swinboe, and L. lanccolata (Temni.). Probably all four names will bereafter be proved to be synonymous. Tbe only difference appears to be in the amount of striatiou on tbe underparts ; and tbis is a character which in the not very distantly allied Acrocephalm aquaticus (Gm.) is subject to great variation. 230. LocusTELLA BRUNNEiCEPs (Tcmm.). The skin sent (No. 2210) does not appear to differ from our European Cisticola schcenicola, Bonap., or, as I suppose by law of priority it must now stand, C cursitans (Frankl.). 231. Troglodytes fumigatus, T. & S. A skin of this species collected near Yokohama by Mr. Haywood Jones is a trifle darker in colour and somewhat more distinctly barred on the back than a skin from Hako- date in the British ]\Iuseum ; but the difference is scarcely sufficient to establish even a subspecies upon it. The Japanese form of the Wren is intermediate between T. nipalensis from Cashmere, Simla, and Nepal, and T. hiemalis from Toronto and Vancouver's Island. The general colour both above and below is lighter, redder, less grey than in the former species ; and more distinctly barred, especially on the back, and much darker-coloured on the throat and breast than in the latter species. 232. Regulus japonicus, Bp. The skin sent (No. 234) is referable to the above species. It is decidedly greyer on the hind neck than our bird isj nevertheless it is not recognized by Mr. Dresser in the ' Birds of Europe ' as distinct from Reguhis cristatits, Koch. It is a fairly good subspecies. 243. TuRDUs siBiRicus, Pall. ^ 250. TuRDUS, sp. inc. / This latter bird is undoubtedly an adult male of Turdas sibiricus, Pall. 244. TuRDus PALLiDUs, Gmel. The skins sent (No. 247) belong to the true T. puUidus of Gmelin, without a white eye-stripe and with the white on the 38 Mr. II. Scebohm on Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer's outside tail-feathers largely developed. The bird with the dark throat I take to be fully adult. The white throat I take to be a sign of immaturity _, as it is frequently accom- panied by pale tips to the wiiig-coverts and the rudiments of an eye-stripe. Tliis Thrush is the T. daulias of the ' Fauna Japonica,^ 247. TuRDUs OBScuRUSy G,mel. It is very curious that this Thrush, figured and described in the ' Fauna Japonica ' as T. ^jatlens, Pall., should never have been recorded from Japan by any of our English collectors. In Siberia I found it the easiest species of Thrush to shoot^ much less wild and shy than its congeners. Probably it may be only an accidental visitor to Japan ; or possibly the example described by Temminck and Schlegel may have been a cage-bird. 254. Emberiza ciopsis, Bp. This Bunting is the E. cioides of the ' Fauna Japonica ; ' but that name, having been previously applied to a nearly allied species by Brandt, is superseded by E. ciopsis of Bonaparte. The two species are quite distinct, though Swinhoe unites them in his catalogue of the birds of China (P. Z. S. 1871, p. 388). Among the Japanese skins brought over by Mr. Heyward Jones is a pair of E. ciopsis, which I have compared with a tine series of E. cioides just received from Kras-no-yarsk in Central Siberia. The Japanese bird has black cheeks, and a pale chestnut breast, scarcely darker than the belly; whereas the Siberian bird has very dark chestnut cheeks, and a gorget of dark chestnut across the breast, in strong contrast to the paler belly. A third form of these very nearly allied species is to be found in Emberiza cioides, Brandt, subsp. gigliolii of Swinhoe. It is a small form of E. cioides which is found in China. A series of thirteen males of ^. cioides from the Yen-e-say vary in length of wing from 3' 5 to 3*05, whilst a series of ten males of E. gigliolii from China vary from 3*08 to 2*8. The females present an equal variation in size. Four females from the Yenesay vary in length of wing from 3"14 to 295, whilst seven females from China vary from 285 to 2*66. ltis.l878.Pl.] JCKexile^iaTis liti. 1 EMBERIZA FASSEPJNA. 2. ,. 'fESSOENSIS Ha-nliai-t imp Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 89 Emberiza yessoensis. (Plate I. fig. 2.) " Schoenicola yessoensis, Swinh." Blak. et Pryer, Ibis, 1878, p. 2i3. no. 263. This Bunting (of which I give a figure of an adult male shot at Hakodate in April) appears to be an excellent species. It was first described by Capt. Blakiston in ' The Ibis ' (1863, p. 99) as ''Emberiza minor, Midd. apud Swinhoe." In 'The Ibis' for 1874, p. 161, Swinhoe corrected the error which he had induced Capt. Blakiston to make, and attempted to do tardy justice to the discoverer and describer of this new species by assigning to it the name Schcenicola yessoensis originally given in Blakiston's MS. In all fairness this species ought to stand as Emberiza yessoensis (Blakiston), I have consulted divers ornithological experts, " learned in the law," and I am most reluctantly compelled to indorse their decision that, inasmuch as Swinhoe was the first person who published the name yessoensis, this bird must stand as Emberiza yessoensis (Swinhoe) . Upon the same plate is figured, under the name Emberiza passerina, an adult male of the true Emberiza minor. I shot the bird from which this figure was drawn in the valley of the Yen-e-say, in East Siberia, in lat, QQ\°, on the 9th of June, 1877. In ' The Ibis ' for 1878, p. 339, I have given particulars of its captui'e under the name of E. polaris, Midd. Since writing that account I have had leisure to work out the subject further, and now add a full synonymy of the species as far as I have been able to ascertain it. Emberiza passerina. (Plate I. fig. 1.) Emberiza passerina, Pallas, Itin. i. app. p. 456. no. 10 ; Zoogr. Rosso-As. ii. p. 49 (1811). Emberiza schceniclus, var. /3, Pall. Zoogr. Rosso-As. i. p. 48 (1811). Cynchramus pallasi. Cab. et Heine, Mus. Hein. i. p. 130 (1850). Emberiza schceniclus, var. minor, Midd. Sib. Reise, ii. p. 144 (1851). Emberiza polaris, Midd. Sib. Reise, ii. p. 146 (1851). Emberiza canescens, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 62. 40 Mr. H. Seebohni on Messrs. Blakiston and Pryer's Emberiza alieonis, J, Viaii, Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 18G9, p. 97. 264. SCHCENICOLA PYRRHULINA, Swiulioe. Two skins sent (Nos. 1835 and 2246) are respectively an adult male in breeding-plumage and an example in winter plumage oi Emberiza schoeniclus, Linn., subspecies jog/z^^Mj?, Savi. This form of tlie common European black-headed Reed-Bunting is the Emberiza palustris of Savi^ the E. in- termedia of Michahelles apud Bonaparte, and the Schoenicola pyrrhulina of Swinhoe. It differs from the normal form of E. schceniclus , Linn., solely in having a thicker bill. The following table of measurements of the height of the bill will show how impossible it is to draw a line between the two alleged species. inch. 2 skins from Spain inch. •2 6 1 » England •2 1 „ Heligoland •2 4 „ Norway •2 2 „ Petcliora •2 1 ,y Ural ■2 8 ,, Asia Minor •2 6 „ Yenesay •2 2 „ Spain •21 1 „ Norway •21 1 », Holland •21 4 ,. Petchora •21 Asia Minor •21 Yenesay •21 Malta •22 Spain •23 Japan •23 Japan •24 Asia Minor •25 Spain •2 Italy •25 Italy •3 Italy •31 Sicily •31 In the basin of the Caspian at Astrakan, in Turkestan, &c. a nearly allied form occurs, which probably may claim specific rank, Emberiza pyrrhuloides, Pall. This is a larger bird, measuring 3"5 to 3"25 in length of wing, and '35 to '3 in height of bill. The upper parts are paler in colour, especially the central rectrices and the edges of the wings and wing- coverts. The rump and upper tail-coverts are also much paler in colour, and without the dark streaks in the centre of each feather. The peculiarity of the geographical distribution of these birds is that E. schoeniclus extends eastwards only as far as the valley of the Yenesay, where a smaller and grey-shouldered Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. 41 species appears, E. passerina, Pall., and extends eastwards into the valley of the Lena and into China. Still further east, in Japan, E. schoeniclus, subsp. palustris, reappears. 285. Syrnium rufescens, Temm. The skin sent (No. 2118) from Hakodate is a male of Syrnium uralense, subspecies fuscescens, the Strix rufescens of Temm. & Schlegers text, but named Strix fuscescens on their plate. This skin is interesting, as showing that this subspecies has a grey phase of plumage, Mr. Gurney informs me that the Norwich Museum possesses two skins from Japan in the more rufous phase figured in the ' Fauna Japonica.^ 286. Asio AcciPiTRiNUs (Pall.) , The skin sent (No. 1521) is that of the common Short- eared Owl of North Europe and North Asia, the Otus brachyotus of many ornithologists. 287. Asio OTUS (L.). The skin sent (No. 2203) is correctly identified. 296. Spizaetus orientalis, T. & S. The figure of this bird in the * Fauna Japonica ' is con- sidered by both Sharpe and Gurney to represent a not fully adult Spizaetus nipalemis (Hodgs.) . Mr. Gurney tells me that there is some doubt as to the locality of the skin of this bird in the Norwich Museum, supposed to have come from Japan. It is a matter of importance that skins of fully adult Japanese birds should be sent to this country, so that the identity of the species with the Indian bird may be placed beyond a doubt. 298. BuTEO JAPONicus, T. & S. 299. BuTEo, sp. inc. Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of Birds,^ considers the Japanese Buzzard to be the not quite mature Buteoplumipes, Hodgs. ; but Mr. Gurney, in his notes in 'The Ibis' (1876, p. 369), hesitates to confirm this identification. Mr. Gurney assures me that the pale form of the immature bird figured in the ' Fauna Japonica ' is merely a less rufous phase of plumage, and that the Norwich Museum possesses similar forms from China. 42 Mr. II. Seebolmi on the Birds of Japan. 300. BUTEO HEMILASIUS, T. & S. This is a good, species, and quite distinct from Archihuteo aquilinus of Hodgson. Tlie type of Hodgson's species is in the British Museum, and has been described and iigured in Sharpe's ' Catalogue of Birds ' (i. p. 178, pi. 8) as a very old example of Buteo ferox. 301. POLIORNIS POLIOGENYS, T. & S. The skin sent (No. 2213) is a specimen of Butastur indicus (Gmel. ex Lath.), of which Buteo pyrrhogenys, T. & S., is a synonym, as is also Falco poliogenys, Temm. 302. Pernis apivorus (L.). This bird was incorrectly identified by Temminck and Schlegel with the European Honey-Buzzard. The Japanese bird should stand as Pernis ptilorhynchus (Temm.). 303. ASTUR PALUMBARIUS (L.). The skin sent (No. 1882) is a female of this species, no doubt a bird of the year. 304. ACCIPITER NISUS (L.). Authentic specimens of this bird from Japan are in the col- lections of Lord Tweeddale and of Messrs. Salvin & Godman (see Dresser's ' Birds of Europe,' pt. ix.) . 305. ACCIPITER GULARIS, T. & S. The skin sent (No. 2070) is a young male, Sharpe, in his ' Cat. B. Brit. Mus.' i. p. 150, makes the Japanese bird a large form. oi A. virgatus, Temm.; and Gurney (Ibis, 1875, p. 480), whilst pointing out the difterence between the two forms, hesitates to pronounce them specifically distinct. The Japanese seems to be a fairly good subspecies. 306. TiNNUNCULUS JAPONICUS, T. & S. The skin sent (No. 2210) is darker in colour than the European form of the Kestrel. Temminck and Schlegel only admit the Japanese bird to subspecific rank ; and in this opinion both Sharpe and Dresser concur. It must therefore stand as Cerchneis tinnunculus, subspecies yajoowicz^*. 307. Hypotriorciiis subbuteo, L. The skin sent (No. 1520) is a male of our Hobby in fully Dr. A. B. Meyer on the Birds of Celebes. 43 adult plumage, the streaks on the thighs characteristic of immaturity having disappeared. 308. IIypotriorchis .esalon, L. There are skins of both adult and young of Falco asalon, Linn., in the British Museum collected by Mr. Pryer in Japan. 309. Hypotriorchis amurensis. There is no reason to doubt the correctness of this identi- fication. The name should stand Cerclmeis amurensis (Radde) . 310. Falco peregrinus, Tunst. There are skins of Falco peregrinus, from Hakodate, both in the Norwich and the British Museums. III. — Field-notes on the Birds of Celebes. By A. B. Meyer, M.D., C.M.Z.S., Director of the Royal Zoological Mu- seum, Dresden. Part I. Psittaci, Rapaces, and Picari^e. The following notes were written nearly as they are during my stay on the island of Celebes from December 1870 till November 1871 (and again for a short time in 1873) . T then visited the northern peninsula (the so-called Minahassa), a part of the countries round the Gulf of Tomini, including the Togian Islands within this gulf, the Sangi Islands to the north of the Minahassa, and the south-western peninsula, the chief place of which is the well-known town of Makassar. The birds collected by myself were obtained in the months from December to June in the Minahassa, from July to September in the countries round the Gulf of Tomini, and in October, November, and January in the south. It is known that the Marquis of Tweeddale (then Viscount Walden) had my col- lections at his disposal when he published his list of the birds of Celebes (Trans. Z. S. viii. p. 23) ; and I shall treat the species on which I have any thing to say in the order in which they are enumerated in that memoir, and with the same no- menclature. I regret that the exact localities where I got my specimens were often destroyed, and the exact dates when 44 Dr. A. B. jVIeyer's Field-notes I got tliem nearly alwaj's so. This was partly iny own fault, as I had not labelled every specimen in such a way that the labels could not be torn off — partly the fault of ray agent^ who did not follow my instructions and keep the lots together and distinct from each other, as I had sent them. For this reason I am unable to give detailed local lists as they ought to be given, and as I hope they will be given one day. It is only from the Togian Islands, where I collected in the month of August, that I am able to give a trustworthy local list ; and I shall do so at the end of this paper. A list of the birds inhabiting the Sangi Islands I hope to be able to publish soon elsewhere. It is not my intention to write now an essay on the birds of the Celebes ; but I simply wish to publish my field- notes from my diary, being afraid that, if I keep them still longer in my desk, my readers, in remembrance of Horace^s " nonum pre- matur in annum,^^ might expect to find something classical, and be totally disappointed. I shall perhaps, on some future occasion, treat fully on the birds of Celebes, which still admit of a monograph, even after Lord Tweeddale's meritorious work. I therefore beg that the following remarks may be regarded only as unpretending notes. I should mention that, if a Celebean bird is 7iot noticed in the following remarks, this does not mean that I did not procure it, but only that I did not make a note of it in my diary. Cacatua sulphurea (Gm.). Malay name, "Gatalla^' and '^Cacatua puti^^ ("puti^' means " white ") ; pincers the Malays call " cacatua," from the bill of this parrot, certainly a good name. About this bird a few words may be said, some not quite exact dates being found here and there, perhaps in conse- quence of its singular geographical range. Wallace himself appears not to have met with the species in a wild state on Celebes ; and Von Martens says that in South Celebes nothing is known of its existence. In the Minahassa it is unknown, so far as I am aware. I did not even see a specimen in captivity ; and nobody could give me any information about it. on the Birds of Celebes. 45 In a wild state it is also unknown in the neighbourhood of Gorontalo ; but a cage-specimen sometimes occurs there. But when I crossed the island from Gorontalo to Kwandang aud Sumalatte^ on the north coast, I was informed that it makes its appearance there from time to time, and in Kwan- dang I saw the first specimen in captivity, a rare occurrence even there : I had to pay a whole piece of shirting for this bird. From the small islands in the neighbourhood of Kwan- dang I got wild specimens. Trustworthy natives told me that the species is more plentiful to the east of Kwandang near the sea-shore. Then it occurs again on the shores of the Gulf of Tomini (the south shore of the northern peninsula), viz. near Paguatt and Tilamutan, whence I procured a series of specimens. I suppose that it goes round the whole coast of the gulf as far as Posso in the south — where the centre of Celebes may be said to begin (in contradistinction to the four circumferential arms), and where I again shot the bird. On the Togian Islands I did not meet it, nor at Todjo, more to the east, on the southern shore of the gulf; and the natives ap- peared not to know the bird. At all events, this interrupted geographical distribution is noteworthy. It might be sup- posed that the season has an influence on its distribution ; but this is at least not always the case, as it does not occur in the Minahassa and near Gorontalo. On the west coast of Celebes more to the south, it again makes its appearance at Mandar, according to the information which I received. I myself again shot some specimens on the west coast still more to the south near Mandalli, where the mountain-chain touches the sea- shore ; but at Maros and Makassar the bird is unknown. The natives assert that it does not occur in the interior of Celebes • but of course this is not trustworthy, Cacatua sulphurea must be declared a rare bird, in this sense, that its distribution is a very interrupted one in Celebes. On the island of Buton it appears to be plentiful in a wild state ; and in captivity many specimens arc brought from Binonko, on the island, to Amboyna. I once got at Makassar four specimens together from a direct Baton prauw. Dr. Beccari brought the species from Kandari. 46 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes As to the colour of the iris, I can state that the specimens which I got from the islands near Kwandang had beautiful red eyes, but the specimens from the shores of the Gulf of Tomini brown, even blackish ones. I therefore at first supposed that it had differently coloured eyes according to the habitat ; but of the four living Buton specimens mentioned above, three possessed a black iris, and one a brownish one ; further, a living bird, which I got in September 1871 from Tilamutan (see above) , showed a dark-coloured iris, which by and by be- came reddish (it accompanied me to Europe in the year 1872), whereas another living specimen, which I took with me to Europe from Kwandang, kept its beautiful red eyes. I there- fore believe that the young bird has dark eyes, and the old one red ones ; and such a change of colour has its parallels. Also the yellow of the plumage is much more intense in aged specimens than in young ones ; not only are the cheeks yellowish, but a lovely velvet-like yellow tint is spread over the whole bird, giving a special charm to it. At Posso I first saw Cacatua sulphurea in large flocks on trees near the sea-shore at sunset. It was a splendid tropical evening ; and they enjoyed themselves very much by making a horrible noise not often heard on Celebes, and therefore not easily to be forgotten. I could not reach the birds with my gun, they kept too high ; but the following morning I knocked some down, which at first appeared to me to be larger than those from Kwandang ; afterwards I could not find any difference in size. The village of Posso is a fort, the natives being almost constantly at war with their neighbours, and even when I was among them ; they are head-hunters, like the Dayaks of Borneo, and keep the skulls of their enemies in a hut in the middle of the village. There is a group of large trees between the houses ; and at noon I saw some white Cacatua sleeping in the foliage, a striking contrast of peace in nature to war among mankind. I left those pretty birds undisturbed in their high resting-places. Also in South Celebes I saw Cacatua sulphurea ouly on high trees. They feed on forest-fruits avid, where they find them, on fruits from the native plantations, such as cocoanuts, bananas, Indian corn. Their cry in the forest is loud and shrill. on the Birds of Celebes. 47 I procured a series of specimens at Tilamutan (Paguatt), Posso, and Kwandang in August, in South Celebes in Sep- tember; and I believe that specimens with exact habitat and taken wild are still rare in collections. Tanygnathus muelleri (Miiller & Schl.) . Native (Malay) name^ '' Cacatua idiu/^ green Cockatoo. Iris white. Guided by Dr. Finsch's excellent monograph, during my stay on Celebes I was aware of the controversy whether the white- and red-billed Parrots be one and the same species or different ones, and tried to solve the question on the spot. 1 procured a very large series of specimens, and among them every stage between the white- and red -billed, with no other differences than that of age. I do not the least doubt that the bill of the young bird is white, and that it gradually passes into red, aged individuals always possessing a bill of a deep red colour, together with a deeper tint of blue on the uro- pygium, and some blue on the upper wing-coverts, as proved by my cabinet-specimens. Mr. Wallace says (P. Z. S. 1862, p. 836) that the cry of T. albirostris is different from that of T. muelleri, and that the former is universally recognized by the natives of Celebes as another bird. It may be that the young bird has a cry somewhat different from that of the old one ; but this difference cannot be great, at least it can- not be compared with the diflFerence of the cry between two really distinct species, as, for instance, T. muelleri and T. me- galorhynchus, whose cries can immediately be distinguished one from the other, as I shall shortly relate. Neither can I agree that the natives recognize them as two birds. Even if they did, I should not attribute much value to such a state- ment, as generally the natives of Celebes know but little of their fauna, and answer a question as they think will most please the questioner. Nevertheless, were T. muelleri a species often kept in captivity by the natives, as is Trichoylossus ornatus, I could perhaps trust them ; but this is not the case, T. muelleri rai'ely being seen in captivity, on account of its unamiable character, at least in this state. 48 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes Dr. Sclatcr (P. Z. S. 1871, p,494.) remarks, under T. albi- rostris, Wallace, "\ must say that, so tar as I can tell from an examination of the living birds, I am inclined to agree with Mr. Wallace in considering this bird specifically distinct from T. muelleri, of which we have had several living examples. It is at once recognizable by its white bill.''' And Mr. Wal- lace subsequently continued to maintain [apud Walden, p. 31) that " T. ulbirostris is certainly distinct.'' Lord Tweeddale did not venture to decide the question ; but I do not hesitate to do so, in consequence of the information which I got in Celebes itself, and which my cabinet specimens offer. I believe it will be better to use the name muelleri for this bird than the geographical sumatranus, this latter being misleading. I shot T. muelleri in the Minahassa from January to July, in the district of Gorontalo from July to September, on the Togian Islands, near Posso and Todjo, in August, and in South Celebes, from Maros to Tanette, from September to November. In January a living specimen was in my possession at Me- nado. It fed on rice and bananas, and was generally unintel- ligent, idle, quiet, or grumbling. The species has not yet been figured. Lord Tweeddale gives as a habitat " Sama Island [Cuming) ." I suppose that the island " Saraar," one of the Philippines, is meant ; but on the Philippines lives T. luzoniensis, which species I procured on Luzon, Guimaras, and Negros, and which certainly occurs also on Samar. Tanygnathus megalorhynchus (Bodd.). Native name on Ternate, " Kaleha." This Parrot is allied to T. muelleri, but easily to be distin- guished by its larger size and more brilliant colours. This species is not yet recorded from Celebes itself ; but I got it on a small island just in the neighbourhood of Meiiado, to the north-west, called Montahage (or Mantrau), about six miles from the mainland, and I am therefore of opinion that it cannot be excluded from the Celebean avifauna. Making an excursion to that coral island, which has some on the Birds of Celebes. 49 resemblance to an atoll^ and hunting in the mangrove jungle^ I constantly heard a bird^s cry unknown to me. My Ternate companion declared this to be the Kaleha^s cry ; and at last I saw some Parrots on a high tree. I succeeded in bringing one down ; but it could not be secured, owing to the swamp into which it had fallen. Several birds flew away; two, perhaps wounded, remained in the neighbour- hood, the one crying constantly at least half an hour, the other only from time to time. This last I finally succeeded in killing ; and it proved to be a female. The specimen is like those from Sangi. I searched after the species on Celebes itself, opposite the island Mantrau, near Kima (a small village inhabited by the so-called Orang-Badju — not to be confounded with Kema on the east coast), near Likupang on the north coast, and on the island Bangka, opposite this place, but in vain. On the small islands Nain-kitgil and Nain-bezar they are said to be com- mon. It is obvious that the bird has not yet been shot, as far as I am aware, on the mainland of Celebes. T. niegalo- rhynchns loves solitude and avoids human settlements ; so my Ternate companion informed me. In the morning and even- ing it is not easily found, as it retires into the deep forest ; in the middle of the day it sleeps or sits quietly, concealed among the green foliage of high trees, and cries very loudly if any one approaches. Now I suppose that T. megalorhynchus is just about to extend its geographical range. Coming from the Sangi Islands, which are nearly united to Celebes by a series of small islets, it meets human settlements on the sea-shore almost everywhere, an impediment arresting its progress ; but I do not doubt that it will at last also settle on Celebes itself. (See my remarks in Rowley's ' Ornitho- logical Miscellany/ 1878, iii. p. 127.) Prioniturus platurus (Kuhl) . Malay name, " Cacatua birotti." " Birotti " is an arrow used in blowpipes, with small feathers behind. Alfurese name in the Minahassa, " Kulli-kulli." In life, colour of the eyes dark brown, feet greyish blue, SER. IV. VOL. HI. E 50 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes claws grey, bill bluish grey or whitish. (One of my hunters asserted that he had once shot a specimen with a red bill ; if this is true, there exists perhaps another species.) In March 1871 this species was numerous in the neighbour- hood of Menado, and was met with during the whole of my stay in the Minahassa. Moreover I got this species nearLimbotto in July, and on the Togian Islands in August. It only occurs on low lands. Even the young bird can be distinguished from the young of the allied Prioniturus flavicans by the greyish tints on the wing-coverts. This bird flies much during the night, and can often be heard crying on the wing over one's head. It feeds in the night on the fruits of gardens and fields, and is fond of Indian corn, rice, and fruits like lansa, pakowa, &c. During the day- time it is seldom to be met in the plantations, but is to be seen flying very high and crying loud, seldom alone. It makes its nest in hollow trees. On trees it does not move much, but sits quietly. If one is shot down from a group, the others do not stir, but lie, concealed by their green plu- mage, between the leaves, just as I have noticed in the case of other Parrots (see my remarks on Nasiterna pygmcea in Gould's 'Birds of New Guinea,' pt. vi. 1878). The natives of the Minahassa assert that if the '^ Kulli- kulli " is taken by surprise in the rice-fields, it becomes con- fused or terrified, falls down, and then can easily be caught. This does not appear very credible; nevertheless it agrees with the observation that one can be brought down by a shot out of a group without the others moving; perhaps these are struck by terror, and do not know what to do. This fact has given rise to the following tale in the Minahassa. Children are asked, " If ten birds sit on a tree, and one is shot down, how many remain on the tree ? " The children answer, " nine ;" but the master says, " wrong," because they all fly away — except when the birds are Kulli-kulli ; in this case the children are right. The cry of P. platurus is like k'dk, kdk. At Menado I once had a specimen in captivity, but it ap- peared to be very unhappy in its cage. on the Birds of Celebes. 51 As to the two lengthened tail-feathers of this bird a few words may be said. Often one of these racket-shaped feathers is wanting in the specimens shot ; and the natives say that, if the bird has one, it has flown round the country once, if it has two, twice. I do not share the view of Dr. Finsch that the denuded rhachis is produced by rubbing off the webs, because I obtained a series of specimens which present a racket-shaped tail-feather with naked rhachis still lying on the surface of other tail- feathers, and therefore not extended beyond them. The feather grows naked in the second or third moult. Besides, those shafts which are not quite denuded show remains of an outer web, but not (or at least rarely) of an inner one, and it is more probable that, if the webs were rubbed off, this would be the case with the outer ones, not to mention that on trees the mode of life of this bird is, as stated above, a very quiet one. Prioniturus flavicans, Cassin. The natives do not distinguish this species from P.platurus by a special name ; generally they are not strict observers of nature, at least not strict in our scientific sense. The young ones are quite green ; old males have a blue cap, with a red patch in the middle ; old females have no red patch. P. flavicans is rarer than P. platui'us, and only occurs in the mountains. I got it at Kakas in June, and in the moun- tains near Limbotto in August. As regards the tail-feathers, the same remarks apply to this species as to P. platurus. LORICULUS STIGMATUS (Mull. & Schl.). Native name at Menado, ^'Tintis.'^ Everywhere and at all times in the Minahassa from De- cember till July, but especially numerous in the beginning of March near Menado. At Posso, on the south shore of the Bay of Tomini and at Limbotto (district of Gorontalo) in August. March 26, 1871, I got in Menado a young female, about a fortnight old. It was quite green, only with light- yellow shoulder- edges, underparts lighter green; nape light- E 2 52 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes orauge-tinged ; tlie red of the upper tail-coverts already per- fect ; bill yellow ; feet yellowish brown ; underparts of the wings bright blue. It chiefly fed on bananas in captivity^ and became very tame. (Compare^ as to its habits in cap- tivity, my notes in G. D. Rowley's ' Ornithological Miscel- lany/ ii. p. 252 et seg., 1877.) LoRicuLus scLATERi, Wallace. Does not occur on Celebes, so far as I am aware ; and I do not believe that Von Rosenberg's report can be trusted in this case ; at least this must remain doubtful till another collector again brings the bird from there. (Compare my notes /. c.) LoRicuLUs QUADRicoLoRj Waldcu, Ann. N. H. ser. 4, ix. p. 398. 1 discovered this species in the neighbourhood of the village of Togian, on the chief island of the Togian group in the Gulf of Tominij in August 1871. I only procured six speci- mens. In life the eyes are yellowish white, feet yellowish red, bill and claws black, cere and skin round the eyes reddish yellow. (Compare my notes /. c. p. 252 et seq.) LoRicuLus ExiLis, Schlegel. Native name, "Tintis-kitjil.'^ ^'Tintis" is the name for Loriculus stigmaius; and '^kitjil" = little in Malay. In life, eyes yellow, feet orange-yellow somewhat reddish, bill coral red. This species is said to feed only on flower-juices; and I never found anything solid in the stomach. It lives in flocks. I got the first pair near Menado at the end of March in 1871 ; then, at the end of April and in May, any number could be procured by the natives, who shoot them with blowpipes, long bamboos through which they blow small arrows made out of pointed bamboo. It frequents the mangrove-thickets near the sea-shore (chiefly Sonneratia acida, L.) ; and I believe that its sudden appearance in on the Birds of Celebes. 53 flocksj as well as that of other Parrots at certain times [L. stigmatus, Trichoglossiis ornatus, and T. meyeri), depends on the flowering-time of certain trees or the ripening of their fruits. At one time I had six living examples with me ; but they died very soon. (Compare also, as to its size, my remarks in Rowley's ' Ornithological Miscellany/ ii. p. 245, 1877.) TrICHOGLOSSUS ORNATUS (L.) . Native name among the Alfuros in the Minahassa/^Kerut;" besides, every one calls it "Parkitji/"' which is, I believe, a Dutch word. The most common Parrot of Celebes ; I got it at all times and everywhere in the Minahassa from January till July ; at the end of March 187i it suddenly appeared in large flocks near Limbotto in August; near Gorontalo in September; on the Togian Islands in August, and in South Celebes in October and November. Rosenberg reports the species also from the Sula Islands ; but I presume that this is an error. They live in flocks. They fly very quickly, with much noise and quick strokes of the wings ; they have a short and shrill cry, and do not sit quiet a long time on one spot, but climb all over the tree. At midday, in the heat, they sit in flocks in the shadoAv of the leaves, chattering and scratch- ing each other's heads. In cool weather they are on the wing nearly the whole day. On the 27th of February I found a female, with an e^<^ ready to be laid; it was quite white, 25 millims. long, 17 millims. broad. Trichoglossiis ornatus smells, as all the allied parrots do, very agreeably of hyacinths. They feed, according to the season, on all possible fruits ; in captivity they prefer bananas above every thing, but also like rice ; they are very wild and not easy to tame quickly ; but in time they get accustomed to one person. This beautiful bird is often to be seen tame on small stands before the huts ; but the natives also use them as food. Once I shot a specimen near Menado with quite yellow pki- 54 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes rnage^ perhaps a bird escaped from captivity, or an individual variety. My hunters declared it to be from the Sangi Islands ; but I do not believe that the species occurs there at all. Trichoglossus meyeri, Walden. Native name at Menado, '' Parkitji lolaro.^' " Lolaro " means the mangrove jungles near the sea-shore, especially those of RMzophoi'a conjugata, L. I discovered this new species in April 1871, and sent it as such to Lord Tweeddale, who bestowed my name upon it : the plate (Trans. Zool. Soc. viii. pi. iv.) is a little too brilliant in its colours. The bird appeared near Menado in flocks, and could always be procured till the middle of May, and then be- came rarer. The sudden appearance of some species of Parrots must be in connexion with the flowering of certain trees, and with the changes of the season. Loriculus stigmatus appeared in flocks near Menado at the beginning of March in 1871, Trichoglossus ornatus at the end of March, Trichoglossus meyeri at the beginning of April, and Loriculus exilis at the end of April. We are still far from a perfect knowledge of the movements of the birds in these regions, and shall not know much about it till we have a series of observations from dif- ferent localities. It appears to me probable that the rainy season in the mountains of the Minahassa drives the birds to places where it is warmer and not so damp ; at least this was the condition in 1871 near Menado, where the rainy season was very mild. Besides, the distribution of animals is always changing, slowly, but constantly ; and as to birds in those regions, no doubt the monsoons have a great influence. The monsoon drives the birds in one direction ; they cannot go against it. Therefore, if one wishes to study in greater detail the distri- bution of birds — say, for instance, those of the Philippines, Celebes, Borneo, and the islands between these countries, the local lines of the monsoons must be taken into consideration in comparing the allied and representative species from the different islands, in order to get a clue to the starting-point of the race or of the whole group. on the Birds of Celebes. 55 In the case of the Parrots we, no doubt, sometimes also have to take into account the influence of artificial distribu- tion by mankind for centuries and more. DoMiCELLA cocciNEA (Latham). This bird has been recorded several times from Celebes, but in my opinion not rightly. It is a native of the islands Siao and Great Sangi, and js only introduced by man into the Minahassa ; at least this fact gives a quite sufficient expla- nation of its occasional occurrence in the forests near Menado. In no case is the species a native of Celebes ; and it only remains a question whether it is perhaps extending its geo- graphical range in consequence of natural causes. Allied forms are only to be found to the east and south-east; of this stock D. coccinea is an outlying form, (See my notes in Rowley's ' Ornithological Miscellany/ iii. p. 126 et seq. 1878.) TiNNUNCULUS MOLUccENsis, Jacq. & Puch. I got this species in March near Menado, and in January near Makassar. Iris brown ; bill greyish blue ; cere and skin round the eyes yellow ; feet deep citron-yellow, claws black. Feeds on little birds. LoPHospizA GRisEicEPS (Schlegcl). Near Menado, in March. Teraspiza rhodogastra (Schlegel). Near Menado, in five different dresses. Erythrospiza trinotata (Bp.). Native Malay name, " Sikip batta batta,'^ i. e. '' spotted bird of prey.''^ Iris black. From December to March near Menado. I never got a specimen there in the dress which Schlegel figures in his Valkv. Ned. Ind. pi. 19, fig. 3 ; and the natives assured me that such a bird was not to be met with. But I got it in June at Kakas, about 2000 feet high in the mountains, and therefore believe that they only breed in the mountains, and that the young ones do not pass into the plains in the first year, supposing that 56 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes there can be iio doubt as to tlie specific unity of these dif- ferent dresses. Tachyspiza soloensis (Horsf.). Near INIenado, in March. LiMNAETUS LANCEOLATUS^ Bp. Near Menado, in March. CUNCUMA LEUCOGASTER (Gm,)'. Near Menado^ in March. Pandion leucocephalus_, Gould. Native Malay name^ " Koheba gunong/'' i. e. '' Bird of prey from the mountains. ^^ Near Menado, in March. Wings 450-470 millims., tail 190-240. Spilornis rufipectus^ Gould. Near Menado, in March. . Haliastur leucosternus, Gould. Native Malay name, *' Koheba dada puti," i. e. " Bird of prey with white breast.^^ A very common bird at every season near Menado, in the mountains near the lakes of Tondano, in Limbotto, on the Togian Islands &c., and in South Celebes. In some specimens the dark colour of the shaft of the fea- thers on the head and back is scarcely to be seen. Wings 390-430 millims., tail 195-315. Elanus hypoleucus, Gould. Tello, near Makassar, January. Feet citron-yellow j claws black; cere yellow; under the eyes yellowish ; iris fiery red. Feeds on lizards &c. Pernis celebensis, Walden. Iris dark brown. February, near Menado. Baza magnirostris. Gray. Near Menado. PoLioRNis LivENTER (Temm.). Near Menado. on the Birds of Celebes. 57 Athene punctulata (Q. & G.). Near Gorontalo. Ephialtes menadensis (Q. & G.). Near Menado and Gorontalo. NiNOX japonicus (Bp.). Near Menado. Strix rosenbergi, Schlegel. Near Menado. Mulleripicus fulvus (Q. & G.). Malay name, " Burong tukan/^ i. e. " Carpenter^s bird." Alfurous name near Menado, '' Rumerkukor." Alfurous name near Tanawangko, " Tatankul." At all seasons in the Minahassa, Limbotto, and Togiau Islands, common. Iris wliite. The bird lays two, seldom three_, eggs in a liole of a dead tree. Feeds on tree-insects, on wliite ants, caterpillars^ &c., as all Woodpeckers. Lives in pairs. If the male and female lose each other^ the male knocks^ and the female follows the sound. YUNGIPICUS TEMMINCKI (Malh.). Near Menado, March ; not rare. Merops philippinus, L. Malay native name, " Burong langir/' i. e, " a bird which flies up very high." In the Minah assa this bird is only plentiful at certain times, viz. in the dry season during the east monsoon ; in the west monsoon it is rarely to be met with. In Limbotto I got it in July, in Makassar in October, 1871, later in Singapore, in December 1871, on Luzon in February 1872, on Negros (Philippine Islands) in March 1872. Merops ornatus, Lath. In the Minahassa only numerous in the east monsoon. Near Menado in May, on the Togian Islands in August. As to the development of the lengthened tail-feathers, an examination of a series of specimens proves that, as in the analogous case of Prioniftirus (see above, p. 51), the length- 58 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes ened tail-feathers are narrower ab initio, and are not formed by being rubbed off, except at the last stage, which, however, does not touch the principle that also here immanent causes affect the shape of these feathers. The same remarks apply to M. philippinus. Meropogon FORSTENi (Temm.). There existed before my journey to Celebes only one male specimen of this interesting species in the Ley den Museum, ob- tained by Forsten, in the year 18-41, near Tondano, at an eleva- tion of 2000 feet in the Minahassa. Professor Schlegel showed me the specimen before I went away in 1870, and urged me to rediscover it, as none of Forsten^s successors, Wallace, Rosenberg and others, had brought it home. Mr. Wallace, in his charming book, 'The Malay Archipelago' (i. p. 429), says, in the chapter on the '' Natural History of Celebes,^^ " In the next family, the Bee-eaters, is another equally isolated bird, Meropogon forsteni, which combines the characters of African and Indian Bee-eaters, and whose only near ally, Meropogon breweri, was discovered by M. Du Chaillu in West Africa ! " African afinities being said to give a characteristic feature to the Celebean fauna, and, besides, M. forsteni being so rare that the Celebean origin of the bird was doubted, I resolved to do my best in searching after it. I therefore made about a hundred coloured sketches, and distributed them among the natives, to send away into the mountainous districts, and put a relatively high reward on a skin. I got the first specimen at the end of the month of May 1871 from a forest near Rurukan, not very far from the place where Forsten had procured his specimen some thirty years before ; and afterwards, in June, I found the bird in the richest virgin forest which I have seen in these regions, on the way from Lan- gowan (about 2000 feet) to Pangku, where it apjDearcd to be not so rare. I suppose that M. forsteni only inhabits the moun- tainous districts, like Enodes erythrophrys jHerniphaga forsteni , &c. ; but, of course, I am not sure of this. I should not say these birds are rare, but only known to occur in restricted lo- calities ; if only these localities are discovered, the bird proves on the Birds of Celebes. 59 then to be numerous. It is the same with certain butterflies which have been declared to be rare ones, such as Papilio blumei P. androcles, &c. ; they also do not, or at least rarely, occur near Menado, where most travellers have collected, and there- fore have the reputation of being rare ; but I found places in Celebes where any quantity of them can be procured, They are not collected in greater quantities because nearly every one who travels there does not remain a long time on those spots. I twill be the same with other animals. Of course there are also animals which really are only represented by very few individuals ; but these are perhaps either aberrant species, or such as are on the way to becoming extinct. The female of Meropogon forsteni has not such brilliant colours as the male, and the lengthened feathers of the throat are not as handsome. But T cannot agree with Mr. Wallace's opinion, above cited, as to its nearest ally being in Africa. The species of Nyctiornis of the Malay archipelago are its most natural and nearest allies ; and Meropogon forsterd gives to Celebes no other characteristic feature than Nyctiornis amictus gives to Borneo and Sumatra. All these are alike related to the West- African Bee-eaters, belonging to one and the same family, which occupies nearly the whole Ethiopian, Oriental, and Australian region. There is some error in Lord Tweeddale^s (/. c. p. 42) giving the habitat " Rurukan " on my authority in a paper read May 2nd, 1871, in London ; whereas I only obtained my first specimen in North Celebes itself at the end of the same month. The like remark applies to Trichoglossiis tneyeri, Loriculus exilis {I. c. p. 32), &c. CoRACIAS TEMMINCKI (Vicillot) . Native Malay name, " Kapala-biru," i. e. " Bluehead.'^ Alf iirous name of the Minahassa, " Pateh-rokos.'^ Near Menado, January till June 1871 ; Limbotto, July 1871. The male has the blue colour more brilliant. It usually flies singly ; but after feeding, several play together. They frequently sit on dead twigs and look out for grasshoppers 60 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes and other insects ; then suddenly rushing upon their prey, they return to their perch. Cry tschirrrr. EURYSTOMUS ORIENTALIS (L.) . Malay native name, ^'Tjetje.^^ A common bird near Menado from December till May 1871 ; Limbotto, July. Iris greyish brown. Cry kiak, kiak. This bird sleeps in the morning, and searches for food at midday ; in the evening it flies after beetles. It is to be seen near river-banks, where it sits a long time quietly on a branch of a tree over the water, and can easily be shot, not being a shy bird. In the stomach I often found many beetles with very hard elytra. The bird is mostly fat and well fed ; and the muscles can easily be detached from the skin. (See also my notes in Mitth. a. d. zoolog. Mus. zu Dresden, i. p. 19, 1875). MONACHALCYON PRINCEPS (Forstcr). Native Malay name, " Radja-udan-kapala-biru," i. e. " King of the crabs, with blue head/^ (It will be observed that Malays as well as Englishmen give the epithet " King'^ to this bird.) Alfurous name in the Minahassa, ^'Kikis-tambo," i. e. "King- fisher which lives near small pools.'' This bird does not live near river-banks, and is therefore, like all Kingfishers which do not live thus, more difl&cult to procure in the forest, and more rarely to be seen. On March 17th I found, in a nest of white ants of the size of a large gourd, three eggs of M. priticeps. Half of the ants' nest was destroyed by the bird, which had made a large hole for the eggs, six inches in diameter, with an entrance two inches in diameter and nine inches long, therefore too narrow and long to allow me to reach the eggs with my hand. The ants' nest was still partly inhabited by ants. The eggs were quite white and transparent (perhaps quite fresh) , the contents beautiful orange-red ; size 30 millims. long, 25 broad. In the same month I found another'pair of eggs of this bird ; but they were lying on the ground and diity. on the Birds of Celebes. 61 MoNACHALCYON CYANOCEPHALUS (Forst.). This bird lias long been regarded as the young of the pro- ceeding species. When I first got specimens of this smaller blue-headed and striped Kingfisher in the mountains of the Minahassa, near Kokat (2J00 feet high), in June 1871, I immediately pointed out in a letter to Lord Tweeddale that I did not believe it to be the young of M.princeps ; but Lord Tweeddale did not adopt my view, and followed Professor Schlegel, Mr. Sharpe, and others, I cannot agree on this point with the opinion generally adopted^ and must look at M. cyanocephalus as a distinct species, Recently Count Salvador! also appears to incline to this opinion ; and Dr. Briiggemann"^ decidedly does so. I never got the species near Menado, but later on procured it also from the Gorontalo district. Entomobia pileata (Bodd.). H. van Musschenbroek informs me that one of his sons obtained this species in the neighbourhood of Menado : the skin is in tlie Leyden Museum. Sauropatis chloris (Bodd.). Native Malay name, " Radja-udan-biru," i. e. " Blue King of the Crabs.^' Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Kikis- katanaan.^^ A very common and noisy bird, found everywhere on the sea-shore and on river-banks in North, Middle, and South Celebes. Male more brilliantly coloured than female; the latter more greenish and darker on the head. I often found Crustacea in the stomach. * In many respects I do not agree with Dr. Briiggemann's views, pro- mulgated in his paper on the birds of Celebes. This author appears to me often to judge rather rashly of the opinions of experienced ornithologists, and to indulge in too decided opinions . I also regret that he has worked with a collection of which the Celebean origin of many specimens is very doubtful, and that thus the ornis of Celebes has been again hampered with a series of species which decidedly do not belong to it, and this after similar contaminations had been swept away by Lord Tweeddale's valu- able paper. But I shall have occasion to recur in detail to all this when I hereafter treat on the Celebean fauna in a monograph which I propose to draw up. 62 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes Iris brownish ; bill black, below reddish white ; feet and claws blackish. One of my specimens exceeds all the others in the bril- liancy of its blue colours. Sauropatis sancta (Vig. & Horsf.). Much rarer than S. chloris, I believe, even to be called a rare bird in Celebes. I got specimens at Kalinaong, North- eastern Minahassa, in April^ and on the Togian Islands in August. Sauropatis forsteni, Temm. Knowing that this species, which is at all events very nearly allied to S. chloris (if it is a species at all), was only based on a single specimen, I tried to procure as many speci- mens as possible of S. chloris, to have the chance of getting one of S. forsteni among them. But though I saw hundreds of the former, not one of the latter came into my hands, nor even a specimen of S. chloris which showed a tendency to vary in the direction of S. forsteni. Young individuals of S. chloris have much black on the breast ; but this is of quite another character from what is represented in the plates pub- lished of S. forsteni. Nevertheless I should hesitate to look upon this species as an accidental variety, remembering my experience with Meropogon forsteni, refound thirty years after its first discovery. Callialcyon rufa (Wallace). Native Malay name, " Radja-udan-mera,'' i. e. " Red King of the Crabs.'' Generally found in bamboo brushes near rivers, generally several together. It is not a rare bird, but is not to be pro- cured without great patience. Male and female nearly undistinguishable. Iris dark brown ; bill, feet, and claws red. In the stomach I found fishes, ants, &c. Menado, January till May ; Gorontalo, July ; Togian Islands, August. on the Birds of Celebes. 63 CiTTURA CYANOTis {Temm.). Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Kikis-talun/' i. e. " Kingfisher of the Forest/'' I got this species only in the Minahassa^ but at any time from December till July. It lives, like Monachalcyon prin- ceps, only in the forest, not on river-sides ; and it is not at all a rare bird, according to my experience. It likes to sit dream- ing alone on branches of trees. Male and female are easily to be distinguished, viz. from the colour of the wing-coverts and the sides of the head, which is blue in the male, black or bluish black in the female ; the male has no white super- ciliary spots. Even the young ones, which were alive in my possession, show this difference. In the stomach I found insects, crabs, worms, &c. Iris rosy red ; bill and feet dark red ; claws blackish brown. Its cry is, five or six times one after another, kebekek. C. sanghirensis , Sharpe, is quite another and different species, restricted to the Sangi Islands. Dr. Lenz has re- cently (J. f. Orn. 1877, p. 368) again confounded the two species, and reported also Celebes as the habitat of C. san- ghirensis, misled by a collection of doubtful origin. (Compare my notes in Rowley^s ' Ornithological Miscel- lany,^ iii. p. 136 et seq., 1878, which treat fully of the sexual differences of both species.) Ceycopsis fallax (Schlegel) . I got this species near Menado, near Gorontalo, and at the waterfall of Maros, in South Celebes ; but I did not procure many specimens, perhaps for the reason that it lives in the forest and is a small species. Near Tabukan, on Great Sangi Islands, it appears to be plentiful. In May a living specimen was in my possession at Menado. The colours of this little species are very delicate. It is the loveliest Kingfisher of Celebes. Iris dark brownish ; bill brilliant red, only the middle of the upper mandible blackish ; feet and claws brilliant red. This and other species teach us that we are far from know- ing already all the Celebean birds, because this and others 64 Dr. A. B, Meyer's Field-notes have been only discovered recently, and many large collections have heen sent to Europe before this discovery. I do not doubt in the least that with perseverance^ even in localities w^hich are often visited, species unknown or new to Celebes will be found — not to speak of those regions where no Euro- pean has set his foot, such, for instance, as the central part of the island. Pelargopsis melanorhyncha (Temm.). Native Malay name, " Radja-udan-puti,^^ i. e. " White King of the Crabs.'' On river-sides rather rare ; always in pairs together. On the 26th of February I shot on the river Tamumpan, near Menado, a female; and the male flew for hours up and down the river, crying for its mate; every half hour it passed my resting- place. It has a very quick arrow-like flight, feeds on large and small fishes, and always lays two eggs. I further got specimens at the river near Kima, in North-west Minahassa, in April, and on the Togian Islands in August. Iris yellowish brown ; feet red-brown ; claws and bill black. Alcedo moluccensis, Blyth, Alfurous name in the Minahassa, '' Kikis-wowolean," i. e. " Kingfisher which lives on the river-side." A common bird at all times and everywhere on Celebes near the sea-shore and rivers. Alcedo bengalensis, Gm. I got a specimen of a Kingfisher near Menado which can- not be otherwise determined than A . bengalensis, which species Prof. Schlegel enumerates from Siao, Sangi Islands, whence I got A. moluccensis. I doubt whether it will be possible to keep these two species separate from one another, as th ey do not appear to be separated geographically, Alcedo asiatica, Sw. I do not remember to have seen this bird in the Minahassa ; if it occurs there at all, it must be very much rarer than A. moluccensis. I brought it from the Togian Islands ; and it has been recorded by other naturalists from other parts of Celebes. on the Btrds of Celebes. 65 COLLOCALIA ESCULENTA (L.) . Builds its nests on the sandstone rocks bordering the Street Limbe in the north-east of the Minahassa, but occurs also in many other places in this district, Macropteryx wallacii (Gould). Malay native name, '' Burong-pedang/' i. e. '' Knife-bird/' because its wings are shaped like a knife. Near Menado in March, Togian Islands in August. Iris brown ; feet grey ; claws blackish ; bill black. Feeds on insects. BucEROS EXARATUS, Tcmm. Native Malay name, " Karaka '' (this is its cry) . Alfurous name in the north of the Minahassa, " Karokok ;" in Ton- dano, " Kerek-kerek.^' (Native names often change from village to village, as the native language generally does in these parts of the East.) The male is not pure white on the sides of the neck, but often yellowish. These birds live in pairs together. Their flight is heavy and loud. They feed on fruits, such as waringui [Urostigma) ; and large flocks are often to be seen together on high fruit- trees. A common bird, not restricted to the north-eastern parts of Celebes, as I also found it near Paguatt, in the Gulf of Tomini, in September. It makes its nest in hollow trees or between wood, and lays two eggs. Cranorrhinus cassidix (Temm.). Native Malay name, " Burong-taun,^' i. e. " Year-bird " (see explanation of this name below). Alfurous name, '^ Uwak " (which is its cry) . I did not find this Hornbill in the neighbourhood of Me- nado, but at Lotta, six miles from there, in the mountains of the Minahassa, at all times, in the district of Gorontalo, where I saw large flocks when crossing the island from Gorontalo to Kwandang, and on the Togian Islands. The bird on the wing is a fine sight, the vividly coloured head being visible from far. As one looks down on a forest from a high point, it appears to swim over the green foliage more SER. IV. VOL. III. F 66 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes majestically than any other bird of Celebes. Its flight is heavy, slow, and noisy, and audible from far away. Its cry is very loud, and not immediately to be distinguished from that of the Black Ape of Celebes {Cynopithecus niger). They are often to be seen in pairs together. If the female is shot, the male returns to the spot after having flown away frightened by the shot ; and therefore frequently male and female can be procured. On a tree they are very active, jumping from branch to branch ; they are fond of fighting, and are generally aggressive birds. They are said to fight even with man when wounded ; and they bear small shot without being killed, except when hit in the head. They feed on forest- fruits. The nest is built on the tops of the highest trees ; but I never heard of their practising the habit of allied species, i. e. the males walling the females up with mud; nevertheless I will not say that they do not possess this habit, though it would be remarkable that the natives should be ignorant of it. The flesh is held in high estimation as food, being not only valued as a dainty, but for the property it is supposed to have of making men physically strong, the bird being so strong itself. Every one likes to preserve the head ; but only few obtain the bird, because from high trees, where it rests, it can only be shot down with guns. It is always a triumph for a hunter to get a " Burong-taun.'^ They are sometimes brought to Menado as game ; but a specimen costs at least G floi'ins. When my hunters killed one they always asked for the flesh ; I also found it very tasty. Many birds are afraid of the " Burong-taun /^ but a small black bird attacks it, as it attacks birds of prey and Crows. It flies round when the Hornbill is on the wing, and pecks it on the head. I saw this myself several times, but could not make out what the small bird was j they were too high. (At Ternate these small birds were called " Benkole.'^) Iris light brown to red ; feet black, soles of the feet grey ; claws black ; bill yellow, base brownish, with dark brown bands ; chin brownish red ; round the eyes deep blue ; throat light blue, with a dark blue patch in the middle. The casque is smooth in life ; and the wavy unevenness in dried speci- on the Birds of Celebes. 67 mens is only in consequence of its shrivelling up after death. The Malay name, " Burong-taun " ("year-bird"), origi- ginated in the belief that the bird gets every year a new band on the base of its bill ; they say that even individuals with seven bands are to be found, taking together those of the upper and under mandible. There may be some truth in the statement that every year a band is added, though it requires proof. The young ones have no bands at all, they get them with age ; and I really believe that their number is a charac- teristic of age, though a better characteristic is the serrated cutting-edges of the mandibles. At all events, the Malay name is not ill chosen, looking to the fact that old birds have more bands on the bill than young ones. SCYTHUOPS NOV^-HOLLANDI^ (Lath.). Malay native name, " Kapureh.^^ Alfurous name in the Miuahassa, '' Krok " (its cry) . Very common in the Miuahassa at all times ; I obtained the bird from January till July ; but I do not remember to have seen it elsewhere in Celebes. Lord Tweeddale men- tions a specimen from Makassar ; but he does not name the collector. Scythrops novce-hollandice feeds on fruits, such as waringui. It flies in troops. If the dead bird is pressed on the belly, the same cry, krok, krok, can be made, as from the living, I found this the case even in specimens preserved in spirits of wine. During the east monsoon, when it is very dry (May till November), the bird is said to cry much, and people declare " it will soon rain, the bird is thirsty." A native told me he had once taken a young Scythrops, together with a young Crow, out of a Crow's nest. The bird is often to be seen along with Crows. At all events, it is interesting to note that oriental Cuckoos also lay their eggs in other birds' nests. Ph(enicophaes calorhynchus (Temm.). Native Malay name, " AVakeke," or '^ Bakeke." Alfurous r2 68 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes name in the Minahassa, " Koko-ondo/' or " Tontoubara/' i. e. ''Foreteller-bird in daytime.'' (The Dutch in these regions call the bird " Geloofvogel bij dag.") Male and female are similarly coloured. Feeds on insects ; makes a nest of tv.igs, like a Pigeon ; very common ; often to be seen near pathways on low shrubs, with its tail hanging down. In the sun the plumage is so brilliant that the bird is hardly recognizable. It is not shy, and does not fly away even after being shot at ; it sits quiet if a bird by its side falls down ; but I always got the impres- sion that it is the fright which rivets it lo the spot. It flies quickly or, rather, glides or slides between the foliage. I got the bird in the Minahassa from January till July, near Limbotto from July till September, and on the Togian Islands in August. The natives look upon this bird as a prophet (during the daytime) . They converse for hours with it, imitating its many cries. It is said to have ten difi'erent calls. The natives interpret the answers which are given to them according to the mode of the cry ; and they draw the bird near them by imi- tating its voice. They pretend that they only make planta- tions if this bird advises them to do so. If any one intends to do harm to another person the bird warns him. If any one sees two of these birds fighting together, rolling on the ground (a common occurrence, as they grasp each other violently), and one of them remains on the spot, he immediately retreats, because this signifies that in the neighbourhood lies a human corpse ; some one has been murdered, and the observer will be charged with murder if he does not go away. Many similar stories are to be heard. Once some one told me, at Hemboken, on the shores of the Tondano lake, that several years before such a bird flew, crying very loudly, over the village, and that all the inhabitants became frightened as to what might happen. On the following day the part of the village over which it had cried was burnt down. It would be very easy to laugh at such superstitions ; but Ave educated Europeans — and not only our peasants — are full of similar superstitions and tales. on the Birds of Celebes. 69 EUDYNAMIS MELANORHYNCHA^ Mullcr. Native Malay name, " Kao " {" Kalao " at Ternate) . Alfu- rous name in the Minaliassa, " Kokoreke " or " Kembaluwan," i. e., '' Foreteller at night '^ (for explanation see below). A frequent bird, but not so common as the preceding. At all times in the Minahassa from January till July, Limbotto July. Iris fiery red. 1 found mostly nutmegs in the stomach. Before nutmegs were cultivated in the Minahassa, which is only during the last few years, the bird fed on different fruits, chiefly waringuis, but now nearly altogether on nutmegs, which it swallows whole on account of the rind ; the nutmeg itself is found uninjiired in the crop and stomach ; and the bird contributes greatly to the geographical dispersion of this spice. It damages the plantations very much. It is said to seek its food at night. The skin is separated with difficulty from the muscles. This Cuckoo also lays its eggs in other birds' nests. Its cries are of many kinds. If alone, it cries its native name kao ; and if it wishes to warn its fellows, hau, wau, wau, wau, wau, wau, dying away. Shy and lively in its actions. Roosts in the darkest spots in trees, where it can hardly be detected. If danger threatens, or if it hears a particular noise which frightens it, it communicates its alarm from afar to others ; and it is no fable that the natives are warned by the bird hours before — if, for instance, a troop of horsemen approaches, or an official with his attendants. The native therefore often makes his preparations according to this bird's behaviour ; hearing it in the forest he will always be cautious. But its cry at night he consults as an oracle, and converses with the bird by imitating its cry and interpreting it. If he hears it at night near a house he augurs the death of a man. Cacomantis sepulchralis (Miiller). Native Malay name, " Burong-pangil-udjan/' i. e. " Rain- caller." Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Embis," which signifies the same. 70 Field-notes on the Birds of Celebes. The natives say^ after it has been dry a long time, that if the bird cries rain is coming. The cry is tii, tii, tututii, like a flute. Feeds on insects. Builds its nest in thick climbing plants ; collects dry leaves, and tries to fasten its nest with thick spider^s-webs. Pyrrhocentor celebensis (Q. & G.). Native Malay name^ " Kuwo.'^ Very frequent at all times in the Minahassa from January till July; Limbotto, July; Togian Islands^ August; South Celebes, Tanette, Mandalli, Maros, in September and October. The South-Celebean specimens appeared to me, when I first saw them, somewhat more brilliantly coloured than those from North Celebes ; but afterwards, when I compared the skins in the cabinet, I could find no difference. Feeds on fruits, such as waringui, nutmeg, and others. Its call is kau, kau, kau, kau, kmi, dying away. Nest made of brushwood, like a Pigeon^s nest, on trees in the deep forest. If the native hears the bird crying in the forest, he becomes cautious, and searches for the reason. It cries when men ap- proach, to warn its fellows ; and these answer. Centrococcyx AFFiNis (Horsf.) . Native Malay name " Burong-kussu-kussu,^^ i. e. " Bird of the high grass." Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Totom- barang." Not so plentiful as the other Cuckoos. Near Menado in March. Generally to be seen on small trees and brushes and in high grass [" Kussu-kussu'^= Chrysopogon aciculatus) , where it roosts and also lays its eggs. Its cries are klukuk, klukuk, like a knock on a hollow cask, and krah, krah, as if a piece of linen were torn. [To be continued.] Notes on Mr. R, B. Sharpens Catalogue 0/ Accipitres. 71 IV. — Notes on a 'Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum,' by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. GURNEY. [Continued from ' The Ibis/ 1878, p. 466.] It is a remarkable circumstance that the genus Milvus, though so very widely distributed^ and, as regards some of its species, so numerically abundant in the Old World, is wholly absent from the American continent. In referring in the first instance to the typical species of the genus, M. ictinus, I may mention that an article on this Kite, published subsequently to Mr. Sharpens volume, in Mr. Dresser^s ' Birds of Europe,' contains a detailed account of its geographical distribution, including its range in Western Asia and North-western Africa, as well as its occurrence in Madeira and in the Canary and Cape-Verd Islands, none of which localities are quoted for it by Mr. Sharpe. Mr. Dresser also figures and describes the immature plumage of this species, which is not referred to by Mr. Sharpe. The female of M. ictinus is described by Mr. Dresser as differing from the male in coloration by " the head being slightly washed with rufous, the tail lighter, and in general the colours rather paler ;" but I believe that these peculiarities disappear with age, as none of them exist in a Welsh female which I had in confinement, and which, after laying two eggs, died in its 28th year, and is now preserved in my collection*. The three species which in Mr. Sharpens Catalogue imme- diately follow Milvus ictinus, viz. M. agyptius, M. migrans * Mr. E. T. Booth, in an interesting note on this species, published in the ' Field ' of 12th October 1878, expresses his opinion that the female bird has the tail not so much forked as the male. I have not access to a sufficient series of dissected specimens to enable me to test the accm-acy of Mr. Booth's view on this point ; but it is one well worthy of attention, especially as a similar distinction between the sexes has been observed in Turkestan in the case of the Asiatic M. melanotis (vide ' Stray Feathers ' for 1870, p. 127). Mr. Booth also describes the colour of the ii'is in the young of M. ictinus, after first acquiring its nestling-plumage, as a " dirty lavender ; '' by Macgillivray it is described as " yellowish brown " (see his work on ' British Birds,' vol. iii. p. 27o). 72 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on (to which Mr. S ha rpe applies the specific name of A;orscAw?i*), and M. affinis, are very closely allied ; and in their nestling- plumage t they are so much alike that specimens in this stage, of which the locality is unknown, cannot, in my opinion, be distinguished with certainty, though a clue to a correct diagnosis exists in the circumstance that Australian and Oceanic specimens of M. affinis are a little smaller than either M. migrans or M. (segyptius, and also that in M. affinis and in most specimens of M. (sgyptius the upper mandible is of a slightly more elongated shape, with the culmen a little less proportionally elevated than in M. migrans. In nestling birds the bill is black in all three species ; but in old birds it is so in M. migrans % and in M. affinis only, being of a yellow horn-colour in the adult M. cegyptius. In adult birds the abdominal and tibial feathers are more rufous in M. migrans and in AI. cegyptius than in M. affinis ; but this rufous tint is sometimes lighter and brighter in M. cegyptius than in M. migrans. In old birds of M. migrans the edges of the feathers of the entire head, neck, and upper breast are greyish white, the centre being occupied by a dark brown shaft-mark ; in M. cegyptius and M. affinis this greyish-white ground-colour is usually limited to the chin and to that part of the sides of the neck which immediately adjoins the upper throat, though very old specimens of both sometimes occur in which the * I agree witli the view expressed by the Editor in ' The Ibis ' for 1874, p. 360, and confirmed by Mr. Dresser in his article on this species in the ' Birds of Europe,' also by Mr. Blanford in his 'Eastern Persia,' vol. ii. p. 114, note, that the old specific name of korschun affixed by Mr. Sharpe to this Kite has been so applied on insufficient grounds, and should there- fore be allowed to remain obsolete and in abeyance (conf. Ibis, 1875, p. 503), t Mr. Hume, at p. 324 of his 'Scrap-book,' quotes a letter of mine which was written at a time when I was not acquainted with the true nestling-plumage of the Australian 3f. affinis, and which, in consequence, alludes to it in incorrect terms. This error on my part also appeared in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1873, p. 161, note, as it had previously in ' The Ibis ' for 1866, p. 422. X The bill, however, is occasionally, though rarely, a little mottled with horn-colour in some specimens of M. mir/rans. Mr. R. B. Sharpe's Catalogue of Accipitres. 73 same tint pervades a very narrow portion of tlie forehead adjacent to the cere; but it never extends over the crown of the head^ as is always the case in the adult of M. migrans ; on this part, as well as on the nape and adjacent portions of the sides of the neck^ the margins of the feathers in M. affinis and M. (Bgyptius are not white, but a decided rufous^ though paler in some individuals than in others. The upper portions of the ear-coverts are much darker than the surrounding plumage in the adults oi M. cegyptius and M. affinis, but hardly at all so in those of M. migrans. Tiie brown shaft-marks on the feathers covering the upper portion of the breast in the adults of M. migrans are, so far as I have observed, always somewhat broader than those on the corresponding feathers of the other two species ; and though these shaft-marks are of variable breadth in both M. (Bgyptius and in M. affinis, and in some specimens of both these species are nearly as broad as in M. migrans, I l^elieve that they never quite equal in breadth those of M. migrans, and that this difference between that species and M. cegyptius and a^nis, though not very great, is nevertheless quite constant, and therefore important. The yellow horn-colour of the bill in M. (Bgyptius is ac- quired very gradually, and apparently less rapidly in some individuals than in others ; it is not very uncommon to find specimens of this Kite which have attained their adult dress before the bill has assumed its yellow colouring ; such speci- mens bear a considerable resemblance to the adults of M. migrans, and still more to those of M. affinis. In my edition of the late C.J. Andersson^s ' Notes on the Birds of Damara Land,^ I inserted, at the end of his observa- tions upon M. migrans, the following remark : — ^^Mr. Anders- song's last collection contained specimens of this Kite from Ondonga, in both adult and immature plumage ; the speci- mens in apparently adult dress did not, however, exhibit the grey tints on the head which distinguish the adult Black Kites of Europe and Northern Africa, but which I have not yet met with in any South- African specimen"^. Unfor- * Virlc ' Birds of Damara Land/ p. 22. 74 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on tunately the supposed adult specimens of M. migrans here alluded to have been dispersed^ and I have only been able to reexamine one of thera^ which was killed at Ondonga^ in Ovampo-land, on 16th of December, and is now preserved in the Norwich Museum. I now find that this example is not in reality one of M. migrans, but is unquestionably a specimen of M. agyptius, which had attained adult dress but had not acquired the yellow bill, although the mandibles exhibit some slight indication of the approaching change of tint. I have no doubt that other examples of M. agyptius in Mr. Anders- son^s collection were in a similar stage of coloration, and were mistaken by me for specimens of M. migrans in which the usual grey tint was absent from the head, as mentioned in the extract quoted above from the ' Notes on the Birds of Damara Laud ;^ and I strongly suspect that many other sup- posed South- African examples of M. migrans, and especially those said to have been found breeding on the banks of the Caledcn River* ought to have been referred to this peculiar, but not unusual, phase of M. (sgtjptius. At the present moment I know of but one South- African example of the veritable M. migrans in any collection in this country. This, which is a young male in change, was obtained by Mr. Andersson at Ondonga on the 16th November, and is now preserved in the Norwich Museum. In ' The Ibis ' for 1869, at p. 449, 1 mentioned, as examples of M. migrans, a Kite obtained in Madagascar on the 8th September 1862, and previously recorded in ' The Ibis ' for 1863, p. 337, which was presented by Mr. Edward Newton to the Norwich Museum — and also a younger specimen obtained at Pomony, on Johanna or Anjuan Island, in the Comoro group, in November 1863, and which is pre- served at Cambridge. I have recently reexamined these spe- cimens, and believe them both to be, in reality, examples of M. (sgyptius in which the bill has not yet assumed its yellow colouring. If I mistake not, the claim of M. migrans to admission into the fauna of Madagascar and of the Comoro Islands rests upon these two examples (which are the two * Vide Sharpe's editiou of Layard, p. 51. Mr. R. B. Sharpe's Catalogue of Accipitres. 75 referred to by Dr. Hartlaub in his Vog. Madag. p. 28''^) ; and if I am right in my present conclusion, this claim cannot be substantiated. The Eastern- Asiatic range of M. migrans has not, as yet, been very satisfactorily defined. The ' Revised List of the Vertebrated Animals exhibited in the Gardens of the Zoological Society/ which was published in 1872, contains, at p. 210, the following entry, under the head of Milvus migrans : — ''b. Presented by G. B. Baird, Esq., May 26, 1861, from North China.'' This specimen, which was unfortunately not preserved after its death, was frequently and carefully inspected by me whilst it was living ; and I recorded it as a genuine example of M. migrans in ' The Ibis ' for 1866, p. 422, where I also mentioned having seen an example from Afghanistan; the latter being a specimen which was preserved, when I saw it, in the late Museum of the East India Company in Leadenhall Street, though I do not find it mentioned in Horsfield and Moore's catalogue of that collection. Another specimen, from Bagdad, which I examined at the same time, is entered in the above-named catalogue as an example of M. govinda, hut, according to my memorandum, was in reality M. migrans. I may add that Mr. Blanford includes M. migrans amongst the birds o£ Persia, and that I have recently had an oppor- tunity of examining specimens of this Rite obtained by him in that country. Milvus migrans has been found breeding in Turkestan, according to M. Severtzoff's notes, translated by Mr. Dresserf ; and further to the north its occurrence in summer in Siberia, between Salair and Tomsk, has been noticed by Dr. Einsch J; and its abundance at Tomsk at that season, as well as its presence to the north of that town as far as lat. 61°, has been recorded by Mr. Seebohm§. A still more eastern locality * These two specimens are also mentioned by Mr. Dresser in liis article on Milvus migrans in the ' Birds of Europe.' t Vide Ibis, 1875, p. ]04. X Vide Ibis, 1877, p. 5-5. § Vide Ibis, 1878, p. 323. 76 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on for this Kite is mentioned in the 'Birds of Europe' by Mr. Dresser, who says that '' to the eastward it occurs about as far as the Lena/' and the specimen from North China_, to which I have already alluded, shows that it has occurred even much further to the east than the limit assigned to it in that direction by Mr. Dresser. The Asiatic range of Milvus cegijptius is not alluded to by Mr. Sharpe ; but though it is very limited in comparison with that of M. migrans, it ought not to be overlooked. The title of '^ Arabian Kite/' which Latham conferred on this species'^' in 1781, has been justified in recent times by the existence of a colony of these Kites at Wady Gharandel, in the Sinaitic Peninsula, recorded by Mr. Wyattf- The occurrence and nidification of the Yellow-billed Kite in Palestine has been noted by Canon Tristram \ ; and ac- cording to Von Heuglin it has also been met with in Asia Minor §. There is therefore no doubt that the summer mi- gration of this species extends to, at least, some countries of Western Asia. The geographical ranges of the eastern species of the genus Milvus are especially difficult to define with accuracy, in consequence of the very remarkable and perplexing manner in which these species or races merge into one another. The smallest of the Milvi, the Australian M. affims, contrasts con- spicuously in its dimensions with the great Japanese M. me- lanoiis ; and yet the one species is connected with the other by a gradation of specimens so continuously intermediate, both in size and in coloration, that, though it may be con- venient to adopt the view of Mr. Sharpe, which is also that of Mr. Hume, that the series is divisible under the three specific heads of M. affinis, M. govinda, and M. melanotis, the boundary-lines between these three species seem to me not to be capable of so precise a definition as to be entirely satisfactory. * Vide Lath. Gen. Syn. vol. i. p. 61. t Vide Ibis, 1870, p. 2. X Vide Ibis, 1859, p. 24, and ISGo, p. 256. § Vide Oiii. Nordost-Afrikirs, vol. i. p. 100. M?\ R. B. ShcD'pe's Catalogue of Accipitres. 77 The specific name of '' affinis " was given by Mr, Gould to the Milvus inhabiting Australia, which appears to me to be identical with specimens that I have examined in the British and Norwich Museums from East Timor and Macassar, as well as with one in the British Museum from Cochin China : all these specimens agree with those which I have seen from Australia in having the underside of the primaries of a dark brown, either entirely whole-coloured, or varied only by a very slight and almost imperceptible mottling of grey or greyish white, never amounting to a white patch "^. The following are the principal measurements of seven of these Kites (all adults) which I have recently examined : — ■ Wing. Tarsus, in. in. In the Collection of Lord Tweeddale. South Queensland 15-8 2 Port Albany, North Australia 16-8 1-9 In the Nonvich Museum. Sydney 16-8 1-9 East Timor, $ 15-4 1-9 East Timor, $ 15-9 1-8 Macassar, § 16-5 2 Macassar, $ 16-9 2t In addition to the localities above mentioned, Mr. Sharpe states that M. affinis ranges " as far north as Chusan,^' and Count Salvadori that it has been obtained in Yule Island, near New Guinea. The Kite inhabiting Ceylon and the smallest specimens of Indian Kites so closely resemble the typical M. a-ffinis that I have long been in the habit of referring them to that species ; but their average size is slightly larger, and the great majo- rity of specimens have more or less white on the under sur- face of the primaries, frequently presenting a decided white * Conf. David et Oustalet, * Oiseaux de la Chine,' p. 16 (sub Milvus yovindd). t The following wing-measuremejits of M. affinis are given by Captain W. V. Legge, in his valuable work on the Birds of Ceylon, p. 81, for comparison with those of the Kite of that island, viz. : — three from Aus- tralia, respectively 15, 15-2, and 15*8; two from Timor, both 16'5 ; and one from Macassar, 16'6. 78 Mr. J. H. Gurney^s Notes on patch; indeed I have seen no Ceylon specimens*, and but one Indian, in which the white on this part was entirely absent. The last-named specimen is preserved in the Norwich Museum, and is, I think, certainly from India, though the exact locality where it was obtained has unfortunately not been recorded ; it measures in the wing 18 inches, and in the tarsus 2 inches. Captain Legge, in his article on the Ceylon Kite {op. cit. p. 81), in which the subject of the Indian Kites and their southern and south-eastern allies is ably treated, considers that the Ceylon bird belongs to a race not absolutely identical either with the Australian Milvus or with the " ordinary brown-plumaged bird of the plains of India." I think, how- ever, that the smallest Indian specimens are not to be distin- guished from those obtained in Ceylon f. An adult from Jafna, in the Norwich Museum, measures in the wing but 17'1 inches, and two younger birds 16'6 ; the ordinary cor- responding measurements of Ceylon specimens would seem, however, to be somewhat greater, being quoted by Captain Legge as ranging from 17*4 inches to 18*5, the latter measure- ment being taken from a female bird. Some Indian Kites are equally small, as will appear from the following dimen- sions of four specimens in the Norwich Museum, all of which are fully adult, except the last, which is nearly so : — Wing. Tarsus, in. in. India (exact locality unknown) .... 17-2 2 Deccan, 17-5 2-25 Calcutta 17-7 1-9 S , Maunbhoom 16-9 2 The Kite of Ceylon and the smallest Indian Kites appear, in fact, to hold a position intermediate between the typical M. affinis of Australia and the ordinary Indian Kite which has for many years borne the specific name of " govinda" — * Captain Legge, however, in his description of the Kite of Ceylon, speaks of " the amount of white varying much in individuals, some being quite as dark as M. affinis" (vide 'Birds of Ceylon,' p. 81). t Captain Legge refers the Ceylon Kite to 31. govinda, Sykes, as having " more affinity " with that species than with the typical M. affinis. Mr. R. B. Sharpens Catalogue of Accipitres. 79 though its right to that title has of late been challenged"^, and it is not easy to say with certainty whether these small Kites of India and Ceylon are more correctly referable to M. affinis or to M.govinda. With reference to this subject, how- ever, it may be convenient here to quote a portion of the remarks of the editor of ' Stray Feathers ' at p. 35 of the volume for 1875 ; Mr. Hume there writes, " The following are approximately the variations in the sizes of the wing of the three races which we have in India : — in. in. in. in. affinis, wings, male, 16-75 to 17-25, female 17 to 17-75 govmda, „ „ 17'9 „ 18-5, „ 18-1 „ 19*5 major, „ „ 19 „ 20-5, „ 19-25 „ 21-5 the two former, affinis and govinda, inosculate, so that while some Indian specimens are absolutely identical with the Australian affinis, others may be met with which it is difficult to decide whether to assign to govinda or affinis." Mr. Hume again observes, in a footnote to p. 229 of ' Stray Feathers' for 1875, ^'According to Mr. Brooks's views we have only two Kites in India ; in my opinion we have most distinctly three, viz. affinis, Gould, comparatively rare, but more plentiful to the south and east ; govinda, Sykes, the common Kite everywhere ; and major (or it may be mela- notis), rare except in the hills, found on the plains chiefly in the cold weather, and almost, if not entirely, unknown in Southern India" f. In the first of the two passages above referred to, Mr. Hume speaks of M. affinis as occurring in Upper Pegu ; and in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1878, p. 23, he enumerates it amongst the birds of Tenasserim. The Kite for which Mr. Hume retains the specific name of govinda appears to be that which is alluded to in the fol- * See Mr. Brooks's remarks in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1876, p. 272 ; but see also Mr. Hume's footnote referring to tlie same, and his previous foot- note in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1875, p. 22, also Captain Legge's observa- tions on this controversy at p. 82 of his work on the Birds of Ceylon. t Since writing this article, I have seen the valuable observations of Mr. Gates on these three Kites as observed in Lower Pegu, contained in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1878, p. 44, to which I would refer the reader. 80 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on lowing terms by MM. David and Oustalet at p. 17 of their recent work on the Birds of China : — "" Le Milan govinda, qui est tres-abondamment repandu dans toute FInde, est anssi fort commun dans la Malaisie et la Cochin-Chine ; de \k il arrive assez frequemment jusque dans la Chine meri- dionale^ o^ je Vsa rencontre plusieurs fois ; mais cette espece est rare sur la cote chinoise et en est toujours chassee par la concurrence victorieuse du grand Milan indigene '' {M. melanotis) . The late Mr. Swinhoe, at p. 88 of 'The Ibis' for 1870, referred the Kite he met with in Hainan to M. govinda, and gave the wing-measurement of a male as 17'8 inches, with some further particulars showing the distinction between it and the Kite of Northern China. An adult female brought by Mr. Swinhoe from Hainan is preserved in the Nor^vich Museum, and appears to me to be also an example of the intermediately sized Kite to which, following the example of Mr. Swinhoe, Mr. Sharpe, and Mr. Hume, I have applied the specific name of govinda ; this specimen has a Aving- measurement of 18' 9 inches. Mr. Sharpe is, in my opinion, unquestionably correct in identifying Milvus major of India with M. melanotis of Japan, Formosa, and China. I have examined a considerable num- ber of specimens from all these localities, and can detect no difference between examples from these different localities, either as regards the extent of white under the wing (a some- what variable characteristic*), or in any other particular. Some specimens of M. melanotis exhibit hardly any rufous tint, whilst in others it is conspicuous, especially about the neck, interscapular region, and lesser wing-coverts. The most rufous specimen I have seen is a female from Japan in the Leyden Museum, which is the original of the second plate of this species in the ' Fauna Japonica,' the preceding plate (No. 5) being an excellent representation of this Kite in its non-rufous phase. I am indebted to the kindness of Lord Tweeddale for the * Cf. Mr. Brooks's remarks on this point in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1875 p. 275. Mr. R. B. Sharpens Catalogue of Accipitres. 81 loan of a good series of oriental Kites^ amongst -which is an immature specimen from Tonghoo, the sex of which is unfor- tunately not marked, but which seems to me to be a male of M. melanotis ; its wing-measurement is 19'5 inches, the tarsus 2"2 ; and the white patch on the underside of the primaries is large and conspicuous. This is the only specimen of M. me- lanotis from Burmah which has come under my notice. With regard to the western range of M. melanotis, a sub- ject which is not particularly referred to in Mr. Sharpens volume, Dr. Finsch has recently recorded its presence, about the beginning of June, at the lakes Nor-Saissan and Marka- kul, near the north-western frontier of the Chinese Empire^". Colonel Prjevalsky, speaking of M. melanotis, says that " throughout Mongolia, Kan-su, and about Koko-nor it is common,'' but apparently as a summer visiter only. He also mentions M. govinda as a summer visitor to the Ussuri country, where he states that it is then common ; but I do not clearly understand whether he uses the specific name of " govinda " as synonymous with '' melanotis/' or as indicative of a smaller race f- In 'The Ibis' for 1875, at p. 104, Mr. SevertzoflF, in his " Fauna of Turkestan " (as translated by Mr. Dresser), records M. melanotis as breeding in localities of medium altitude throughout Turkestan, but speaks of it as synonymous with '' M. govinda, Sykes;" this statement must, however, be taken in connexion with a passage, which seems to modify it, in Mr. Severtzoff's letter to the editor of ' Stray Feathers,' in which, at p. 422 of the volume for 1875, he writes, " I mistook some Turkestan (Russian) Kites with blackish ear- feathers for the true M. govinda ; my specimens are M. ater." It is, however, certain that in Eastern Turkestan a Kite occurs which is not Milvus migrans, and which, judging from two Yarkand specimens in the British Museum, ought, in my opinion, to be referred to M. melanotis. Mr. Scully, in his very interesting " Contributions to the Ornithology of Eastern Turkestan," published in ' Stray Feathers' for 1876, speaks, * Vide Ibis, 1877, pp. 53, 54. t Vide ' Ornithological Miscellany,' vol. ii. pp. 152, 153. SER. IV. VOL. III. « 83 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on at p. 92, of " Mihus melanotis " being common about Yarkaud at the end of May, and at p. 126 gives the measurements of four Eastern -Turkestan specimens, three males and a female, with reference to which Mr. Hume adds the following edito- rial note : — ''These specimens, though clearly very closely allied to M. major, appear to me all markedly smaller than this latter.^^ Mr. Scully's wing- measurements of his three Turkestan males are, respectively, 18*8 inches, 18'9, and 199, and that of the female (an immature bird) 18'75 ; in the case of the two specimens from Yarkand which I have recently examined at the British Museum, the sex is not recorded, but the wing-measurements slightly exceed those quoted by Mr. Scully, being in the one 20"2 inches, and in the other 20*5. With reference to Mr. Hume's remark which I have just quoted, I may observe that though M. melanotis seems to be somewhat more distinct from M.gov'mda than the latter is from M. affinis, yet the larger specimens of M. go- vinda approach so closely to the smaller examples of M. me- lanotis that it is not always easy to distinguish them with certainty, and that, if I mistake not, specimens of this doubtful character chiefly occur in those countries in which the northern range of M. govinda and the southern limit of M. melanotis meet or overlap. There is reason to believe that exceptional migrations of M. melanotis may occasionally extend much further to the westward than either Mongolia or Turkestan, as in the ' Revue et Magasin de Zoologie ' for 1869, MM. Alleon and Vian describe in detail a young male Kite, with a wing-measure- ment of very nearly 19 inches*, and agreeing in coloration with the immature dress of M. melanotis when beginning to partially lose its nestling-plumage, which was killed near Constantinople on 6th October 1867. This Kite formed one of a company of six individuals, apparently of the same spe- cies, which appeared in that neighbourhood a month after the Black Kites {M. migrans) had departed on their autumnal southward migration, and of which the survivors remained * 0"''48, French measure. Mr. R. B. Sharpe's Catalogue of Accipitres. 83 there^ consorting with some Red Kites {M. ictinus), till the end of the following February. Judging from the particulars given by MM. AUeon and Vian, I believe they are right in referring this interesting specimen to M, melanotis ; but there is one passage in their article on the subject respecting which I would offer a remark, as I think that it requires some modification. Speaking of their diagnosis of the specimen in question, MM. Alleon and Vian observe, " Dans la Govinda, la plume presente une meche fauve entre deux bandes brunes ; dans le Milan noir, au contraire, c^est un trait brun qui descend sur la tige, entre deux bordures fauves ;'' a similar statement also occurs at p. 16 of ^Les Oiseaux de la Chine/ where MM. David and Oustalet, after describing M. melanotis, add, " Dans lesjeunes de Milvus ater c^'est le centre des plumes qui est fonce et le bord clair.^^ I wish to point out that these descriptions of the plumage of the young M. migrans do not hold good in all cases ; for instance, in a nestling from Western Germany which is preserved in the Norwich Museum they are applica- ble to the feathers of the nape only, but not to those of any other portion of the plumage. Before leaving the genus Milvus I may mention that Mr. Sharpe, at p. 459 of the Addenda to his volume, inserts the late Mr. Andersson's description of the Indian Kite for which he proposed the specific name of '^ palustris." But this name was withdrawn by its author in the P. Z. S. for 1875, p. 25, where he writes that '^ it appears to be the young of the common Govinda Kite, which is subject to considerable varia- tion in size as well as in colour ;" and I therefore do not think it needful to refer further to it. The square-tailed Kite of Australia, Milvus isurus, Gould, was isolated by the late Professor Kaup in a distinct genus, to which he assigned the name of " Lophoictinia." This separation seems to me to have been made on somewhat slender grounds ; but as it has been adopted by Mr. Sharpe, it may perhaps now be considered as an accepted sub- division. In the P. Z. S. for 1875, at p. 338, Mr. Sharpe gives a full 84 Dr. G. Hartlaub on Agapornis swiuderniana. description of a very young specimen of Lophoictinia isura, and states that the bird which he had previously described in his work as ''young/' proved not to be ''really immature." I have already alluded, in ' The Ibis ' for 1870, p. 536, to a specimen of this Kite in the Norwich Museum, which there is reason to believe was killed in New Zealand, where, if such was really the fact, it can only have occurred as an accidental visitor. [To be continued.] V. — On Agapornis swindernaina. By Dr. G. Hartlaub. Agapornis swinderniana (Kuhl). Psittacus swindernianus , Kuhl, Consp. Psittac. (1820) p. 62, t. 2 (fig. mala). Psittacula swinderniana, Wagl. Monogr. (1832) p. 621. Agapornis swinderniana, Selby, Nat. Libr, vol. vi. (1836) p. 118, t. 2 (fig. mala); Bourj. Perr. t. 98 (Kuhl!); Brehm, Papag. t. 36 (Kuhl!). Poiocephalus swindernianus, Sw. Classif. B. ii. p. 301. Psittacula swindereni, Finsch, Papag. ii. p. 632 ; Cab. Journ. Orn. 1877, t. 5. f. 2 (fig. bona) ; Cab. & Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1876, p. 26, et 1878, pp. 64. ? Leona Parrakeet, Lath. Gen. Hist. ii. p. 263, unde Agapornis pict a, Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 169. Diagn. Lsete psittacino-viridis ; semitorque nuchali nigro, alteroque inferiore ex fulvescente luteo ; colli lateribus, pectore et interscapulio viridescente lavatis ; tergo infe- riore, uropygio et supracau^dalibus Isetissime cyaneis ; rectricibus duabus intermediis viridibus, reliquis in di- midio basali scarlatinis, fascia anteapicali latiore nigra, ipsis apicibus viridibus ; rostro obscure corneo-cserule- scente. Long. tot. 15 cent., al. 9 cent. 4 mill. In the year 1820 Kuhl described and figured, in his well- known 'Conspectus Psittacorum,' a new Parrakeet from a specimen in the Laugier collection at Paris, which he named, after the famous Professor van Swinderen, of the Groningen University, Psittacus swindernianus. This unique type spe- Dr. G. Hartlaub on Agapornis swinderniana, 85 cimen having disappeared^ and no other one existing in any European collection. Dr. Finsch was fully justified in stating, in his monograph of Parrots, that the species was a very doubtful one, and that he was inclined to take it for an " artefact.'' In the second volume of his ' General History of Birds,' Latham described a Parrakeet from Sierra Leone, after a spe- cimen in the collection of Mr. Brogden' — the Agapornis picta of my book on the Birds of Western Africa. What has become of this specimen in later times is entirely unknown. Now I feel almost sure that this " Leona Parrakeet " of old Latham is nothing but the Swinderen's Parrot of Kuhl, the only essential difference in the descriptions of both being that Latham designates the colour of the chin and throat as " of a fine pale grey," whereas these parts are yellowish green in Psittacus swindernianus. This difference is neverthe- less an important one ; and, for the present, the question regarding the identity of botb birds remains an open one. It is not quite certain whether the figure published by Mr. Selby in vol. vi. of ' The Naturalist's Library ' (Parrots) is simply copied from Kuhl ; but very probably it was. When Mr. Selby writes, " only seen in a few collections," this was certainly but a mere phrase. The figure he gives proves that it was not taken from a specimen. In this figure the median tail-feathers are of a most brilliant blue, instead of dark green, and the colour of the nuchal band is a pale sulphur-yellow, instead of the dark fulvous yellow it ought to be. Also his indication of South Africa being the habitat is a mere hazard- ous assertion. Kuhl's figure in the Nov. Act. Leop. is also a very poor one, and not in accordance with the description he gives. The obsolete greenish-blue colour of the uropygium and upper tail-coverts, as well as the fine yellow colour of the neck, are altogether false. Up to the year 1876 the "Psittacus swindernianus" of Kuhl was not to be found, so far as I know, in any collection of Europe or America. It was certainly therefore a most interesting fact, that one of the collectors of Dr. H. Dohrn, 86 Dr. G. Hartlaub on Agapornis swinderniana. of Stettin, Mr. Schweizer, rediscovered this fine species in the colony of Liberia. Dr. Dohrn informs me that Mr, Schweizer met with this Parrot in the interior of the colony, where it frequents the fruit-trees and oil-palms in flocks of from ten to twenty indi- viduals, but is not very abundant. Ten examples were pro- cured altogether, whereof two are now in the Berlin Mu- seum, one in the Bremen Museum, one in the Museo Civico of Genoa, and one in the collection of Count E, Turati of Milan, Four very fine skins which remain in Dr. Dohrn^s hands, are still to be had at 60 marks apiece. In Cabanis's ' Journal fiir Ornith.^ for 1877 there is a very good figure of the species, taken from one of these specimens. KuhFs description being very incomplete, I subjoin a better one : — Ad. (^ . The principal colour is a vivid Parrot-green ; sides of head, under wing-coverts, and under tail-coverts paler ; a short nuchal band black, irregularly bordered below by another of an obsolete fulvous yellow ; this yellow band ex- tends in a paler and more indistinct hue round the fore neck, upper part of back, throat, and breast, more or less shaded with a fulvescent lemon-yellow ; lower part of back, uropy- gium, and upper tail-coverts of an intense and most splendid blue ; basal half of tail-feathers of a fine scarlet, followed by a black band before the green tips ; underside of the apical part of the rectrices pale glaucous bluish ; scapulars and smaller wing-coverts green ; larger wing-coverts and remiges black, margined with green on the outside ; beak of a dark bluish horn-colour, with paler tomiae and culmen ; feet bluish. Total length 15 centims., wing 94 mill., tail 34 mill. The sexes do not differ in colour ; but in the young bird the breast is not yellowish, as in the adult, but of an obsolete and pale greyish green, and the black nuchal collar is entirely wanting. Note on Ame7'ican Crows. 87 VI. — Note on the American Crows of the Subgenus Xanthura. By P. L. SCLATER. In a communication on this subject read before the Royal Academy of Sciences of Belgium in 1874* by M. Dubois, four '' local varieties " are recognized of Cyanocorax {Xan- thura) incas of authors, which M. Dubois distinguishes as follows from the typical fonn : — a. cyanodorsalis : cervice cseruleo-violacea, dorso cseruleo : ex Nov. Granad, centr. et merid. /3. cyanocapilla : pileo cyaneo ; vitta pilei inter oculos Can- dida : ex Nov. Granad. bor. et Am. centr. ad Gua- temalam. 7. cteruleo-cephala : pileo toto cyaneo, sine vitta alba ; ab- domine flavissimo : ex Venezuela. B. luxuosa: praec. sim. sed corp. inf. viridi-luteo : ex Mexico et Texas. Having lately had occasion to reexamine the series of spe- cimens of this group in my own collection and in that of Messrs. Salvin and Godman (in all twenty-two in number), I have a few remarks to offer upon the synonymy and dis- tribution of these birds, which have not been quite correctly given either by M. Dubois or by Mr, Sharpe, who has fol- lowed M. Dubois in treating of the genus. (1) Mr. Sharpe, in his Catalogue (vol. iii. p. 128 et segg.), reduces M. Dubois's five forms to four species by uniting var. a. cyanodo7'salis of Dubois with the typical incas. But here M. Dubois is certainly right. Mr. Sharpe cannot have seen the Bogota bird, or he would never have reunited it with the typical C. incas. (2) M. Dubois and Mr. Sharpe both refer the synonym " Cyanocorax cyanocapillus, Cab. in Tsch. Faun. Per. Aves, p. 233," to the Guatemalan form. But on referring to the original work it will be found that this name is based primarily on several specimens from Xalapa, Mexico, in the Berlin Museum, with which, it is stated, one example from La Guayra {i. e. Venezuela) nearly agrees, except in its yellow * " Remarques morpliologiques sur les especes du sous-genre Xanthoura. Par M. Dubois," Bull. Ac. Belg. 2^ s^r. xxxviii. p. 488. 88 Note on American Croivs. under surface. Subsequently^ in the ' Museum Heiueanum * (i. p. 223), Dr. Cabanis proposed to shift his name onto the Venezuelan bird, i. e. Xanthura cceruleocephala (Dubois), and to leave the Mexican bird as X. luxuosa. But it is in any case erroneous to apply the term cyaneocapilla to the Guatemalan form; and " cyaneocapilla, Cah./' is,in strictness, merely a synonym of " luxuosa, Lesson. ^^ (3) M. Dubois and Mr. Sharpe both refer " Xanthoura ffuatimalensis, Bp. Consp. i. 380,'^ to the Guatemalan form, as would be natural enough, judging from the name only. But on looking to Bouaparte^s characters, '' pileo cyaneo; ab- domine flavissimo," it will be seen at once that they by no means fit the Guatemalan bird. The fact is, I believe, that this diagnosis was founded on Venezuelan skins [i. e. on Xan- thura cceruleocephala) which it does apply to exactly; for I have a skin in my collection, received from Verreaux, which, when I bought it, was marked " Xanthura guatimalensis , Bp.,''"' in Bonaparte's own writing*. In this, as in many other cases, Prince Bonaparte probably put down "Mus. Lugd. et Brux.^' from recollection, or from imperfect notes, and added the diagnosis from another specimen. But although I have thus destroyed both the names hitherto applied to the Guatemalan bird, I have no intention of pro- posing another for it, as I consider it to be much too close to the Mexican X, luxuosa to require any different specific name. According to my ideas the four separable forms of Xanthura should stand as follows, beginning from the north : — 1. X. luxuosa (Less.), from Texas, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. {'=X. luxuosa et X cyaneocapilla, Sharpe.) Head blue, with a narrow white postfrontal band ; abdomen yellowish green, in southern specimens more yellow. 2. X c«rM/eoce/?Aa/a (Dubois), from Venezuela. Head blue, with a very narrow postfrontal band (almost obsolete in some skins t); abdomen bright yellow. * In my American Catalogue (p. 144) this skin was wrongly entered as " Cyanocorax incas a, Ecuador," the true C. incas not being then repre- sented in my collection. t Cf. Sharpe, I. c. p. l.'U. In a skin from Carip^ (Goering), Mas. S.-G., the white band is of this character. On the Avifauna of the Sandwich Islands. 89 3. X. cyanodorsalis (Dubois) ^ from Central Columbia {X. incas, part., Sharpe) . White postfrontal band extended over vertex ; nape blue ; back washed with blue ; abdomen pale yellow. 4. X. incas (Bodd.), from Western Columbia, Ecuador, Peru^ and Bolivia. Whole nape and top of head white, slightly washed on the nape with bluish in some specimens ; back green ; abdomen yellow. Of this last species I have examples before me from Antio- quia (Salmon) ; Bucaramanga, Magdalena valley {Wyatt) ; Maravina, Ecuador [Buckley) ; Peru ; and Yungas, Bolivia [Buckley) . In my opinion these four forms, of which only the more salient characters are above given, are entitled to specific rank. The Venezuelan form comes nearest to the northern bird, as is the case in other groups with similar distribu- tion. In the same way Catharus aurantiirostris of Venezuela is more like C. melpomene of Mexico and Central America than any of the Columbian forms of the same genus. VII. — On recent Additions to our Knowledge of the Avifauna of the Sandwich Islands. By P. L. Sclater. (Plate 11.) Some time ago I contributed to this Journal"^ a summary of what was then known of the avifauna of the Sandwich Islands, based mainly upon an article upon the subject by Mr. Dole, which had appeared in the ' Proceedings ' of the Boston So- ciety of Natural History a short time before. From its re- moteness from all other land, and from the known peculiarities of its fauna, the Sandwich-Island archipelago presents fea- tures of no ordinary interest ; and it is much to be desired that a complete investigation of its native fauna and flora should be made before they are destroyed by civilization or contaminated by the intrusion of wandering forms of general distribution. Looking to the facility of access to the Sand- * Ibis, 1871, p. 356. 90 Mr. P. L. Sclatev ou the wich Islands^ and to tLe presence of a civilized race there, it is much to be wondered at that this investigation has not yet taken place. There can be no doubt, however, that we are still veiy imperfectly acquainted with many branches of the natnral history of the Sandwich Islands, and that there re- mains in this group a most interesting piece of work to be performed by any naturalist who will devote some time to the investigation of the islands, and ascertain exactly what peculiar species are found in each of them, and what are generally distributed throughout the archipelago. On the present occasion I have to chronicle three contri- butions made to the avifauna of the Sandwich Islands since 1871, each of wliich has added something towards our stock of knowledge on this subject. In the ' Bulletin de la Societe Philomathique de Paris ' for ^lay 1877, as already recorded in this Journal"^, M. Oustalet has described a new genus and species belonging to the Hawaian avifauna under the name Lojcioides bailleni. Of this very remarkable type, through the kindness of the autho- rities of the Jai'din des Plantes, who have parted with one of their specimens of it in exchange, I am now enabled to give a figure (Plate II.) . It will be at once observed that Loxioides in general appearance is closely allied to Psittirostra. The form, size, and distribution of colours are similar. When we come to a closer comparison of the skins the result arrived at is the same. The wing-formula is nearly the same in each. There are nine fully formed primaries, of which the first is about equalto the fifth, and the intermediate ones are the longest in the wing. In Psittirostra these three primaries are nearly equal in length ; in Loxioides the second is rather more elongated beyond its fellows. The structure of the feet in the two fonns is also nearly similar, those of Psittirostra being, howevei*, shorter and stouter. The tarsi in both cases are unmistakably Oscinine, and the divisions of the scutes are quite obsolete. In the shape of the bill only, as will be seen by the outlines (a of the bill of Loxioides, and b of that of Psittirostra) given on Plate II., there is considerable diver- * n)i9, 1878, p. 376. Itis 1873. PHI J.&Ke-ulemans litli LOXIOIDES BAILLEUI Hankart imp. AAAAAAA4 Avifauna of the Sandwich Islands. 91 gence^ that of the newly discovered form being considerably shorter and much more swollen laterally than that of Psit- tirostra. This, and the differences in the feet, may justify the separation of the two forms into two genera ; but there cannot be the slightest doubt that they are very nearly allied together, and must be placed next to one another in the system. M. Oustalet places Loxioides '' near the Finches and Para- doxornis." But Paradoxornis has, I believe, no near relation- ship to the Finches. And I adhere to my previously ex- pressed sentiment*, that in all probability Psittirostra, and with it Loxioides, are not really Fringilline genera, but merely ab- normal forms of the same type as Drepanis and Hemignathus, either belonging to or closely allied to the Dicseidsef. This question, however, can only be satisfactorily determined by an examination of the structure of the tongue and other soft parts. M. Oustalet kindly informs me that the specimens of Loxioides bailleni were obtained in the large island Hawaii or Owhyhee. In the same collection were several examples of Corvus hawaiensis, which I had never previously seen in any museum, except in Philadelphia many years ago. In Dr. Streets's " Contributions to the Natural History of the Hawaiian and Fanning Islands and Lower California,^^ lately published in part 7 of the ' Bulletin of the United- States National Museum,^ we have another recent contribu- tion to our knowledge of the fauna of the Sandwich Islands. As regards the class of birds, however, the addition is but small, two species only being mentioned as having been ob- tained in this locality during the survey with which Dr. Streets was connected. These are Fulica alai, and Gallinula sandvicensis already described by Dr. Streets in a former number of ' The Ibis ' (1877, p. 25). Both these birds were procured in the island of Oahu. * Cf. Ibis, 1871, p. 360. t Mohoa seems to be a Meliphagine form ; but Drepanis, Hemiynathus, and the other genera (except perhaps Chceto2)tila) in the list given. Ibis, 1871, p. 360, having only nine primaries, should probably be referred to the Dicseidse, 92 Recently published Ornithological Works. A third recent addition to our knowledge of the Hawaiian avifauna has been made by the naturalists of the ' Challenger ' Expedition, which visited Owhyhee in August 1875, and during their short stay obtained examples of thirteen species of birds*. Most of these were already well known; but one of them [Anas wyvilliana) proved to be new to science, and a second an example of the little-known Buteo solitarius of Peale, which, through some strange misconception, was re- ferred by Cassin to the genus Pandion. Intercalating these additions into the list, we find that the Hawaiian avifauna, according to our present state of infor- mation, may be held to embrace about forty-four species, whereof the following twenty-three are peculiar to the Hawaiian group, namely : — a. Passeres. Chasiempis sandvicensis. Drepanis flava. Phseornis obsciira. Hemiguathus olivaceus. Mohoa nobilis. obsciirus. braccata. lucidus. apicalis. Loxops coccinea. Chsetoptila angustipliima. Loxioides bailleni. Drepanis pacifica. Psittirostra psittacea. coccinea. Corvus hawaiensis. sanguinea. b. ACCIPITRES. Buteo solitarius. c. Ansebes. Bernicla sandvicensis. Anas wyvilliana. d. FULICARIJE. Fulica alai. Porzana obscura. Gallinula sandvicensis. VIII. — Notices of recent Ornithological Publications. 1. ' Bulletin' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club. [Vol. iii. no. 4, October 1878. Cambridge, Mass.] Our American contemporary continues to prosper, we are * See P. Z, S. 1878, p. 346. Recently published Ornithological Works. 93 pleased to see^ and, moreover, appears with most comraend- able regularity, vol. iii. for last year being now complete. Amongst many interesting papers in the last number, Mr. H. A. Purdie describes the nest and eggs oi Empidonax fla- viventris, and Mr. Osborne continues a note on the same subject; Dr. Elliot Coues gives a "useful hint to egg-col- lectors '," and the capture of ^ fifth specimen of that vara avis, Helminthophaga leucobronchialis , is announced. 2. ' Bulletin ' of the Zoological Society of France. [Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France pour I'annee 1877. 2^ vol. Paris, 1877.] The Bulletin of the Zoological Society of France for 1877, which is now complete, contains several important ornitho- logical papers, besides those which we have already noticed from separate copies, namely : — (1) Barboza du Bocage (J. V.), ''Note sur les races geo- graphiques, on especes de Bucorax '^ (p. 373). The three forms B. abyssinicus, B. guineensis, and B. caffer are accurately distinguished; and Mr. Elliotts lately described B. pyrrhops (Ann. N. H. ser. 4, xx. p. 171) is referred to the adult of B. guineensis, (2) Bouvier (A.), " Le Barbican a ventre rose, Pogono- rhynchus Le Vaillantii" (p. 7Q). The supposed new P. eogaster, Cab. J. f. O. 1876, p. 92, is shown to be = P. levaillanti, Leach [Barbican a ventre rose of Lev.), a species confounded by all modern authors with P. bidentatus. (3) Bouvier (A), " Faune ornithologique de Kessang, presqu'ile de Malacca, l''^ liste'' (p. 292). Gives a list of 31 species, of which specimens have been collected at Kessang (between Malacca and Mount Ophir) by M. Holland. (4) Bouvier (A), " Sur une collection ornithologique de FUganda, royaumede M^Tesa, Afrique centrale (P' article)," (p. 437). Contains a list of birds obtained by M. Piaggia in Uganda (the kingdom of Mesa). Of 34 species, one, Turdus piaggi(B, allied to T. gurneyi and T. crossleyi, is described as ucw. 94 Recently published Ornithological Works. (5) Lacroix (Ad.), "Le Pic de Sharpedansledepartement de la H aute- Garonne '' (p. 486). Records the occurrence of the Spanish form Gecinus shm'pii near Saint-Martory, Haute-Garonne. (6) Sharpe (R. B.) et Bouvier (A.), " Etudes d'ornithologie africaine. Nouvelle liste d^oiseaux recueillis dans la region du Congo, par MM. le D"" Lucan et L. Petit, de septembre 1876 h septembre 1877 (suite) ^' (p. 470). Fifty species are enumerated in this first portion of the list. Lophotriorchis lucani, described as new, is allied to L. kieneri of India. Other rarities obtained are a (second) spe- cimen of Scotopelia bouvieri, Sharpe, Cypselus toulsoni, Bo- cage, and Erythrocercus maccalli, Cassin. 3. Godwin- Austen, Birds from the Hill Ranges of the North- east Frontier of India. [Sixth List of Birds from the Hill Ranges of the North-east Frontier of India. By Lieut.-Colonel H. II. Godwin-Austen. J. A. S. B. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 12 (1878).] This list gives the results of two seasons' collecting in the Naga hills by two officers of the Topographical Survey, Mr. A. W. Chennell and Mr. M. T. Ogle, and raises the total number of species obtained during this survey of the North- east Frontier to 585. Abrornis flavigularis, from Sadiya, is described as new. Figures are given of Garrulax nuchalis, of the Naga hills (pi. x.), and of Actinura oglei (pi. xi.), from near Sadiya, both recently described by Col. Godwin- Austen. 4. Gould's ' Birds of New Guinea.' [The Birds of New Guinea and adjacent Papuan Islands, inckiding any new Species that may be discovered in Australia. By John Gould, r.R.S. &c. Parts vi., vii., viii. Folio. London, 1878. Published by the Author, 26 Charlotte Street, Bedford Square, W.C] In spite of severe ill health, Mr. Gould continues his great work on the birds of New Guinea. The three parts issued last year contain figures of the following species : — Part VI. Tanysiptora nympha. Artamus insignis. Artamus maximus. monachus. Recently published Ornithological Works. 95 Lophorhina superba. Nasitema bruijni. Xanthomelus am-eus. beccarii. Nasitema pygmsea. pusio. maforensis keiensis. misoiiensis. Part VII. Tanjsiptera nigricepa. Phlogoenas jobiensis. Epimachus speciosus. jobannae. Paradigalla carunculata. Ortbonyx novae-guineae, Pitta cseruleitorques. Cyclopsitta suavissima. maforensis. melanogenys. celebensis. Dicseum exiinium. rubrinuclia. Part VIII. Dicranostreptus megarhyuchus. Ciunyria mysorensis. CEdirhinus insolitus. sangirensis. Astrapia nigra. Todopsis cyanocephala. Eclectus polychlorus. bonapartii. Geoffroyius heteroclitiis, wallacii Cinnyris maforensis. grayi. Amongst the many rarities illustrated in these numbers we may call special attention to the beautiful figures of Paradigalla carunculata, of which, until quite recently, two imperfect specimens only were known, to the novelties dis- covered by Mr. Brown, Tanysiptera nigriceps and Phlogoenas johannee, and to the series of Nasitema from different islands. (5) Grandidier on a new Owl. [Note sur un nouveau Strigid^ de Madagascar, par M. Alfred Gran- didier. Bull. Soc. Philomatb. de Paris, ser. 7, ii. p. 65.] Describes Phodilus soumagnei {=Heliodilus soumagnei, A. Milne-Edwards. See Ibis, 1878, p. 196. 6. Layard on New Birds from Lifu. [Descriptions of new Species of Birds from the Island of Lifii, New Caledonia. By E. L. Layard, C.M.G., H.B.M. Consul, Noumea, New Caledonia. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 5, i. p. 374.] The species described are Turdus pritzhueri, Pachycephala littayei, Zosterops minuta, Z. inornata, and Erythrura cy- anofrons. 96 Recently published Ornithological Works. 7. Legge on a new Scops Owl. [Description of a new Scops Owl fi-om Ceylon. By Captain W. V. Legge, R.A. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 6, i. p. 174.] The species described is Scops minutus, distinguished by its small size and dark colour from all other Indian Scopes. The type is in the British Museum. 8. Masters on Birds from Port Darwin. [Notes on a Collection of Birds from Port Darwin. By George Masters. Ibid. p. 269.] The collection^ formed by Mr. Spalding in the months from May to September 1877, contained examples of 106 species. One is described as new, Cracticus spaldingi, allied to C. quoyi, but with larger bill and tarsi, and of a rusty- brown hue. 9. Meyer on a Cassowary from New Guinea. [Ueber einen Papuanischen Kasuar im Dresdner Museum. Von A. B. Meyer. Journ. f. Orn. 1878, p. 199.] Dr. Meyer gives a description of an adult Cassowary in the Dresden Museum, obtained through a dealer. It must be either C. papuanus, Rosenb., or C. westermanni, Sclater ; but it is doubtful whether these supposed species are distinct. The following list of the twelve described species of Casuarius is added. 1. C. galeatus, ex Ceram. 7. C. uniappendiculntus, ex Pap. occ. 2. C. salvadorii, ex Papua. 8. C occipitalis, ex Jobi. o. C. heccarii, ex inss. Aroens, 9. C papuanus, ex Papua med. 4. C. australis, ex Austr. bor. 10. C. loestermanni, ex Papua med. 5. C. hicarunctdatus, ex inss. Aroens. 11. C jncticollis, ex Papua Occident. 6. C. tricarunculatus, ex Papua. 12. C. hennetti, ex Nov. Brit. Of these we believe that Nos. 2 and 3 are probably the same species, as likewise Nos. 9 and 10, and that there are only ten species of Cassowary really distinguishable, the recently described C. edwardsi. Oust. (P. Z. S. 1878, p. 389), being apparently the adult of C papuanus. Recently published Ornithological Works. 97 10. Nares and Feilden's Voyage to the Polar Sea. [Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea during 1875-76 in H.M. Ships 'Alert' and 'Discovery.' By Capt. Sir G. S. Nares, E.N., K.C.B., F.R.S., Commander of the Expedition. With Notes on the Natural History, edited by H. W. FeUden, F.G.S., C.M.Z.S., F.R.G.S., Natui-alist to the Expedition. 2 vols. 8vo, London : 1878.] The ornithological notes in this work are condensed from those which have already appeared in this Journal. The eggs of the Sanderling {Calidris arenaria) are figured. The game-list (vol. ii. p. 352) is of interest as showing the com- parative numbers of the different birds suitable for food pro- cured by the two vessels. 1 1 . Oustalet on the Ornithology of the Seychelles. [Etude sur la faune ornithologique des lies Seychelles, par M. E. Ous- talet. BuU. Soc. Philomath. Paris, 1878, p. 161.] This memoir is based on the collection made by M. de risle. Naturalist of the French Transit Expedition of 1875, and on a large series of 595 specimens obtained by IVT. Lantz, Director of the Museum of Reunion, and contains notes on 44 species represented in these two collections. Professor Newton's article (Ibis, 1867, p. 335) gave 43 species, of which some were doubtful. The 14 terrestrial species of the Seychelles are all peculiar to the archipelago, namely : — 1. Coracopsis barklyi. 8. Tchitrea corvina. 2. Palaeornis wardi. 9. Copsychus sechellarum. 3. Tinnunculus gracilis. 10. Hypsipetes crassirostris. 4. Nectarinia dussumieri, 11. Foudia sechellarum. 5. Zosterops modesta. 12. Funingus pulcherrimus. 6. semiflava. 13. Turtur picturatus, 7. EUisia sechellensis, 14. rostratus. Ellisia sechellensis, Oust., was the only new land-bird discovered by M.. Lantz. 12. Oustalet on the Female of Pitta ellioti. [Description de la femelle de la Pitta ellioti. BuU. Soc. Philomath. Paris, 1878, p. 206.] Describes the female of Pitta ellioti, Oust. (Arch. d. Mus. vol. X. Bull. p. 101), from Camboja. SER. IV. VOL. III. H 98 Recently published Ornithological Works. 13. Oustalet on South- American Pelicans. [Notice sur quelques Pelicans nouveaux ou peu connus de rAm^rique meridionale. Bull. Soc. Philomath. Paris, 1878, p. 208.] Describes a Pelican from Ancon^ in Peru, presented to the Paris Museum by M. Barbier, points out its difference from P. molince, and proposes for it the name P. barbieri, in case it should prove really distinct. [Through Mr. Howard Saunders^s kindness I have recently obtained a specimen of a Pelican from Iquique_, in Peru, exactly answering to Dr. Oustalet's bird. I have no doubt that it is an adult example of P. molinte. — O. S.] 14. Owen on the Extinct Birds of New Zealand. [Memoirs on the Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand ; with an Appendix on those of England, Australia, Newfoundland, Mauritius, and Eodriguez. By Ptichard Owen, C.B., F.R.S. 2 vols. 4to. London : 1879.] This is a collection^ in two volumes (one containing the let- terpress, pp. 512, and the other the plates, 130), of the well- known memoirs that have appeared in the ' Transactions ' of the Zoological Society of London from time to time since the year 1813. They treat principally of the various species of Dinornis ; but those which relate to the kindred subjects of Dromornis, Notornis, Didus, and Pezophaps are also included. 15. Ramsay on Edoliosoma schisticeps. [Description of a new Species oi Edoliosoma from New Ireland, supposed to be the adult of Cehlepyris schisticeps (Hombr. et Jacq.). Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, iii. p. 222.] Gives descriptions of male, female, and young of this species from specimens in the Australian Museum, obtained at Duke-of-York Island by Rev. G. Brown and Mr. Cockerell. 16. Ramsay on a new Pachycephala. [Description of a new Species oi Pachycephala from the Gulf of Carpen- taria. By E. P. Ramsay. Ibid. p. 224.] The ^'new species'^ is /*.jo«//ic?a, nearly allied to P. /a/ca/« of Gould. Recently published Ornithological Works. 99 17. Ramsay on a new lanthoenas. [Description of a new Species of lanthoenas from Duke-of-York Island. By E. P. Ramsay. Ibid. p. 248.] Describes I. pallidiceps, like /. metallica, but having "^the whole head and throat white. ^^ 18. Ramsay on Birds from the New Hebrides. [Descriptions of three Species of Birds from the New Hebrides. By E. P. Ramsay. Ibid. p. 286.] The species described are Macropygia macUnlayi, from the island of Tanna, M. rufa, from Sandwich Island, and Chal- cophaps chrysochlora, var. sandwichensis , from the same island, from a collection made by Dr. IVIackinlay during a recent visit to the New Hebrides. 19. Reichenow on Foreign Cage-birds. [Vogelbilder aus fernen Zonen. Atlas der bei ims eiugefiilirten ausliin- discben Vogel, mit erlauterndem Text. Allen Naturfreunden, insbe- sondere den Liebhabern auslandiscber Stubenvogel und Besucbern zoolo- gischer Garten, gewidmet von Dr. Ant. Reicbenow. Folio. Oassel: 1878.] Of this illustrated work, the commencement of which was announced in our last number^, we have received the first part. It contains three plates, each with several figures of Parrots, and accompanying letterpress. The first two plates are devoted to American, the third to Australian species. The figures, although much reduced in size, are well coloured, and enable the specific characters to be recognized. 20. Russ on Foreign Cage-birds. [Die fremdlandiscben Stubenvogel, ihre Naturgescbicbte, Pfiege und Zucht. Von Dr. Karl Russ. 8vo. Hannover : 1879.] The first volume of Dr. Russ^s exhaustive work on this subject is devoted to frugivorous birds, i. e. Fringillidse, Plo- ceidae, Alaudidse, and Tanagridse. An account is given of the numerous species of these families that have heen intro- duced as cage-birds, including a description of the plumage, and details as to their history, habitat, and treatment in * Ibis, 1878, p. 492. H 2 100 Recently published Ornithological Works. captivity. The second volume will contain the insectivorous groups, and the third the Parrots. The work will be most useful, when complete, to the numerous keepers of cage-birds. Fourteen colour- printed plates illustrate 72 species. 21. Russ on a new Parrot. [Eine wahrscheinlicli bisher nocli niclit beschxiebene Papageienart. Von Dr. Carl Euss. Die gefiederte Welt, Jalirg. vii. p. 359 (29. Aug. 1878.] Of six young Parrakeets of the genus Palaornis bought by Dr. Bodinus at the Antwerp sale in 1 875, two came into Dr. Euss's collection. These have now attained maturity, and, though allied to the Blossom-headed Parrakeet (P. cyano- cephalus) , are regarded by Dr. Russ as belonging to an allied species, distinguishable both in the mature and immature dress, which Dr. Russ proposes to call P. bodini. The size is smaller; the sea-green neck-band is wanting; and the middle tail-feathers are not blue, but green. But is not this P. rosa (Bodd.) ? Cf. Reichenow, Orn. Centrabl. iii. p. 182 (no. 23). 22. Salvadori on new Species of Rectes. [Osservazioni intovno alia supposta identita specifica deUa Rectes cirrho- eephala (Less.) e della Rectes dichroa, Bp., e descrizione di due nuove specie del genere Rectes, Rclib., per Tommaso Salvadori. Ann. Mus. Genov. xii, p. 471.] The author shows, in opposition to the ^dews of Dr. IVTeyer and Mr. Sharpe (Cat. B. iii. p. 284) that Rectes dichrous is not the adult form of R. cirrhocephala (lege cirrocephalus) , but a distinct species. Rectes decipiens is proposed as the name for an intermediate form, from the southern shores of the Bay of Geelvink ; and R. holerythrus, from Jobi (allied to R. ferrugineus) , is described as new. 23. Saunders on the Distribution of the Laridse. [On the Geographical Distribution of the Gulls and Terns (Laridae). By Howard Saunders, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Journ. Linn. Soc. (Zoology) xiv. p.' 390.] In this essay Mr. Howard Saunders enters at some length Recently published Ornithological Works. 101 into the geographical distribution of the Laridae^ of which about 109 species are recognized as distinct. Mr. Saunders takes each species in order^ and gives a short account of its range. Some general remarks are added at the close, in which the conclusion is arrived at that the north Pacific is probably the " centre of dispersal " of the group. Mr. Saunders will pardon us for remarking that " Rhyncho- pinse/' not " Rhynchopsinse/^ is the correct Latin derivative of " Rhynchops." 24. ' Stray Feathers,'' Vol. vi. [Stray FeatLiers : a Journal of Ornithology for India and its Depen- dencies. Edited by Allan Hume. Vol. vi. Calcutta: 1878.] Mr. Hume has devoted the whole of his sixth volume (524 pp.) to a " Revised List of the Birds of Tenasserim," prepared by himself from the notes of Mr. W. Davison, who, as we all know, has devoted for several years great attention to this subject, and has, as we are informed, collected up- wards of 8000 specimens. The memoir is a most valuable one, Tenasserim having been previously one of the ornitholo- gically least-known portions of British India. The list includes altogether 721 species, of which 580 have been obtained by Mr. Davison or by other correspondents of Mr. Hume. Mr. Davison^s numerous field-notes are indicated by his initials attached. Mr. Hume gives descriptions of all the species not included in Jerdon^s ' Birds of India,^ and critical re- marks on synonymy, distribution, and other points. A new genus {Turdinulus) is instituted (p. 235) for Pnoe- pyga roberti of God win- Austen and Walden (Ibis, 1875, p. 252). As regards the remarks which Mr. Hume has been pleased to make (p. 278) on the Editors of this Journal, we have only to say that we took some trouble to do our best, in the matter referred to, to meet Mr. Hume's wishes, and much regret that he is not satisfied. Colonel Godwin- Austen is one of our leading authorities on Indian birds ; and as the types to be compared were in his collection, it was not only natural, . but even necessary to consult him on the subject. As regards 102 Letters, Announcements, ^'C. the much-vexed question of Pellorneum tickelli, we have given our unbiased and independent opinion, founded on our own personal comparison, viz. that ''it is impossible" to decide the case from the descriptions, but that the size of the specimens seems to favour Mr. Hume^s views. After this, it is a little hard that Mr. Hume should complain of his referees not having delivered judgment. 25. Taczanoivski on the Birds of Poland. [Liste des Vertebres de Pologne, par L. Taczanowski. Biill. Soc. Zool. de France, 1877, p. 121.] M. Taczanowski enumerates 304 species of birds in his list, and gives notes on the times and seasons of their occur- rence. In his preliminary remarks is given an account of the previous literature on the subject. IX. — Letters, Announcements, ^c. We have received the following letters, addressed to the Editors of ' The Ibis : '— Heligoland, September 28th, 1878. Sirs, — It gives me much pleasure to inform you that the occurrence here of Larus affinis has very soon been followed by another still more interesting addition to the ornis of Heli- goland, in the capture of a fine specimen of a Phylloscopus (shot here on the 25th inst. by my eldest son) greatly resembling P. fuscatus, but of a coloration tending more to greyish than huffish brown, the dark colour of the upper parts extending all round the fore part of the breast, or craw, as we describe it in German ornithological phraseology. With the aid of Mr. Seebohm^s paper on the Phylloscopi (Ibis, 1877, p. 66), I have been enabled to identify the above bird, P. viridanus being the only one of his eight Acan- thopneustcB without the mesial line that it could be referred to, although the bill of my specimen is not to be called " large," being, in fact, not larger than that of P. trochilus. In all other measurements, however, in the colour of the upper Letters, Announcements, Sfc. 103 and underparts, the superciliary streak, distinctness of lower wing-bar, combined with the total absence of the upper one, " pale greenish plumbeous " legs (which I had marked down as olive-grey), as in the relative proportions of the primaries, it fully agrees with the description given by Mr. Seebohm of P. viridanus. Judging from what is said in the same paper as regards P. plumbeitarsus , it appears that this species resembles P. viridanus very closely indeed ; but the " lead-colour " of the legs, together with the " generally distinct " upper wing- bar of the former, induced me to decide in favour of P. viri- danus as a name for my bird. Perhaps there may exist a sufficient difference in the shape of wing between these closely allied species, although in both of them the second and seventh primaries are of nearly the same length as are the third, fourth, and fifth ; still, with this seeming sameness, the distance from the tip of the bastard primary to that of the three longest primaries, and from those again to the longest tertiary, may differ so essentially as, when placing both species side by side, to make their dis- similarity apparent at a glance. Unfortunately I am not in possession of materials to decide this question. As perhaps some members of the ornithological brother- hood may be rather surprised at the statement that this small island should be visited by two different species on the same day, both belonging to the far east of Asia, I beg to state that, for instance, a Phylloscojms nitidus was also shot by my son whilst searching for a P. superciliosus seen here the same day, that another time Turdus varius was captured the same day with two P. superciliosus, and again this latter Willow- Warbler together with an Emberiza pusilla, as also with an E. rustica. On the 1st of October, 1869, examples of Turdus varius, P. superciliosus, E. pusilla, Anthus cervinus, together with three of Muscicapa parva, were either seen or shot here, followed the next day by a Turdus swainsoni, which latter bird, under the circumstances, decidedly made its journey hither across Asia. Of more south-eastern species, I have obtained here on the 104 Letters, Announcements, S^c. same day Charadrius fulvus and Emberiza melanocephala, at another time Acrocephalus agricola together with Ruticilla mesoleuca, and^ again, Falco rufipes along with Alauda bra- chydactyla, as also Sturnus roseus along with E. melano- cephala. Instances of this description I could easily multiply to a very great extent ; the above will, however, be sufficient to show that such so-called stray birds do not, as a general rule, consist of silly young individuals roaming about at random, but there is system in their apparently irrational wanderings, though we may not be able to divine the motives — a supposi- tion supported by the fact that, along with the change of direction such birds are proceeding from, there is also a fixed difference of season at which they do appear. Yours &c., H. Gatke. Aldershot, October 24, 1878. Sirs, — A slight error appears in the biographical memoir of the late Mr. Edward Adams, published along with his list of the birds of Michalaski {vide Ibis, 1878, p. 421). During the years 1848-49 the ' Investigator,^ forming part of the expedition under Sir James Ross, was commanded by Captain Bird, and not by C-aptain M'Clure. Yours &c., H. W. Feilden. Sirs. — Allow me a few remarks on several notices of my papers published by you in the last number of * The Ibis ' (1878, pp. 479-483). Lanius antinorii, Salvad. (Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. xii., 25 Mag- gio 1878), looks like L. pallidirostris , Cass., when on the wing, but not otherwise ; I think that very likely it is the same bird which has been lately described by Cabanis under the name of Lanius (Fiscus) dorsalis {' Journal fvir Ornithologie,' April 1878, p. 205) . But which name has the priority ? If«you look at the dates printed on the papers you would say Cabanis. But I may as well remark that the April number of the Letters, Announcements, l^c. 105 ' Journal fiir Ornithologie * for this year did uot reach me till the 7th of September ; and I should like to hear what was the real date of its appearance. Once before it was noticed in ' The Ibis ' (1877, p. 239, note) that the number containing " Ornithological Results of the ' Gazelle ' Expe- dition/' although dated July 1876, was not issued to the subscribers until January 1877 ! I think that such a pro- ceeding is very objectionable. In the notice of my paper '^ On Certain Cassowaries/' there is a passage not quite exact. You say that I "now doubt whether Cassowary No. 2, from Warbusi, is really identical with No. 1, from Wandammen, i. e. whether C. ultijugus really = C. salvadorii, i. e. if the localities are rightly assigned.^' In my paper I have written nothing of the kind. On the contraiy, acknowledging the identity of C. altijugus and C. salvadorii, I have only expressed my doubts whether C. sal- vadorii is really from Warbusi, a locality whence we know certainly that C. tricarunculatus comes. I have added that probably the tickets o£ the two specimens referred to C sal- vadorii and to C tricarunculatus have been exchanged, so that the ticket of C. salvadorii, on which was written " Warbusi," most likely belonged to C. tricarunculatus, and to C. salva- dorii belonged the one attached to C. tricarunculatus, on which was simply written "Nouvelle Guinee, 1876. '^ On this sup- position the specimen of C. tricarunculatus sold to Count Turati by Laglaize would be from Warbusi, as the type spe- cimen was, and C. salvadorii, with the ticket " Nouvelle Guinee, 1876," might possibly be from Wandammen, like the specimen originally named C. altijugus. I wish to mention that in the same paper of mine on Cas- sowaries (p. 4, or 422 of the volume, line 20), I have wrongly quoted "Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. vii. p. 717, note, 1877,'' in- stead of " Sclater, Ibis, 1877, p. 372, note." It should be understood that my name Clialcopsittacus bruijni has no priority over C. insignis, Oust., bestowed one week before mine. Might not this bird possibly be the 106 Letters, Announcements, S^c. long-lost Psittacus stavorini. Less., Voy. Coq. Zool. i, p. 355, most likely described from memory ? In the footnote to the notice of my paper on the Birds from Tarawai, there is one thing wrong. Chenorhamphus cyanopectus. Oust. (= Todopsis grayi, Wall. = Myiagra glauca, Schleg.), was not described from Tarawai, but from Am- berpon. M. Oustalet admits now the identity asserted by me. Possibly the genus Chenorhamphus will have to stand. I take this opportunity to mention that M. Oustalet's recently described Fachycephala squalida {conf. Ibis, 1878, p. 376) is a young bird of P. griseiceps, Gray. M. Oustalet has kindly compared, at my request, his bird with two speci- mens which 1 had compared with Gray^s type in the British Museum. One of my objects when last year in Paris was to identify Trerolcema leclancheri, Bp. ; and Mr. Elliot was with me when I found out that it was the same as Leucotreron gironieri. 1 am glad to hear that he is of opinion that I was right. As to Hermotimia corinna, from the Duke-of-York Island, I think that anybody who will look at a series of it in com- parison with a series of H. aspasia will agree with me that they certainly differ. The male has the throat, not purple, more or less shining steel-blue, like the male of H. aspasia, but pure steel-blue, like the male of H. aspasioides, from Amboina, a species generally admitted, although it differs from H, aspasia less than my H. corinna ; besides, the female of this differs from those of H. aspasioides and H. aspasia, which have the underparts greenish, by having the same parts decidedly yellowish, and the throat much lighter. If differences so conspicuous and so constant as these are to be represented by names, I think that H. corinna will have to stand. Yours truly, T. Salvadori. Turin, October 28tL, 1878. Zoological Museum. Letters, Announcements, &^c. 107 SiRS^ — We have to chronicle, since we last wrote, the ad- dition of three birds to the ornithology of New Caledonia. This time they are, we think, known species ; at least we identify them as such. When we first came to Noumea we at once detected that among the common Swiftlets that fly about the outskirts of the town there occasionally appears a smaller and a brighter- coloured bird. We identified the former (on the wing) with Collocalia sjmdiopygia of Fiji, which it exactly resembled ; but lately, having obtained specimens, we saw at once that they differed from it in being much brighter-coloured, and not so smoky on the underparts and rump-patch. They are also somewhat larger, the wing being half an inch longer. This bird we now believe to be C leucopygia. Wall. What, then, were the white-bellied ones ? They had then dis- appeared; but having again come to the front, we have lately shot some of them, and find that they accord exactly with Gray's figure and description in the ' Voyage of the Cura9oa ' of C. uropygialis. Gray says " this bird has hitherto only been obtained in the New Hebrides (Aneiteum) ." The distance is not very great, and a mere bagatelle to a bird of such power of sving as a Swift. We find that though they occasionally hawk after small insects in company with the other species, they in general keep more to the edge of the forest, and among the scattered gum-trees. We fancy that they must be migratory, as during the summer months we did not observe them ; they are now (May) pretty numerous, but local. Leopold Layard has started a canoe, there being no recre- ation here but " drinking-bars,'' billiards, and gambling ; and one evening, returning from a cruise to some islands ofJ Ansevata, he reported that he had found Charadrius fulvus breeding on a small sand-patch, the parent bird being fol- lowed by a pair of downy chicks, and that he had seen a flock of very minute Terns, which were quite new to him. Next day he went after them with his gun, and returned with a specimen (the only one then to be found) of Stermda nereis, Gould, a female, with the head speckled. This, as far 108 Letters, Announcements, S^c. as we can make out, is the first time this species has been recorded from here. Our last prize is another visitant from the Australian con- tinent, a magnificent example of what we make out to be a female Falco melanogenys, Gould. This powerful Falcon was killed at the Government penal farm, '' Yahoue," by the superintendent, who is on the look-out for Hawks and such like for us, the slaying of these being permitted by the colo- nial authorities. It weighed just 2 lb. Length (in the flesh, of course) 17", wing 13" 6'", tail 7" 9'", tarse 2" 2'", girth round middle of thigh 3" 6'". These measurements slightly exceed those given by Mr. Sharpe of a female in his ' Cata- logue,' but we feel sure that our bird must be assigned to that species, of which this is the first recorded capture from here. This part of the country has yielded us two other Hawks, viz. a splendid adult female of Accipiter haplochrous, Sclater (Ibis, 1859, p. 275, pi. viii), and a young one in the mottled plumage — also two specimens oi Haliastur sphenurus (Vieill.), a species which apparently does not confine itself to a fish diet, but preys on the farmers^ chickens, the remains of which we found in their crops ! Leopold Layard is just leaving for a visit to the New Hebrides, where he will remain about three months, visiting the different islands where there are plantations and cobra (or beche-de-mer) fishing-stations. His spare time he will devote to ornithology, having taken with him a collecting-gun (20 bore, left barrel on the new choke principle) , manufactured expressly for the purpose by a well-known brother of the "Ibis.-'-' We hope to report further of this weapon as a " collecting-gun ;" meanwhile we cannot help alluding to an exploit of our old favourite, " Long Tom,'' the shooting of which is wonderfully improved by the use, over the powder, of some veiy thick, elastic, felt wadding, lately sent us. We are using ^ drm. of powder and ^ oz. of shot, and have fired about forty shots without one miss ! Forty birds for 5 oz. of shot and 10 drms. of powder !! E. L. & L. C. Layard. Letters, Announcements, ^c. 109 Noumea, New Caledonia, July 6tli, 1878. Sirs, — The past month must be marked with a '^ white stoue " in our journal of collecting in New Caledonia ! We have added no less than three species to our collection^ one of them being, I fancy, a very scarce one. Not so scarce as Megaluruliis marice, however, as the solitary specimen of that bird sent home by us some time since [cf. Ibis, 1877, p. 360) still remains unique, as far as we are concerned. Probably we have not yet hit upon its chief habitat, which we suppose, from the specimen seen by L. L. while crossing the great central mountain-chain, to be somewhere in the interior. The acquisition of a horse and carriage has enabled us to extend our collecting peregrinations to a greater distance, and to reach some of the pine forests clothing the ravines of Mount Konye. Our first prizes were three (one male and two females) specimens of that very beautiful and peculiar green Dove, Lamprotheron holosericea, Temm., ( cJ ? , bill very dark green, legs and feet very dark pink, iris crimson ; length, S, H" 9'", wing 6" 6'", tail 4", tarse 1" 2'"), which we shot near Mr. Strokarck's house, in the Dombea road. Small yellow berries were in the throat of one of the specimens secured (June 13, 1878); the other two had in their crops round blue berries, a couple of inches in diameter, swallowed whole. They appear to be stupid birds, not easily alarmed. At one L. L. snapt his gun three times, then ex- tracted his cartridge and inserted another, the bird sitting still on the tree above him all the while. A second he fired at and slightly wounded, with the ^-of-an-ounce charge of dust-shot in " Long Tom.^^ It flew about fifty yards into some other trees ; and after two or three ineflectual " stalks,^^ he got within range again and shot it. We are informed that in the interior these Doves are not uncommon. The natives call them " Anez,^^ and declare they breed in holes of large trees. Our next prize is Cyanorhamphus saisseii, Verr., of which we were fortunate enough to secure a pair, male and female. 110 Letters, Announcements, ^c. The male is again the largest, being in length 12", the female 10^" (all measurements taken "in the flesh," of course). They were killed by L. L. in dense forest. After procuring the first, its mate kept calling round till it afforded a shot, which secured it. It closely resembles Platycercus nova- zealandia, Sparrm., of Hutton's ' Catalogue of the Birds of New Zealand ;' but on comparing it with specimens received from that gentleman, it is at once seen to be larger, has a yelloivei' green on the underside of the body, a bluer tinge on the upperside of the tail-feathers ; and these last are rounded at the ends, not pointed, as in the former, /' And now, last and least in point of size, but first in merit, a pair (male and female) of that singular bird the C/?//or7iywcAM5 pachycephaloides, of D. G. Elliot (P.Z. S. 1870, p. 243, pi. xix.) . These we found along the banks of a small stream in the forest, the first creeping about some dense lianes, the other in a more open place ; a third was seen and wounded, but escaped. L. L. watched this last for some time. It had all the man- ners of a Rhipidura, and was, indeed, in the distance, mis- taken for R. verreauxi ; but a nearer approach dispelled the illusion. It was very restless in its movements, incessantly darting at its insect prey (minute Coleoptera) on the under- side of leaves and branches, elevating and expanding its tail, at which times the white tip was conspicuously visible. Our specimens diff"er somewhat from the type described by Mr. Elliot : both are larger ; we give the dimensions : — (S. Total length 7" 6'", wing 3" 9'", tail 3" 9'", tarse 10'", bill 13'". $. „ 7" 3"', „ 3" 5'", „ 3" 8'", „ 10'", „ 13'". Then, again, only two, instead of four, central tail-feathers are immaculate, the others being all more or less tipped with white, which in the female is tinted with isabella-colour. The colours of the soft parts, taken just after death, were as follows : — (^ . Bill pale bluish white (like that of Artamus, but paler) ; this darkened into dark silver-grey, with a white tip, in dying ; legs and feet silver-grey, soles yellow, claws white ; iris dark drab. ? . Bill horn-coloured, with the base of lower mandible, tip, and edges pale ; gape yellow ; the rest Letters, Announcements, ^c. Ill as in the male. The bill, from the peculiar conformation of the lower mandible, shows a decided inclination to " gape," as in Anastomus. We think that Mr. Elliot might have se- lected a more appropriate name for this singular bird. It is not like any Pachycephala with which we are acquainted ! If he had called it myiolestoides, it would have expressed its likeness much better, and been three letters shorter ! ! It is exactly like a Myiolestes in shape and coloration, and, but for the bill, would be taken for one when in the hand^. E. L. L. & L. L. Bremen, October 18, 1878. Sirs, — As a supplement to the note of Mr. H. Gatke (Ibis, 1878, p. 489), on the capture of a specimen oi Larus affinis, Reinh., on Heligoland, I beg leave to record two more cases of the occurrence of this species in Europe. When in Leiden last June, I took occasion to compare my specimens of Gulls from Siberia with those in the Museum. In the extensive series of Larus argentatus at Leiden I found a specimen la- belled " Larus argentatus, 16 November 1863, Tajo, Lis- sabon," which belongs undoubtedly to L. affinis, although it is a young bird, with blackish bill (yellow at the base and tip). A second specimen, shot by Herr F. A. Verstor, 14 August 1874, at Katwijk, near Leiden, labelled also *' L. argentatus," belongs also to L. affinis. It is likewise a young- bird, with black primaries and tail-feathers (the latter barred at their bases with white), but in process of change to full dress. The dark colour of the back is always a distinguishing mark of this species, of the identity of which there cannot be the slightest doubt, as, by the kindness of Professor Rein- hardt, I was enabled to compare his type with my Siberian specimens. In reference to the distribution of this species, let me add that a specimen from Kamchatka in the Leiden Museum {" L. occidentalis, Schleg. Cat. No. 1, from Brandt, * Mr. Cockerell, the zoological collector, now here on his way to the Solomon Islands, on being shown this bird by us, exclaimed, "Why I shot that in Fiji ! " He was thinking of Myiolestet vitiensis. 112 Letters, Announcements, ^^. s. n. borealis, Br."), and another from Macao {'' L. occiden- talis, Schleg. Cat. No. 2"), also belong to L. affinis, Reinh. Yours &c., Otto Finsch. Oardney, Dunkeld, Perthshire, July 11th, 1878. Sirs, — I was extremely interested to see Mr. Dalgleish's letter in the last volume of ' The Ibis ' (p. 382) mentioning the recent occurrence of three specimens of the Stockdove, Columba oenas, in this and the neighbom'ing county, as I have been for the last month watching a pair of these birds breeding on a rocky hill, called Craigmore, at the back of this house, and was preparing to send a note to you recording the fact. The nest is placed in a hole in a cleft in the rock, about a yard from the entrance, well concealed by overhanging heather ; and I only found it out by noticing the way in which the ground was beaten by the old birds going in and out. There are two young birds in it, that were hatched on the 27th June, and are now (July 11th) nearly fledged. I intend try- ing to rear one of these, and shall leave the old birds unmo- lested, in hopes they may return another year. There can be little doubt that the pair recorded by Mr. Dalgleish would have bred if they had been left alone. I think there is every probability that the pair here have already brought out a brood, as my keeper has noticed them about the hill for the last three months. Yours &c., A. B. Brooke. Boston, November 16th, 1878. Sirs, — I notice that you cite Mr. Ridgway's authority for the presence of Podiceps cristatus in Franklin Lake (Rep. Geol. Survey 40th Parallel, p. 642) as suggesting that my " verdict may require reconsideration." All things in ornithology are possible; and negative opinions are ever reversible. Nevertheless the fact still stands, that Letters, Announcements, ^c. 113 no specimen of Podiceps cristatus is knoivn to have been ever taken in North America ! Mr. Ridgway^ eleven years ago, saw what he then supposed to be this bird ; but no specimens were procured, and subsequent explorations have failed to confirm his hypothesis. He saw birds that may have been P. cornutus, or P. occidetitalis, or P. clarki, or P. griseigena ; but, in the universal absence of P. cristatus, there is now no reason for believing that they were what he then supposed. Audubon tells us how common was P. cristatus on our western rivers ; but now-a-days no one finds it there, only P. griseigena. Dr. Coues cites P. cristatus in his ' Birds of the North-west ;' but he now concedes that it is not known to be North- American. And even my very accurate and careful friend Mr. C. Hart Mer- rian, in his admirable ' Review of the Birds of Connecticut/ published less than a year ago, gives this bird as a resident in " tlie land of wooden nutmegs," on the authority of such usually reliable gentlemen as W- W. Coe, J. H. Sage, and Dr. Wood, and of some eight (alleged) examples. Upon my calling his attention to the doubt, Mr. Merrian "reconsidered" his opinion, having ascertained that, without exception, they were all examples of immature P. griseigena. And this has been my universal experience. In every instance where specimens have been taken they prove to be not P. cristatus. When the genuine article is forthcoming, I shall be ready enough to " reconsider my verdict ;" but till then I prefer to believe that its presence in any part of America is " not proven." Yours &c., T. M. Brewer. Habits of Trogon surucura. — The following notes on a Bra- zilian Trogon are extracted from Mr. T. P. Bigg-Wither's interesting work lately published"^. Skins kindly submitted to us by Mr. Bigg- Wither have enabled us to identify the species as Trogon surucura, Vieillot. " The habits of the Suruqud are peculiar. Their principal * Pioneering in South Brazil : Three Years of Forest and Prairie Life in the Province of Parana. By Thomas P. Bigg-Wither. Two vols. Lon- don (Murray) : 1878. SER. IV. — VOL. III. 1 1 14 Letters, Announcements, H^r. food consists of butterflies and other soft-bodied flying insects ; and the only time when they exhibit any activity is when in pursuit of their prey. At all other times they sit motionless on some bough or branch of a tree^ generally about thirty feet above the ground. The report of a gun will not cause them to do more than turn their head ; and I have on more than one occasion shot the one bird, while its mate has re- mained sitting on the same tree half a dozen yards oflF, quietly looking on.^' "The sound of our axes seemed to have an especial attraction for the Suruqud. Frequently while some tree has been trem- bling on its throne under the powerful blows of the axe, one of these birds has come flying hurriedly up, and settled itself comfortably on one of the branches of the tottering monarch, as though it had been fleeing from some pursuer, and had now reached a haven of safety. I think possibly the vibra- tion of the leaves under the blows of the axe upon the trunk deceives it into imagining that butterflies are fluttering about round the tree ; hence its haste to come and inspect it. Cer- tainly the bird seems silly and stupid enough for any thing. '^ Dr. Finsch's Expedition. — In company with Capt. Henry Sengstake, who took a prominent part in the German Arctic Expedition of 1868 and 1870, and who has recently returned from the west coast of America, Dr. Otto Finsch, the well- known ornithologist of Bremen, contemplates undertaking a scientific voyage among the islands of the North Pacific. His attention will be directed more particularly to his own branch of science, while his companion will study the geo- graphy and hydrography of the places visited. Dr. Finsch is assisted in tlie matter by the Academy of Sciences at Berlin ; but he hopes to obtain additional aid from other sources, so as to enable him to charter a vessel, and thus be more inde- pendent in his movements. Should his hopes be realized, he proposes to visit more especially the Caroline archipelago or New Philippines, the Ladrones or Marianne Islands, and the Bonin or Arzobispo group, about many of the islands of which next to nothing is known. Dr. Finsch thinks, and not Letters, Announcements, &^c. 115 without reason, that much may be done for science in all its branches in this part of the world, and that, looking at the matter from a geographer's stand-point, time will be profitably spent in preparing maps of the islands and in collecting mate- rials for reports on their products, economic capabilities, and physical condition. — Academy, 2nd Nov. 1878. A new form 0/ Certhiidae. — Prof. Barboza du Bocage has kindly lent me for examination a skin of the very carious new form of Certhiidae, from Angola, which he has lately charac- terized as Hylypsornis salvadorii*. Although the form comes very near Salpornis of the Himalayas in general appearance and structure, I think Hylypsornis may stand as a good genus, on account of its shorter bill and feebler feet, the middle toe being especially shorter. I cannot compare the wing-struc- ture, the skin being that of a bird in moult. The discovery of this form in Angola (Certhiidse being hitherto unknown in the ^Ethiopian Region) is of the greatest interest. — P. L. S. Additions to the Collection of Birds in the British Museum in 1877. — The following extract from the Annual Parliamen- tary Report on the British Museum for 1877 f is the portion relating to the birds : — The total number of acquisitions amounts to 1890, of which seventy-three were species entirely new to the collection, and twenty-three typical specimens. The following accessions may be specially mentioned : — Fifty-foui' specimens, collected by Captain Peilden during the late Arctic Expedition; presented by the Lords Com- missioners of Her Majesty's Treasury. * Jom. Acad. Lisboa, no. xxiii. 1878. t British Museum. Account of the Income and Expenditure of the British Museum (Special Trust-Funds) for the Financial Year ended the 31st day of March 1878, and Return of the number of Persons admitted to visit the Museum, together -with a Statement of the Progress made in the Arrangement of the Collections and an Account of Objects added to them in the year 1877. 116 Letters, Announcements, S^c. Tlie nest and egg of the Snow-Bunting, and a pair of Knots^ with the nesthngs, obtained by Captain Feilden in lat. 82° 33', and presented by the collector. Forty-four specimens from Turkey, collected by Mr. W. Pearce, of Constantinople ; presented by R. B. Sharpe, Esq. The types of Podoces biddidphi and of Suya obscura; purchased. Fifty-three specimens from China ; presented by the Shang- hai Museum. Twenty-five birds from the Himalayas and North-western India; collected by Captain T. Biddulph. The type of Oreocincla pectoralis and specimens of Centropus chlororhynchus and Phodilus assimilis (species new to the collection) ; presented by Captain Vincent Legge, R.A. A series of 144 specimens selected from the collection formed by Governor Ussher in Labuan and North-west Borneo, containing the types of Lobiophasis castaneicaudatus , Pitta ussheri, and CypseJus labuanensis ; purchased. Typical examples of Corvus annectens and Polyplectron schleiermacheri ; received in exchange from the Darmstadt Museum. Two of the typical specimens of Redes jobiensis ; purchased. Selected series from collections made in New Guinea by Mr. O. C. Stone and the late Dr. James, containing seven new species. A typical specimen of Chatorhynchus papuensis ; presented by the Dresden Museum. Three Cassowaries, including the types of Casuarius pidi- collis and Casuarius sclateri ; purchased of the Zoological Society. Thirty specimens of Corvidse from Australia ; presented by the Trustees of the Australian Museum, Sydney. Fifty-two specimens from various islands of the South Seas ; purchased of the Godeffroy Museum. The fifth portion of the collection of African birds formed by, and formerly in the possession of, Mr. R. B. Sharpe; it consists of 600 specimens, and contains six types and many species previously not represented in the British Museum. Letters, Announcements, S^c. 117 One hundred and fifty-nine specimens from King Williara^s Town ; presented by Lieutenant H. Trevelyan. Thirty-three specimens from the same locality ; presented by Lieutenant Anstey. Twenty Warblers and Chats from the Transvaal ; presented by Dr. Henry Exton. of Bloemfontein. Sixty-nine specimens from Abeoknta, including the type of Amadina sharpii ; presented by F. Nicholson, Esq. The Swinhoe Collection. — We are happy to be able to in- form oiu" readers that Mr. Seebohm has bought the remainder of the late Mr. Swinhoe^s collection. Hitherto the skins have been kept in boxes, a most destructive and reprehen- sible method for small birds, resulting in the gradual abra- sion of their plumage and in the breaking of their necks. They will now be placed in shallow drawers, on the plan adopted by all scientific ornithologists who take a pride in the preservation of their treasures. This still valuable collection will be placed in Tenterden Street, and will be available, as it has hitherto been, to all students interested in Chinese ornithology. Many of Swinhoe's types are un- fortunately missing ; some have been sold, and others lent and not returned. Some of the most interesting series of birds have also entirely disappeared from the same causes. In the interests of science it is very desirable that this unique col- lection should be made as complete as possible ; and we venture to appeal to the ornithological patriotism of those who may be able to assist in effecting this object, and to ask those who have in their possession borrowed skins to return them to Mr. Seebohm. We have also this gentleman^s authority for stating that from those who have pui'chased from the late Mr. Swinhoe any skins belonging to any of the missing series he is prepared to repurchase them at a handsome profit if they will replace them in the collection, or to give ample ex- change either in skins or eggs, which his Siberian and other collections enable him so well to do. 118 Letters, Announcements, ^c. Substantives as Specific Names. — It appears not to be un- derstood by some naturalists that specific names may be sub- stantives. Linnaeus used many such, e. ff. Turdus merula, Emberiza cirlus, and Fringilla spinus, in each of which cases, will be observed, the specific name is of a different gender from the generic, the two terms being placed in apposition. In the face of this, certain naturalists do not hesitate to violate the plainest rules .of Latinity, in order to bring their specific and" generic names to the same termination. Not to speak of Mr. Sharpe's Cerchneis tinnuncula (!), Mr. Dresser has lately attempted to turn agricola into an adjectival form'^, not considering that it is a masculine noun, although ending in a. Surely no one who has been to school can forget *' 0 fortunat^ niniium sua si l>oua norint Agricola ! " In the new number of ' Stray Feathers,^ Mr. Hume, in a similar frame of mind, proposes to convert " eremita " — another masculine noun — into an adjective, and tries to per- suade us to call our old friend Fregilus graculus, Graculus eremitusf. New British Bird. — An addition has just been made to the British list by a record of the occurrence of the Black-throated Wheatear of Southern Europe [Saxicola stapazina, Linn., nee Dresser) in Lancashire. The occurrence of this bird was first stated in an article in ' Science Gossip,^ of October 1st, 1878. The specimen in question has since been exhibited at the Meetings of the Zoological Society in November and December last, and unquestionable evidence given as to the authenticity of the occurrence. The Breeding-places of the Black Stork. — I have been try- ing, for some time unsuccessfully, to get some Black Storks [Ciconia nigra) for the Zoological Society's collection. On turning to Mr. Dresser's ' Birds of Europe ' for information * Acrocephalus agricohis, Dresser, B. of Eur. pt. 5.'i. t ' Stray Feathers,' vii. p. 149. Letters, Announcements, ^c. 119 as to the nearest breeding-places from which I might obtain young birdsj and which I believe to be somewhere in Den- mark, I found only the somewhat vague information that it is " not uncommon " there_, and " breeds annually at Fred- rikslund/' and in another passage that it " breeds only seldom, and not regularly, on the islands (?), as, for instance, on Seeland.'^ On reference to Prof. Reinhardt, of Copen- hagen, I was, however, favoured with the following informa- tion, which, I think, may be acceptable to some of the mem- bers of the B. O. U. :— "The Black Stork is not uncommon in Denmark, and breeds in several of the forests in Jutland, but usually only a few pairs, or even a single pair, in each forest. " There are breeding-places : — •^'1. To the north of ' Limfjorden,^ in Baggesvogn-skov, in the neighbourhood of the small town of Hjorring (the most northern breeding-place in Denmark) ; Dronninglund-storskov, on the estate Dronninglund ; Stagsted-skov. " 2. On the island ' Oland,^ in Limfjorden, in Oksholm-skov , belonging to the estate of that name. "3. To the south of Limfjorden, in Hald-skov and Aunsbjerg-skou, not far from Viborg ; Houlhjerg-skov, on the estates of Count Friis ; Fusingo-skove, on the estates of Count Scheel-Plessen ; Mylenberg-skov , some miles from the small town of Hobro ; Palsgaard-skove, several miles distant from Veile ; Ronvold-skove, belonging to the estate of Count Rantzau, in the same neighbourhood ; Store Grundel-skov, also close by Veile ; Silkeberg-skove, not far from Skandeborg. " There are, I believe, still more breeding-places in Jut- land; but I suppose that those already mentioned will suffice. " There is even at least one breeding-place in Seeland, viz. Mag-leskov, on the estate Ivenstrup, at the railway station 120 Letters, Announcements, ^c. Borup^ about 20 English miles to the south of Copenhagen. In several of these breeding-places the nests are pretty often robbed of their eggs by collectors. " The Black Stork arrives commonly early in April. Chicks have been found just hatched, together Avith two eggs, in a nest, as early as the 2ud of May ; but I believe this to have been an exceptional case : some ten or twelve days later may be considered the regular time. I will ask now, Has any member of the B. O. U. ever visited a nesting-place of the Black Stork in any part of Denmark? P. L. S. Geary's ' Asiatic Turkey.' — Mr. Geary has lately given us a most instructive and interesting account of his ride through Asiatic Turkey from Bagdad to Alexandretta"^. But when he comes to ornithological topics Mr. Geary ceases to be ac- curate ; we trust this is not the case in his remarks on more general subjects. " Wild Turkeys," we are gravely informed, " abound in the region between the Tigris and the Persian hills. They are often hunted with Hawks. '^ Mr. Geary thereupon proceeds to argue that " the notion that Turkeys are of purely American origin must be given up ! " We would ask, Did Mr. Geary see the " wild Turkeys " on the Tigris? and is he sure they were not Bustards of some species? Is it possible, however, that the Editor of the 'Times of India' does not know the difference between a Turkey and a Bustard ? Again, at Kuffree, on his way to Mosul, Mr. Geary " was awoke [lege awakened] by the con- jugal discussions in progress between two Cranes, which had a colossal nest perched on an angle of the surrounding wall.'' The succeeding paragraphs show beyond all doubt that the bird was no other than a Common Stork, which even a news- paper editor ought not to call a Crane. After this we must recur to the old proverb " Ne sutor ultra crepidam ! " * Through Asiatic Turkey : Narrative of a Journey from Bombay to the Bosphorus. By Grattan Geary, Editor of ' The Times of India." London, 1878 : Murray. Letters, Announcements, S^-c. 121 Netv Works in Preparation. — The fourth volume of the British-Museum Catalogue of Birds by Mr, Sharpe is uow far advanced^ and will contain the Campephagidse, Muscica- pidoe, and allied families. Mr. Seebohm, we believe^ has undertaken the catalogue of the Sylviidse and some allied groups ; and other specialists are named as likely to assist in the preparation of future volumes ; so that, we trust, the somewhat melancholy anticipation which we have previously indulged in as to the epoch of the completion of this gTcat Avork may be disappointed. The Stricklandian Curator at Cambridge is devoting him- self to a catalogue of the collection under his charge ; whilst his co-editor, as will be seen by the announcement inserted next to our cover, has projected a monograph on the Jaca- raars and Puff-birds, to occupy his spare time. Obituary of Mr. H. Durnforcl. — Mr. Henry Durnford, whose unexpected death at Salta, in Bolivia, was announced in the last number of ^The Ibis,^ was born and educated at Eton, where his father was for many years a master. His Eton career cannot be said to have been particularly brilliant, though he always managed to hold his own credit- ably in the school, and laid up a considerable store of general knoAvledge. The love of animals, which from the days of his earliest childhood was his ruling passion, seemed to increase with years, and his great object as a boy was to surround himself with every sort of living creature he could get hold of. At the age of 18 he entered a mercantile house in Liver- pool. Here he remained for five years. Notwithstanding the nature of his employment, he still managed to find time for his favourite pursuit ; and the pages of his diary, portions of which appeared from time to time in the ' Zoologist ' (1872, 1873), testify to the ardour with which he devoted himself to natural history. Ornithology was Henry Durnford's special hobby ; and whilst at Liverpool he contrived, under considerable difii- culties, to make himself well acquainted with most of our SEK. IV. VOL. III. K 122 Letters, Announcements, ^c. British birds. Besides thoroughly exploring the neighbour- hood of Liverpool in company with a younger brother whose tastes were exactly similar to his own^ he at various times made expeditions to all parts of the coast. North Wales, Anglesea, Walncy Island, Suffolk, Hampshire, and Hayling Island were all, at one time or another, the scene of an excursion; and on one occasion (the spring of 1874) he ex- tended his travels as far as the North Frisian Islands and the coast of Schleswig (' Ibis,' October 1874, and ' Field,' March 1878). In 1875, being then 22, he succeeded in obtaining an ap- pointment in a house of business at Buenos Ay res, for which place he set out on February 23rd. Though compelled by force of circumstances to labour at what was, to him, an un- congenial occupation, he did not by any means lose his love of birds ; and the numerous letters received at this period point to the vigour with which he pursued his scientific studies in his adopted country. After remaining two and a half years Avith the same firm, the closing of their Buenos- Ayres branch afforded him an opportunity, of which he gladly availed himself, for severing for ever his connexion with the desk. He boldly determined to devote himself henceforth to natural history, not merely as a pleasant way of occupying his spare time, but as his sole occupation, by which he was determined to gain his livelihood. With the example before him of many who have succeeded in the same line, and undeterred by the still greater number of those who have failed, he set earnestly to work, and in such a way that, had his life been spared, there can be little doubt that he Avould ultimately have ranked high in the list of naturalists and explorers. After an expedition, occupying nearly eight months, to the Welsh colony of Chupat, during Avhich he explored a portion of Patagonia hitherto unknown to European travellers (Ibis, October 1878), he set off, accompanied by a muleteer and four mules, on a more extensive expedition to Tucuman, Bo- livia, and the Upper Paraguay. The first portion of his journey was most successfully accomplished; and in a letter dated '' Rio Pasage, 16th June, 1878," he speaks with the Letters, Announcements, &^c. 123 utmost enthusiasm of the beauties of the tropical region on which he was entering, the scenery of which seemed greatly to exceed his expectations. One month later a telegram was received at Buenos Ay res from a gentleman living near to Salta, to whom Henry Durnford had obtained an introduction, stating briefly that the young naturalist committed to his care had breathed his last on an estancia at Campo Santo, at 10 o'clock on the morning of July 13th. A subsequent letter explained that his death had resulted from a sudden attack of heart-disease, the seeds of which had doubtless been sown during a fever which had nearly proved fatal to him at Chupat a few months before. The first paper communicated to this Journal by Henry Durnford was in 1874, entitled " Ornithological Notes on the North-Frisian Islands and adjacent Coast '' (Ibis, 1874, pp. 391-406) . In 1876 (pp. 157-166) he commenced his " Orni- thological Notes from the Neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres.^^ These were continued in 1877 (pp. 166-203). The same year (pp. 27-46) his " Notes on some Birds observed in the Chupat Valley, Patagonia, and in the neighbouring District" appeared; and, following the same subject, he sent us in 1878 (pp. 389- 406) his "Notes on the Birds of Central Patagonia." As these last were passing through the press the tidings of their author^s death reached us. All these papers show that Henry Durn- ford was a keen observer of birds in their wild state ; and his collections, which were submitted to us for examination, enabled us to judge of the rapidity and accuracy with which he had accomplished the by no means easy task of mastering the names of the species he met with. Henry Durnford was elected a Member of the British Or- nithologists^ Union in 1876. Death of Dr. Stolker. — From the ' Mittheilungen des orni- thologischen Vereines in Wien ' for August last, we learn of the death, at the early age of 39, of Dr. Carl Stolker, the dis- tinguished Swiss ornithologist, of St. Fiden, near St. Gall, in Switzerland. Dr. Stolker was the author of several papers in the ^Journal fiir Ornithologie,' the 'Bulletin^ of the Swiss 124 Letters, Announcements, ^c. Ornithological Society, and other periodicalSj and appears to have been a most energetic collector of birds and eggs. His collection has been bequeathed to the Natural- History Society of St. Gall. Death of Mr. G. D. Rowley. — With much regret also we announce the death of Mr. George Dawson Rowley, a Member of this Union since 186+, and a well-known and familiar friend to many of us. Mr. Rowley was the eldest son of the late Mr. George William Rowley, of Priory Hill, in Huntingdon, who, singularly enough, expired on the same day as his son, after a long illness. Mr. Rowley was born in 1822, and was educated at Eton and Cambridge, where he took the degree of B.A. in 1846. Both at school and at the University he was a companion of the late John Wolley, whose early passion for ornithology he shared. Many short contributions from Mr. Rowley's pen have appeared in ' The Field,' * The Zoologist,' * The Proceedings of the Zoological Society,' and in this Journal, generally relating either to the natural history of the neighbourhood of Brighton, where he chiefly resided, or to the rarities in birds and eggs acquired for his own collection. But the work by which he will be chiefly known will be his ' Ornithological Miscellany ' *, the third and concluding volume of which was brought to a com- pletion just as his fatal illness commenced. Mr. Rowley died at his residence, Chichester House, East Cliff, Brighton, on the 21st of November last. * See notices of this work, 'Ibis,' 1875, p. 509) 1877, pp. 122, 243, 378, 481 ; 1878, pp. 193, 471. THE IBIS. FOUETH SERIES. No. X. APRIL 1879. X. — Field-notes on the Birds of Celebes, By A. B. Meyer^ M.D., C.M.Z.S., Director of the Royal Zoological Mu- seum, Dresden. Part II. [Continued from p. 70.] Broderipus celebensis, Walden, Native Malay name/^Burong-guning," i. e. "Yellow bird." Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Kikeliawoi." Very common. Minahassa, December till July; Limbotto, July ; Togian Islands, August. Iris red ; feet bluish grey ; claws black ; bill rosy. Even the bones of this bij'd are yellow. Geocichla erythronota, Sclater. Five miles from Menado, on the way to Lotta, in February and March ; at Tumumpat, near Menado, in March ; in the churchyard of the Europeans at Menado from April to July. Lives on the ground, very shy, only to be shot from far. Iris of a dark slaty colour ; feet nearly white. Feeds on beetles, which I found in the stomach. I wonder that Lord Tweeddale gave me credit for having got this bird, in his "Appendix " and not in his "List," seeing that SER. IV. VOL. III. h 126 r>r. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes I had sent this species, and others for the first time, together with Meropogonforsteni, for which species he gives me credit in the '' List/' The same remark applies to Ceycoj)sis fallax and others. Trichostoma celebense, Strickl. Conceals itselfin the interior of low bushes, and is therefore difficult to get. MeLANOPITTA rORSTENI (Bp.). Native Malay name, " Mopo-idiu,'' i. e. " Green Grand- father " (explanation see below) . The bird is difficult to obtain, in consequence of its shyness, or perhaps from its being a rare bird. Several of the black- headed Pittas are not easy to procure, according to my expe- rience, such as P. sordida, of the Philippine Islands, and also P. nova -ff nine a, of New Guinea ; whereas Pitta maxima, of Hal- mahera, and P. roseiibergi, of Mysore,' must be called common birds. Have the latter lost, or never acquired, shyness in consequence of freedom from enemies ? M.forsteni I found near Menado in December 1870, but later only once again in these regions, notwithstanding that I always had my eyes open for it. The following species is more frequent. Erythropitta celebensis (Forsten). Malay and Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Mopo," i.e. " Grandfather.^' Near Menado from January till July ; Togian Islands, August ; near Segeri, South Celebes, in September. Although the red-breasted Pitta of Celebes is not so difficult to procure as the black-headed, it is nevertheless a bird which it is not easy to get a shot at, being very quiet in the daytime, and seldom calling except in the morning and evening its tiiiiilii tchui. In the evening the cry oppo (origin of the native name) is heard, with which male and female call one another, the notes sounding melancholy and protracted. " Oppo " means, in the language of the country, '' grandfather ; " and the natives tell the tale, that ouce a child, which had gone on the Birds of Celebes. 127 with its grandfatlier into the forest^ got astray^ was trans- formed into a bird, which now always calls for its grandfather. Pitta celehensis only runs on the ground, and is very shy and watchful ; it glides noiselessly through the leaves ; and, as its back is green, it can only with difficulty be detected. To ap- proach it one must creep through the densest brushes ; and without imitating the call of the bird its pursuit would be in vain. But if the hunter imitates the cry, he can draw the bird almost to the muzzle of his gun. During the daytime they go singly, in the evening in pairs together. The nest is to be found in brushes near small pools. The bird digs a hole in the slope of the river-bank, and builds its nest therein of wood and leaves, lined with cotton or hairy plant-materials (for in- stance, from Arenga saccharifera, Lab.). It lays two eggs. If the female sits on the eggs, the male watches in the neigh- bourhood, and it takes the place of the female when she goes for food. This Pitta feeds on beetles, small caterpillars, &c. In the young bird the red is very pale, as also the other colours. In old individuals the red likewise is lighter, or perhaps before the moults. The male has much more bril- liant colours than the female. Iris greyish brown ; bill black ; feet greyish black. (Compare also my notes in Rowley^s Orn. Misc. vol. ii. p. 327). Gerygone flaveola. Cab. I discovered this bird in January 1873 near Makassar, and also found it at Tello, some miles from Makassar. It is a lively little bird; and its call is often heard, at least during that month. It calls about nine times one after another, begin- ning with the highest and ending with the deepest tone, in regular short intervals, very loud and often. Iris, bill, feet, and claws black. Dr. Cabanis described this neAV species in the Journ. f. Orn. 1873, p. 157. BUDYTES VIRIDIS (Gm.). Menado, March ; Limbotto, July ; Makassar, January. Iris dark ; feet and claws blackish ; bill blackish grey. l2 128 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes HiRUNDO GUTTURALIS, Scopoli. Menado, March; Togiaii Islands, August; Tello (South Celebes), January. Iris brown ; feet, claws, and bill black. In the stomach beetles. Very active, but often rests on single branches of trees in the flooded rice-fields of Tello. HiRUNDo jAVANicA, Sparrui. Tello, near Makassar, in January. Cyornis rufigula, Wall. Near Menado in ^March. Hypothymis puella (Wall.). Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Rui " (its call). Not rare near Menado from January till July ; Limbotto, July ; Togian Islands, August. Feeds on insects (butterflies, spiders, &c.) . The male is of a more brilHant blue than the female, the latter more greyish. The nestling is grey, belly and breast white, head grey. Iris blue ; it has large eyes ; feet blue, like the belly ; claws black ; bill blue, like the head ; even the bones are blue. The nest is placed on twigs of trees, and made of moss &c. I got one, which is still in my collection (Dresden Museum), in March 1871, near Menado. It contained two young birds, one of which escaped. I pat the nest back in its place, and observed that three old birds always remained near. They cried tschirret, tschirret, in their fright ; nay, they tried to attack me when I took the young one and put it down on another spot ; they followed and immediately brought food if it chirped. One of the three old birds I procured with the blowpipe ; it was a female ; but I cannot say whether the other two w^ere both males, or a male and a female. All three had remained with the young one to feed it. This latter was still quite helpless. The old birds call three times when they answer each other in play, and utter rui, rui, when they call each other. on lite Birds of Celebes. 129 Artamus monaciius^ Tcmm. Native Malay name, ^' Maspas-iitan " (utan = forest). Only in the mountains of the Minalmssa. Feeds on insects, butterflies on the wing, grasshoppers, &c. Sits quiet on a tree till it has seen a prey, then rushes on the flying animal and returns. Nest hanging from a twig. Flies in flocks. Cries tschirr-woouit twice ; and at the same time a trem- bling movement goes over the wings and the body, chiefly over the wings. Artamus leucoriiynchus (L.). Native Malay name, "Maspas.^^ Very common at all times and everywhere in Celebes , Minahassa, January to July ; Limbotto, J uly ; Makassar, October and January. Iris brownish ; bill bluish ; feet bluish grey ; claws blackish. Sits in flocks of ten and more together. Satiated they play, fly from tree to tree, soar in the air, &c. At Makassar once a specimen allowed me to approach quite near. Other habits and cry like those of A. monachus. Lanius magnirostris. Less. I got a young specimen of this bird in March near Menado, but did not see it again in Celebes. The genus Lanius was then unknown in Celebes, so far as I am aware ; and this fact proves that we are not yet able to point out sufficiently what genera are absent and what are not, as still more genera, un- known at present in that island, will probably be discovered. Graucalus leucopygius, Bp. Native Malay name, " Burong-minia.'^ Menado, March and April ; Togian Islands, August. Iris brownish black; bill, feet, and claws black. Feeds on" ants, larvie^, &c. Graucalus temmincki, Miiller. I only procured four specimens near Kakas^ in the moim- tains of the Minahassa (about 2000 feet high), and never met Avith the bird again. 130 J)r. A. B. Meyer's Field -nofrs VoLvocivoRA MoRio (Muller) . I only got a few specimens in the jM inahassa, and am of opinion that the bird is not common during the months which I spent there. Crinigeu aureus, Walden. I discovered this bird (which was described by Lord Tweeddale in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 4th ser. vol. ix. 1872, p. 400) on the chief island of the Togian group, on its highest summit, about 6000 feet above the sea, in August 1871. A Cr'miger from Celebes itself is not yet known; but I do not doubt that the form exists there. Iris reddish yellow ; feet grey ; claws and bill black. Feeds on fruits. Lalage DOMINICA (MiiUer) . This species was procured by me near Makassar in January and October, and at Batubassi in November (in April on Cebu, Philippines) . The specimens show no trace of wdiite on back and uropygium. The white superciliary stripe is nearly absent. Iris brownish ; feet bluish grey ; claws blackish ; bill black. Lalage leucopygialis, Walden. Minahassa, January to July; Gorontalo, Limbotto, July. A common bird. It appears to represent L. dominica in North Celebes ; but we do not yet know the limits of the range of the two species. At all events it is remarkable that the North-Celebean form differs from the South-Celebean, as well as from the Philippine one, which two arc alike. The white supercilium is broader in the Philippine specimens than in those from North Celebes. A very active bird ; in flocks ; its call is a protracted whistle or a loud chirping cry. {Lalage aurea was never procured by me in Celebes.) Artamides bicolor (Temm.). I only got one young specimen in July near Limbotto, and an old one on the Togian Islands in August. Mr. Sharpe has said something about the first in his paper in the Mitth. a. d. k. zool. Mus. Dresden, iii. 1878. on the Birds of Celebes. 131 DiCRURUS LEUCOPS, Wall. Native Malay name, '' Burong-guutiug/' i. e. " Scissor- bird/^ on account of the shape of its tail. Minahassa, January to July; Limbotto, July; Togian Islands, August; Tanette, September; JNIakassar, October. Iris white; feet, claws, and bill black. Feeds on insects (grasshoppers &c.). Whistles much in very different ways. One bird often makes such a noise in the morning that the whole forest appears to be full of vari- ous birds. It often deceived me in this way. DicRURus, sp. It was reported to me that in the mountainous districts of South Celebes there exists a Dicrurus with the outer tail- feathers lengthened and broadly webbed (like species of the genus Dissemurus). Anthreptes cELEBENsis, Shelley [maluccensis , Scop.). All Nectariniidse are called by the natives '^Burong-tjui.'^ A common bird in the Minahassa. Togian Islands, August ; Limbotto, July. South Celebes : Batubassi, November; Ma- kassar, Tello, January. Iris red ; feet greyish green ; claws grey ; sole of the foot yellow; bill black. Feeds on insects. I obtained two specimens from Limbotto which show cer- tain differences in coloration and bill, but probably are nothing more than young females. Mr. Shelley has described them in his monograph of the Cinnyridee. Chalcostetha porphyrol^ma (Wall.). Makassar, January. Iris brown ; bill, feet, and claws black. Chirps on flowering trees, and is very active. Arachnechthra frenata (Miill.). A common bird. Minahassa, January to July ; Togian Islands, August (here very frequent in the mangrove-bushes near the sea-shore) ; Batubassi, November. Chirps very much. Iris red. Feeds on insects. 132 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes Nectarophila grayi (Wall.). Native Malay name, " Buroug-tjui-kapala-mas," i. e. " Golden-lieaded." Rarer than the preceding species. Menado, March : To- gian Islands, August. Iris red; feet, claws, and bill black. Feeds on insects. ^THOPYGA FLAVOSTRIATA (Wall.), t only got this bird near Kakas (about 2000 feet) in June. DlCiEUM CELEBICUM, Mull. A common bird near Menado, from January till July ; Makassar, Tello, January. Iris brown ; bill, feet, and claws black. The young bird has a reddish-yellow bill. Prionochilus aureo-limbatus, Wall. Kakas, June; Limbotto, September. Myzomela chlgeoptera, Walden. Not a rare bird from March till July near Menado. ZosTEROPS intermedia. Wall. Makassar, Tello, January. In flocks on brushes and trees. Chirps likes a Sparrow. Iris yellow ; bill grey, bluish below ; feet and claws greyish blue. Padda oryzivora (L.) . Native Malay name, " Burong-gotollo '' (" Burong-galate '^ in Java). All Ploceidse are called thus. Rare at Menado (March), perhaps introduced there; plenti- ful in South Celebes ; Makassar, October; Segeri, September. MUNIA MOLUCCA (L.). In large flocks in March, near Menado. MuNIA JAGORI (Cab.) . In flocks in March, near Menado ; Makassar, January. According to age and sex, varying very much in the inten- sity of its brown and black colours. Iris brown; bill bluish ; feet and claws light greyish blue. on the Birds of Celebes. 133 Coiivus ENCA (Horsf.). Native Malay narae^ " Wokka-wokka.'^ Common bird everywhere in Celebes at all seasons. Streptocitta torquata (Temm.). Native Malay name, " Burong-pandita/' i. e. " Minister's bird,^' on account of its black body with white ruff. Very common in North Celebes; Menado, January to July; Limbotto, July. It is generally seen on dead branches high on trees, and makes scissor-like and balancing movements with its tail. I cannot convince myself that Streptocitta caledonica (Lath.) is a distinct bird from S. torquata. The only differ- ences recorded are the yellow colour of the first third of the bill and the greenish hue of the plumage. I could not dis- cover a decided difference as to this hue when I compared last summer the two specimens of *S. caledonica in the British Museum {which appear to be young individuals with lighter throats) with specimens of /S. torquata ; neither does a speci- men of /S. caledonica in the Bremen Museum (which I dis- covered last summer, with unknown habitat) differ from one of S. torquata from North Celebes (which I forwarded to Dr. Finsch, and which he had the kindness to compare) in any respect, except in the yellow bill ; so Dr. Finsch informs me. Besides, I got in Menado a specimen with yellow on the bill (I had this specimen in Europe in my hands, but am sorry to say that I do not know what has become of it) ; and Dr. Beccari thinks he has seen both species together near Kandari in South Celebes. If, therefore, these small differ- ences do not even coincide with a different geographical range, as was supposed till now, the two birds cannot, in my opinion, be separated specifically. The differences are either due to age or to individual variation. Nevertheless I do not wish to decide the question now, but shall wait for further specimens from Celebes before making up my mind. Basilornis celebensis, Temm. Native Malay name, " Radja-sie," i. e. " King of the Sies ;'^ ]34 Dr. A. B. Meyer's Field-notes " Sie " is the name for Cahrnis ; it is said to fly in eorapany with a flock oi* Calornis neylecta, a single large bird among many of these smaller ones. Appears to be rare. Not fonnd at all near Menado daring the mouths which I sjjent there. Rurukan, May ; Limbotto, July. ACRIDOTHEllES CINEREUS^ MUli. I never obtained this bird in the north of Celebes ; but near Makassar it is very common. Sturnia pyrrhogenys (Sehleg.). From the Minahassa and the district of Gorontalo ; not at all times present. Enodes erythrophrys (Temm.). Only near Kakas (about 2000 feet), procured by me in June, but abundant there. Calornis neglecta, Walden. Native Malay name, " Sie." (The Ternate species is called there " Idi-idi.'') The most common bird near Menado, January to July ; Limbotto, July. Young males and females with streaked plumage. Perhaps not to be separated from C. panayensis from the Philippines. COLUMB^. As a general remark, I beg to say that most species of the Pigeon tribe in Celebes fly out in the morning from 6 till 9 o^clock, then frequent very dense and shady spots, rest till 4 P.M., and fly again from 4 till 6 p.m. for food. In cap- tivity they sit quietly, devour greedily the food which they can get, but do not show signs of active life. Osmotreron GRisEicAUDA (Gray). Native Malay name, " Pombo-idiu,'' i. e. " Green Dove." Alfurous name in the Minahassa, " Wungull.'^ Cry kmvu, kuivu, sad and howling. Old folks say to little children who whine that they arc just like this bird. on the Birds of Celebes. 135 Feeds on fruits^ wariiigin and others. Flics singly, very quickly. A common bird everywhere and at all times in the Miua- hassa, in the district of Grorontalo, and in South Celebes. Iris yellow ; feet red ; claws grey ; bill greenish black. Ptilopus fischeri (Briigg.). The Leiden Museum has recently received a series of this fine pigeon from South Celebes^ but without an exact locality. It recalls in its general appearance P. cincius of Timor. Lamprotreron FORMOSA (Gray), Not so frequent as Osmotreron griseicauda. Bill black; iris yellow; feet coral-red. In the stomach I found waringin fruits. loTRERON MELANospiLA^ Salvad. {inelanocephaltt, Forster). Native Malay name, " Pombo-idiu kapala-itam/' i. e. " Green Dove with black head." Cry hdu, hollow, difficult to imitate. Mostly flies in pairs. Not rare, everywhere to be met with. Iris yellow ; bill greenish yellow ; feet cherry-red ; claws grey. Feeds on fruits. My specimens from the Togian Islands (August) appear to differ a little, the head being rather violet than black. Leucotreron gularis (Q. & G.). Native Malay name, " Pombo-sangi,^^ i. e. '' Dove from Sangi Islands." (A curious name, as this bird appears not to occur on Sangi ; perhaps the name is adopted in conse- quence of its superficial resemblance to ZonoBuas radiata (Q. & G.), which does occur on Sangi.) Rarer. Menado, May ; Gulf of Tomini, August. Carpophaga PAULINA, Tcmm. Native Malay name, " Kum-kum-idiu " (idiu = green). Everywhere on Celebes. Iris red. Very common, in flocks, generally on waringin trees. Is represented on the Togian Islands by C. pulchella, Waldeu, discovered by myself and describe, eaudre 2-75, rnstri a rictu 1, tarsi 12. Huh. Ins. Samoa. New Caledonia, Lifu, and the New Hebrides. 189 uat^^ rostro et pedibus iiigris. Long, tota d'7, alse 2-8_, caudae 2'96, rostri a rictu '75, tarsi v. This species is curiously intermediate between M. viridi- nitens, G. R. Gr., from New Caledonia, and M. melanura, G. R. Gr., from New Hebrides. In measui*ements, tlie tail is shorter than in its congener ; the wing equals that of M. vhHdmitefis, but is one third of an inch shorter than in M. melanura. The black on the breast does not extend so far as in the New-Hebrides bird. But the key to the separa- tion of the three species is in the tail. While that of 31. mela- nura has no trace of white, and that of M. viridinitens has the lower third of the outer tail-feather, the whole of its outer web and a large margin of its inner web, and the extremities, excepting the central pair, white, our new species has simply white tips to all its tail-feathers, and the inner and outer edges of the outer pair narrowly fringed with white. 12. Myiagra intermedi.\, sp. nov. cJ corpore supra schistaceo, pileo intensiore, thorace et pectore Isete castaneis, abdomine albo : rectricibus externis albo marginatis in utroque pogonio, ceteris rectricibus albo (6) TuRDUs POLIO CEPHALUS, Lath., = T. nestnr,GiO\Ad., = T. badius, Lsiih.. Norfolk Island only. With a grey head and black body, the head of the female much darker than that of the male. Parallel to T. pritzbtieri, but the head very differently coloured, ashy gi'ey instead of bright pale sepia. T. hadius, Lath., must sink into a synonym, as Mr. Sharpe and I discovered on examining the specimens in the British Museum. There is no record whence they were procured ; and though Australia is written on the stands in pencil, it is probable they were only Norfolk-Island birds received via Australia. No true Thrush has yet been discovered on the Australian continent, only the Oreoeinclce, which, as Mr. Seebohm observes, have not yet become differentiated, nor learned to cast off the spotted plumage of their childhood when they arrive at maturity. (7) TuRDUs PRiTZBUEBi, Layard, Ibis, 1878, p. 254. Lifu, Loyalty Islands. (8) TuRDUS BicoLOR, Layard, =3/c/7y Verreaux .... Guatemala, marked c? by Verreaux „ presumed S „ marked c? by the collector, Mr. Skinner, but probably erroneously .... St, Vincent, cJ by dissection Venezuela, marked 5 by Verreaux Northern Mexico, presumed 2 pal joint. Tarsus. 14-5 3-2 14-8 3-5 14-5 31 14-G 3-2 15-6 3-5 151 3-5 15-2 3-3 16-1 3-4 I am &c., J. H. GURNEY. The gene^'ic Name Phainopepla. — I notice that in 'Coues's 'Key,^Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway's 'North- American Birds,' and in other American works lately issued, the generic terra " Phainopepla," which I proposed in 1858 for the Ptilogonys nitens of Swainson, is altered into " Phcenopepla." I wish to Memoir of the Marquis of Ttveeddale. 223 point out that this " emendation " of my spelling is incorrect. The derivation of " Phalnopepla '\ as was given when the name was made (P.Z. S. 1858, p. 453) , is ^aetvo'i, nitidus, andTreTrX.ov, vestis. Now <^a€Lvo. occipitali ex Sumatra, sed dorso cinerascente, pileo cinereo et plaga occipitali alba nulla, facile distin- guenda. Long. tot. 15*5, culm. 1*15, alse 5*3, caudse 10-0, tarsi I'l. General colour above ashy grey, the hind neck and mantle, as well as the scapulars, rather darker ; the lower rump and upper tail-coverts purer grey, the latter with pale rusty edg- ings to the tips of the feathers ; the feathers of the head also with an apical spot of pale rusty buff; wings black, some of the coverts tipped with fulvous ; a large white speculum formed by the white bases to the primaries ; two centre tail- feathers dark pearly grey, with black ends, the next one on each side black, grey along the inner web and towards the base of the outer, rest of the tail-feathers black ; lores brown ; Itis 1878 Pi.vin. J.&.KeiJema-na Kth. DEEDROCITTA CINERASCENS Haiiha,rt amp. "^ CENTRAL PARK, "^ ^ NCWYORK. rf;,* r(JRALU'3- Ornithology of Borneo. 251 the base of the forehead somewhat blackish ; sides of face, throat, and chest brown ; the ear-coverts with paler shaft- streaks ; remainder of under surface of body orange-brown, including the under tail-coverts ; under wing-coverts black, as also the lower surface of the quills, which have a broad white bar across them at a little distance from the base. This new species belongs to the section of the genus Den- drociita containing D. occipitalis and D. bayleyi, and comes nearer to the former than to the latter. It would take its place in the '' key to the species " given by me in the ' Cata- logue of Birds' (vol. iii. p. 7Q) in the following manner: — d'. under tail-coverts orange, like the abdomen. c". two centre tail-feathers gi'ey, with black ends, c'". head and back brown, with a large patch of white on the occiput and nape occijntaUs. d'". head and back ashy grey, with no patch on the nape and occiput cinerascens. d". two centre tail-feathers black ; head black, the neck uniform bayleyi. Platysmurus ATERRiMUs (Temm.). Platysmurus ateri-imus, Salvad. t. c. p. 279. Lawas river {coll. Treacher) ; Brunei {coll. Ussher) . Oriolus xanthonotus, Horsf. Oriolus xanthonotus, Salvad. t. c. p. 277. Lumbidan {coll. Treacher). Dicrurus annectens (Hodgs.). Dicrurus annectens, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 231. Lumbidan {coll. Ussher) ; Brunei {coll. Ussher), DissEMURUs brachyphorus (Temm.) . Dissemurus brachyphorus, Salvad. t. c. p. 154. Lumbidan {coll. Ussher, Treacher). Native name ^'Blackie.^' Chibia borneensis, Sharpe. Chibia borneensis, Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1879, p. 246. Lawas river {coll. Treacher). u2 252 Mr. R. B. Sbarpe's Contributions to the Tephrodornis gularis (Raffl.). Tephrodornis gularis, Salvad. t. c. p. 156; Sharpe^ Cat. B. iii. p. 278. Sent by Mr. Low from Lumbidan. Native name " Alap alap.^"* The eggs are also forwarded by Mr. Low, who says that three in a nest is the usual number. They are creamy buff, with large blotches of rufous brown, and underlying spots of purplish grey. Most of the eggs show a tendency to have the spots collected in a zone at the larger end ; but some of them have the spots distributed over the whole egg. Axis 0-95-1-0 in., diam. 0-7-0-75 in. Hemipus obscurus (Horsf.). Hemipus obscurus, Sharpe, Cat. B. iii. p. 305. Myiolestes obscurus, Salvad. t. c. p. 156, Lumbidan [coll. Ussher, Treacher). Artamides sumatrensis (S. Miill.). Artamides sumatrensis, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 12. Graucalus sumatrensis, S. Miill.; Salvad. /. c. p. 150. Lumbidan [coll. Ussher, Treacher) . Mr. Treacher sends an adult male and female and a young bird. The latter is in the usual mottled plumage of a young Cuckoo-Shrike, with greyish white tips to all the feathers of the upper surface, the lower parts barred with dusky grey, except on the belly, which is white ; wing-coverts mottled with broad buff edges, before which is a dusky subterminal bar, the quills broadly edged with buff or white, the tail-fea- thers with wiiite tips, much more conspicuous on the outer ones. Pericrocotus igneus, Blyth. Pericrocotus igneus, Salvad. t.c. p. 144; Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 78. Lumbidan {coll. Ussher, Treacher). Mr. Treacher sends a pair of these birds without any native name. Mr. Low^s last collection also contained a large series of specimens. Ornithology of Borneo. 253 Pjericrocotus cinereus, Lafr. Pericrocotus cinereus, Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 83. Two female specimens were in Mr. Low's Lumbidan col- lection. The species was first added to the Bornean avi- fauna by Mr. Alfred Everett, who procured a specimen at Bintulu ( 12'5 1-3 { Sc & 'e-ei 5-2 2-0 * The specimens examined are preserved in the British, Cambridge, and Norwich Museums, and in the collections of Messrs. Salvin and Godman, and of Mr. Dresser. Outer Inner wing- wing- Tail. Wing. Tarsus. patch. patch. (6-3 12-2 1 13-7 20 & & 1-3 ■ & & [6-2 11-8 j 3-9 1-7 (5-9 11-5 1-3 4-8 2-0 ]& & & & & (6-4 12-2 1-2 3-6 1-5 16-5 120 1-2 4-9 1-4 {to to to to to (6-8 12-2 1-4 5-0 1-9 6-9 12 1-2 4-9 , , 336 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on British Guiana (two specimens). Bahia (two specimens). Chili (five specimens). Straits of Magellan. The genus Ictinia, tliougli included by Mr. Sharpe in his '' Subfamily Falconince," is so closely allied to Eianus, that I am disposed to consider it also entitled to a place amongst the outlying members of the Milvine group in its wider aspect^ and as connecting that group with the true Falcons, and especially with the Hobbies. Of the two species comprised in the genus Ictinia, the southern (/. plumbea) is by far the more abundant in the collections sent to this country, and appears to be especially numerous in British Guiana ; an interesting note on its habits will be found at page 43 of Leotaud^s ' Birds of Trinidad.' The more northern species of the genus (/. mississippiensis) is decidedly scarce in the Museums of Great Britain, though it is said by Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway^, to be an " exceedingly abundant summer-bird on the prairies of Southern Illinois." The same authors give as the habitat of this species '^Central Mexico and Southern United States;" but Mr. Salvin states that it ranges as far south as Guate- mala ; and a specimen from Coban is recorded in ' The Ibis ' for 1861, p. 355. The American authors to whose work I have just referred, supply an excellent account of this species, including a de- scription of its immature dress, in which stage it has not been described by Mr. Sharpe. The ramifications of Milvine affinity extend to and include some other genera, more abnormal than those which we have * Vide 'History of North- American Land-Birds,' vol. iii. p. 204. Mr. R. B. Sharpens Catalogue of Accipitres. 337 hitherto considered; and to one of these, the genus Ros- trhamus^, I would now refer. The birds of this genus are especially characterized by a bill of extraordinarily slender proportions, in which the hook terminating the upper mandible is prolonged in a most re- markable manner, forming an admirable tool for extracting from their shells the freshwater mollusks on which these birds in great measure subsist, whilst a similar slenderness of pro- portion is observable in the long and sharp talons with which their feet are armed. Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgwayf apply the specific name of sociabilis (Vieillot, ex Azara) to the species which Mr. Sharpe describes under the name of leucopygus proposed for it by Spix; and in this, I think, they are right, as it appears to me that both these names refer to the same spe- cies, and '' sociabilis," beiug the older, of course has priority. The bird described by Azara, and from his descrij)tion rede- scribed by Yieillot in the ' Nouveau Dictionnaire,^ vol. xviii. p. 318, under the name of Herpetotheres sociabilis, was im- mature, which would make it difficult to decide to which species it should be referred, were it not for the fact that Azara made his collections in the neighbourhood of the river Parana, and that in this district of the province of Buenos Ayres the R, leucopygus of Spix is known to occur. The late Mr. Durnford, writing in ' The Ibis ' for 1877 respecting the birds of Buenos Ayres, and especially as to his collections in the neighbourhood of a branch of the Parana, mentions this species, on page 188, as " resident and not uncommon;'''' and an adult specimen procured by that gentleman at Lujan-bridge, on the Campana railway, Buenos Ayres, is now in the possession of Messrs. Salvin and GodmanJ. * The name is thus spelled in the original description of the genus in Lesson's ' Traite/ p. 55 ; in Mr. Sharpe's volume the spelling adopted is Rosthramus. t Vide ' Birds of North America/ vol. iii. p. 208. \ The following is copied from Mr. Diu'nford's ticket attached to ihis specimen : — " ■"■—' " ' ■■»— ^' Clifton. Letters, Announcements, ^c. 375 Sirs, — I notice that in the April nnmber of ' The Ibis ' Mr, Henry Seebohm, referring to the Curlew Sandpiper, makes the remark — " The eggs of this bird and those of the Knot are now the two great prizes left for British oologists to try and secure/^ Unfortunately for British enterprise,, this has not been left for our cousins to " secure/'' One of my own countrymen — perhaps not aware that matters had been thus arranged, but supposing the right of discovery an open one, and not exclusively that of the sons of "the fast- anchored isle " — has committed the indiscretion of discovering the eggs of Tringa subarquata. Mr. Ludwig Kumlien, Naturalist to the Expedition sent to the Cumberland region, was so fortunate as to find the Curlew Sandpiper breeding in North Greenland, near Christianshaft, in the summer of 1878. He mentions the species as not un- common. Several eggs were procured, through the attentions of Governor Fencken. Two examples of the eggs were brought home by Mr. Kumlien ; and these are now in the col- lection of the Smithsonian Institution. During a recent visit to Washington I availed myself of the opportunity to examine these specimens ; and from the notes then taken I send you the following description : — One of these eggs measured 1'52 inch in length by 1'05 inch in its greatest breadth. Its ground-colour is thickly marked with blotches of two shades of umber-brown ; one of these shades is quite light, the other much darker. These are most numerous on and around the larger end, and are in a somewhat longitudinal direction, with a tendency also to a spiral course. There are also a few spots of a very dark (almost a black) colour on the larger end. I The other e^^ measures V4<7 inch by 1*04 inch, and is of a much more pyriform shape. Its ground-colour is a very light greenish drab, Avith rather sparse markings of a deep umber. The markings are larger and more confluent about the greater end of the e^^, where they are chiefly disposed in a circular ring. The rest of the egg is sparsely marked with the same. About the larger end are a few very dark markings. The two eggs, as you will notice, differ somewhat in their 376 Letters, Announcements, ^c. shape, and present also something of a contrast in their ground-colours. 233 Beacon Street, Boston. Thomas M. Brewer. P.S. — The readers of ' The Ibis ' may be interested to know that Dr. James C. Merrill, Surgeon in the U.S. Army, who gave us such an interesting paper on the birds of the Rio Grande valley, in Texas, has changed his quarters to new and almost equally promising fields for research. These are to the very upper waters of the Missouri, in Northern Montana. His station is Fort Shaw, situated on a high plateau, at an elevation of some 5000 feet, and close to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Wliile we cannot expect him to add so many new species to our fauna, he will doubtless do much that is much more desirable — throw light upon the move- ments and habits of many species which are known to us almost wholly by name and dress alone. Fort Shaw is our most northern outpost, and is not far from the border-line. Sirs, — I beg you to find room in ''The Ibis ^ for the fol- lowing notes on the recent rediscovery of Notornis mantelli, and on two Cassowaries living now in the Imperial Menagery at Schoenbrunn. Herr Hofrath von Hochstetter has had the kindness to com- municate to me a letter received from Dr. J. von Haast, in which the latter announced that at Lake Te Cluan a speci- men oi Noiornis had been caught by dogs. Dr. von Haast had already arranged an expedition to get the rare bird; Dr. W. Buller and the taxidermist Reischcll will accompany him. He is now quite sure that a bird seen by him at a great dis- tance on a former occasion was the Notornis. The rich series of living animals brought last summer by Herr Kraus, the indefatigable traveller and collector, from a voyage to Sumatra and Java, which now adorns the Imperial Menagery at Schoenbrunn, contains two young Cassowaries, which I believe to belong undoubtedly to Casuarius beccarii, Sclater'^. They are considerably smaller than C. guleatus; the casque is as yet little elevated ; the plumage black, but with * P. Z. S. 1875, pp. 87 & 527, pi. Iviii. Letters, Announcenienis, S^'c. 377 some remnants of brownish colour ; the head is light greenish blue ; the neck deep blue ; the nuchal patcli orange, a maxil- lary stripe yellow ; the two short appendices of the hardly conspicuous caruncle are white, washed with blue; These birds were presented to the Emperor by the Javan Prince Manghohe Megoro IV. and his son, Prince Gondhoe Sigwojo; they were bought in a harbour of Java or Sumatra ; and the Princes asserted that they had been brought from Timor. Should this habitat be correct it would be a fact of great interest for geographical distribution, as at present no species of Cassowary from the island of Timor is known. It is also not without interest that the Javan Princes remarked that Timor in former times was in connexion with the Australian continent. The specimens at Schoenbrunn agree very well with the bird described and figured by Mr. Sclater'^in the year 1875, which Avas transmitted to the Zoological Society of London by Sir James Fergusson from New Zealand. This specimen was, when very young, together with a similar one, obtained in 1873 by the officers of H.M.S. 'Basilisk' from the natives of Touan, or Cornwallis Island, in the Torres Straits, four miles from the south coast of New Guinea, seventy miles from the opposite coast of Cape York. The natives said that they had caught the bird on the coast of New Guinea. Mr. Sclaterf believed it probable that this Cassowary would belong to C. salvadorii, Oustalet ; but more recently he seems of the opinion that the last-named bird would be not specifically different from C. beccariiX. The specimens at Schoenbrunn are also (allowing for their difference of age) in accordance with the descriptions and figures given by Signors D'Albertis and Salvadori § of several individuals of C. beccarii from the Fly River. Yours &c., Vienna, May 1879. Pelzeln. * P. Z. S. 1875, p. 527, pi. Iviii. (head and neck). t P. Z. S. 187S, p. 214, note. I Ibis, 1879, p. 96. § "Catalogo degli uccelli raccolti di L. M. D'Albertis durante la seconda e terza esplorazione del flume Fly negli anni 1876 e 1877 " in ' Annali del Museo Civico di Geneva, xiv. (1879), p. 1 20. SER. TV. VOL. III. 2 E 378 Letters, Announcements, ^c. Kilmory, Lochgilphead, N. B., May 21, 1879. Sirs, — It may interest some of your readers to know of two instances of the Tawny Owl {Syrniun aluco) breeding in a rabbit's burrow in this neighbourhood. Although noted by some ornithological writers as occasionally building on the ground, the selection of a hole for its nest has not, so far as I am aware, been before recorded. As Professor Newton (to whom I wrote) remarks, this selection may be con- sequent on the paucity in Argyllshire of hardwood trees of sufficient age and size to furnish hollow trunks and holes, and the habit may be in process of becoming hereditary. The instance which came under my own notice was a nest of live eggs : one had rolled away into a branch of the burrow ; the others were nearly hatched in the second week of April, I enclose a letter of Mr. Bruce, of Ederline (at the foot of Loch Awe), which gives particulars of a similar case in 1876. Yours &c., J. W. P. Orde. [Mr. Bruce writes as follows : — '^ April I8th, 1876. Found its nest in a rabbit-hole, about two feet deep, in a sloping bank. The nest contained four young Owls, differing greatly in size : two were (I should say) at least ten days older than the other two, and no two of them looked quite of the same age ; they were covered with whitish down, and kept their eyes shut. The nest also contained a rat and two mice, freshly killed, and with their heads taken off.'' — Edd.] Heligoland, June 7th, 1879. Sirs, — Since I reported last on the rare and occasional visitors to this island a page has been added to my journal that vies with the most prominent of these records, carried on now over a period of nearly forty years. My late captures are : — Emberiza 2njrrhuIoides (April 24th). An old male in the most perfect nuptial plumage. This species has never before been obtained here, and consequently forms a most welcome Letters, Announcements, ^c. 379 addition to my cabinet^ as well as to the list of the birds of this island. Alauda pispoletta (May 26th). A fine old female; its ovary highly developed^ and plumage very perfect. This acquisition also increases the catalogue of the birds of Heligo- land by one, as, in spite of my vigilance respecting the smaller Larks, I had up to the present time not been able to detect this much-coveted prize, whilst Alauda brachydactyla has been captured at least thirty times. The most cursoiy glance will show the difterence between these two nearly allied species, one of the most characteristic distinctions being the relative length of the longest primaries and the longest tertial, which latter feather reaches, in the closed wing of A. pispoletta, to the tip of the sixth primary only, whilst in A, brachydactyla it comes down very nearly to the tips of the longest of these quills. Besides this distinction, the well- defined blackish-brown marks on the feathers of the upper breast and sides of A. pispoletta are never to be mistaken for those scarcely visible obsolete blotches with which its near cousin is sometimes marked on the breast. Putting aside the long spur, A. pispoletta is, in its entire markings, as well as in its more lengthened mould, a Sky-Lark in miniature ; whilst A. brachydactyla resembles more the short and roundish form of the Crested Lark. The next highly interesting capture, though the species has been obtained here once before, consists of a fine male of Phijlloscopus viridanus (May 30th). This bird is an old male in fine plumage, unfortunately rather riddled with dust-shot. Still I managed, with an extra dose of patience, to produce one perfect side of this pretty and delicate War- bler. The plumage of this specimen is much more silky in appearance, and the yellow of the underparts a somewhat paler and more pure sulphur-yellow, than that of the spe- cimen shot here last autumn [vide Ibis, 1879, p. 102) . A similar difference existed between the only spring specimen of P. superciliosus and the specimens obtained here during their autumnal migration. Finally, a very perfect old male of Emberiza melanocephula 380 Letters, Announcements, ^c. was brought to me on the 3rd of June. Curiously enough, two years ago^ on the very same day, the same boy killed a young male of the same species by flinging a stone at it. Of this fine Bunting I have now obtained altogether five adult males in spring plumage, three old females, and two young males. Out of the whole number one young male only was shot here in autumn, all the remainder during the first half of June — thus testifying to the rule that south-eastern species^ from the Caspian provinces, Arabia, Asia Minor, and Greece, stray beyond their normal bounds, with very rare exceptions, in spring only ; whilst the natives of Eastern and North- eastern Asia are given to making such extra trips almost entirely during their autumnal migrations. The specimen oi Phylloscopus viridanus obtained by me last autumn came here under circumstances which put its eastern origin beyond any doubt; and as little doubt exists that the present bird started from Turkestan, or thereabouts, under the same impulse which induced E.pyrrhuloides, A.pispoletta, and E. melanocepliala to start on an exceptionally long north- western journey. The bodies of the above four birds I have sent to Prof. A. Newton, for his collection of the sternums of birds. I am &c., H. Gatke. P.S. — This morning (8th of June) a very fine old male of Fringilla serirms was shot here, and brought to me. This pretty little bird had been seen here only once before, and was a desideratum to my collection. British collectors had better keep a bright look-out, as it seems there is an uncommonly lively move of our friends from the far south-east. P.S. (June 9th). — Just now a fine specimen of Pastor roseus has turned up in my garden. Proposed Index to Reichenhach' s 'Avium Systema Natu- rale.' — We learn with great pleasure that Dr. A. B. Meyer is proposing to issue a General Index to Reichenbach's ' Sys- tema Avium Naturale ' and other works. This will be most useful ; for, as every one knows who has occasion to use them, Letters, Announcements, &:c. 381 Reicheiibach's works are in a most chaotic state of confusion. We trust that Dr. Meyer will be able to give the date of issue of each part and volume of Reichenbach^s publications^ as many of them have absolutelv no date at all attached to them. Proposed Neiv "' Index Zooloffia/s." — We are pleased to be able to announce that Mr. S. H. Scudder, of Cambridge^ Mass., has undertaken to prepare a new ' Nomenclator Zoo- logicus.' This is to be a complete index of all names used in zoology. It will embrace all the names in Agassiz's ' No- menclator/ to be marked " A/' those in Marshall's ' Nomen- clator/ to be marked " M," and those in the successive num- bers of the ' Zoological Record/ the object being, not merely to give the names, but to show whether a proposed generic name is preoccupied or not. The New U.S. National Museum at Washington. — From a letter of Mr. E. Ingersoll to the ' Field ' of April 5th last, we extract the subjoined account of the U.S. National Museum, for the erection of which, in the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution, an appropriation of 250,000 dollars was made by the last Congress just before its adjournment. " The plan, contemplated as a whole, was originally sug- gested by Quartermaster- Gen. Meigs, U.S. Army, after care- ful inspection of the museums of Europe. It will be a build- ing somewhat similar in appearance to those on the Exhibition grounds at Philadelphia, though brought into harmony, as far as possible, with the Lombardo-Gothic lines of the much- abused Smithsonian. It will be 300 feet square, with an area of 90,000 square feet — over two acres — and will be divided into sixteen exhibition halls. In addition to the public halls, the plans provide for about sixty smaller rooms, to be used as offices, laboratories, workshops, and store-rooms. These will occupy the two-story towers at the corners and entrances. The central hall, surmounted by a sixteen- sided dome or lantern about eighty feet high, will be over fifty feet square. Outside of this is a lower roof, about forty feet high, its sup- ports inclosing an area 216 feet square. Still further out- side is a third roof, lower than the second, and separated 382 Letters, Announcements, ^c. from it by a clerestory, covering a space 40 feet in Avidth on all sides of the building. Viewed from any direction, the edifice will present the following profile : — A wall 20 feet high, broken by numerous broad triple windows ; next a slope of roof covering the exterior cloister-like range, and rising towards the centre to a height of 30 feet ; then the wall of the middle range, and beyond an expanse of roof, broken by a low clerestory, and studded with windows stretching up to the wall of the dome, which in the centre is lifted 80 feet above the floor. The plan is diversified by a square two-story building at each corner, by the imposing fa9ade of the main entrance in the centre of each side of the structure, and by various other features. " The ground-plan, as now sketched out, shows a central hall about 50 feet square, from which extend four halls, 54 feet wide and 110 feet long, stretching away to the four main entrances. These throughout are as high as the middle range, with arched roofs 40 feet or more from the floor. In the four angles of this lofty cruciform figure are four large halls, 81 feet square and 45 feet high, each with a corner touching the central hall. Outside of these are eight rooms in the outer range, with roofs 25 feet to 30 feet high. These rooms are 40 feet Avide ; four of them are 81 feet long, and four 120 feet, though the latter have each one corner occupied by a portion of one of the corner towers. " Everything will be on one floor, without stairways oi second story, no ceiling or fire-proof upper floors being re- quired. The single floor will be of concrete, the walls of brick, the rafters and framework of iron, the roof of concrete and slate. It is expected that the building Avill be a model of cheapness and durability. In the ordinary style of archi- tecture for public buildings in Washington, a house of the same capacity would cost several millions of dollars." To this building, when complete, will be transferred the whole of the collections made by the various U.S. Exploring and Surveying Expeditions, at home and abroad, including those of Wilkes, Sitgreaves, Ilerndon, Gilliss, Rodgers, and other names well known to ornithologists, besides those Letters, Announcements , ^c. 383 gathered by the well-known collectors of the Smithsonian Institution in different parts of the world. The Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. — The last report of this important scientific establishment that has reached us (for 1877-78) gives a gra- tifying account of its general progress, by Mr. Alexander Agassiz, the curator. Mr. J. A. Allen^s special report on the mammals and birds tells us that the " collection of birds has been increased by the addition of 1200 skins (representing about 400 species), 145 skeletons (about one fourth of them mounted), 30 mounted skulls, 54 sterna and 12 other parts of skeletons mounted separately, 936 eggs, and 195 nests, altogether representing not less than 140 species. The acces- sions in both these departments represent mainly species not previously contained in the museum, and were selected gene- rally with special reference to filling important deficiencies. Several invoices have been received from the Rev. M. M. Carleton, of Umballa, India, in the vicinity of which locality they were collected. These, added to Mr. Carleton^s previ- ous shipments, represent very fully the mammalian and avian faunae of Northern India. Dr. T. M. Brewer, of Boston, has also contributed many nests and eggs of European and Ame- rican birds, most of the latter being those of rare species. The oological department has been further enriched through the purchase of several considerable lots of eggs and nests collected in Colorado, California, and other parts of the west, embracing a large number of rarities. Rare British Birds in the Zoological Society's Gardens. — A small but interesting addition has lately been made to the Zoological Society^s aviaries in the shape of an Alpine Ac- centor [Accentor ulpi?ius), which has been received from a correspondent in France. It is said to have been captured near Marseilles. So far as we know, the Alpine Accentor has never been seen alive in captivity before. Another ''rare British bird" which may be seen in the Society's Gardens at the present time is an example of Bewick's Swan [Cygnus 384 Letters, Announcements, &^x\ minor). This was obtained some months ago^ and has been placed in a pond adjoining one tenanted by the Whooper [Cygnus ferus) ; so that the difFereuees between these two allies are readily appreciable on comparison. Among the small Waders in the Fish-honse are also to be now seen examples of the Knot and Grey Plover in full summer plumage. Obituary. — H. G. L. Reichenbach, Med, et Phil. Dr., well known to all ornithologists by his ' Avium Systema Naturale ' and ' Vollstandige Naturgeschichte der Vogel/ died in Dresden on the 17th of March last, at the age of 86. For the last ten years Dr. Reichenbach had lived in retirement, owing to physical infirmities, and had given up the post of Director of the Natural-History Museum and of the Botanic Gardens in that city, which he long held. In the former post, as we need hardly remind our readers, he has been succeeded by Dr. A. B. Meyer. Valerian von Russow, C'onservator of the Zoological Mu- seum of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, died in that city on the 18th of January last, at the early age of 37 years, in consequence, we believe, of disease contracted during his return from his recent scientific expedition to Turkestan, whence he brought back large and valuable collections. Hr. V. Russow was specially acquainted with the birds of the Baltic provinces of Russia, and has left behind him a MS. work on the ornis of that district, which, it is trusted, may be hereafter published. He has been succeeded in his office by Hr. Modest Bogdanow. Thomas Knight Salmon, a well-known zoological collector in South America, died on the 5th of May last at Guildford, at the early age of 38, of disease of the lungs. Mr. Salmon was brought up as a mechanical engineer in the works of the London and North- Western Railway Company at Wolverton, and was for some years foreman of an engineering establish- ment at Guildford. Being compelled to abandon his profes- sion from delicacy in the lungs, he devoted himself to natural history, to which he had always shown a great liking fi'ora Letters, Announcements, ^c. 385 boyhood^ and opened a naturalists^ shop at Guildford, After some years passed here, Mr. Salmon's health rendering it necessary for him to seek a milder climate, he proceeded in 1870 to Medellin, the capital of the State of Antioquia,U. S. of Colombia, where, for the last seven years he has been more or less continuously resident, in the service of ths State Government as engineer. But Mr. Salmon's heart was in the wilds, and he devoted the whole of his leisure time to collecting-excursions to diflPerent places round Medellin. Large collections of mammals, birds, insects, and other objects were made and forwarded to his agent in this country, Mr. Edward Gerrard, Jr. Mr. Salmon's collections of birds were very large, numbering some 3500 skins, and have formed the subject of a memoir by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin, which was read at the Meeting of the Zoological Society of London on the 3rd of June last. Breeding of Darwin' s Rhea. — Mr. Beerbohm's ' Wanderings in Patagonia ' ^ can hardly be called a scientific work, though his adventures are full of interest, and tell us much of the Guanacos and other animals of the country. Mr. Beerbohm gives us the following details respecting the nest and eggs of Darwin's Rhea [Rhea darwini), of which we believe nothing has yet been published : — " I found the nest to be of the roughest description, being simply a hole scooped in the ground, under shelter of a bush, and made soft for the young chicks by a few wisps of grass. '' The number of eggs found in a nest varies from ten to forty, being usually about twenty. In size the Patagonian Ostrich's egg is equal to about eight hen's eggs. " It is the male bird that hatches the eggs and looks after the young, — being, I believe, the only male among birds which does so. The period of incubation is from twenty to twenty-four days. During rainy weather he never leaves the nest, but will sit for six or seven days without feeding. In * Wanderings in Patagonia, or Lifo among the Ostrich-Hunters. By Julius Beerbohm. 8vo. London, 1879. SER. IV. VOL. III. 2 F 386 Letters, Announcements, ^c. fine weather lie grazes for au hour or two in the evening, but never strays far from the nest, as Master Reynard, who is always prowling near, would soon make a raid on the eggs. It is said that if one e^^ is broken or abstracted from the nest during the absence of the male bird, on returning he will immediately detect the theft, and become so furious that he will dash the remaining eggs to pieces, and dance round the nest as if frantic. " After the hatching-period the birds lay their eggs pro- miscuously about the plains. These eggs are called '^huat- chos ' by the natives. They keep for a long time ; and I have frequently met with huatchos in April which, although they must have been laid more than six months at that time, were still fairly eatable. ^"^The Ostrich of Southern Patagonia {Rhea darivini) is smaller than the ' Avestruz moro' [Rhea amei^icana) , as the species which frequents the country near the river Negro is called by the natives. " The colour of its plumage is brown, the feathers being tipped with white, whereas the Moro, as its name indicates, is uniformly grey. The R. darwini are extremely shy birds ; and as their vision is remarkably acute, it is by no means an easy matter to catch them, unless one has very swift dogs to hunt with.^^ Progress of Ornithology in India. — On this subject we ex- tract the following passages from Mr. W. T. Blanford's address to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at their Annual Meeting, held on the 5th of February last : — " Birds have, as usual, attracted far more attention than any other class of animals, vertebrate or invertebrate, and foremost amongst the publications devoted to them must be placed Mr. Hume's Journal of Ornithology for India and its dependencies, which continues to appear, under the title of ' Stray Feathers.'' By far the greater portion of this perio- dical is from the pen of its proprietor and editor; and it is difficult to overestimate the energy and hard labour by which alone a work of this kind can be published by one busily Letters, Announceme7its, ^c. 387 engaged in official duties. Collections on the scale of Mr. Hume^s have never been made in India before, in any branch of the animal kingdom ; and much time and care are devoted to the determination and description of the large series of skins collected. Indeed Mr. Hume may fairly claim to have founded a school of ornithology in India ; and the great attention now given to one of the most interesting classes in the animal kingdom by trained observers has no small effect in leading to a study of other branches of zoology, less attrac- tive perhaps at first, but of equal scientific importance. " The whole bird-fauna of British India and its depen- dencies, inclusive of Ceylon and Burma, as now known, com- prises, according to Mr. Hume^s estimate, about 1700 well- authenticated species, whilst only 1008 were enumerated in Dr. Jerdon's ' Birds of India,^ the Assamese, Burmese, and Ceylonese forms not being included. " Captain Legge^s ' History of the Birds of Ceylon ' is a most important work, of which one quarto part, containing 34-7 pages, has already appeared. I am indebted to Mr. Hume for an opportunity of seeing an early copy of this part — the only copy, I believe, that has reached India; and I can only indorse his opinion that it is the best work of the kind de- voted to Indian zoology that has yet appeared. Carefully and systematically arranged, very much on the model of Dresser^s ' Birds of Europe,^ containing ample descriptions of plumage, habits, distribution, and nidification, it is still free from discursiveness ; and the plates, in which most of the species peculiar to Ceylon are represented, are excellent. The present part contains the Accipitres, Psittaci, and Picarise.^^ We need hardly add that we quite agree with Mr. Blanford in his estimate of both these works. Date of Prjevalsky's 'Birds of Mongolia.' — In answer to a question from Mr. Hume, we believe we may state that the ornithological portion of Prjevalsky's work (which was trans- lated and published in Kowley^s ' Ornithological Miscellany ') was published at St. Petersburg in 1876, and forms vol. ii. of 388 Letters, Announcements ^ ^c. the original Russian work^ of which, however, we have not yet succeeded in finding a copy in London. There has been a copy ordered for the Zoological Society's library, which will, no doubt, arrive shortly. Latest News from Heligoland. — Mr. Gatke, writing June 11th, begs us to add to his former PSS. a record of the cap- ture of another adult Emberiza melanocephala on that day in his own garden. Mr. Gatke also states that on the 26th ult. a Falco rufipes was seen, although not obtained. The generic Name Eucheetes. — The generic term " Eu- chcetes" adopted by me for a Tanager {Euchcetes coccineus) . P. Z. S. 1858, p. 73, from J. Verreaux's MS., has, I find, been previously used in entomology by Dejean (Cat. Coleopt. ed. 2, 1834) and by Harris (Cat. Insects Massachusetts, 1841). I therefore propose to change it into Calochates. There is only one known species of this genus, C. coccineus, from Ecuador, of which I have now two specimens — one, apparently an " Indian " skin, from Quito (received from Mr. Gould in exchange), and the other obtained by Mr. Buckley in Ecuador during one of his recent expeditions. — P. L. SCLATER. THE IBIS. FOURTH SERIES. No. XII. OCTOBER 1879. XXXIV. — Additional Notes on the Ornithology of Transvaal. By Thomas Ayres. Commumcated by John Henry GURNEY. (Continued from p. 300.) 325. TuRDUs LiBONYANUS, Smith. Kurichane Thrush. Male, Rustenburg, June 11th. Irides light umber ; eyelids chrome-yellow ; biU orange ; tarsi and feet pale chrome- yellow. Female, Rustenburg, May 28rd. Irides dusky umber ; eye- lids and bill bright orange ; tarsi and feet as in the male. This is the commonest Thrush in the Magaliesbergen, but is of more retiring habits than T. letsitsirupa ; it is often found in small companies of three or four together, but is as often solitary. Pycnonotus NIGRICANS (VieiU.). Brunoir Bulbul. Male, Rustenburg, June 18th. Irides bright hazel ; eyelids tumid and orange- coloured. Male, Rustenburg, August 10th. Irides bright hazel ; eye- lids orange. Two females, Rustenburg, July 23rd. Irides red-hazel; eyelids tumid and orange-yellow. SER. IV. VOL. III. 2g 390 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. This species is very plentiful about the Magaliesbergen ; in the Potchefstroom district it is not nearly so common. 326. Pycnonotus layardi, n. sp. LayarcVs Bulbul. Four males, Rustenburg, June and July. Irides dusky umber or dark umber. Female, Rustenburg, June 18th. Irides umber. This species is equally plentiful about Eustenburg with the preceding one ; and both are almost always together in com- panies, feeding amicably, side by side, on the numerous berries which are on many of the bushes and trees. They are very fond of mobbing any strange bird they see, or a cat, and are useful on that account. Sometimes they make a great noise about a snake, an Owl, or a Hawk. When they begin to chatter, many other birds come at once to see what is the matter ; and one can always get a good bird or two by attend- ing the call of assembly. [Mr. Sharpe, in his second edition of Mr. Layard^s ' Birds of South Africa,^ only admits two South- African species of Pycnonotus, under the names of " P. capensis, Red-eyebrowed Bulbul,^' and " P. tricolor, Black-eyebrowed Bulbul ;'' he adds, " Although for the present admitting only two species of Pycnonotus in South Africa, we do not regard the matter as settled. ^^ To me it appears that each of the above species admitted by Mr. Sharpe comprises two distinct races, capable of spe- cific distinction, and that thus the entire number of species of this genus found in South Africa is in reality four. This view has been already ably advocated by Mr. Layard in 'The Ibis' for 1871, pp. 229, 230; and I believe that it is satisfactorily sustained by the result of subsequent observations. Of these four species, two, viz. P. capensis and P. tricolor, have the crown of the head dark brown, whereas in the other two species it is a decided black. The brown of the breast comes much closer down to the yellow crissum in P. capensis than in the other three species ; bvit this peculiarity is not shown in Le Vaillant's figure (pi. 105) of his " Brunet," Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 391 which^ however, appears by the accompanying letterpress to be intended to represent P. capensis. Another inaccuracy in this plate is the tone of colouring of the brown portions of the pkimage, which are represented as much more rufous than they are in nature. A more correct figure of P. ca- pensis has been given by Mr. Dresser in his ' Birds of Europe ;' but the specimens I have seen have the throat not so dark a brown, and the white on the abdomen less extended than is shown in Mr. Dresser's plate. I have now before me three specimens of P. capensis, for the loan of which I am indebted to the kindness of Captain Shelley, by whom one of them was shot at Wellington, in the Cape colony, the other two being simply labelled " Cape — Butler.^' In all these specimens the eyelids are white, agreeing with the description of this species given in the first edition of Mr. Layard's work, in which the eyelids are spoken of as ^'surrounded by a white fringe," and with " the white eyelid " subsequently ascribed by Mr. Layard to this species iu ' The Ibis ' for 1871, p. 230. Captain Shelley, however, in a note which he has been good enough to write to me respecting these birds, says, " The only specimen I shot of P. capensis was at WelHngton, Cape Colony ; the eyelids were black, with a very faint red- dish tinge ;" and I also observe that one of Captain Shelley's other specimens, obtained at the Cape, lias been labelled by the collector, " beak and legs blackish, iris reddish brown, edge of eyelid vine-red." It would seem, therefore, that in this species the colour of the eyelid alters and becomes white after the skin has been preserved, as has been already pointed out by Mr. Sharpe at p. 207 of the second edition of Mr. Layard's work. The second (and, as it seems to me, quite distinct) species, which has been united to P. capensis in Sharpe's edition of Layard, is P. nigricans of Vieillot, which was founded on Le Vaillant's " Brunoir " (pi. 106. fig. 1) . This figure re- presents a species which, according to Le Vaillant, ^'ne se trouve pas dans les environs du cap de Bonne-Esperance, ni 2g 2 392 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. dans aucune partie de la cote de Test, au lieu qu^il est tres- abondant dans le pays des Namaquois, notamment depuis la Grande Riviere jusque vers le tropique/' and which he thus describes : — " Sa tete et sa gorge seulement sont noires ; tout le reste du plumage est d^in brun terreux^ plus fonce sur les ailes et la queue ; couleur qui s^eclaircit sur la poitrine et qui blanchit totalement au ventre; les couvertures du dessous de la queue sont d\in jaune citron; les yeux^ d'un brun fonccj sont entoures d^une paupiere orangee d'une demi- ligne d'epaisseur ; le bee et les pieds sont brunatres/^ This description, which is much more accurate than the figure that it accompanies, agrees very well (except that the bill should have been described as black, the feet also as black, or very nearly so, and the irides as reddish brown) with the Pycnonotus, which is found (sometimes with a yellow, but more often with an orange, tumid eyelid) from Damaraland to the west, as far eastward as Transvaal, thus occupying a more northerly range than that inhabited by P. capensis, which seems not to extend beyond the Cape colony. I may add that the colour of the eyelid appears to be more permanent in specimens of P. nigricans than in those of P. capensis. I have before me two that were obtained in 1876, in which the orange-yellow circle round the eye is still con- spicuous ; and though, no doubt, this colour gradually fades, it does not become white, as is the case with the eyelid of P. capensis. P. nigricans associates in Transvaal with a third, nearly allied species, which appeal's to be the only Pycnonotus in- habiting Natal, whence it extends northwards to Zanzibar, and southwards (according to Mr. Layard, Ibis, 1871, p. 230) to Graham's Town. In ' The Ibis ' for 1860, p. 209, I referred this species to P. nigricans, to which Captain Shelley also referred it in * The Ibis' for 1875, p. 74; but in 'The Ibis' for 1873, p. 255, I referred it to P. tricolor, under which head it is also com- prised in Sharpe's edition of Layard. Subsequent investigation has convinced me that this Pyc- nonotus is, as stated by Mr. Layard in ' The Ibis ' for 1871, Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 393 pp. 229, 230, distinct from both P. nigricans and P. tricolor, and also from P. capensis ; and as Mr. Layard unfortunately did not give it a specific name, I propose to call it, after him, Pycnonotus layardi. The nearest allies of P. layardi appear to me to be P. ni- gricans and the more northern P. xanthopygus. From P. nigricans it seems only to differ in the throat (as distinguishd from the chin) being dark brown instead of black, in the eye- lids being (to use the words of Captain Shelley in ' The Ibis ' for 1875, p. 74) " black, thick, but not wattled," and in the iris being, as observed by Mr. Ayres, " umber," or " dusky umber," instead of '' red-hazel," or '' bright hazel," or, in the words of Mr. Andersson, "rather pale yellowish red""^. In Mr. Dresser's article in the ' Birds of Europe ' on P. xan- thogypus, he points out the differences between that species and P. layardi, speaking, however, of the latter as "P. nigricans." In company with Mr. Sharpe, I have recently compared a Transvaal specimen of P. layardi with the type of P. tricolor from Angola, which is preserved in the British Museum ; and I believe I may state Mr. Sharpe now agrees with me in considering the two specifically distinct. In P. tricolor the upper surface of the head is a decided brown, scarcely darker than the brown of the back, whilst in P. layardi it forms a distinct black cap ; the entire mantle is a purer and richer brown in P. tricolor than in P. layardi, in which latter it is slightly tinged with greyish olive. P. tricolor also differs from P. layardi in the almost entire absence of any tinge of black from the sides of the head and from the chin, and in the much more sharply defined boun- dary between the brown of the breast and the white of the abdomen, as shown in the figure of this species in the P. Z. S. 1871, pi. 7. fig. 2. P. tricolor appears to be entirely a South-west African form, ranging from the Congo to Damaral and, which appears to be its southern limit. It may be serviceable to add the following measui'ements, * * Birds of Damara Land/ p. p. 120. 394 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. taken from specimens of P. capensis, P. nigricans, P. layardi, and P. tricolor, which have either been kindly lent to me by Captain Shelley or are in my own possession. P. capensis. Three specimens, sex not marked, from Cape Colony. P. nigricans^. Male and female, Damaraland . . Five males, from Transvaal .... Three females, from Transvaal . . BiU. •65 to •70 •60 •GO to •72 •60 to •62 P. layardi. From Pangani River, sex not marked '60 Two specimens, sex not marked, J ^. from Daru Salamf. \-Q2 From Zanzibar, sex not marked . . •65 Male, Swaziland -70 (•65 Five males, from Transvaal .... < to (•70 Two females, from Transvaal .... ^62 (•62 Three males, from Natal < to 1-65 Female, from Natal -60 Wing. 3-75 to 3-85 3^80 3-90 to 4- 3^70 to 3-90 3-60 3-60 and 3^50 3-90 3^85 3-80 to 410 3-80 3-90 to 3-95 370 Tail. 3-30 to 3-50 3- 3-30 to 3-50 3^20 to 3-30 3^10 3^ and 3-20 3-50 3^40 3-40 to 3-GO 3^30 3-40 to 3^60 3^40 Tarsus. •90 •80 •80 to •90 •85 to •90 •85 •80 •90 •90 •90 •90 •90 •90 * The late Mr. Andersson, in an unpublished note, now in my posses- sion, referring to specimens of P. nigricans obtained by him in Damara- land, gives the following measurements : — " Average Diinensions of ten Males and Females. inches, lines. Entire lengtli Length of wing when folded Tarsus Middle toe Tail Bill 9 7i 3 10." t It is remarkable that these two specimens, which were obtained by the late Mr. E. C. Buxton on the mainland opposite Zanzibar, and that Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 395 Bill. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. P. tricolor. Male, from Landana, Congo .... -60 3-75 3-20 -90 I may mention that the above lists comprise specimens of P. nigricans killed in January, May, June, July, August, and October — and of P. layardi in February, March, June, July, and September — showing that the differences between these two species are not merely seasonal. — J. H. G.] 327. Cratbropus jardinii. Smith. Jardine's Babbles. Male, Rustenburg, May 29th. Irides with a crimson outer ring and an orange inner ring ; bill black ; tarsi and feet dark ash- colour. Female, Rustenburg, May 29th. Resembling the male, but with the outer ring of the irides scarlet. This Babbler is common about the mountains, where it is found in companies. Crateropus bicolor, Jardine. Southern Pied Babbler. Male, near Rustenburg, June 24th. Irides orange, fading into light yellow at the outer edge ; bill black, tarsi and feet dark dusky brown. Female, near Rustenburg, June 26th. Irides brownish orange ; bill, tarsi, and feet as in the male. This is a much scarcer species than the preceding one, and also much more wary. I met with two or three companies near the Eland's river, a tributary of the Crocodile river ; but it was with some difficulty that I shot the two speci- mens sent. MoNTicoLA BREviPES, Watcrh. Short-footed Rock -Thrush. Male adidt. Irides dusky ; bill, tarsi, and feet dingy black. This species is widely distributed about the mountains, but is not very common. CossYPHA HUMERALis, Smith. White-shouldercd Chat- Thrush. The bird sent was killed in February by my brother at Rus- from the Pangani River, in the same district, should be so much smaller than the next specimen, which is said to have been obtained at Zanzibar itself on the Zanzibar island. 396 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. tenburg ; when I was there^ later in the year, I did not meet with this species, and rather think it is more plentiful during our summer than in the winter months. It inhabits dense thickets. [Some years since Mr. Ayres sent me a specimen of this Chat-Thrush from Natal, which, by some accident, was not included in my lists of birds received from that colony. — J. H. G.] Thamnobia cinnamomeiventris, Lafr. Southern White- shouldered Bush-Chat. Male and female, killed 27th May. Irides dusky; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This is a very local species : I met with it but once amongst the mountains of Rustenburg ; and that was in a precipitous and well-wooded ravine on the south side of Oliphant^s Nek. There must have been at least a dozen of these birds together ; but I only got two ; one more I killed, but could not find ; they fell amongst deep crevices in the rocks, and were by no means easy to retrieve. After I had fired three or four times they flew further up the gorge, and I saw them no more. Myrmecocichla formicivora (Vieill.). Southern Ant- eating Wheatear. Female, shot in July. This species is common on all the open country near Eus- tenburg, especially on the Town. [In both editions of Mr. Layard's work it is stated that the female '' wants the white shoulders ;" but in the present specimen they are present, as in the male. In both sexes this white patch on the ridge of the wing does not quite reach to the carpal joint. — J. H. G.] Saxicola galtoni (Strickl.) . Familiar Wheatear. Male and female. Irides dusky umber; tarsi and feet black. This is a very common species throughout the Rustenburg district, and exceedingly familiar and tame. Two or three pairs may be seen close to evei'y farmstead ; and almost every separate clump of bush along the roadsides holds its pair ; Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 397 from the tops of the mountains to the lowest dales this incon- spicuous little fellow is to be found. So far as I know, I have never met with it near Potchef- stroom^ though a specimen obtained at a distance of fifteen miles from thence has been recorded in ' The Ibis ' for 1877, p. 343. Saxicola leucomel^na, Burch. BurchelPs Wheatear. Male, shot June 22rd. Irides dusky ; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This is a very local species about the Magaliesbergen. I found half a dozen of these Wheatears on the Hex river, amongst some rocks, about ten miles from Rustenburg ; these, and one or two others amongst some rocks near Eland^s river, were all I came across during my stay in the Rustenburg district. [In ' The Ibis ' for 1878, at pp. 291 to 294, 1 described four Wheatears sent by Mr. Ayres, which all appeared to be re- ferable to this species. The specimen now sent agrees in the distribution of its colours with the third example described as above, except that the black centres to some of the fea- thers on the white shoulder-spot are smaller and less con- spicuous ; the dark portions of the plumage are also less black and more tinged with brown, very much resembling the cor- responding parts in the fourth specimen described by me last year. The bird now sent was moulting when killed ; and a new central rectrice is of a much deeper black than the adjacent ones, which are old and apparently faded ; the same circum- stance is also observable in the tertials of both wings. — J. H. G.] Oriolus larvatus, Licht. Masked Oriole. Male and female adult, shot 22nd July and 3rd August. Irides crimson ; bill flesh-colour ; tarsi and feet pale dusky ash-colour. A younger female, shot 22nd July. Irides reddish brown ; bill black; tarsi and feet as in the adult. This Oriole is not uncommon in the wooded parts of the Rustenburg mountains, but is somewhat shy and wary. 398 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology oj Transvaal. [The adult male sent agrees in coloration with the descrip- tion of that sex given by Mr. Sharpe in 'The Ibis^ for 1870, p. 224. The older female has the forehead and cere sprinkled with minute particles of greenish yellow dust, which prevents the forehead from presenting an appearance of pure black ; otherwise this female does not differ in coloration from the male. The younger female differs in having all the black fea- thers en the crown of the head slightly edged with greenish yellow, which is more conspicuous towards the forehead than towards the nape ; the feathers of the chin and throat have black centres, with greenish yellow edges ; and many of the yellow feathers of the upper breast also have black centres, which are most conspicuous in the feathers, nearest the throat. —J. H. G.] 328. JuiDA PHtENicoPTERA, Swaius. Flame-shouldered Grakle. Male and female. Irides orange ; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This is the commonest of the Grakles ; the whole country about Hustenburg is alive with them. JuiDA MORio (Daud.). Roupenne Grakle. This is also a very common species in the Rustenburg dis- trict, feeding on the various berries with which the bush abounds. DiLOPHUS CARUNcuLATUS (Gmcl.). Grey Starling. This species is not uncommon, and is often seen in company with Juida phosnicoptera. Fiscus coLLARis (Linn.). Fiscal Shrike. This is one of the commonest birds all over the Magalies- bergen, where it is to be met with either singly or in pairs. 329. Fiscus suBcoRONATUs (Smith). Coronetted Shrike. Male, shot at Potchefstroom 23rd of March. Urolestes cissoides (Licht.) . Long-tailed Shrike. This is a somewhat local species ; here and there amongst the bushy hills one may come across a small company of these Shrikes. Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal, 399 NiLAUs BRUBRu (Lath.). Brubru Shrike. This species is generally distributed, but is not very com- mon in the Rustenburg district; it is mostly a solitary bird, and may be found hunting for insects about the foliage of the trees. 330. PoMATORHYNCHUS ERYTHROPTERUS (Shaw). RufoUS- "winged Bush- Shrike. (A) Female, Rustenburg, June 3rd. Irides bluish slate- colour ', bill black ; tarsi and feet very light slate-colour. (B) Female, Rustenburg, July 18th. (C) Female, Rustenburg, August 9th. Bill black; tarsi and feet light ash-colour. Total length 9^ inches. (D) Female, Rustenburg, August 16th. Irides slaty blue ; bill black ; tarsi and feet light ash-colour. Grasshoppers in the stomach. This Shrike is not uncommon ; it frequents the low bush, and is an adept at hiding. [I have taken the following measurements of the four spe- cimens sent by Mr. Ayres : — Wing. Tarsus. Tail. A 3-80 1-20 3-80 B 3-55 1-10 3-90 C 3-70 1-20 3-90 D 3-60 1-10 3-80 —J. H. G.] 331. PoMATORHYNCHUS TRiviRGATUs (Smith). Tlircc- streaked Bush-Shrike. (A) Sex uncertain. (B) Ditto, Rustenburg, June 24th. Irides dusky hazel; bill light dusky brown, with the basal part of the under man- dible pale ; tarsi and feet light ash-colour. (C) Female, Rustenburg, July 8th. Irides dark hazel; bill dusky brown ; tarsi and feet pale ash-colour. (D) Female, Rustenburg, August. This species appears to be about equally numerous with the preceding one, and inhabits similar situations. [The following are measurements taken from the above- named four specimens of P. trivirgatus : — 400 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. Wing. Tarsus. Tail. A 3- 1-10 3-60 B 3-10 110 3-50 C 310 1- 3-30 D 3-10 110 3-40 These measurements, and those of the preceding species, may be compared with the tables of dimensions given at pp. 152 and 150 of Anderssou's ' Birds of Damara Land.' The four specimens of P. erythropterus have the crown of the head black, and the four of P. trnvirgatus have it brown, showing the usual distinction between the two species in that respect. — J. H. G.] 332. Dryoscopus cubla (Shaw). South-African Puff- Shrike. Male, Rustenburg, June 11th. Irides red. Female, Rustenburg, June 6th. Irides orange. Female, Rustenburg, August 9th. Irides dull crimson. These birds are not uncommon amongst the bush on the Rustenburg mountains. They are generally in pairs ; and their habits are shy and retiring ; their note much resembles that of Oriolus larvatus. Laniarius^ boulboul (Shaw). Boulboul Shrike. Male. Irides very dark umber; bill dusky, ashy at the base ; tarsi ash-colour. Female. Irides umber ; bill black ; tarsi and feet dingy black. This is also a shy and retiring species ; it is not uncommon in dense thickets. [In the female bird mentioned above, which was shot on 6th June, the black of the upper parts is very nearly as dark and rich as that of the accompanying male, and the fawn- colour of the underparts is more so ; the white bar on the wing is as distinct in this female (which is probably quite an * [In Mr. Sharpe's 'Catalogue of African Birds/ 1871, this species is referred to the genus Dryoscopus ; but it seems to me that it cannot be generically separated from the succeeding species (atrococcitieus) , which Mr, Sharpe, in the same work, refers to the genus Laniarius, — J. II. G.] Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 401 old bird) as in the male ; this does not entirely accord with the description of the female given in the first edition of Mr. Layard's work. — J. H. C] Laniarius atrococcineus (Burch.) . Southern Crimson- breasted Shrike. Male, Rustenburg, June 2oth. Irides dusky umber ; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This handsome Shrike is decidedly a local species : in some parts of the Magaliesbergen it is tolerably plentiful ; but in other parts equally good-looking cover does not hold a speci- men ; in the more northern portions of the district it becomes much more plentiful. According to my experience it is an exceedingly shy bird. Prionops talacoma. Smith. Smithes Flycatcher Shrike. Male, Eustenburg, July 26th. Irides pale gamboge; eye- lids orange ; bill black ; tarsi and feet orange. These birds are sparingly found in small companies through- out the wooded parts of the Rustenburg district. They are extremely wild and difficult to approach after being shot at once or twice. Brauyornis silens (Shaw). Silent Flycatcher. This species is tolerably plentiful about Rustenburg ; and I may also mention that on the 26th October I took its nest and eggs near Potchefstroom. The nest was in my garden, placed about eight feet from the ground, on the top of a rough post, sheltered by grape-vines. It was cup-shaped and rough in structure, composed of dry grass, rags, and feathers, giving it a generally white appearance, with bits of wool, fluffy grass- seeds, and finer feathers inside. The eggs, three in number, were of a pale tawny or dingy white, faintly but uniformly marked with very pale brown ; they varied slightly in colour and size, measuring respectively \^ of an inch by ^|, |-| by ^|, and Yq t)y ^. Considering the size of the bn-d, the egg is small and delicate ; it somewhat resembles that of Mota- cilla capensis. [Mr. Ayres sends five specimens of this Flycatcher : — one an adult male, a second a female just losing the plumage de- 402 Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of TVansvaal. scribed by Mr. Sharpe in vol. iii. of his British-Museum 'Catalogue/ p. 313, as ''young/' a third specimen, sex not marked, answering to Mr. Sharpens description of the "adult female /' the fourth a female in similar plumage, but with a single white feather on the crown of the head ; and, fifthly, an older female, also with an aberrant white feather on the crown, which resembles the adult male in the extent of white on the wings and tail, and is a dull black (not brown, as the other females) on the upper surface. — J. H. G.] 333. Bradyornis ATER, Sund. Southern Black Flycatcher. Male and female, Bustenburg. Irides dusky ; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This species is generally found in pairs ; it is not very common. [I recently had an opportunity of comparing the female above mentioned with the Damara specimen in the British Museum referred by Mr. Sharpe [op. cit. p. 314) to his " Bra- dyornis diabolicus -j" and they appeared to me to be identical. My impression is that B. diabolicus is not a good species. — J. H. G.] BucHANGA AssiMiLis* (Bcchst.). Musical Drongo. Dicrurus musicus, Vieill. Male. Irides bright crimson ; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This species is generally spread all over the Bustenburg district. It has a great variety of notes. 334. Batis molitor (Hahn & Kiist). Hahn's Flycatcher. Male and female. Irides pale yellow ; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This is the commonest of the Flycatchers about Busten- burg, though one very seldom sees more than a pair together, and appears to be pretty generally distributed in the district wherever there is bush. The note of this species is extremely loud, considering the size of the bird. Batis capensis (Linn.). Molenar Flycatcher. Male, Bustenburg, July 26th. Irides dark gamboge-yellow, * Conf. Sharpe's Brit. Mus. Cat. vol. iii. p. 247. Mr. T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. 403 changing almost immediately after death to orange-yellow ; bill black ; tarsi dusky (almost black) ; feet ash-colour. This is a decidedly scarce bird in the Magaliesbergen ; it frequents the same localities as the preceding species^ and has much the same restless habits. Stenostira scita (Vieill.). Mignard Flycatcher. Male^ Rustenburg, June 18th. Irides dusky; bill, tarsi, and feet black. This very small bird is often seen hunting assiduously for minute insects amongst the foliage of bushes and trees ; it is generally solitary, and I have never seen more than two together. Eremomela usticollis, Sund. Brown-throated Bush- chirper. Male, Bustenburg, June 28th. Irides tawny white ; bill, pale, with the ridge dusky ; tarsi and feet pale russet. 335. Eremomela hemixantha, Seebohm, n. sp. Busten- burg Bush-chirper. One specimen not sexed, Bustenburg, June 13th. Irides pale chrome ; bill black ; tarsi ashy, gradually assuming light brown at the feet. Two males and one specimen with the sex not noted, Bus- tenburg, July 24th. Irides pale chrome-yellow. Female, Bustenburg, July 23rd. Irides very pale tawny- yellow ; bill black ; tarsi dusky brown, assuming light red- dish brown at the feet. This species is found in small companies. [I have submitted the specimens sent by Mr. Ayres to the examination of Canon Tristram, Mr. Sharpe, and Mr. See- bohm, who all agree with me in considering them as belong- ing to a species hitherto undescribed ; and the last-named gentleman has been good enough to draw up the following detailed description of it ; the specific name of hemixantha has been selected as indicative of the yellow colouring of the lower half of the body. — J. H. G.] " General colour of the upper parts greyish brown, slightly suffused with olive-green, especially on the Avings, and shading 404 Mr, T. Ayres on the Ornithology of Transvaal. into greenish yellow on the crown and forehead. Lores and ear-coverts greyish brown. Wings and wing-coverts brown, each feather having a narrow pale edge to the outside web. Tail-feathers brown, with narrow pale edges, broadest and best-defined on the outside feathers. " Underparts an almost uniform sulphur-yellow, slightly paler on the chin, axillaries, and under wing-coverts. Inner lining of quills pale huffish brown. " Bill Sylviine, but with no perceptible dental notch or un- dulation, both mandibles dark brown, nearly black. Rictal bristles very small. " Wing with the fourth primary rather the longest. Second primary generally intermediate in length between the seventh and eighth, occasionally between the eighth and ninth, and occasionally equal to the seventh. Bastard primary narrow, sometimes half as long as the second primary, but generally less than half. " Legs dusky brown, feet and claws reddish brown. Iris pale chrome-yellow. Tarsus scutellated in front. ^'Length of wing 2-36 to 2-27 inches, tail 1-95 to 1-86, culmen "52 to "5, tarsus '7S. " Tail-feathers twelve, of which the outer ones are from '2 to '15, shorter than the longest. " There appears to be no difference in the sexes. Five skins in the possession of Mr. Gurney were obtained by Mr. Ayres at Rustenburg, in the Transvaal, between 13th June and 24th July ; and two skins in the possession of Capt. Shelley were obtained by Mr. Lucas in the same locality, one on 9th June and the other 10th August. All the skins obtained are probably those of birds in winter plumage.^' ZosTEROPs suNDEVALLi, Hartl. Suudcvall's Zosterops. Male, Rustenburg, August 6th. Irides light brown; bill horny black, with the basal part of the lower mandible blue ash-colour. Female, Rustenburg, August 7. Irides and bill as in male ; tarsi and feet brownish ash-colour. On the Ornithology of Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. 405 ZosTERoPs viRENs, Sund. Green Zosterops. Sex uncertain, Rustenburg, June 29th. Irides tawny- yellow. This and the three preceding species {Eremomela usticollis, E. hemixantha, and Zosterops sundevalli) are equally common about the wooded parts of the Rustenburg district. Each species is generally found in small companies ; each has the same habits of creeping and hanging about the leaves and buds of trees in search of insects; each appears to have a low melancholy weeping note ; and the flight of each is much the same : it is not easy at a little distance to distinguish the species. [To be continued.] XXXV. — Ornithological Notes from the Neighbourhood of Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. By Ernest Gibson, F.Z.S. [In explanation of the small number of species here recorded and noted on, I have only to say that it seemed better to merely write on those with which I was well acquainted, leaving all others for a future paper. Several I had not yet succeeded in identifying ; and regarding others my data are too insufiicient to work upon, or are wanting in some essential particulars. As a resident in the locality also, and not merely a visitor, I think I am justified in the postponement of all such incomplete notes. To Mr. Salvin I am indebted for the identification of my bird-skins ; and I also take the opportunity of acknowledging the valuable assistance and many kindnesses received from Mr. J. A. Harvie Brown, of Dunipace, during the six years of my residence in Buenos Ayres.] A few words regarding the locality and the nature of the district may be useful, as indicating what classes of birds are to be found, and in what relative proportions. Our land {'' estancia/' or stock-farm) is situated just inside Cape San Antonio, and is bounded on the north by the estuary of the River Plate. A neighbour holds the adjoining piece of land, on which is the cape itself, while his eastern SER. IV. VOL. III. 2h 406 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of boundary, again, is the Atlantic Ocean. The shore of the latter is sand ; and a line of sand dunes (varying from half a mile to two miles in width) extends from the cape down as far south as the Sierras of Tandil, where the first rocks or cliffs occur. The coast-line may be said to run north and south ; but I am puzzled to account for the existence, inland, of nu- merous long sandy ridges (now covered with grass) parallel to each other and all trending N.W. and S.E. These would seem to indicate that the action of the estuary of the River Plate and the Atlantic Ocean combined have tended to alter the shape of the cape since the formation of these old coast- lines or beaches. Immediately inside the cape, and extending all round the Bay of Sanborombon, the coast is of an entirely different character. For three or four miles inland, and encircling the whole of the bay, are found the '^ rincones,''^ a maze of islands and peninsulas, formed of tidal creeks of more or less impor- tance, the ramifications of which are innumerable. The soil is a clay, hard enough on the surface, but becoming soft as butter a few feet below the surface, and is strongly impreg- nated with salt. The vegetation principally consists of dense coverts of giant grasses, such as the pampa-grass [Gynerium argenteum) and a species of esparto. The most of this land, and all the tidal creeks, are inhabited by a small burrowing crab, in countless myriads ; and the creeks are consequently called " cangrejales " (from " cangrejo," a crab). The " rincones " are evidently of very late formation, and are perceptibly both rising and becoming firmer. The shore of the bay is muddy ; and various salt-water carices fringe it in parts, from the cape upwards. A few rocks of that curious formation known locally as " tosca " (the " Loss " of the Pampean formation of German geologists) make their first appearance also on rounding the cape and advancing three or four miles into the bay. The camp ("el campo^^), or plains, are quite level in this district, no roll in the prairie. Sir Francis Head, who, in his ' Ride Across the Pampas,^ delineates them better than any other writer I know of, gives a most graphic description Cape San Anto?iio, Buenos Ayres. 407 of the way in which a rancho, a tree, or a herd of cattle or horses, appears on the horizon, is reached, passed, and fades in the distance, to be replaced by some such other object, as the rider gallops steadily on, fifty miles before noon, ninety by the time he finally dismounts and stakes out his horse. Words cannot describe the pampas ; they need to be seen to be appreciated properly. It is strange that various writers find their influence to be gloomy and saddening, and attribute the natural Spanish gravity of the country-people to this most unnatural cause. They are solemn and impressive at times — in a summer thunder-storm, or at night, with a fierce pampero wind driving a few white clouds across the full moon ; but commend me to the warm sunlight, the sensation of perfect freedom in that great solitude, the line where plain and sky meet so palpably, yet so unattainably, though the long leagues gather behind one, day after day, while the only sounds are those of the breeze among the grasses and scarlet " margaritas " (verbenas) , the occasional cry o£ a bird, and the continuous dull roll of the horse's hoofs, with its jingling accompaniment from the Spanish saddle-housings. The actual alluvial soil here is shallow, and consists of about nine inches of black earth, followed by a foot of clay (locally called ''greda") ; then comes sand, and after that — more sand ! which expresses all that is known of the depth of the latter stratum. There are no stones or pebbles, not even of the size of a pin-head ; but sea-shells make their ap- pearance in the sand at from eight to ten feet below the surface of the ground. Water is found at a depth of from four to eight feet, but is very often either salt or brackish. Probably the district averages only six feet above the level of the sea. Of the grasses, suflfice it to say that they have undergone various important modifications during the last fifty years, the "cortadera'' or pampa-grass being only found in the rincones now, and having been replaced by soft grasses. De Moussy, in his late Avork on the Argentine Confederation, includes this district among the highest class of pastoral lands in the province of Buenos Ayres; and Buenos Ayres yields precedence to no other country in the world on that point. 2h 2 408 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of We are fortunate in having several natural woods also, part of tliat strip which extends from the latitude of Buenos Ayres down to the Mar Chiquita (near the Sierras de Tandil) , along the sea-coast, and which has heen called the woods of the littoral. The " tala " (of the genus Celtis) predomi- nates; but the '^coronillo^^ is abundant, and the "que- brachillo^' is not uncommon, while among the brushwood the elder {Sambucus australis) occupies the most prominent place. The district is drained by a great network of freshwater swamps or fens, known as " cauados," sometimes only nar- row beltSj but often expanding into a superficies of some scores of acres. The deepest have only about five feet of water, and then perhaps another foot of mud ; but they can be traversed everywhere on horseback, except at their mer- gence into the tidal creeks or small rivers of the rincones. They have an existent though almost imperceptible current. In a very dry summer they all dry up, with the exception of a few ponds in some of the principal ones. Their vegetation consists of various reeds, rushes, and water-plants, the most important being the " hunco,^' " durasnillo,'^ and " espadaiia," all growing to a height of from five to seven feet above the surface of the water. Notwithstanding their almost stag- nant nature and the abundance of decomposing vegetable matter contained in them, they are perfectly healthy, and give off no injurious malaria. Doubtless this is to be ac- counted for by the treeless plains being so frequently and thoroughtly swept by the winds, and by a considerable amount of salt inherent in the soil and vegetation, a good example of the latter being a Salicornia, called here "jume.'^ In palseontological remains the district is very poor, as might be inferred from its lowness. Fragments of the cara- pace of the Glyptodon are occasionally found on the Atlantic sea-board, among the debris scattered along the shore. There are also five more or less incomplete skeletons of whales on our own land alone. Very recently I made the interesting ethnological discovery of extensive remains of Indian pottery, flints, &c. A flint Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. 409 arrow-head conclusively proves that these belonged to the ancient Guarani Indians^ and not to the present races now inhabiting the pampas of Buenos Ayres. What follows, then, as may be gathered from these notes, is a natural division of all our birds into three great classes — namely, those of the wood, the plain, and the swamp. The rincones have also a few species peculiar to them ; but, again, to counterbalance that, the shore has none. The total number of species found here is at least one hundred and twenty ; and I hope and expect it may reach ten or fifteen more. As already remarked, the following con- stitute only a small portion of that number; and it remains for future observations to work up the balance of the orni- thology in the neighbourhood of Cape San Antonio. 1. Geranoaetus melanoleucus (Vieill.). The '' Aquila " of our natives (Spaniards) . Rather rare here, and very local in its habits. A pair used to frequent one of the woods surrounding our head station, and bred there for many years ; but they abandoned their eyrie before my time (1872), though I have since that date seen two adults and two young birds (in the brown plumage) at various intervals. In the plains I have twice seen single specimens, in both cases at carrion, the Caranchos {Polyborus tharus) keeping at a respectful distance during the repast. Where I can always make sure of finding them is at the entrance to our rincones, two or three pairs breeding there in a narrow belt of woods, the eyries being generally a couple of miles apart. Its flight is slow ; and when disturbed it generally ascends in spiral circles. When doing so it does not look very majestic, the wings being too broad in proportion to their length. Its whereabouts may often be detected by an atten- dant flock of Caranchos, particularly in the case of a young bird. As soon as it rises from the ground or from a tree, these begin to persecute it, ascending spirally also, and making dashes at it, while the Eagle only turns its head watchfully from side to side, the mere action being sufficient to avert the threatened coUisioo. 410 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of Very rarely does it give utterance to its cry^ then generally in the vicinity of the nest^ and only on the wing ; the effect of this is rather startling, resembling, as it does, a wild human laugh with an admixture of the Curlew's clear note — short, loud, but with no harshness in it. Out of three adults shot, two were obtained at the nest ; for though not readily scared away, it keeps just out of gun- shot as a rule. One of these caused me a most thorough mauvais quart d'heure, by compelling me to climb a thorny Sala tree, where, leaning against thorns of various degrees of length and sharpness, and devoured by clouds of mosquitos, I had to watch the birds circling round me for at least that time. Each time one of the pair came within range and I endeavoured to get a sight, I was threatened with the loss of my equilibrium, or the mosquitos on my face got over- crowded, and the new comers had to content themselves with experiments on the interior of my nostrils and eyes, or I found a more than usually long thorn, and the opportunity was gone. Nothing but the two eggs lying in the nest by my side kept up my patience; and though that was at last rewarded by seeing the female fall as only an eagle can, yet I descended that tree rather less of an ornithologist than on my ascent, and with sundry anathemas concerning tala trees and mosquitos. The food of this bird consists principally of a small Cavy, very abundant in the rincones ; and on dissection I have also found the remains of a Waterhen (head entire), and a rat. Once I saw a dead yellow opossum {Didelphys crassicaudata, Desm.) in a tree where there was a nest with eggs, doubtless brought there by the male. The opossum was a fair-sized one, and might have proved as dangerous as weasels have done in similar cases in Scotland. If at carrion (a dead sheep or horse) all the other birds, the Carancho, Chimango, and Gulls, wait till the '^Aquila '^ has satisfied its appetite before they attempt to take their share. I kept a wounded young bird two or three weeks ; but the only points I noted connected with it were those of its claws, with which it marked me several times. Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. 411 My largest adult specimens measiu'e : — Male, length 24 inches, across the wings 57 ; female, length 27, across the wings 61. Breeding -Notes. — The nest is always placed on the very summit of a tree sufficiently isolated to command a view of the neighbourhood. Large trees are preferred ; and only in one case (out of six) have I found a nest in what was little more than a bush, a stunted tala about six feet high. All these nests were rather over three feet in diameter ; and one, a disused eyrie, must have been at least five feet high, showing that it had been occupied for several years. They are built of large sticks, some of which are nearly as thick as one^s wrist, and the hollow in the centre cushioned with dry grass. Two eggs seem to be the number generally laid ; and two clutches in my collection measure respectively 2f J] x 2, 2^^ x 2^, and 2f ^ x 2^^, 2|g x 2^^ inches. Colour dull white, marked with pale reddish blotches. These nests were taken on 8th December and 29th March, the latter date correspond- ing to the end of autumn. On each occasion I shot the females, but found the males paired again shortly afterwards. 2. BUTEO ERYTHRONOTUS, King. The only appearance of this species was in 1875, in the month of June, when a pair took up their abode in the woods at the head station, both of which I secured. 3. Urubitinga unicincta (Temm.). Not uncommon, though I have only succeeded in obtain- ing three specimens, one being in immature plumage, and, as yet, have never met with a nest. It generally frequents woods, winding slowly amongst the trees and bushes, and keeping at no great height from the ground. Those I dis- sected contained remains of rats and mice. 4. Circus cinereus, Vieill. Common, and essentially a plain-frequenting bird. The rich bright yellow of the legs and feet contrasts very prettily with the slate-blue and cinnamon-coloured plumage. Its flight is low and rather rapid, while, if its quarry should double, it loses no ground ; for it turns something in the 413 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of manner of a Tumbler Pigeon, going rapidly head over heels in the most eccentric and amusing fashion. Also it will raise any small bird time after time, should the latter endea- vour to conceal itself in the grass, preferring, as it would seem, to strike it on the wing. Small birds form its prin- cipal prey, to which probably may be added Tuco-tucos {Cte- nomys brasiliensis) &c. The vociferous little green Perroquet Bolborhynchus monachus frequently mobs this speciss if it ventures near the woods — an experience shared by most of our Raptores. Notwithstanding its comparative abundance, and that all the year round, I know nothing of its breeding-habits ; only like Mr. Durnford, I have been assured that it nests on the ground among the long grass. 5. Hypotriorchis femoralis (Temm.). One male, shot in the woods at the head station, is the only specimen of the species which has yet come under my notice during the last six years. 6. TiNNUNCULUs sPARVERius (Linn.). Not altogether uncommon, but sufficiently so to make my information regarding it very meagre. With one exception, my specimens were all obtained in July and August (mid- winter); and my few notes bear these dates also. The excep- tion was a female, and was killed at the end of March (autumn). Possibly, then, it does not breed with us, but merely comes north in the winter. Mr. Durnford found it nesting in Tosca cliffs in the Patagonian valley of Chupat during the month of November ; and Mr. Hudson observed it in the same country, on the Rio Negro, also during the summer months (as I infer from his paper). Consequently I am not altogether without grounds for the above hypothesis. On the wing, as the former naturalist has already recorded, it is very swift. My own notes liken its flight to that of a Pigeon, especially when flying from tree to tree ; but it has also a habit of hovering for a moment over any object, and then darting away — the first like a Kestrel, the latter swiftly as any Swallow. Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ay res. 413 It is not at all shy, even after being fired at. On one such occasion a female bird approached so close to me that I was able to bring it down with the second barrel^ containing a light charge of No. 10 shot. Small birds^ and once a large locust, have been the only results of the examination of three or four crops. 7. RosTRHAMUs sociABiLis (Vieill.). Not uncommon, but very irregular in its appearances. Sometimes I have seen a dozen within a week, and after that not met with a single specimen for a year. It is a true marsh-frequenting and marsh-breeding species, and is gre- garious in the nesting-season. In flight it is very slow, beat- ing along over the swamps in a most leisurely manner, and every now and then remainiDg suspended in mid-air, the broad expanded tail working in such a way as enables it to maintain its position almost stationary. A close view (and it is by no means shy) gives one an opportunity of admiring the beauti- ful ruby-coloured eyes, with their darker pupils. No one of our other Raptores is such a lively customer to handle ; and I once came out of a swamp on horseback carrying at arm's length, by the extremities of its wings, a wounded specimen, in a succession of buckjumps that covered me with duck- weed and soaked me to the skin. When visiting their breeding colony, I noticed that as the old birds hung suspended over me they produced a creaking sound, similar to that of a door swinging on unoiled hinges, and which was audible at some distance. This cry I do not remember having heard before or since ; and it is, I think, the only one the species gives utterance to. Its only food seems to consist of a large water-mollusk, abundant in our swamps, and the empty, but entire, shells of which I have found in the nests. These can only be obtained from the mud at the bottom ; but I have never yet seen the bird fishing for them. Mr. Durnford, in his notes from Ba- radero, in the north of the province, writes " . . . . Food con- sists of water-moUusks ; hence called ' Aguila de Caracoles,' '' but adds nothing as to its method of obtaining them. 414 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of Breeding -Notes. — In the year 1873 I was so fortunate as to find a breeding colony in one of our largest and deepest swamps. There were probably twenty or thirty nests, placed a few yards apart, in the deepest and most lonely part of the whole " canadon " (superlative of " Canada ") . They were rarely built up from the water, like the Chimangos {M. chi- mango), but, being very slight structures, were easily sup- ported by the " bunco " (a water-rush) at a height of from two to three feet above the water, and consisted of slight small platforms of dead " durasnillos " (a woody-stemmed water-plant) , with a cup-shaped hollow in the centre, the latter lined with pieces of green bunco, particularly the flower and seed- tufted extremities. Among the nests of R. sociabilis I saw two or three of the Chiraango {Milvago chimango) and a few of our common Night-Heron (Nycticorax obscurus, Bp. ?), of which there was also a breeding colony about a hundred yards off*. During my presence the birds remained high overhead, shifting their position slightly every now and then, and uttering their creaking cry at intervals. On the 23rd November I took twenty-six eggs (no clutch exceeding three in number) , while only two nests had young (two apiece). On the 30th most of the eggs were much incubated ; and on the 21st De- cember some of the young birds had flown, others were of various sizes, and only a very few nests still had eggs. There were no old nests to be seen about the colony, showing that the site had only been selected that year; and neither there nor anywhere else in our locality have I found R. sociabilis breeding since. The eggs, as I have said, never exceed three to the nest ; and the average of twenty-two specimens gives If ^ x 1^^ as their measurement, the largest of the series being If-^ X 1^, and the smallest If^ x \\^. They much resemble those of the Sparrowhawk, and also vary greatly. The ground-colour is generally a bluish white, blotched and clouded very irregu- larly with dull red-brown ; but the rufous tinge is sometimes absent, or is replaced by ash-grey. In short, it would take a large series of eggs in order to produce what might be called a typical set of eggs. Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ay res. 415 8. PoLYBORus THARUS (Mol.). Carancho. Nerj common, and very destructive to young lambs. The only thing in its favour is that it plays the part of scavenger admirably, soon disposing of all carrion left in the camp. Though without any true courage, it is by no means wanting in audacity, and will attack a lamb within a few yards of the shepherd, unless it should see a gun in the hands of the latter. Once I found one perched on the back of a sickly sheep, whence it dashed against the animal's head every now and then, endeavouring by fierce buffets of its wings to bring it down, and apparently knowing that the poor brute once down would never rise again. In such a case the eyes are first attacked, and then those parts where the skin is most tender. The fact of its alighting to watch for the (supposed) death of anybody who lies down to sleep or rest in the camp, is too well known to need any corroboration. But the Ca- rancho is too wary to begin an actual attack on a human being so long as it detects any sign of life. Though I have hitherto never been a sufferer by any of its thieving propen- sities, some of my escapes have been very narrow, and other persons I know have not been so fortunate. Sometimes, when unable to carry a nest of large eggs, I have hidden them in some hole in the ground and covered them with weeds, purpos- ing to pick them up on my way home; and though no Carancho had been in sight at the time, yet more than once my return has just been soon enough to save the spoil from the enemy. On one such occasion I had gathered over a hundred .good eggs [Cygnus nigricoUis, Chauna chavaria, Ciconia maguari, Ardea egretta, A. candidissima, Rostrhamus sociabilis, Mil- viago chimango, &c.) , and, emerging from the swamp, proceeded to hide them in a thick clump of " durasnillos,'' carefully covering them up with branches and leaves of the same. In an hour's time I returned with a fresh load, and, to my horror, found my cache surrounded by over a score of Caranchos ! A barrel right and left accounted for two of them and dis- persed the remainder, while on riding up I was thankful to find that they had only got the length of removing most of the brushwood, not a single egg having been touched. A 416 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of friend new to the country went out Duck-shooting one day. Birds were abundant^ and fell in twos and threes to every shot, so that he was compelled to leave them in heaps along the edge of the swamps, though dubious if his horse could carry them all when he should come to retrace his steps. But the Caranchos saved him the trouble ; for " when he got there the cupboard was bare/^ nothing remaining of some scores of fat Ducks but those he had last shot and various piles of feathers ! I was amused once by the respect some half dozen Caranchos showed to a young Stork [Ciconia ma- guari) . I had taken the latter, a half-grown bird, from its nest in a swamp, and, after tying it by the leg to a " duras- nillo " on a small island, went off again into the wilderness of reeds and rushes. While there the traro traro of the Carancho became audible, evidently coming from the island ; and, as I suspected, on hurrying back I found the young Stork surrounded by several Caranchos, forming a circle closely round him. Every now and then one would pluck up courage enough to approach the apparently helpless quarry ; but the Stork showed itself an able sworder, and a sudden thrust from its long bill sent the would-be assailant away, uttering hoarse cries of fear and pain. Once, in 1873 1 think, a Carancho took advantage of my pre- sence in a most audacious mannner. I was collecting eggs in a colony of Egrets (the nests being placed very closely together among the rushes) ; and this rascal kept close to me, alighting on those nests from which the birds had been driven by my approach, and breaking e^^ after egg. A blow from my hunting-knife (the butt-end unluckily) drove it away ulti- mately ; and then I had to dismount and fish for the said knife in three feet of mud and water. Perhaps the most ludicrous thing I ever saw a Carancho do was in connexion with a polecat, or skunk. Riding home about sundown one evening, I came across the latter in the camp, shuffling about in the erratic way peculiar to that odori- ferous quadruped, with the said Carancho hopping along in its rear. Occasionally, when its attendant approached too closely, the polecat would stop and erect its tail in a threaten- Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ay res. 417 ing manner ; but the Carancho, getting over its first surprise at the proceeding, was at length emboldened to step forward and grasp the sacred caudal appendage with one claw ! The next moment that too-curious Carancho was staggering about with dishevelled plumage, tearful eyes, and a general expres- sion of blank horror and amazement expressed on its Vulture- like visage, while the polecat regarded it for a moment with a humerous " told-you-so " air before going on its peaceful way ; and I remained doubled over my horse^s neck in a posi- tive ecstacy of delight at the Carancho's signal discomfiture ! All disabled or helpless creatures are the Carancho^s favourite prey ; and rarely, if ever, does it seize any thing that can show resistance. Sickly waterfowl often fall a prey to it accordingly ; and in two such cases which I witnessed, the Ca- ranchos did not even attempt to kill their victims, but simply holding them down on the ground and plucking the feathers off the back, began their repast there. The young of Cygnus coscoroba suffer severely, too, I am told. Carrion and offal, with young birds and eggs, form its general food; and notwithstanding the warfare man wages against it, the number seems by no means diminished. Its flight is powerful, but not generally rapid, except at sundown when it is returning to its nest. Then, indeed, it speeds along swiftly, with quick regular beats of the wings, maintaining a uniform height of a foot or two from the ground, and going in a perfectly straight line. It soars also, rising in spiral circles, but never so high as the Eagle [Geranoaetus melanoleucus) , the Stork {Ciconia maguari), or the Chaha {Chauna chavaria). When flying it looks particularly un- graceful, the extremities of the wings being so square. It shows most to advantage when perched on the summit of a tall tree, with the head thrown back, and the whole bird outlined against a deep-blue sky. The plumage of the adult is very handsome ; but that of the young bird is a monotonous dull brown, which, added to the livid mauve-colour of cere and nostrils in the latter, is more in harmony with the ill character of the species. They are very quarrelsome amongst themselves ; and a pair 418 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of once came tumbling down into the lucerne patch fighting with such blind fury that they allowed one of the workmen to run up and despatch them both. Any wounded individual is set upon and killed by the others, two or three instances of which I have seen. All night, except in the breeding-season, they roost on the summits of the largest or most isolated trees about the woods, sometimes as many as half a dozen together. When Biscacho-shooting on moonlight nights I have frequently shot them so. The Carancho is a wary individual, but only shy when it sees a gun. Of a horseman it entertains no fear, and in the camp will hardly move out of his way, allowing him some- times to pass within a few yards ; but a human being on foot is regarded with suspicion, whether armed or not. On the hot summer days it takes its siesta, like everybody else, choosing the shadow of a thistle in the plains, or con- gregating in or under the trees in the outskirts of any wood. It pairs for life, but, with the exception of the breeding- season, is semigregarious in its habits, like the Vultures, between which and the true Raptores it forms the connect- ing link. The cry is generally written traro, traro, and has been aptly likened to the jarring or grating sound of two pieces of wood rubbed against each other. I have heard it fully half a mile away. Usually, when giving utterance to it, the head is thrown or bent back till it touches the centre of the back. In both these respects the male and female are iden- tical. It has also a shriller and higher modification of the above cry, which it only uses when assaulted by a stronger fellow, or when wounded by a shot, and expresses sudden terror or pain. Breeding -Notes. — The Carancho breeds principally in the months of September, October, and November; but I have frequently taken eggs as early as the 20th of August, and as late as the 1st of December. It nests both in trees and swamps, and occasionally on the ground. In the two former cases the nest is used year after year, till in many cases it Cape San Antonio , Buenos Ay res. 419 would form a fair load for a cart. The largest example of this kind that I know of is built among the ^' durasnillos ^^ in one of our swamps ; it rises five or six feet above the sur- face of the water, is nearly as broad at the base, while at the top it has the usual diameter of from two to three feet. The component materials are dead sticks (of no great size), dry thistle-stalks, and various similar rubbish, interspersed with pieces of cowhide and sheepskin, fragments of untanned saddle-housings, lassos, lariats, &c., and the bones and desic- cated remains of birds and the smaller quadrupeds. The cavity for the eggs is sometimes cup-shaped, but more often shallow, and is generally thickly quilted and felted with dry grasses, wood, and hair. The female sits close, unless the passer-by should be on foot, when she immediately suspects felonious intentions and leaves the nest. Curiously enough, in the event of the nest being threatened by any such marauder as myself, the sitting bird is very shortly joined by its mate, though the latter was previously nowhere to be seen, the first intimation of its approach being a continued croaking as it comes rapidly along, close to the ground, and in a regular bee-line. Hideous then is their united bad language, as they throw back their heads and croak savagely. Once one of the two birds made a dash at me while taking the eggs, and nearly knocked off my hat ; and several times one or both have alit on the tree within a yard of me ; but generally they take up their position on the ground, or on a neigh- bouring tree, whence they occasionally rise and circle uneasily over the nest as the spoiler proceeds with his work of de- struction. In the very summit of a large tala tree in one of our woods, a colony of green Perroquets {Bolborhynchus monachus) had constructed their nest. A pair of Caranchos then coolly used it as a basis for their building-operations, and have continued to breed there ever since, while the Parroquets still maintain their quarters, apparently regardless of the truculent nature of their neighbours. I have only seen three nests in the camp, one being par- tially raised from the ground by its position in a clump of 420 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of thistles, and the other two respectively on a tuft of grass and among some "jume" {Salicornia) in the rincones. There were several trees near the two latter ; so their pre- ference for the ground requires some other explanation. Both were very slight structures. The swamp-built nests are usually placed among the duras- nillos and rushes, are annually augmented and repaired, and similar in construction and materials to those first described. The eggs never exceed three ; but I have frequently taken that number of fully fledged young ones in a nest ; and re- pulsive-looking savages they are. The average measurement of thirty-one specimens gives 2^^ x 1|^, the variation being from 2f § X 2^Q (an exceptionally broad specimen) to 2^^ x If^. In colour they may be likened to the Peregrine or Icelandic Falcon's, the typical eg^ being dull reddish in the ground, with darker markings of the same. Two notable exceptions in my collection have a dirty white ground, with dark brown blotches at one extremity, the remainder of the egg being only spotted with that colour. From its size and fine colour, the egg of Polyborus tharus at once attracts the eye on examining a cabinet of Buenos-Ayrean eggs. 9. MiLVAGO CHiMANGo (Vicill.). Chimaugo. Equally common with the last species, and of much the same habits. Querulous, restless, quarrelsome, and prying, it makes its presence incessantly felt. Carrion, with small snakes, frogs, insects, &c., form its food j and 1 have often seen it perched on the fresh sheep- skins, tearing off any small scraps of meat, but never injuring the hide. As one writer has aptly said, " the Chimango is the last to leave any carcass, and may be seen running up and down inside the skeleton ribs, long after Carancho and Vulture have given them up as picked bare.'' Much bolder than the Carancho, it will hover closely overhead while an animal is being flayed, or alight on the ground within a yard of the operator. Two Chimangos cannot remain within a few yards of each other in a peaceable manner. They must always be resenting Cape San Antonio, Buenos At/res. 421 imagined encroachments, and alternately attack each other accordingly. But their warfare is more productive of noise and general disturbance than bloodshed, or any thing ap- proaching to it. When the killing of stock takes place, the Chimango ex- hibits all his characteristics on the offal-ground. While the Caranchos, Storks, Cayenne Ibises, and Gulls feed peacefully enough, the Chimangos fight constantly among themselves, and, though not absolutely venturing to dispute the spoil with the above-named birds, annoy them by their knavishly audacious tricks. They often alight on the backs of cattle, horses, and sheep ; but I never saw them attack the sores to which the two latter are liable (from saddle-galls and acarus), a habit which vari- ous writers have attributed to this species. Probably the said writers are correct in their description ; I only state the absence of ocular observation on my own part. The flight of the Chimango is not strong, nor swift enough to enable it to strike any small bird on the wing. It also, like the Carancho, soars spirally, though not so high, and in smaller circles. Scores of times have I seen the fol- lowing gradations, each species being represented by several individuals : — First soar Chahas {Chauna chavaria) till, immense as is the bird, they become mere specks in the blue sky, their cry, cha-ha, cha-ha-lee, being still clearly heard. Lower circle the Storks {Ciconia maguari), looking at that height like diminutive winged broomsticks ; then follow Caranchos, croaking cynically their observations on things in general, and the insufficiency of mortality in particular ; while last of all ascend Chimangos, only attaining a height of two or tbree hundred feet, but obnoxiously noisy to the last. Its cry consists of a loud prolonged whe-ew, followed immediately by chaw-chaw-chaw — the first resembling a long whistle of surprise, and the latter subsiding into con- tempt and derision. I knew an English lady who took a thorough aversion and dislike to the Chimango on her first arrival in the country, affirming that, as soon and as often as SER. IV. VOL. III. ^I 423 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of she went out of doors, all the Chimangos personally and openly ridiculed her ! In appearance it is never repulsive, but looks ugly and uninteresting till seen within a yard or so ; then, indeed, the shadings and markings o£ the plumage are really beautiful. Though too energetic to take a regular siesta, like the Carancho, in the plains it seeks the shade of a cardoon or other plant during the heat of a summer day, in a very similar manner. I have observed that in the month of June (midwinter) the Chimangos roosted at night in one of the deepest and largest swamps. But only two or three such cases have come under my notice; so this may not be a fixed habit. However, I have never found it about the woods at night. Breeding-Notes. — My own observations on the breeding- habits of the Chimango seem to be at variance with those of all other ornithologists whose writings I have consulted. For example, Mr. Durnford writes (in his Baradero paper, to which reference has already been made) that " it nests both on the ground and in low trees or bushes, building a large structure of twigs and sticks, lined with wool and hair.^' And again, in his Chupat (Patagonia) notes, also previously alluded to, " Very common, nesting on the tufts of pampas grass •'^ (October). The natives and residents in. our district furnished me with data to the same effect ; but, common as the bird is, all searches founded on the above information have been unsuccessful, nor have I yet had a nest brought to me from the woods or the plains. The swamps are where the Chimango breeds here ; and since the first nests I found, in 1873, I have had annual opportunities of verifying this fact. October and the first half of November constitute the breeding-season, my earliest eggs being dated 30th September. The site is always the largest and deepest swamp, in the centre of which a semigregarious colony is established, the number of breeding birds varying greatly, but perhaps not exceeding a dozen pairs, and the nests being placed further apart than Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres* 423 those of Rostrhamus sociabilis, say teu to fifteen vards. They are placed in the centre of a tuft of ''hunco/' and are built up from the surface of the water to the height of about a foot — in shape neat, but slight, and rather deeply eup-shapcd, con- structed of short pieces o£ dry " huneo," and carefully quilted and lined with wool and hair. The birds usually remain perched close to the nest, and by their position and cries betray its whereabouts. The general number of eggs is only three ; but I have once seen a nest with five. The average measurement of eleven specimens is If^X Ito, the largest egg being If^X \\^, and the smallest If § x l^u • -^s I likened the eggs of Rostrhamus sociabilis to the Sparrowhawk's, so those of the Chimango may be fitly compared to the KestreFs in appearance. The ground-colour is reddish, specked, spotted, and blotched with the same, but darker, a pretty egg in short, though not on a par with that of R. sociabilis. 10. Asio BRACHYOTus. '' Nacurutu " of the natives. Not uncommon, frequenting thistle- and grass coverts. Seemingly more abundant in the winter months. It is said to breed in the long grass ; and I heard of one such nest being found near a swamp, the eggs being two in number, and, of course, round and white ; but these, unfortunately, were broken by the finder, and I still have reason to lament their loss. 11. Pholeoptynx cunicularia. Lechuza. The habits of this little Owl are too well known for me to recapitulate them at length. Wherever there is a biscachero, or, failing that, an armadillo or tuco-tuco's burrow, one meets with a pair of Lechuzas, either on guard at the mouth of the hole, or perched on some adjacent thistle or bush. Very local in its habits, it never wanders far from its habitation, even during the night. I have often been amused at them as I raced past in a stage-coach drawn by fourteen or sixteen horses. The Owls look on in solemn wonder, and then turn their heads and regard each other in a manner so expressive of superior wisdom on their own part, and with such an im- 2 I 2 424 On the Ornithology of Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. plication against the sanity of the passers-by, that one cannot but feel small at the action. If a horseman intrudes on their little domain, they hover over his head vrith angry cries, and so escort him to some distance ; but a dog is more aggressively threatened, and sometimes they dash within a few inches of its head. •'• They seem to live in perfect harmony with the biscachos {Lagostomus trichodactylus) , but confine themselves to the one hole in the warren, and so perhaps do not come into actual contact with their peculiar neighbours. At night the long-drawn soft cry hu-hu-hu bears a striking resemblance to the faintly heard hail of some shepherd ; and one is often deluded into drawing bridle to look for the cause. This note is only uttered at night, and is quite different from the loud angry cry used during the day. The principal item in its bill of fare is a beautiful green beetle, found abundantly on all the sandy soils ; I have also found remains of small birds about the burrows. Breeding -Notes. — Those nests I have examined have all been in sandy soils, and were evidently only enlarged holes of the tuco-tuco {Ctenomys brasiliensis) . They ran straight in for a few feet (from five to ten), and then turned to the left, ending in an oval-shaped cavity sufficiently large to contain the sitting bird, and only a foot and a half or two feet from the surface of the ground. The eggs, four or five in number, are laid on a bed of dry bois de vache, sometimes with the addition of a few feathers. October, November, and December are breeding- months. The female sits close, and may sometimes be exca- vated with the nest. Three full-fledged young birds, dug out in the month of December, did not attempt to defend them- selves, but fuffed occasionally, after the manner of their kind. Eight eggs (from three nests) average \\l x 1 ^ij, varying from Ijf X l4T7 to l-^fx 1^. In colour white, and with the usual gloss. [To be continued.] Ibi5,1879.?. 'G-Keulemans jitk. "I.BUARREMON LATINUCHUS. 2. „ LIELAIIOL.EMUS. On some new Tanagers of the Genus Buarremon. 425 XXXVI. — Descriptions of some new Tanagers of the Genus Buarremon. By P. L. Sclater and O. Salvin. (Plate X.) The examination of some recent additions to our collections has enabled us to discriminate four apparently new species of Buarremons of the grovip allied to Buarremon rufinucha, which we propose to describe as follows : — 1. Buarremon melanol^mus, sp. nov. (Plate X. fig. 2.) Fuliginoso-niger^ pileo castaneo ; subtus flavus, olivaceo in- dutus, gutture nigro ; hypochondriis et crisso olivaceis ; subalaribus et remigum marginibus iuternis cinereis ; rostro et pedibus nigris : long, tota 6*5^ alse 3"1, caudse 3-0. Hab. in Peruvi^ merid., Khachupata [Whitely). Mus. S.-G. Obs. Species ab affinibus gutture nigro satis distincta. Mr. H. Whitely obtained a single example of this distinct species at Khachupata, in the Andes of Cuzco (11,000 feet altitude), in April 1873. It belongs to the group of B. rufi- nucha, but may be easily known by its black throat. The lores and sides of the head are black : there is no trace visi- ble of an alar speculum, unless the greater wing-coverts are elevated, when it will be seen that just the bases of the pri- maries are white. 2. Buarremon spodionotus, sp. nov. Buairemon latinuchus, Scl. P. Z.S. 1856, p. 87, et 1860, pp. 7Q, 85. Cinereus, pileo et nucha castaneis ; capitis et cervicis lateri- bus alls et cauda nigris ; subtiis flavus, lateribus et crisso cinereo perfusis ; subalaribus et remigum marginibus internis albis, campterio flavicante ; rostro nigro, pedibus corylinis : long, tota 7*0, alse 3"1, caudie 3'1. Hab, in rep. ^quatoriana : Guapulo et Calacali (Fraser) ; Sical {Buckley). Mus. P. L. S. et S.-G. Obs. A B. latinucho dorso cinereo et speculo alari nuUo distinguendus. 426 Messrs, P. L. Sclater and 0. Salvin on some We have hitherto referred this form to B. latinuchus (Dubus) . But on looking carefully to Dubus^s description, it would seem more probable that the bird which he described under that name is the Peruvian form which Salvin has designated in his MS. B. specularis, and which is spoken of by Taczanowski (P. Z. S. 1879^ p. 228) tinder that name. The latter bird (Plate X. fig. 1) has a well-defined white spe- culum, as described by Dubus, whereas in the present species the white at the base of the primaries is quite concealed by the greater wing-coverts. Our figure of B. latinuchus is taken from a skin in the col- lection of Salvin and Godman, procured by Buckley at Sical, in Ecuador. Sclater^s collection contains an example of the same species obtained by Stoltzmann and Jelski at Tambillo, in Northern Peru. 3. BUARREMON COMPTUS, Sp. UOV, Cineraceus ; pileo pallide castaneo, macula frontali distincta flava; lateribus capitis, alis et cauda uigris; alis extus cinereo limbatis ; subtiis flavus ; subalaribus albis, cam- pterio flavicante ; rostro nigro ; pedibus corylinis : long, tota 7'0, alee 3'3, caudse 3*3. Hab. in rep. iEquatoriana : Mara^dila {Buckley). Mus. S.-G. Obs. Species a Buarremone spodionoto pilei colore dilutiore et postice circumscripto, necnon macula frontis flava dis- tinguenda. This species is immediately distinguishable from B. spodi- onotus by its well-marked frontal spot, which occurs also in B. rufinuchus of Bolivia, and to a lesser degree in B. elceoprorus of Antioquia. In one skin of B. spodionotus from Sical, in Ecuador {Buckley, Mus. S.-G.), there is a faint trace of a similar marking ; but in four other skins of B. spodionotus the lores are entirely black. B. comptus seems also to be rather a larger bird, and of a more brilliant yellow below. The white alar spot in this species is barely discernible unless the wing-coverts are raised. The three species now described, together with B. rufinuchus (d'Orb. et Lafr.), B. latinuchus, Dubus, B. melanops, Scl. et new Tanagers of the Genus Buarremon. 427 Salv."^, and B. elaoprorus, Scl. et Salv.f, form a group dis- tinguishable by tlieir chestnut-red caps and yellow under sur- face^ of which the seven species may be descriminated as follows : — a. gutture nigro 1. B. inelanolcemus, b. guttiu-e flavo, ventre concolori. b'. dorso nigi-o. b". speculo alari nullo. i loris nigris 2. B. melanops. ( loris flavis 3. -B. rufinuchus. c", speculo alari albo A, B. latimtchus. , J . I loris nigris 5. B. spodionotus, c'. dorso cmereo s , . „ . « -r. ( Ions navis 6. ^. comptus. d'. dorso olivaceo 7. B. eleeoproriis. 4. Buarremon tnornatus, sp. nov. Buarremon brunneinuchus , Scl. P. Z. S. 1859, p. 138. OlivaceuSj alis caudaque brunnescentibus ; pileo castaneo, striga utrinque cinnamomea ; fronte et capitis lateribus nigris, ilia albo trimaculata ; subtiis albus, lateribus et ventre imo cum subalaribus cinereis olivaceo indutis, campterio flavo ; rostro nigro ; pedibus carneis : long, tota 7 "5, alse 3 "2, cauda 3'0. Hab. in rep. ^Equatoriana : Pallatanga {Frase?') ; Jima (Buckley) . Mus. P. L. S. et S.-G. Obs. Similis B. brunneinucho, sed torque coUari nullo. Two examples of this species, collected by Fraser at Pal- latanga, were considered by Sclater to be the young of B. brun- neinuchus. The receipt of further specimens, in exactly the same plumage, renders it necessary to separate the species. We have not had an opportunity of examining Peruvian specimens which have been called Arremon frontalis by Tschudi (Faun. Per. Aves, p. 213) and B. brunneinuchus by Taczanowski (P. Z. S. 1874, p. 515). * P. Z. S. 1876, p. 253, t P. Z. S. 1879, p. 504. 428 Mr. H. Seebolim on certain Points in XXXVIT. — Remarks on certain Points in Ornithological Nomenclature. By Henry Seebohm, F.Z.S. The attempt which Strickland made to introduce order into the chaos of zoological nomenclature^ by constructing a code of laws to save it from the hopeless confusion into which it was drifting, deserves the highest praise. Though these rules were carefully amended by a zoological committee, and passed by the parliament of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, no one who is familiar with the imperfections of statute-law will be surprised to learn that, like all other codes, the Stricklandian rules proved inade- quate to meet the multiplicity of cases with which they had to deal. The difficulty was met by allowing a liberal inter- pretation of the rules when necessary, or even by tacitly ignoring them where a blind adherence to the letter of the law would have increased the confusion it was constructed to avoid. Around the Stricklandian statute law there has thus arisen an uncodified ornithological ''judges' law,"" founded upon the practice of the best ornithologists, which has, until recently, secured the important objects at which Strickland aimed. But, unfortunately, during the last few years three ornitho- logical works have put in an appearance, which threaten to undo much of the good which Strickland's efforts have accomplished. Ornithological nomenclature is once more disturbed by frivolous changes, and is rapidly drifting from the position of exact scientific accuracy to that of mere popular indefiniteness. These three works, Newton's 'Birds of Britain,' Dresser's ' Birds of Europe,' and Sharpe's ' Cata- logue of the Birds of the British Museum,' so far as each has proceeded, have gradually undermined the principles which Strickland endeavoured to embody in his code ; so that now a state of confusion has arisen in ornithological nomen- clature little, if at all, better than the pre- Stricklandian chaos. Newton, in his edition of Yarrell's ' British Birds,' has apparently ignored the practice of Strickland and other eminent ornithologists, and too frequently, in opposition to Ornithological Nomenclature. 429 the spirit of the law^ has endeavoured to carry out the British- Association rules to the " bitter end," and, as he himself admits, " regardless of consequences " ! In an obscure writer such a reckless course would have been of no consequence, but pursued by Professor Newton, who is admitted by the majority of British ornithologists to be the greatest authority on ornithological literature, its effects have been truly disas- trous. Even in the small instalment of Newton^s work which has been hitherto published, there has been a great slaughter of the innocents. It seems very hard to have to give up Bubo ma.vimus, Strix brachyotus, Phylloscopus rufus, Sylvia cinerea, Sylvia hortensis, and many other names familiar as household words to us from our childhood. Dresser, in his ' Birds of Europe,^ has, however, " outheroded Herod.^' Wherever Newton has made a change. Dresser has blindly followed him ; and in too many instances, instead of being satisfied to carry out certain of the British-Association rules to the uttermost, he has gone even further still, and given the doubtful name the benefit of the doubt, apparently for no other reason than because of its novelty. To make confusion more confounded, Sharpe, in his ' Catalogue of Birds,^ after following Newton^s unfortunate lead through two volumes, then turned suddenly round, and in his third volume openly violated the rules, choosing for the purpose, amongst others, an instance especially selected by Strickland for disapproval. I may be doing Sharpe an injustice in charging him with inconsistency. Probably he came to the conclusion that Newton, Dresser, and he had given the British- Association code rope enough, and that it had hanged itself before his third volume was published. For a year or two I have urged upon several of my orni- thological friends the importance of taking action on this disgraceful state of our favourite science, a position of affairs which has excited the derision of some of our continental associates, but hitherto in vain. Now that a decision is forced upon me, I have come to the conclusion that the only course open to a conscientious ornithologist, is to attempt to codify the existing ornithological "judges' law;" in fact, to alter 430 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in the rules to suit tlie cases which have been left unprovided for in the Stricklandian code, so as to carry out, as far as possible, the great objects which that excellent reformer aimed at. The principal objects of a code of nomenclature ought to be the following : — 1. To ensure that every genus and every species of bird shall have a definite name, about which there can be no man- ner of doubt as to the exact genus or species intended to be discriminated by such name. 2. To make as little change as possible in the names of birds, and to effect the adoption of the same name for the same bird by as many ornithologists as possible. 3. To ensure the adoption of the name given by the writer who first clearly defined the genus or species to which it belongs, as far as practicable. The revolutionary changes introduced by Messrs. Newton, Sharpe, and Dresser, render a codification of ornithological judges^ law necessary to reestablish the principles of the Stricklandian code. Perhaps the simplest way to approach this subject will be to select a few of the most flagrant offences of which the above-named writers have been guilty, to point out where these are in violation of the existing code, and, in the cases in which the letter of the law is obeyed in violation of its spirit, to draft out a rider to the present law to meet such case. Before proceeding to these cases I should like to say a few words upon the binomial system of nomenclature. Upon this question ornithologists are divided into two camps. We have the Utopian party, who assert that ornithological no- menclature must be strictly binomial, consisting of a specific and generic name only, and the practical party, who assert that to these two names must be added the authority for the specific name. No doubt, in Utopia, where the same name is never given to two species of birds, where ornithological names are never misapplied, and where the memories of orni- thologists are never at fault, such an addition is unnecessary. Among blundering mortals, like ourselves (and I know of no ornithologist wlio docs not blunder, the blunders of ornitho- Ornitholoffical Nomenclature. 431 legists being pretty much in the direct ratio of the amount of work they do) , it seems to me impossible that a name can have absolute definiteness without a reference to the person who defined it. The name quoted, with the appendix, does not become in any sense trinomial. It remains strictly binomial. The authority is no part of the name, any more than the reference to its origin, but is only quoted to give definition to it, to ensure the greatest possible scientific precision, and as a concession to the "humanity " of ornithologists, who might otherwise "err" as to the species of bird first described under the name. Now let us take our " cases.'' Sawicola stapazina, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. xxv. Sterna hirundo, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. xii. When Dresser transferred the name of the Black-throated Chat to the Eared Chat, and that of the Common Tern to the Arctic Tern, he placed future ornithologists upon the horns of a dilemma. Thenceforth the binomial term of Saxicola stapazina ceased to be a scientific term ; and to give it the necessary precision to enable it to become scientific, either the circuitous term Sawicola stapazina, Linn., fide Dresser, or the equally objectionable term Sawicola stapazina, Linn, nee Temm. &c., must be used. Ornithologists will not easily forgive a writer who obliges them to reject a long familiar name. I conceive that we have no alternative but to reject these names altogether. To meet these cases I propose the following rider to Rule 12 of the Stricklandian code : — " The object of all rules of scientific nomenclature being to attain absolute precision, it is obvious that a name which has been extensively applied to one species ought not, under any circumstances, to be transferred to any other species in the same genus. Where any reason- able doubt attaches to the correctness of any identifica- tion, the species in possession of the name should have the benefit of the doubt, in order to avoid change. Where no doubt whatever exists that a name ordinarily attri- buted to one, properly belongs to another species of the 432 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in same genus, it must be discarded altogether, but under no possible circumstance should it be transferred to another species in the same genus — a practice which cannot be too strongly condemned, as entirely destroying the scien- tific character of ornithological nomenclature." Phylloscopus collibyta, Newton^s ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 437 ; Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. Ixxiv. It seems to me a matter of profound regret that an attempt should have been made to ignore the name of Phylloscopus rnfus for the Chiffchaff . It is impossible to identify the Curruca rnfa of Brisson or " la petite Fauvette rousse " of Buffon with any known bird. Daubenton^s plate of " la Fauvette rousse " is equally unintelligible, though Newton and Dresser accept it as a clear definition of the Whitethroat, for which they consequently claim the name of Motacilla rufa of Bod- daert. If the two birds had remained in the same genus it would undoubtedly have been necessary to discard the name altogether. Had Boddaert^s name been otherwise unob- jectionable, it must have been rejected on the ground that Sylvia rufa would perpetually be confounded with the Chiff- chafii". On the other hand, Phylloscopus rufus can never be confounded with the Whitethroat. I therefore propose to ignore altogether the specific term rufus until it is found attached to a bird which is clearly defined, and to call the ClnScXmE Phylloscopus rufus (Bechst.), since Bechstein was undoubtedly the first ornithologist who clearly defined the species. To cover cases of this kind I pro- pose to add a clause to Rule 12, to enact that names which cannot be identified must be considered as not existing ; otherwise we shall have some ultra-conscientious ornitho- logist giving a new name to Blyth^s Reed Warbler on the ground that it is not the Motacilla dumetorwn of Linnaeus, though no one can tell to which species of the genus Acro- cephalus this name of Linnaeus was intended to apply. The existence of a phantom Motacilla rufa of Boddaert, and of an equally unsubstantial Motacilla rufa of Gmelin and Latham, ought not, in my opinion, to bar the use of Sylvia Ornithological Nomenclature. 433 rufa by Bechstein for a bird which that excellent field-natu- ralist describes so accurately that no one can doubt for a moment that he is describing the Chiffchaff. I therefore propose the following rider to Rule 12 : — " Names accompanied by descriptions so imperfect as to be incapable of identification with any known species, must be consigned to the oblivion of prelinnsean names, so that their existence shall be no bar to the adoption of the same name when given by a later writer/^ This rule will also apply to and provide for the following case : — Acrocephalus aquaticus, Newton's ed. Yarr. Brit. B. i. p. 380 ; Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. li. The Aquatic Warbler has by no means a clear title to its name. Scopoli's bird may have been either a Sedge-Warbler or an Aquatic Warbler ; but his description is inconsistent with either of them. Neither Gmelin nor Latham appear to have known the bird, but to have simply copied Scopoli. Bechstein, Meyer and Wolf, and Naumann were well ac- quainted with the species, but identified it, probably incor- rectly, with the Motacilla salicaria of Linnaeus, a name which has been transferred from one species to another until it has long ago ceased to have any definite meaning or any scien- tific value. Temminck was the first writer to use the name aquatica for a clearly defined species ; and since his name has been in general use, and has not been extensively, if at all, applied to any other species, we are, in my opinion, justified in calling the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus aquaticus (Temm.), consigning the Motacilla aquatica of Gmelin and the Sylvia aquatica of Latham to the Lethe of prelinnsean oblivion. Turdus dubius, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. Iviii. The Thrush hitherto known as Turdus fuscatus of Pallas is christened Turdus dubius by Dresser, because that writer has " satisfied himself " that Bechstein^s description of a Thrush which was sent to him from Coburg refers to an immature ex- ample of Pallas^s bird. After carefully reading over the dc- 434 Mr. H. Seebohm on certain Points in scription, I can only come to the conclusion that Bechstein^s bird is a very doubtful one, but that, having regard to the absence of any allusion to the chestnut on the wing-coverts, and the positive statement that the under wing-coverts were bright orange, the probabilities are that it was a Song-Thrush in first plumage, which, in consequence of being kept in a cage, retained much of the immature plumage after the first moult. Whether this was the case or not ; whether it was an abnormal variety of Tardus musicus, or of some other Thrush, I cannot say ; but it seems to me a gross violation both of the spirit and of the letter of the Stricklandian code to accept this as a clear definition of the bird hitherto known as Turdus fuscatus , and to attempt to supersede that name by Turdus dubius. Acrocephalus arundinaceus , Newton, Ed. Yarr. B. i. p. 364 ; Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. Ixix. When Meyer transferred the Great Sedge- Warbler to the genus Acrocephalus from the genus Turdus, in which it was placed by Linnseus, and in which it was retained by Gmelin, Bechstein, Meyer and Wolf (in their joint work), Temminck, in his edition then published, and later by Vieillot, he found that the specific name was already occupied by the Reed- Warbler. His scientific instincts prevented him from creating hopeless confusion by transferring the name of the Beed- Warbler to the Great Sedge- Warbler, and he very judiciously gave to the latter bird a specific name of his own, which, among continental ornithologists, it has retained ever since. Gray appears to have been the first ornithologist to intro- duce confusion by applying the name of arundinacea to both species ; but he got over the consequent difiiculty by putting them into different genera. Newton further complicated matters by reuniting the genera, and retaining the name for the larger species. This he was entitled to do under the Stricklandian code, which makes no provision for cases of this kind. His unfortunate, though legal, decision has been indorsed by Harting, Blanford, Gurney^ Dresser, and others, until the name has ceased to have a definite meaning, and must be rejected altogether, all Stricklandian rules or British- Ornithological Nomenclature. 435 Association codes notwithstanding, unless the study of orni- thology is to be allowed to drift into a popular amusement, in which scientific accuracy is of minor importance. The name arundinaceus having ceased to be a scientific term in the genus Acrocephalus, the strict letter of the law requires us to adopt that oijunco of Pallas. This appears to me to be a case in which ornithological law may fairly be overridden by ornithological equity. Pallas had no right to substitute the prelinnsean name of junco for the Linnsean name of arundinaceus , since he quotes the latter as a synonym, and retains the species in the genus Turdus. I submit there- fore that the Great Sedge-Warbler ought to be known by its time-honoured name of Acrocephalus turdoides (Meyer) ; and I propose to justify the proceeding by adding the follow- ing rider to Rule 12 : — " Names which have been in general use for many years, and which have been clearly defined, ought not to be superseded by the discovery of earlier names, com- paratively unknown, except in cases where the newly discovered name accompanies the earliest clear definition of the species." Graculus graculus, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, p. 146. Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax , Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, iii. p. 148. Corone corone, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, iii. p. 36. Pica pica, Sharpe, Cat. of Birds, iii. p. 62. It is a thousand pities that ornithologists did not retain the excellent practice commenced by Brisson of giving to the type of each genus the same specific and genei^ic name. To revert to the practice now would, I fear, involve too much change in our nomenclature, though it would undoubtedly give to it a system and simplicity which it does not at present possess. But be this as it may, it is obviously absurd to apply the system in a few isolated cases. In the original Strick- landian code it was provided that wherever a specific name was elevated to generic rank, a new specific name must be found. At the Meeting of the British Association in 1865, this rule was reversed, and it was enacted that the specific name so pro- 436 On certain Points in Ornithological Nom,enclature. moted must be reduced to the ranks, and a new generic name must be found. This alteration in the rule still remains un- rescinded. It was carried by a number of eminent ornitho- logists ; but I cannot learn that any one of them has had the courage of his opinions ; and to this day it remains a dead letter, to the standing disgrace of ornithological science. • I therefore venture to propose the following compromise : — " Specific names that have been elevated to generic rank prior to the year 1817 shall be allowed to stand; but where such changes have been made subsequent to that date, the specific name shall be restored and another generic name found. ^^ Hypolais languida, Dresser, Birds of Eur. pt. This name stands as Hypolais languida of Hemprich and Ehrenberg, in direct violation of the Stricklandian code, but in accordance with the most approved ornithological judges' law. In Ehrenberg's description no character whatever is given by which the species may be distinguished from its near allies. It was rejected for want of a clear definition until Blanford and Dresser examined the type in the Berlin Mu- seum. Cases of this kind are numerous ; and to provide for them I propose the following rider to Ru-le 12 : — " Slight errors in a description may be condoned, or omissions supplemented by reference to the type speci- men, if such exist in any public museum. No type spe- cimen shall, however, be allowed to give value to a name where no description whatever has been published." There are doubtless some other points which I have over- looked. Perfection in ornithological, as well as in civil law, can only be attained by slow degrees. Other cases, which neither Strickland's code nor any codification of judges' law have contemplated, will continually arise and have to be pro- vided for. My object is not to strive after an impossible perfection. Had it been so I should have delayed my paper for some years. It seems to me that the most important thing to be done is, without delay, to protest, in the name of scientific accuracy and ornithological equity, against the On Birds from the Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. 437 revolutionary attempts of Messrs. Newton, Sharpe, and Dresser to corrupt the ornithological morality of the pre- sent age. XXXVIII. — On a Collection of Birds from the Solomon Islands and Neio Hebrides. By H. B. Tristram, F.R.S. (Plates XI., XII.) I HAVE had placed in my hands for determination, by the kindness of Vice-Admiral Sir Geo. H. Richards, K.C.B., a small but very interesting collection of birds made by his son, Lieut. Richards, R.N., at Makira Harbour, San Cris- toval, Solomon Islands, between the 22nd August and 3rd October in last year, consisting of thirty-three species. Of these no less than twelve are, so far as I can ascertain, as yet undescribed, while several of the others are of extreme rarity in collections, some of them being not, as yet, known to exist in any museum in this country. The fact of the whole collection having been made in a limited area shows how much yet remains to be done before the avifauna of this portion of the Pacific can be looked upon as exhausted. The excep- tional beauty of many of the new species, such as the Ceyx, Charmosyna, and Ptilopus, renders their absence from pre- vious collections from the Solomon Islands the more remark- able. Either previous explorers have very cursorily skimmed the island fauna, or the species must be extremely local. 1. ASTTJR (UrOSPIZA), Sp. ? An immature bird in first year's plumage. Very like the young of A. approximans, but much smaller. It agrees exactly in measurements with an adult specimen of ^. tor- quatus in my collection from the New Hebrides, and may probably prove to be the young of that species. The specimen is a male. Iris bright yellow ; feet orange. 2. HaLIASTUR GIRRENERA (Vicill.) . Two specimens, adult. SER. IV. VOL. III. 2 k 438 Canon Tristram on Birds from the 3. Halcyon sancta, Vig. & Horsf. Appears to be very common. 4. Halcyon sviam, Reich, One specimen^ the most distinctly marked which I have yet seen of this form, for I hesitate to assign specific value to this bird. I have, however, never seen a bird more richly coloured than this, which is evidently adult. The lores, fringe of the collar, and the whole region behind the eye are dark chestnut, with black ear-coverts, extending to tlie collar, which is pale chestnut, as are the under wing- coverts, flanks, abdomen, and under tail- coverts. 5. Ceyx gentiana, sp. nov. (Plate XI.) C. rostro nigro; capite nigro, ultraraarino striate, macula inter nares et oculos necnon macule postauriculari albis, dorso medio et cauda azureo resplendentibus, utrinque ultra- marine circumdatis ; alis ultramarino striatis, remigi- bus atris : subtus tota alba. Long. tot. 5*8, rostr. 1-8, alse 2'5, caud. 1*25, tars. 035, dig. med. 0"6, dig. post. 0'2. This lovely little Kingfisher bears a slight resemblance in the distribution of its colours to Alcyone jiusilla, but it is im- possible to confound them. The three shades of brilliant blue, the ultramarine spangles on the head and back of the neck, and the spotless white of the whole under surface render it one of the most chastely gorgeous of its family. It belongs to the same group as Ceya; solitaria, Temm., hitherto the only species known of black-billed Ceyx, but may be at once distinguished by the pure white of its lower surface and its considerably larger size. The iris is bluish black, and the feet flesh-coloured. I have named it gentiana, as combining the colours of three species of that plant. 6. Dendrochelidon mystacea (Less.). 7. CoLLOcALiA linchi, Horsf. & Moore. A single specimen, which I take to be of this species, is in the collection. It agrees with the description, and is dis- tinct from any of the aozen species before me ; but I have not been able to compare it with a typical example of C. linchi. Ibis 1879, PL XI CEYX GENT I ANA, ^/^ W-'^'^TUl^r\^ vw"^: '■»»**^ Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. 439 8. HiRUNDO TAHITICA, Gm. 9. Myzomela pammel^na^ Sclater, P.Z.S. 1877, p. 553 (?). A jet-black Myzomela, which, if not M. pammelana, is very near it. The type specimen has the edgings of the insides of the remiges not so white as in this bird. In M. pamme- l(Bna, adult, the edgings are cinereous, but whiter in younger specimens. The iris and feet are black. 10. Philemon sclateri, G. R. Gr. A very fine specimen of this rare bird. The iris is grey and the feet drab. 11. DiciEUM jEneum, Hombr. & Jacq. One specimen, which appears to agree with Hombron and Jacquinot^s description of the type, obtained in the Solomon Islands. Iris grey ; feet black. 12. POMAREA CASTANEIVENTRIS (Vcrr.) . A fine male specimen of this rare and curious Flycatcher is in the collection. The locality has not hitherto been ascer- tained, but vaguely stated as Oceania. The only other species of the genus, P. nigra, being confined to the Society and Marquesas Islands, it is interesting to find this bird at so vast a distance from its single congener. The lower mandible is horn-coloured ; iris and feet black. 13. PlEZORHYNCHUS VIDUA, Sp. UOV. p. (^ capite nigro resplendente ; collarialbo, dorsonigro; uro- pygio albo, cauda nigra, rectricibus tribus externis albo terminatis; tectricibus superioribus albis, mediis mar- gine nigro circumdatis ; remigibus nigris ; mentoettho- race nigris ; pectore, abdomine et crisso albis. Long. tot. 5*95, alse 3, caudse 3, tarsi 0*8. This species is not far removed from P. leucotis and P. pi- leatus, but may at once be distinguished by its black ear- coverts. Iris grey; feet ash-coloured. 14. Myiagra cervinicauda, sp. nov. M. M. modestos, Gr.,afiinis; capite plumbeo, dorso ferrugineo tincto, pectore et abdomine castaneis ; rectricibus tribus exterioribus per totam longitudinem Isete cervinis, ceteris bruuneis neque albo terminatis. Long. tot. 4*8, alae 2-47, caudte 2-42. 2k 2 440 Canon Tristram on Birds from the This is one of the group of russet-coloured Myiagra so numerous in all the Pacific islands ; but the very pale fawn- coloured tail, with only the two median rectrices brown, at once marks it off from every other species with which I am acquainted. 15. Rhipidura russata, sp. nov. R. fronte, dorso et crisso castaneo-rufis ; capite et occipite cum linea suboculari f uscis ; alis caudaque fuscis, secun- dariis extiis et rectricibus ad basin dorso concoloribus, his omnibus albo tertninatis : subtiis alba, uropygio rufo ; torque subgutturali nigro. Long. tot. 5-5, alse 2'55, caudse 3*25 . This species approaches nearest to R. semicollaris, MiilL, but differs in having the upper back red, the extent of red on the forehead greater, the black gorget narrower, and the white of the underparts purer. It is altogether a smaller bird. 16. Symmorphus (Lalage) affinis, sp. nov. (J S. affinis S. leucopygio, sed uropygio albo et colore rectricis extim.8e distinguendus. ? mari similis quoad distributionem colorum, sed brunnca nee nigra. This species also approaches S. navius from the New He- brides and New Caledonia, but may be at once discriminated by the absence of white on the tail-feathers, which are black in the male and brown in the female throughout their whole length, excepting a minute white tip on the outer rectrices. The black of the male is glossy, the russet-brown of the female becomes almost chestnut on the forehead. The iris is dark brown, the feet black. 17. Edoliisoma salomonis, sp. nov. ? E. supra totum ciuereum ; alis et cauda nigris, tectricibus superioribus arete cinereo marginatis ; loris nigris ; gula, pectore, abdomine, tectricibus inferioribus et subalaribus Isete castaneis ; rectricibus externis castaneis pogonio interne ad basin nigro, proximis castaneo marginatis, tertiis stria castanea terminali prseditis, mediis cinereo tinctis. 9 jr. superne cinercum, jjlumis undique albo terminatis ; tec- tricibus siqjcrioribus, primariis et secundariis rufo ter- Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. 441 minatis : subtus castaneum, maculis infreqiientibus nigris. Long. tot. 8-6, alse 4-25, caudae 4<, tarsi 0-9. This is a distinct species^ but unfortunately the collection does not contain a male. It belongs to the same group as E. schisticeps. 18. Graucalus sublineatuSj Scl. P. Z. S. 1879, p. 448, pi. xxxvi. The iris is light yellow and the feet black. 19. Graucalus, sp. inc. $ . I believe the specimen sent, shot at the same time and place as the preceding, and with a light yellow iris, will prove to be the female of the above species (G. sublineatus) . It coincides exactly in all its measurements, but instead of having the under surface schistaceous, with faint narrow white wavy trans- verse markings, the whole of the breast, abdomen, flanks, and under tail-coverts are white, with black transverse bais, equal in width to the white spaces. 20. Graucalus monotonus, sp. nov. G. supr^ et subtus caeruleo-cinereus ; loris, remigibus pri- mariis et secundariis nigris, his ad marginem cinereo iavatis ; rectricibus mediis nigris cinereo adumbratis, la- teralibus cinereo terminatis ; rostro et pedibus nigris. Long. tot. 9' 75, alae 4*75, caudse 4"3, tarsi 1, rostri a rictu 1"25. This bird, Avhich Mr. Sharpe has not been able to identify with any species known to him, in coloration most nearly resembles G. casius (Licht.) from South Africa, but is darker in colour, with a much longer and stronger bill and black lores j and the wings and tail are jet-black, instead of brown- black. 21. Pachycephalus christophori, sp. nov. P. ^ supra omnino olivaceus ; rectricibus et remigibus fuscis, in pogonio externo olivaceo marginatis ; meuto et thorace flavis, torque nigro ; abdomine, crisso et subalaribus flavis. $ mari similis, torque absente. Long. tot. 5 "9, alai 3'3, caudse 2'5, tarsi 1. The iris brown, the feet ash-coloured. The young male is like the female, but with faint traces of the black collar. 442 Canou Tristram on Birds from the 22. Calornis metallica, Temm. The iris in all the specimens is noted as bright scarlet. 23. LoRius cHLOR-ocERCus, Gould. " Iris red j feet olive-coloured." 24. Trichoglossus massen^e, Bp. I can detect no differences between thjs bird and specimens from New Hebrides and elsewhere. 25. ECLECTUS POLYCHLORUS (ScOp.) . Both sexes of this widely spread species appear in the col- lection. They possess slight differences in coloration from specimens in my cabinets from other localities^ but too trivial to permit me to discriminate them. The note on the label marks the iris as light yellow and the feet black. 26. Charmosyna margarethjE^ sp. nov. (Plate XII.) C. fronte, regione oculari, mento, thorace et collo toto rubris ; occipite nigro, pectore et tergo monili aurantiaco circum- datisj hoc nigro arete fimbriato ; tergo viridi ; uropygio aurantiaco-viridi ; cauda graduata, rectricibus quatuor mediis rubris aurantiaco terminatis^ rectricibus late- ralibus ad basin rubris, utrinque viridescenti-nigro lim- batis et aurantiaco terminatis ; remigibus nigris, in po- gonio externo viridi lavatis ; abdomine rubro ; crisso viridi ; pedibus et rostro carneis. Long. tot. 7'8, alse 3*85^ caudse 4, tarsi 0-3, mandib. super. 0*6, mandib. infer. 0-3. Iris yellow ; feet flesh-colour. This is one of the smallest and, I think I may venture to say, one of the most gorgeous in colouring of this splendid group, of which several species have recently been figvired by Mr. Gould in the ' Birds of New Guinea.^ It comes nearest to C. pulchella. I have ventm-ed to name it in compliment to the bride of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught. 27. Geoffroyus heteroclitus (Hombr. & Jacq.) . " Iris yellow ; feet ash-colour." 28. Ptilopus cerasetpectus, sp, nov. (J P. supra totus viridis; fronte solum usque ad regionem ocularem ceraseo-purpureo ; tectricibus alarum indis- tincte nigro maculatis ; rectricibus quatuor cxternis fascia lti3.1879.Pl.XII CHARMOSYNAMARGARETH^ Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. 443 lata viridi-nigrescente, posted fascia albescenti-viridi terminatis; remigibus nigrescentibus viridi limbatis; torque pectoral! flavo ; pectore et abdomine c6raseis, late- ribus viridibus ; subalaribus schistaceis ; abdomine et crisso flavis; rostro plumbeo, pedibus ceraseis. ? supra et subtus omnino viridis ; abdomine et crisso ilavis, quoad caudam mari similis. Long. tot. 8*2, al8e4*6, caudae 3*5, tarsi 0*7. Iris bright yellow ; feet dark cherry. A very distinct species of this lovely genus. The extent of the delicate cherry-colour on the breast and abdomen seems its most conspicuous character ; and from this I have named it. 29. Carpophaga pistrinaria, Bp. Iris light red ; feet cherry-colour. 30. Carpophaga (Globiuera) richardsi, sp. nov. C. cupreo-viridis ; capite, cervice et tergo summo canis ; jugulo albo-vinaceo, mento pallidiore; pectore, abdomine, crisso, femoribus et tectricibus caudae inferioribus castaneis; remigibus rectricibusque atro-cyaneis viridi micantibus ; ceromate tumido, rubro ; pedibus rubris. Long. tot. 15" 75, alse 9, caudas 6. Nearly allied to Carpophaga rubracera, Gr., but with the head and neck ashy, like the upper back, and only the throat of a pale vinaceous pink ; the whole of the rest of the under surface deep chestnut, increasing in intensity towards the lower tail- coverts. Iris dark red ; feet cherry ; bill dark ash, and the knob at the base cherry-colour. 31. Macropygia arossi, sp. nov. M. omnino intense castanea ; occipite et thorace nigro j)unc- tatis, mento pallidiore ; tectricibus remigum et cauda in- tensioribus; rectricibus externis macula subterminali nigra in pogonio interiore prseditis ; remigibus brunneis. Long. tot. 15'5, alse 5*45, caudae 5"95. Very closely allied to M. rufa, Ramsay, from Tanna, but smaller, of much darker shade of chestnut in all its parts, and to be at once distinguished by the black stippling of the head and throat. " Iris light drab ; feet dark cherry-colour. Food berries." 444 Lieut. R. G. Wardlaw-Ramsay^s 33. Phlogcenas johann^, Sclater, One female in the collection. Iris and beak black ; feet dark plum-colour. Food berries and seeds. 33. LiMosA BAUERi, Naum. Limosa nova- zeal andice, G. E. Gray. I may add to these notes that in Lt. Richards's collection from Havannah Harbour, Vate, New Hebrides, is a Zos- terops closely allied to Z. griseonota, G. R. Gray, from New Caledonia, which I propose to name ZOSTEROPS VATENSIS, Sp. nOV. ^ Z. griseonotce aflGnis, sed robustior, rostro fortissimo, thoraco et collo flavis, abdomine et crisso cinereo-albis. Long, tot. 5*4, alee 2*55, caudse 2*2. ? mari similis. This species may be discriminated from Z. griseonota by its very strong bill, the much greater extent of yellow on the throat and neck, and the absence of yellow on the lower tail-coverts. XXXIX. — Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan. — No. I. By Lieutenant R. G. Wardl aw- Ramsay, 67th Regiment, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. My regiment having been ordered to reinforce the division under General Roberts, I have now an opportunity, for which I formerly hardly dared to hope, of studying the ornithology of a country comparatively speaking so little known as Afghanistan. During my stay in these parts I propose to forward, from time to time, in hopes that they may be of some interest to readers of ' The Ibis,' notes on the birds observed. As I have no books with me, Jerdon's ' Birds of India ' excepted, I have asked Colonel Godwin-Austen to be good enough to correct any errors in nomenclature that may occur in my manuscript, and also to determine such specimens as I fail to identify Ornithological Notts from Afghanistan. 415 myself. Albeit the materials at hand are somewhat scanty, I shall endeavour to make a commencement. By an Kheyl, where the regiment is at present encamped, is situated at an elevation of about 7600 feet above the sea, in the valley of the Keria river, in longitude 69° 50' and latitude 33° 56', about eight miles to the southward of the great Safed-Koh range. On the east and south it is bounded by a long spur from the same range, through which runs the now famous Peiwar Kotal or pass. To the north-west is another spur of the Safed Koh, whilst to the south-west the valley trends away towards Ali Kheyl, where the main body of the force under General Roberts is now encamped. The hills on all sides are covered from 7000 feet and up- wards with a thick growth of pine- wood, the prevailing trees being the deodar {Cedrus deodar a), Pinus gerardiana, and P. ewcelsa, whilst at lower elevations their place is taken by the juniper [Juniperus commmiis). On the 18th April, when we arrived, the snow was still lying thick in places, and, indeed, for ten days after that we were subject to continual falls of snow, so that I was not surprised to find birds scarce. My expeditions, so far, can- not be said to have been productive of much result, chiefly from the fact that, owing to the unsettled state of the country, it has not been considered safe to venture far from camp. On first entering the pine-forests, I was struck by, what ap- peared to me, an almost total absence of birds ; but a little search soon revealed quantities of the small Warblers {Phyl- loscopi) . 0£ these I have obtained two species, both of which appear to he breeding. Tomtits also M^ere particularly abun- dant, as might be expected, and were apparently breeding ; but three species only have as yet been obtained, Parus cinereus, Lophophanes melanolophus (Vigors) , andZ. beavani (Blyth) . A nest of P. cinereus, which I found in a hollow pine-tree [Pinus gerardiana) on the 1st May, contained four young ones about six days old. Round the camp, where the trees have been cleared away, and nothing left but stunted juniper- bushes and sweet briars, birds are very abundant, but of few species. The noble- 446 Lieut. R. G. Warcllaw- Ramsay's looking Lammergeyer attracts the attention of the least ob- servant as he sails majestically round the camp. Besides the Egyptian 'Neophron, this is the only Vulture I have seen. A few pairs of Kites {Milvus govinda ?) only frequent the camp. The Grey Whitethroat's [Sylvia affinis, Blyth, No. 582, Jerdon) song is heard on all sides : the bird is excessively com- mon, and was breeding by 27th May. The Whinchat [Pratin- cola indica, Blyth) is the commonest of ail birds in the open country, perhaps excepting Emberiza stewarti, Avhich is exces- sively abundant, and, I take it, about to nest, if some have not already commenced, for I have seen the birds collecting materials for building. The note of this bird is a very feeble imitation of that of our familiar English Yellow-hammer. Small flocks of the Short-toed Lark [Calandrella brachy- dactyld), and here and there a pair of Blue-throated Warblers [Cyanecula suecica), complete the list of birds which frequent the open country, so far as I have seen. The Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is common, as usual; but Harriers are conspicuous by their absence. No Owls as yet observed ; but the cry of what I take to be Syrnium nivicolum, Hodgson, from its similarity to that of our European Tawny Owl {S. aluco), is heard almost nightly. I have not, as yet, shot any Swallows or Swifts; but one species of each is com- mon, probably Cotile riparia and Cypselus apus. Numbers of Bee-eaters arrived on the last day of April and 1st of May, but disappeared as rapidly as they came. I could not deter- mine to what species they belonged, for they were flying at a considerable height, and travelling apparently in a north- westerly direction. It may be tliat these were flocks o^Merops apiaster or M. (Bgyptius in course of migration. The Indian Roller [Coracias indicus) is not uncommon near the skirts of the pine-forest, and the same may be said for Upupa epops. I have only seen one specimen of a Cuckoo [Cuculus canorus). The Alcedinidae are very scarce, if, indeed, there are any about our mountain-streams. I have wallsed along the banks of streams that are teeming with fish, and have never seen a Kingfisher. In the Kuram river, hoAvever, on the other side of the Peiwar Kotal, Ceryle rudis was tolerably common. Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan. 4A7 Picus himalayanus is the only Woodpecker observed ; it is very scarce just now, although at some period of the year it must be common, for every decayed pine-tree has one or more of its nest-holes in it. I found it, however, very abun- dant on the Peiwar Kotal, as well as Certhia himalayana, which I have not, as yet, met with down here. I had hopes of the possibility of meeting with the Great Black Wood- pecker {Dryocopus martins), but that still remains a pleasure to come. Sitta cinnamomeiventris is common, both here and on the Kotal, and appears to be breeding. The Laniidse furnish only two species, viz. Lanius erythronotus , common, and L. vittatus, Valenc, rather rare. The latter species has a very pleasing song, which I have long endeavoured to render on paper, the nearest approach I can make to it being by the syllables fud a whee tu, fud a whee tu, tzee, tzee, tzee, foi, foi, foi, &c., quickly repeated. Buchanga albicaudata, A. Hay, is rather rare; indeed I have only seen one specimen on this side of the Peiwar range ; in the Kuram valley it is common. Three species of Flycatcher have been obtained, viz. Cyornis ruficauda (Swains.), which is common enough in the pine- forests, Butalis griseola (Linn.), and Hemichelidon fuligmosa, Hodgs., which I found in the valleys in the pine-woods, and is, I think, breeding, as all the specimens I have obtained have been males showing signs of breeding. Petrocossyphus cyanus is the only Thrush as yet observed. No Timelidse, not even the ubiquitous Chatarrhoea caudata. Neither are there any Bulbuls or Orioles to be seen. Of the Sylviidse I have found Pratincola indica, Ruticilla ceeruleicephala, and Saxicola niorio. S.picata, Blyth, does not seem to be found here, but I saw several pairs about the fort at Ali Musjid towards the end of March. One of the first birds I shot after arriving here was a female of Ruticilla caruleicephala. I was quite at a loss to know what I had got, never to my knowledge having read a de- scription of the female"^. It was not until three weeks later, * I have since observed that Mr. Hume has described the plumage of the female iu * Lahore to Yarkand,' aud again in ' Stray Feathers/ vii, p. 391. 448 Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan. when I secured a male^ that I discovered to what species the bird belonged. What puzzled me more was^ that the bird, which I observed for some time before shooting it, had more the habits of a Flycatcher than a Redstart. The plumage is of a greyish olive-brown above, rufescent on the lower back and rump, passing into deep cinnamon-chestnut on the upper tail-covcrts. Tail dark brown, edged with pale rufous. The throat and breast and flanks greyish brown, belly and vent white. The tips of the tertiaries white, forming a conspicuous white band. Breeding about the 25th of May. Motacilla melanope, Pall., is nearly in full summer plu- mage, and found in pairs about the streams. M. alba is also common, but still in small flocks. The Parida have been alluded to elsewhere ; but I may mention that, although a specimen I have referred to Lophophanes beavani agrees other- wise with Jerdon^s description of that bird, there is a decided trace of fulvous, if not rufous, on the white nuchal spot {vide Jerdon, B. of India, ii. 275), We next come to the Corvidse, of which only one species is to be seen, viz. Corvus culminatus, Sykes. Corvus corax, Linn., vel lawrencii, Hume, so common throughout the Punjab and Kuram valley, is not found here. The Magpie, Pica rustica (P.6ac/nana,Bonap.), is extremely abundant, and often found in large parties of as many as twenty, sitting in ploughed fields near the villages. Acridotheres fuscus, which was very common in the Kuram valley, does not seem to occur on this side of the Kotal. I obtained a pair of Mycerobas carnipes, Hodgs., in the pine- forests, but I have had no opportunity yet of studying their habits. The iris of this species is hair-brown, the maxilla is brownish, and the mandible whitish horn- colour; the legs are pale fleshy brown. Only two species of Pigeon occur, as far as I know, viz. the Blue-Rock, Columba intermedia ?, and Palumbus casiotis, Bonaparte, which has exactly the same habits as our English Wood-Pigeon, and is found in flocks varying from ten to fifty. No Doves have as yet arrived. It would appear that the majority of the species above mentioned are birds which have passed the winter here, so that On the Orthography of some Birds' Names. 4 lO I have great hopes that when the warm weather sets in I shall be able to add a large number of species to my list. The time at my disposal for excursions to the forests is limited, as we are almost daily employed in making roads for the pas- sage of the artillery. Consequently the valley has not been any thing like explored, and doubtless a great number of species exists even now which I have not as yet observed. By the time that I have materials for a second contribu- tioUj T hope to be able to give information about the nidi- fication of many of the species which appear to be going to breed here. Since writing the above (12th May) I have found Acro- cephalus dumetorum, Blyth, near the camp. It appears to have just arrived. (26th May.) Nests obtained as yet are those of Emberizu stewarti and a Phylloscopus, sp., also of Sitta leucopsis, from which I hope to get its eggs. I have found nests in process of building of Cyornis ruficauda and Muscicapa grisola, which arrived about three weeks since. I have also got a nest of Turdus hodgsuni with four young ones. Large numbers of Turtur rupwola have come in. XL. — On the Orthography of some Birds' Names. By Henry T. Wharton, M.A., F.Z.S. Now that the advance of science is so rapid^ and the number of names employed in every branch of zoology is undergoing a proportionate multiplication, it is more than ever important that every name that obtains currency should be so correctly formed and spelt that no one who has occasion to use such a name hereafter should have any ground for modifying its aspect as promulgated by its original user. That names, as originally proposed, should have the ad- vantage of subsequent criticism, the following recommenda- tion is given in § 14 of the Stricklandian code : — '' When a name has been erroneously written, and its orthography has been afterwards amended, we conceive that the authority of 450 Mr. H. T. Wharton on, the Orthography the original author should still be retained for the name, and not that of the person who makes the correction/^ I wish therefore to call attention to certain names of birds of which I do not think the orthography has yet obtained general recognition, however unanimous authorities may be in the actual spelling of the words. In the year 1786 Blasius Merrem published his ' Avium rariorum et minus cognitarum icones et descriptiones collectse e germanicis latinae factse/ and under his account of his Pene- lope jacupema, of which he quotes " Aiector brasilianus , Klein, Hist. Av. pag. 112," as a synonym, he proposes in the follow- ing words a subdivision of this genus Alector : — '' Quod genus, cum multas sane species comprehendat, in plures phalanges dividendum videtur, quarum primam cum Linnseo atque Brissonio Cracem, cam, ad quam nostra pertinet species, Penelopen, tertiam, ad quam Phasianus Motmot et similes ei referendse sunt aves, Ortalida appello." (Fasc. ii. p. 40.) How any one can have read this passage and not seen that "Ortalida" was the accusative case governed by "apj pello " is indeed a marvel ; but the fact remains that, to this day, " Ortalida " is constantly used as the name of a genus, under which Messrs. Sclater and Salvin range no less than eighteen species in their 'Nomenclator Avium Neotropi- calium^ (1873), p. 136. It is true that the accurate Gloger, in his ' Gemeinniitz. Hand- u. Hilfsbuch der Naturgeschichte ' (Breslau, 1842), p. 373, uses the name " Ortdlis" as if no one could have ever thought of any other form for the nomi- native case. Whoever first adopted Merrem's name, evidently copied it hastily from the Latin ; and his oversight seems never yet to have been seriously noticed. But there is no doubt that Merrem had in mind the classical Greek word opraXt?, which mainly corresponds to the Latin pullus and to our " chicken," a Boeotian word (probably akin to opvif) which, say Liddell and Scott (1869), passed into general poetic use. Hence it is clear that, whenever the name is used, the of some Birds' Names. 451 genus should be called Ortalis^ as the only nomiuative form of the feminine noun. In 1822 F. Boie (Isis^ p. 550) proposed Cotile as a generic name for Hirundo 7nparia, L. But, unfortunately, in 1826 (Isis, p. 971) he spelt the genus Cotyle ; although in the same column we find " Cynnyris" and '' Aegythalus," it is only the first misprint that has bred lasting mischief. Of course Gloger (Naturg. der Vogel Europa's, 1834, p. 411) knew and accepted the right spelling, and so did G. R. Gray (Hand-list, 1869, i. p. 73). But the learned Prince Bonaparte (Consp. Gen. Av. 1850, i. p. 341) indorsed Cotyle, and thus gave colour to the wild guess of Agassiz (Nomencl. Zool.) that the name came from kotv\7} = q. cup. It is sad to see Dr. Coues {' Birds of the Colorado Valley,' 1878, p. 370) being thus misled into suggesting an analogy between a cup, such as so many other birds' nests form, and the deep cylindrical hole in which Sand-Martins commonly build. In reality, Kcori\d H- ' CO 1— i 1— '1— 'l-'tO_ _l— 'GOI-T'CnCD dbo-I^Oi-^CDI-^rf^tOOO Or CH CO C« CO-^ ^ Cl 0< VI Female, immature, April 10, 187o. w I—" CO 1—' 1— il-JbO^ _ .'T'*i''— '*T'^ -iicDditoco6tdicibodiOc5di G3 C Or -ti'd»-, 449. yessoensis, 39. Empidonax flaviventris, 93. Enodes erytbrophrys, 58, 134, Entomobia pileata, 61, 249. Entomopbila spilodera, 363. Eopsaltria caledonica, 183. flavigastra, 182. placens, 323, 361, 367, 368. variegata, 183. Epbialtes jerdoni, 227. malabaricus, 227. raenadensi.s, 57. Epimachus speciosus, 95. Eremomela hemixantha, 403. usticollis, 403, 405. Erythra phoenicura, 142. Erytbrocercus maccalli, 94. Erytbromyias, 363. Erytbropitta celebensis, 126, 146. Erytbrospiza gitbaginea, 345. trinotata, 55. Erytbrosterna erytbraca, 253. parva, 227. Erytlu'ura cyaneifrons, 191. cyanofrons, 95. modesta, 191. pboenicura, 271. prasina, 170, 262. psittacea, 184. tricbroa, 191. Estrelda, 273. Eucbgetes coccineus, 388. Eudromias geoffroyi, 141. morinellus, 155. Eudynamis, 214, 227. nialayana, 245. melanorbyncba, 69, 146. Eugenes riridiceps, 215. Eulampis bolosericeus, 357. jugularis, 357. Eupetes ajax, 324. goldiei, 324, 361. Eupbonia crassirostris, 200. laniirOBtrie, 199. Euplocauius ignitiis, 221, 270. nobilis, 234, 270. nycbtbemerus, 221. Eurylsemus javanicus, 263. ocbromelas, 263. Eurystomus orientalis, 60, 249. Falco sesalon, 43. communis, 237. bamatus, 340, 341. bemidactylus, 339. melanogenys. 108. peregrinus, 43, 237. poliogenyB, 42. polyagrus, 353. — — rufipes, 104, 388. tiununcubis, 446. Fiscus coUaris, 398. dorsalis, 104, 354. ■ subcoronatus, 398. Foudia secbellaruni, 97. Francolinus bildebrandti, 354. Fregilus graculus, 118. Fringilla serinus, 380. spinus, 118. Fringillaria sabaree, 357. Fulica alai, 91, 92. cristata, 345. gallinuloides, 356. leucoptera, 356. Fuligula clangubi, 160. cristata, 22. marila, 160. nyroca, 22. Fubnarus glacialis, 25. pacificus, 25. — — rogersi, 2.5. Funingus pulcberrimus, 97. Furnarius agnatus, 197. Galbula ruficauda, 205. Gallicrex cristata, 271. GaUinago australis, 26. major, 26, 157. megala, 143. scolopacina, 27, 156. stenura, 27. 155, 1.56. wilsoni, 27. GalUnula frontata, 142. sandvicensis, 91, 92. Gallus bankiva, 138, 146. varius, 171. Gampsonyx swainsoni, 330,331. Garrulax, 226. nucbalis, 94. Gauropicoides raiflesi. 243. Gecinus erytbropygius, 229. sbarpii, 94, M3. vaillanti, 343. viridis, 343. Geocicbla erytbronota, 125. Geoeocc\-x californianus, 207. Geoifroyius beteroclitus, 95, 442. Geopeha striata, 138, 171, 265. Geranoaetns melanoleii- cus, 409, 417. Gerygone, 218. ebrysognster, 323. flaveola, 127. flavolateralis, 182. inconspicua, 323. Glaucidium per latum, 287. Glaucus birsutus, 357. Globicera, 213, 326, 364. pacifica, 194. Glycypbila caledonica, 182, 191. cbloropbsea, 182. 185. fasciata, 182. flavotincta, 185, 191, 485. modesta, 182, 325. poliotis, 185. sateUes, 185. ■ subfasciata, 325. Gorsacbius melanolo- pbus, 271. Gracula javanensis, 262. Grallaria, 359. priuceps, 215. Graucalus, 441. angustifrous, 324, 325. axillaris, 825. csesius, 441. caledonicus, 190. cinereiis. 190, 192, 193. •— — eromitus, 118. graculus, 435. INDEX. 497 Gi'aucalus hypoleucus, 325. ^^ leucopygius, 129, 146. lifuensis, 190. maforeusis, 363. melanocephalus, 481. monotouus. 441, subalaris, 363. subliueatus, 441. sumatrensis, 252. — temmincki, 129. Grus autigoue, 28. cinerea, 28. communis, 28, 149. nigricollis, 490. leucogeranus, 149. sp. ?, 28. Gjgis alba, 365. Candida, 23, 275, 279, 365. Habropyga minor, 354. Hadrostomus, 359. Hajmatopus osculans, 26. Hsematortj'x, 266. sanguiniceps, 266. Halcyon albicilla, 322. albiventris, 292. ■ cbelicuti, 293. coromanda, 29, 249. coromandeliana, 29. Julia;, 181, 191, 438, 484. pileala, 249. sancta, 181, 191, 438. Haliaetus albicilla, .343. leucogaster, 236. Haliastur girrenera, 437. indus, 236. intermedius, 236. leucostemus, 56, 145. sphenurus, 108. Harelda glacialis, 23, 160. Harpa australis, 456. novffi-zealandise, 456. Harpactes diardi, 239. duvauceli, 239. Harpy opsisnovffi-guiueae, 363. Heliodilus soumaguei, 95. Helmiuthopbaga leuco- broiichialis, 93, 216, 483. Hemicercus brookeanus, 241. concretus, 240, 241. hartlaubi, 241. sordidus, 240, 241. Hemichelidon fuliginosa, 447. latirostris, 31. Hemignatbus, 91. lucidus, 92. obscurua, 92. oliTaceus, 92. Hemiphaga foi-steni, 58, 137. Hemipus intermedius, 481. obscurus, 170, * 252. Henicurus frontalis, 255. lescbenaulti, 169. rufidorsalis, 255. similis, 2.5.5. Herbi^ ox cantans, .35. cantillans, 35. Hermotimia aspasia, 106. aspasioides, 1U6. corinna, 106. Herodias alba, 27. garzetta, 27. intermedia, 27. nigripes, 143, 146. Herpetotberes sociabilis, 337,341. Herpornis brimnescens, 257. Hesperopbona vesper- tina, 482. Heteroifiyias, 363. Heteropelma, 359. Heteropbasia simillima, 482. Hierococcyx, 28. fugax, 28, 245. Himantopus leucocepba- lus, 141. Hirundo americana, 30. arctivitta, 30. daurica, 30. dimidiata, 291. erytbrogastra, 30. erytbropvgia, 30. gutturabs, 29, 30, 128. horre^rum, 30. Hirundo japonica, 30. jayanica, 128, 146. lagopoda, 17. riparia, 451. ruflgula, 352. rufula, 30. rustica, 16, 29, 30, 344. tabitica, 192, 439. Histrionicus torquatus, 354. Homocblamys, 35. Houbara undulata, 345. Hydralector gallic aceus, 141. Hydrocbelidon leueopa- reia, 146. Hydrocissa albirostris, 246. convexa, 246. Hylactea, 359. Hyloterpe brunneicauda, 481. grisola, 259. Hylypsornis salvadurii, "115, 352. Hypbantoruis, 352. Hypbanturgus melano- xantbus, 354. Hypogramma uucbalis, 2m. Hypolais languida, 436. opaca, .344. polyglotta, 344. HvpotKnidia pbilippen- sis, 142. Hypotbymis azurea, 253. occipitalis, 25.3. puella, 128, 14(J. Hypotriorcbis ajsaloii, 43. amurensis, 43. femoralis, 412. subbuteo, 42. Hypsipetes crassirostris, 97. raalaccensis, 256. lantbcenas castaueiceps, 193, 194. bypoenocbroa, 184, 19.3. leopoldi, 193. metallica, 99. pallidiceijs, 99. Ibis gigantea, 220. barmandi, 220. papillosa, 220. Ibycter leucopygus, 341. Bociabilis, 340. Icterus vulgaris, 200. 498 INDEX. Ictinia mississipiensis, 336. plumbea. 206, 336. Indicator archipelagicus, 244. major, 297. malayanus. 328. sparrmani, 296. loi'a scapularis, 168. viriclissima, 2.56. lotreron melanocephala, 135. melanospila, 135, 146. Irena criniger, 257. cyanea, 257. Irrisor erythrorhynchus, 294. Ixidia paroticalis, 256, 329. Ixus analis, 168. Juida morio, 398. phcenicoptera, 398. Jyngipicus aurantiiven- tris, 240. fusco-albidus, 165, 240. Jynx pectoralis, 300. Keropia striata, 258. Ketupa javanensis, 237. Kittocincia stricklandi, 255. Lacedo melanops, 249. Lagopus albus, 148. mutus, 148. rupestris, 148. Lalage aurea, 130. banksiana, 485. culminata, 263. dominica, 130, 169. leucopygialis, 130. montrouzieri, 183, 190. nigrogularis, 360. nychtheniera, 218. terat, 169. whitmeei, 363. Lamprococcyx crassiros- tris, 214. lucidus, 321. meyeri, .321. — minutillus, 320. plagosus, 321. pceciluroides, 214. pcecilurus, 320. russata, 320. Lamprocolius iria, 3.59. Laraprotrerou formosa, 1.35. holo3ericea, 109. Laniarius atrococcineus, 400, 401. boulboul, 400. Lanius, 227. antinorii, 104. bentet, 170. cephalomelas, 226. dorsalis, 104, 354. erythronotus, 447. excubitor, 31. lucionensis, 226, 259. magnirostris, 129. major, 31. melantbes, 226. pallidirostris, 104. scbwanerii, 259. souzse, 352. vittatus, 447. Laroides occidentalis, 215. Larus affinis, 24, 102, 111, 112, 162,163. argentatus, 111, 162, 163. borealis, 112. — cachinnans, 24, 162, 163. canus, 24, 161. crassirostris, 23. delawarensis, 24. — — fuscua, 162, 163. gelastes, 346. glaucescens, 23. glaucus, 23, 161, 162. leucopterus, 24. — — marinus, 24. niyeus, 24. novae - hollandiae, 184. occidentalis, 24, 111, 112,163. ridibuudus, 24. tridactylus, 24. Lepocestes porpbyrome- las, 242. Leptoptila albifrons, 207. Leptoptilus javanicus, 272. Leucocerca javanica, 170. perlata, 253. Leucotreron gironieri, 106. gidaris, 135. Limnaetus lauceolatus, 56. Limosa baueri, 444. • lapponica, 152. ■ novse - zealandiae, 444. Liotbrix laurin£e, 481. Lipaugus, 359. Lobiopbasis bulweri, 267, 268, 269. castaneicaudatus, 116,267,268,269. Locustella brunneiceps, 87. certhiola, 13, 14, 15, 255. fasciolata, 15, 35. hendersoni, 36. japonica, 14, ] 5. lanceolata, 37. lusciuioides, 15. ■ macropus, 37. minor, 14. minuta, 36. naevia, 15. oebotensis, 13, 14, 16, 36. rubescens, 14. subcertbiola, 14, 15, 36. temporalis, 14. sp. ?, 3(>. Lopboietinia, 83. isura, 84. Lophophanes beavani, 445, 448. melanolophus, 445. Lophopsittacus, 307. Lophorina superba, 95. Lophospiza griseiceps.55. Lophotriorchis kieneri,94. lucani, 94. Loriculus edwardsi; 226. - — exilis, 52, 54, 59. quadricolor, 52, 145, 146, 147. sclateri, 52. stigmatus, 51, 52, 63, 54, 146. Lorius cblorocercus, 366, 442. erythrothorax, 320, 360. giilielmi, 360. bypoeuochrous, 320, 360. , var. gugli- elmi, 320. Loxioides, 90, 91. bailleni, 90, 91,92, 475. INDEX. 499 Loxops coccinea, 92. Lullula arborea, 344. MachfErorhamphus alci- nus, 318, 466. andersoni, 465, 466. Machetes pugnax, 151. Macron us ptilosus, 258. pyca, 168. Macronyx tenellus, 354. Maeroptervx wallacii, 65, 146. Macrop}-gia albicapilla, 137, 146, 214. amboinensis, 327. — ■ — arossi, 443. carteretia, 327. doreya, 327. emiliana, 265. Diacassarieusis, 137. mackiiilaj-i, 99, 194. nifa, 99, 194, 443. ruficeps, 265. saughirensis, 214. tenuirostris, 265. Malacopteron feri-ugi- neum , 258. magnum, 258. Malurus, 363. Mareca gibberifrons, 144. Margarops densirostris, 211,357. montanus, 357. Mascarinus, 305, 306. duboisi, 306, 307. madagascariensis, 306. obscurus, 306. Megacephalon maleo, 139. Megacrex inepta, 482. Megalaema duvauceli, 240. henricii, 239. lineata, 165. mystacophane.s, 239. versicolor, 239. Megalophonus fischeri, 356. Megaloprepia poliura, 326. pueUa, 326. Megalurulus mariae, 109. Megapodius brazieri, 195. cumingi, 267. gilbert i, 138, 146. Megapodius layardi, 194, 195. lowii, 267. trinkutensis, 228. Megarhynchus pitangua, 201. Meiglyptes grammiMio- rax, 165. tristis, 164, 165, 243. tukki, 2-13. Melaniparus funereus, 303. leucomelas, 302. leuconotus, 302. niger, 302. ruflventris, 303. semilarTatus, 300, 301, 302. Melanocharis, 324. bicolor, 324. unicolor, 324. Melanopelargus episco- pus, 144, 146, 272. Melanopitta forsteni, 126. MeUerax, 286. canorus, 287. gabar, 287. Melizo]Dhilus, 317. nigricapillus, 316. Menura, 359. Mergellus albellus, 23. Mergus albellus, 23, 160. merganser. 160. serrator, 161. Meropogou breweri, 58. forsteni, 58, 59, 62, 126. Merops aggyptius, 446. apiaster, 290, 446. bicolor, 248. buUockoides, 289. ornatus, 57, 145. • philippinus, 57, 58, 248. pusilhis, 290. sumatranus, 248, Merula kesleri, 489. ruficeps, 189. Mesites, 212. Metallura smaragdinieol- lis, 205. Micrastur amaurus, 173. brachjpterus, 171. melanoleucus, 171. Microdynamis parva, 214. Micrceca albofrontata, 361. Microhierax friugilla- rius, 237. latifrons, 237. Micronisus soloensis, 235. Micropternus badiosus, 243. Milvago cbimango, 415, 420. Milvulus tyrannus, 202. Milvus, 71. a'gvptius, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76. affinis, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 85, 282, 283, 284. ater, 81,8.3. govinda, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 282, 283, 284, 446. ictinus, 71, 83. isurus, 83. korschuu, 72. major, 79, 80, 82, 283, 284. melanotis, 71, 76, 79,80,81,82,83,282, 283, 284. migrans, 71, 72,73, 74, 75, 76, 81, 82, 83. palustris, 83, 283, 284. Mimus, 309. Mitua salvini, 362. Mixornisbomeensis, 257. Mohoa, 91. apicalis, 92. braccata, 92. nobilis, 92. Molothrus a^neus, 208. Monachalcyon cyanoce- phalus, 61. princeps, 60, 61, 63. Monachella saxicolina, 323. Monticola brevipes, 395. Montifringilla ruficollia 489. Mormon cirrhatum, 21. Morphnus, 173. guianensis, 174,175 176. tffiniatus, 176. Mo ta cilia alba, 344, 448. amurensis, 34. aquatica, 433. aureocapilla, 227. boarida, 35. borin, 313. capensis, 401. 500 INDEX. Motacilla clumetoruin, 432. hortensis, 311,312. japoriica, 34. lugeiie, 34. luteola, 363.' melanope, 35, 448, 477. provincialis, 316. rufa, 312, 432. salicaria, 313, 314, 433. stapazina, 19. Mulleripicus fulvus, 57, 145. Muniajagori, 132, 146. leucogastroicles,170. molucca, 132. Muscicapa, 363. finschi, 352. griseola, 449. leucosticta, 482. luteola, 218. melanictera, 226. muUeriana, 323. mugimaki, 218. parva, 103. rufigiila, 218. Muscivora mexicana, 198, 202. Mycerobas carneipes, 448. Myiagra caleclonica, 182, "190, 192. glauca, 106. goramensis, 36.3. intermedia, 189. luguieri, 188, 190. — — - inelanura, 189, 192. rufigula, 190. — - — tannensis, 190, 192. viridinitens, 182, 189, 192. Myiarchus erythrocercus, var. cooperi, 208. oberi, 211. Myiodynastes audax, 201 . Myiolestes, 111. nigrogularis, 360. obsciirus, 252. Titiensis, 111. Myiophoneus dicrorhyn- chus, 481. Mymotherula inene- triesi, 215. nigrorufa, 215. Myristicivora bicolor, 136, 326. luctuosa, 136, 326, 327. melanura, 136. spilorrhoa, 326, 327. Myrmecocichla foraiici- vora, 398. Myzoraela caledouica, 182. eardinalis, 186, 191. chloroptei-a, 132. lifuensis, 186. nigriventris, 186. pammelajiia, 439. saugiiiiiolenta, 182. sijleiidida, 191. Nasiterna becearii, 95, 320. — — bruijai, 95. keiensis, 95. maforensis, 95. misoricn.sis, 95. pusilla, 320. pusio, 95. pygma-a, 50, 95. Nauclerus rioucouri, 330. Necropsittacus, .307. Neetarinia auchiets, 3.52. dussumieri, 97. oustaleti, 352. Nectarophila graji, 132, 146. hasseltii, 260. Nemura cyanura, 7. Neocorys spragiiii, 207, 354. Neomyias, 333. Neophron ginginianus, 342. percnopterus, 342. Nilaus affinis, 352. bmbru, 399. Niltava sumatraua, 481. Niuox albomaculata, 319, 361. assimilis, 319. borneensis, 238,470. dimorpha, 319. humeralis, 320. japonicus, 37. novas - britannia% 319. odiosa, 319. scutulata, 238. undulata, 320, 361. variegata, 319. Nisus australis, 319. rufitorques, 473. Noctua minor, 348. Notauges hildebrandti, 354. Notornis, 98. mantelli, 376. Numenius australis, 271. phseopus, 142. Namida eduardi, 329. Nyctala tengmalmi, 351. Nyctea scandiaca, 351. Nyctibius loriicatus, 465. Nycticoras oaledonlcus, 143. Nyctidromus albicoUis, 208. Nyctioi'uis, 59. amiotus, 59, 248. Nymphicus cornutus, 181. Nyroca ferruginea, 22. Oceanites, 282. Ocvdromus australis, 459. Qidemia amerieana, 23. t'usca, 3(52. nigra, IGO. velvetina. 362. ffidirhinus insolitus, 95. CEstrelata hasitata, 211. Onychospiza taczanow- skii, 489. Opisthocomus cristatus, 218,219. Oreocincla pectoralis, 116. Oreocinclaj, 189. Oreicola melanoleuca, 218. Oreoscoptes montanus, 353. Oriolus coronatus, 168. cristatus, 200. formosus, 214. larvatus, 397, 400. maeulatus, 168. xanthonotus, 251. Ortalis, 450. Orthouyx novffi-guineai, 95. Orthorhyuehus cristatus, 357. Orthotomus atrigularis, 259. borneoneusis, 259. cineraeeus, 259. ruficeps, 259. sepjum, 169. Ortygometra ciuerea, 412. Osniotreron griseicauda, 134, 135, 146. Ostinops cristatus, 200. decuiuanus, 200. Otus brachyotus, 41. microcephalus, 350. Pacliycephiila. 11 J, 187. INDEX. 501 Pachycephala assimilis, 183. — — brunnea, 324. — chlorura, 193. christophori, 441. collaris, 324, 3G0. falcata, 98. fuliginata, 324, 360. griseiceps, 106. leueogastra, 324. littayei, 95, 190. morariensis, 183. palUda, 98. schlegeli, 356. squalida, 106. Padda oryzivora, 132. Palffiornis, 303, 307. bodini, 100. cyanoeephalus, 100. javanicus, 165. melanorhynchus, 229. rosa, 100. wardi, 97. Palumbus casiotis, 448. Pandion, 92. leucocephalus, 56. Panychlora inexpectata, 475. poortmanni, 205. — sp. ?, 205. Paradigalla carimculata, Paradisea apoda, 356, 482. novse-guinefe, 482. raggiana, 91, 482. Parra gaUinacea, 327. gymnostoma, 208. novse-guine£e, 361, 327. Parula americana, 207. nigrilora, 207. pitiayumi, 207. Parus ater, 1, 31. atriceps, 167. borealis, 2, 32. camtchatkensis, 1 , 2, 32. cinctus, 2. cinereus, 445. grisescens, 2. japonicus, 32. major, 1 , 33. minor, 33. • paluslris, 1, 2, 32, 344. pekinensis, 31. pendulinus, 344. rufiventris, 352. SER. IV. VOL. III. Parus varius, 33. Passer arcuatus, 297. Passerculus bairdi, 354. Pastor roseus, 380. Pelargopsis leucocepliala, 249. melanorhyncha, 64, 146. Pelecanopus medius, 145, 146. Pelecanus barbieri; 98. fuscus, 358. molinae, 98. Pellorneum tickelli, 102, 230. Peloperdix rubrirostris, 481. Penelope jacupema, 4.50. Penthetria bartlaubi, 352. Pentboceryx pravatus, 244. Pentholaea albifrons, 301. Perierocotus ardens, 218. cinereus, 31, 253. igneus, 252. montanus, 481. peregrinus, 170. Pernis apivorus, 42. celebensis, 56. ptilorbyncbus, 42. Petasophora rubrigularis, 480. Petrocossypbus cyanus, 447. Petroeca similis, 192. Pezopbaps, 98. Pbjsnopepla, 222. Pbfenorbina goliath, 184. Pbainus, 223. PbEeornis obscura, 92. Phaeton astbereus, 275. 276, 277. flavirostris, 275, 277. Pbainopepla, 222, 223. nitidus, 223. Pbainoptila, 223. Pbalaropus fulicarius, 345. byperboreus, 15.5. Phaleris cristatella, 21. mystacea, 21. Pbaromacrus fulgidus, 205. Pbasianus ignitus, 221. straucbi, 490. vlangalii, 490. Philemon lessoni, 182. 185. sclateri. 439. Pbilentoma pyrrboptera, 254. Pblogcenas jobiensis, 95. jobannse, 95, 444. tristigmata, 137. Pbodilus assimilis, 116. badius, 238. • soumagnei, 95. Pbcenicopbaes calorbj'n- cbus, 67, 146. Plioleoptynx cunicularia, 423. Pbyllomyias semifusca, 201. Pbyllopneuste coronata, 36. eversmani, 9, 10. javaniea, 254. teuellipes, 36. ti-ocbilus, 354. xanthodryas, 36. Phyllornis cyanopogon, 256. sonnerati, 256. Pbylloscopus borealis, 9, 36, 254. coUibyta, 432. coronatus, 36. fuscatus, 11, 102, 220. nitidus, 103. plumbeitarsus, 103. rufus, 429, 432. sibilatrix, 477. superciliosus, 9, 12, 103, 379. tristis, 9, 10. — — troehilus, 9, 10, 102. viridanus, 102, 103, 220, 379, 380. xanthodryas, 254. Physocorax monedu- loides, 183. Piava cayana, 206. Pica, 350. bactriana, 448. pica, 435. rustica, 448. Picus, 350. bimalayanus, 447. kisuki, 29. magellanicus, 356.' major, 29, 343. minor, 29. numidicus, 343. Piezorhynchus leucotis, 439. morotensis, 363. pileatus, 439. vidua, 439. 2 p 502 INDEX. Pionus corallinus, 307. Pipastes agilis, 34. Pipilo chlorurus, 353. Pitangus dei'bianus, 201. rufipennis, 201. Pitta, 359. arcuata, 263. bertse; 263. cseruleitorques, 95, 214. celebensis, 95, 127. concinna, 356. cyanoptera, 262. ellioti, 97. mackloti, 324, 360. maforensis, 95. maxima, 126. muelleri, 263. ■ novse-guineffl, 126. novse - hibernicis, 360. • novce - hybernia?, 324. oreas, 263. rosenbergi, 126. — — rubrinucha, 95. — — sanghirana, 214. schwaneri, 263. sordicla, 126. ussheri, 116, 263. venusta, 263. Platalea major, 27. minor, 27. Platisteira mentalis, 352. Platycercus novfe-zealan- dise, 110. Platysmurus aterrimu8, 251. Plectropbanes macowni, 354. nivalis, 345. ornatus, 354. Plotus melanogaster, 145. Pnoepyga roberti, 101. Podargus marmoratus, 322. ocellatus, 322. Podiceps clarki, 113. cornutus, 21, 113. cristatus, 112, 113. griseigena, 113. minor, 145. nigricoUis, 21. occidentalis, 113. Podoces biddulphi, 116. Podytes albolirabatus, 482. Pceocephalus, 307. Pcecilodryas capitf>, 323. cinerea, 218. Pcecilodryas cinereit'rons, 363. fiavicincta, 323. 367. leucops, 343. Pogonorhyuchus biden- tatus, 93. eogaster, 93. irroratus, 354. leucoceplialus, 302. leucomelas, 296. levaillanti, 93. rolleti, 302. torquatus, 296. Poiocephalus swindernia- nus, 84. Polihierax, 227. fieldeni, 227. insignis, 231. Poliococcyx sumatranus, 245. Poliomyias, 363. luteola, 253. Poliornis indica, 236. liventer, 56. poliogenys, 42. Polophilus macrurus, 322. nigricans, 321, 322. Polyborus tharus, 415. Polypleetron schleierma- cberi, 116. Pomarea castaneiventris. 439. nigra, 439. Pomatorbj'nchus ery- thropterus, 399. trivirgatus, 399. Porphyrio, 213. • C£eruleus, 196. calvus, 213. chloronotus, 196. edwardsi, 213. hyacinthinus, 195, 196. indicus, 141, 142. madagascariensis, 196. pulTcrulentus, 196. veterum, 195, 196. Porzaua, 227. obscura, 93. Pratincola, 363. indica, 8, 446. Prinia albogularis, 227. ——— familiaris, 169. hodgsoni, 227. hypoxaiitba, 481. superciliai'is, 259. Prion oaribbsea, 211. Prioniturus, 57. flavicans, 50, 61, 145. platurua, 49, 50, 51, 145. Prionochilus aureo-lim- batus, 132. tboracicus, 261. xanthopygius, 261. Prionops talacoma, 401. Procellaria, 282. melanogastra, 282. pacifica, 25. Procnias occidentalis, 199. tersa, 199. Pseudogerygone, 218. rubra, 218. Psittacula swindereni, 84. swinderniana, 84. Psittacus, 303, 304, 307. caledonicus, 181. macrourus, 306. _ ascariensis, 306. mascarinns, 306. obscurus, 306. stavorini, 106. swindernianus, 84, 85. Psittirostra, 90, 91. psittacea, 92. Pteruthrius cameranoi, 481. Ptilogonys nitens, 222. Ptilopus bellus, 356. ductus, 135. coraceipectus, 442. corriei, 193, 484. fischeri, 135. greyi, 191, 193. holosericeus, 184, 193. perlatus, 325. — prasiuorrhous, 326. — rivolii, 325, 326, 356. speeiosus, 356. strophium, 325, 326. zonurus, 325. Ptilotis flavescens, 360. germana, 325, 360. ornatus, 360. Pucrasia biddulphi, 461, 463. darwini, 463. duvauceli, 463. macrolopba, 462, 463. nipalensis, 463. xanthospila, 4(i3. INDEX. 503 Puffimis leucomelas, 144. Pyenonotus analis, 168, 256. capensis, 390, 391, 394. crocorrhous, 168. layardi, 390, 394. • nigricans, 389, 391, 394. tricolor, 390. xanthopygus, 393. Pyranga sestiva, 200. eyanictera, 475. Pyrenestes unicolor, 355. Pyrocepbaliis rubineus, 202. Pyrotrogon diardi, 239. duvauceli, 239. . Pyrrhocentor celebensis, 70, 146. Pyrrhocorax pyrrhoco- rax, 435. Pyrrhospiza longix'ostris, 490. Querquedula circia, 144. crecca, 22. forrao.«a, 22. Qiiiscalus luniinosus, 357. Rallina fascia ta, 271. isabellina, 142. Rallus aldebranus, 475. diefFenbachi, 454. giilaris, 475. maequariensis, 455. Ramphastos carinatus, 198, 206. tocard, 206. Rampbomantis mega- rhynchus, 214. Rectes brunneiceps, 482. cirrhocephalus, 100. decipiens, 100. dichrous, 100. ferrugineus, 100. holerythrus, 100. jobiensis, 116. Regulus cristatus, 37. japonicus, 37. Reinwardtona rein- wardti, 137. Rhamphococcyx ery- thognathus, 245. Rhea americana, 386. darwini, 385, 386. Rhinochetus jubatus, 184. Rhinoinyias, 363. pectoralis, 254. Rhiuoplax scntatus, 248. vigil, 248. Rbinortha cblorophsBa, 245. Rhipidura, llO. ambusta, 323, 361. atrata, 481. bulgeri, 182. castaneothorax, 323, 361. diemenensis, 368. elegantula, 218. episcopalis, 323. erytbronota, 363. — — euryura, 363. hyperytbra, 323. javanica, 170. leucothorax, 323. perlata, 263. rufiventris, .323. rufo-lateralis, 363. russata, 440. saturata, 368. tbrenothorax, 323. verreauxi, 110, 182. Rhopodytes erytlirogna- tbus, 245. sumatranus, 245. Rbynchopbanes, 207. Rbynortha cblorophaea, 245. Rbytidoceros subruficol- lis, 246. Rimator albostriatus, 481. Rissa tridactyla, 24. Rollulus, 266. rouloul, 270. Rostrhamus, 337. hamatus, 338, 339, 340, 341. leucopygus, 337, 338, 339, 341. niger, 341. plumbeus, 338,341. sociabilis, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 413, 415. , var. plumbeus, 338, 341. , Tar. sociabilis, 341. taniurus, 338, 340, 341. Ruticilla, 310. alaschanica, 489. creruleicephala, 447. mesoleuca, 104. phoenicurus, 6. Salicaria cantans, 35. Salicaria cantillans, -35. maacki, 35. Salpornis, 115. Sasia abnormis, 243, 244. africana, 243. Sauropatis chioris, 61, 62, 146. forsteni, 62. sancta, 62, 145. saurophaga, 322. Saxicola, 310. dumetoria, 363. galtoni, 396. leucoraelasna, 397. leucura, 343. morio, 447. cenanthe, 8, 369. picata, 447. stapazina, 19, 118, 431. Sayornis cineracea, 201. Scbcenicola pvrrhulina, 40. yessoensis, 39. Scissiroatrum dubium. 146. Scleroptera hildebrandti. 354. Scolopax rusticola, 453. rusticula, 26, 454. Scops asio, 209, 210. brasilianus, 209. cooperi, 209. giu, 351. lempiji, 238, 470. maccalli, 210. malabaricu.s, 238. ininutus, 96, 328. rufescens, 238. tricbopsis, 209. Scotopelia bourieri, 94. Scythrops noTEc-hoUan- diae, 67. Setaria affinis, 258. albigularis, 258. pectoralis, 254. Setopbaga ruticilla, 199. Sharpia angolensis, 352. Siphia banyumas, 254. elegans, 254. sumatrensis, 363. turcosa, 254. Sitta cinnamomeiventris, 447. europaea, 34. • leucopsis, 449. uralensis, 34. Sittasomus olivaceus, 202. Somateria spectabilis, 161. Speotyto amaura, 211. 504 INDEX. Spilornis rufipectus, 66, 145. Spizaetus alboniger, 236. nipalensis, 41. orientalis, 41. Squatarola helvetica, 153, 270. Stachyris bocagii, 481. Stenostira scita, 403. •Stercorarius crepidatus, 274. Sterna: albigena, 229. ani3estlieta, 365. '- bergii, 365. fuliginosa, 274, 275, 277. gracilis, 184, 365. hirundo, 431. leucocapilla, 280. longipenuis, 23. macrura, 161. melanauchen, 365. nereis, 365. panaya, 365. paradisea, 184. sp.?, 23. Stemula minuta, 145. nereis, 107, 185. Stigmatops albo-auricu- laris, 325, 360. Stoparola i-uficrissa, 481. Strepsilas interpres, 26, 141, 270. Streptocitta cafedonica, 133. t'orquata, 133, 146. Strix accipitrina, 347, 348. 349. aegolius, 348. brachyotus, 429. bubo, 349, 350. delieatula. 181. flammea, 347, 351. fuBcescens, 41. oustaleti, 475. rosenbergi, 57. rufescens, 41. Sturnella ludoviciana, 201. magna, var. mexi- cana, 208. Sturnia daurica, 262. pyrrhogenys, 134. Sturmis roseus, 104. Sula cyanops, 275, 281. leucogasti-a, 275, 281. piscatrix, 272. Siirnia i'unerea, 351. Surniculus lugubris, 244. Suya obscura, 116. Sycobius, 352. Syhia, 308, 309, 310. affinis, 8, 9, 314, 446, 447. althea, 315. aquatica, 433. atricapilla, 312. blanfordi, 31.5, 317. bowmanni, 316. certhiola, 14. cetti. 315. ciuerea, 312, 429. communis, 312. conspicillata, 315, 316. curruca, 8, 314, 315. dartfordensis, 316. deserticola, 316, 317. hortensis, 429. icterina, 9, 10. lateralis, 167. lugens, 317. melanocepbala, 315, 316, 317. melanotliorax, 317. minuta, 315. momus, 316. moschita, 31.5. nana, 315, 316. nisoria, 310. — ochotensis, 14. orphea, 311. rubesceus, 315, 316. ruepelli, 311. rufa, 311, 312, 432. sarda, 315, 317. simplex, 312, 314. subalpina, 315. ■ undata, 316, 317. Symmorphus afBnis, 440. ntevius, 440. leucopygius, 440. Syrnium, 349. aluco, 351, 378, 446. t'uscesceus, 41. leptogrammicum, 238. nivicolum, 446. rufescens, 41. rufipes, 356. uralense, 41. Tacbypetes aquilus, 275, 276. Tachyphonus cafer, 295. Tachyspiza soloensis, 56. Tantalus, 220. Tanygnathus, 303, 305, 307. albirostris, 47, 48. Tanygnathus luzoniensis, 48. megalorhynchus, 47, 48, 49. muelleri, 47, 48, 145. sumatranus, 48. Tanysiptera nigriceps, 95. nyrapba, 94. salvaidoriana, 322, 361. .Sylvia, 322. Tchitrea corvina, 97. Tephrodornis gularis, 252. Tei-aspiza rhodogastra, 55. Terekia cinerea, 1,52. Terpsipbone afBnis, 253. Tetrao tetrix, 147. urogalloides, 147. urogallus, 147. Tetrastes bonasia, 147. severzowi, 490. Thamnobia cinnamomei- ventris, .396. Thaumasius taczanowskii, 451. Thriponax javensis, 243. Thryomanes bewicki, Tar. leucogaster, 208. Thryothorus grenaden- sis, 357. Tiga javanensis, 164, 243. TimaUa, 228. maculata, 257 nigricollis, 2-57. Tinnunculus cenchris, 287. gracilis, 97. japonicus, 42. moluecensis, 55. sparverius, 206, 412. Todopsis, 218. bonapartii, 95, 324. cyanocephala, 95, 323. grayi, 95, 106. wallacii, 95. Tetanus glareola, 152, 271. glottis, 143. ochropus, 152. pulverulentus, 143. Trachycomus ocbroce- phalus, 168, 256. Trachyphonus erythroce- phalus, 3.54. Treroloema leclancheri, 106. INDEX. 505 Treron capellii, 265. fulvicollis, 265. olax, 265. Trichoglossus, 227. cceruleiceps, 482. dejilancii, 185. massena, 185, 191, 442. mej'eri, 53, 54, 59. ornatus, 47, 53, 54, 145. palmarum, 485. Tricholffima lacrymosa, 354. stigmatothorax, 3.54. Tx-icholais pulchra, 352. Tricholestes minutus, 257. Trichophoropsis tvpus, 256. Trichostoiua, 229. celebense, 126. pyca, 168. Tringa acuminata, 143. alpina, 151. crassirostris, 26. damaceusis, 26. minuta, 26, 143, 150, 487. ruficollis, 26. subarquata, 150, 375, 486. temmincki, 149, 487. tenuirostris, 26. Trochilus thaumantias, 451. Troglodytes fumigatus, 37. hiemalis, 37. inquietus, 198. leucogaster, 208. nipalensis, 37. pimctatus, 228. tessellatus, 198. Trogon surucura, 113. Turacoena menadensis, 1.37, 146. Turdinulus, 101. Turdinus rufipectus, 481. Turdus, 310. atrigularis, 4, 6. badius, 187, 189. bicolor, 189. caribbasus, 357. crossleyi, 93. daulias, 38. dubius, 3, 5, 433, 434. Turdus fuscatus, 3, 153, 433, 434. gigas, 198. gurneji, 93. gymnogenys, 357. hodgsoni, 449. iliacus, 3, 4, 6. letsitsirupa, 389. libonyanus, 389. mareensis, 472. merula, 118. • musicus, 434. naumanni, 4. nestor, 189. obscurus, 4, 6, 38. pallasi, 483. pallens, 5, 38, 251. pallidus, 5, 37. piaggiffi, 93. pilaris, 2, 4, 6. poliocephalus, 189. pritzbueri, 95, 187, 189, 192, 471. rufiventris, 188. samoensis, 188. sibiricus, 5, 37. swainsoni, 103. tempesti, 189. tephronotus, 354. ulietensis, 187. vanicorensis, 188, 472. varius, 103. vinitinctus, 188. vitiensis, 188. xanthopus, 182, 187, 188, 472. sp. ?, 37. Turtur picturatus, 97. rostratus, 97. rupicola, 449. tigrina, 137. Tyrannus melancholicus, 202. rostratus, 211. Upupa africana, 294. epops, 446. Urocissa fla^drostris, 462. occipitalis, 462. Urocynchramus pylzowi, 490. Urolestes cissoides, 398. Uropsila leucogastra, 208. Urospizias approximans, 180. iogaster, 474. pallidiceps, 474. Urospizias torquatu8,319, 473, 474. Urubitinga anthracina, 221. meridioDalis, 206. unicincta, 411. Vanellus vulgaris, 152. Vireo atricapillus, 210, 483. Vireosylvia flavoviridis, 208. Volatinia jacarina, 200. Volvocivora lugubris, 218. melanura. 218. morio, 130, 146. schierbrandii, 253. Xantholasma duvauceli, 240. rosea, 165. Xanthomelus aureus, 95. Xanthopygia cyanome- laena, 253. XanthoriiuB decumanus, 200. ma.viniu8, 200. Xanthura caaruleocephala, 87, 88. cyaneocapilla, 87, 88. cyanodorsalis, 87, 89. guatemalensis, 88. incas, 87, 88, 89. luxuosa, 87, 88, 207. Xylolepes validus, 240. Yungipicus fusco-albidus, 165, 240. temmincki, 57. Zanclostomus javanicus, 245. Zoncenas radiata, 135, 136, 137. Zonotrichia pileata, 200. Zosterops atricapilla, 481. buxtoni, 167. flavifrons, 186, 187. griseonota, 444. inornata, 95, 186, 187. 506 Zosterops intermedia,132. japonica, 29. lateralis, 1B7. longirostris, 325, 361. INDEX. Zosterops melanops, 186, 187. _ •■ minuta, 95, 186. modesta, 97. semiflava, 97. Zosterops sundevalli, 167, 404. vatensis, 444. virens, 405. xanthochroa, 182 186. END OF YOL. III. PRINTED BY TATLOE AND PEANCIS, EED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. m FOURTH SERIES. ® Vol. III. No. 9. JANUARY 1879. Frice Qs. 0M HE IBIS, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. •^ EDITET) BY OSBERT SALVIN, M.A., F.H.S., STKICKLAXD CURATOR IN THE UNIVERSITY OP CAMBRIDGE, &c. AND PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.. SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOOEST, 1, PATEIINOSTER ROW. Annual Subscription , payahh before 31sf March each year, £1 Is. V^I'^c TAYLOR AND PEANCIS, PRINTERS,] BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. PRESIDENT. The Right Hon. Lord Lilford. SECRETARY. F. DuCane Godman, Esq. COMMITTEE. J. Edmund Harting, Esq. Edward R. Alston^ Esq. H. Sebbohm^ Esq. The President. ") The Editors of 'The Ibis.' > Ex officio. The Secretary. j The British Ornithologists' Union was instituted in 1858 for the advancement of the science of Ornithology. Its funds are devoted primarily to the publication of 'The Ibis/ a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, of which twenty volumes have now been completed. The Union consists of Ordinary Members, Honorary Members (limited to ten), and Foreign Members (limited to twenty). Ordinary Members pay an admission fee of £2, and an annual contribution of £1 on election, and £ I on the 1st of January of each subsequent year. Ordinary Members and Honorary Members are entitled to receive a copy of ' The Ibis ' gratis. Authors are entitled to 25 extra copies of their papers pub- lished in 'The Ibis,' on applying for them to the Secretary. The Election of Members takes place at the Annual General Meeting, held in April or May of each year. Persons wishing to become Members are requested to apply to the Secretary for infor- mation respecting Election. F. DuCANE GODMAN, Secretary. 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W. Tlie Editors of ' The Ibis ' are glad to receive copies of Books and Papers of any sort relating to Ornithology, whieh will be duly noticed in this Journal. List of Publications received since the issue of No. 8 and NOT noticed in THE PRESENT NuMBER. 1. J. C. Merrill. Notes on the Ornitliology of Southern Texas. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1878, pp. 118-173.) 2. Lettera del Prof. Odoardo Beccari a Giacomo Doria. (Ann. Mus. Genov. xiii. pp. 451-455.) 3. Lawrence. Catalogue of the Birds of St. Vincent. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1878.) 4. Lawrence. Catalogue of the Birds of Dominica. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1878.) 5. RiDGWAY. Review of the American Species of the Genus Scops. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus, 1878.) 6. RiDGWAY. On a New Humming-bird from Guatemala. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1878.) 7. Barboza du Bocage. Aves das possessoes portuguezas d'Africa occi- dental. Lista xiii. (Jorn. Sci. Lisboa, No. xxiii. 1878.) 8. Reichenow. Catalog zur vierten Ausstellung der "Aegintha" Verein der Vogelfreimde in Berlin. 9. Milne-Edwards. Remarques sur le genre Mesites et sur la place qu'il doit occuper dans la s^rie Ornithologique. (Ann. d. Sc. Nat. 6^ ser. t. vii. art. no. 6.) Now ready, price Is. RULES FOR ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE, Drawn up by the late H. E. STRICKLAND, M.A., F.R.S. (Assisted by many Zoologists, British and Foreign), at the instance of the British Association. London : John Murray, Albemarle Street ; and at the Office, British Association, 22 Albemarle Street, W. CONTENTS OF NUMBEK IX.— EOURTH SEKIES. I. Contributions to the Ornithology of Siberia. By Hexet See- BOHM I II. Remarks on Messrs. Blakiston and Fryer's Catalogue of the Birds of Japan. By Henry Seebohm. (Plate I.) . . . 18 III, Field-notes on the Birds of Celebes. By A. B. Meyer, M.D., C.M.Z.S., Director of the Zoological Museum, Dresden . . 43 IV. Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum,' by E,. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. Gurnet ... 71 Y. On Agapornis swinderniana. By Dr. G. Hartlaub .... 84 VI. Note on the American Crows of the Subgenus Xanthara. By P. L. SCLATER 87 YII. On recent Additions to our Knowledge of the Avifauna of the Sandwich Islands. By P. L. Sclatek. (Plate II.) . . . 8!) VIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 1. 'Bulletin' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club 92 2. ' Bidletin ' of the Zoological Society of France, 1877 . . . *.):} 3. Godwin- Austen on Birds from North-eas^t India 04 4. Gould's ' Birds of New Guinea ' r4 /5. Grandidier on a new Owl 95 (J. Layard on new Birds from Lifu 9o 7. Legge on a new Scops Owl 96 8. Masters on Birds from Port Darwin 96 9. Meyer on a Cassowarj^ from New Guinea 96 10. Nares and Feilden's ' Voyage to the Polar Sea ' 97 11. Oustalet on the Ornithology of the Seychelles 97 12. Oustalet on the Female of Pitla ellioti 97 13. Oustalet on South-American Pelicans 98 14. Owen on the Extinct Birds of New Zealand ....'.. 98 15. Ramsay on Edoliusoma schisticeps 98 16. Ramsay on a new Paclnicephala 98 17. Ramsay on a new lanthcenas 99 18. Ramsay on Birds from the New Hebrides 99 19. Reichenow on Foreign Cage-birds 99 20. Russ on Foreign Cage-birds 99 21. Russ on a new Parrot 100 22. Salvadori on new Species of liectes 100 2.3. Saunders on the Distribution of the Laridae 100 24. ' Stray Feathers,' Vol. vi 101 25, Taczanowski on the Birds of Poland 102 IX. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from H. Gatke, II. W. Feilden, T, Salvadori, E, L. Layard and E. L, C, Layard (two), Dr, Otto Finsch, A. B, Brooke, and T, M. Brewer ; Habits of 7Vu(/on sunccwa ; Dr, Finsch "s Expedition ; A New Form of Certhiidae ; Additions to the Collection of Birds in the British Museum in 1877 ; The Swinhoe Collection ; Substantives as Specific Names ; New British Bird ; The Breeding-places of the Black Stoik ; Gear\''8 'Asiatic Turkev;' New works in preparation; Obituary of Mr. ILDurnford; Death of Dr, Stolker ; Death of Mr, G.D.Rowley 102 Covers for binding last year's Volume may be had on application to the Publisher, Commimications may be addressed to the Editors, 6 Tenterden Street, Han- civer Square, W, Advertisements &c. to the Publisher, John Van Voorst, 1 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. JNTembers of the B. O, U. are requested to keep the Secretary, F, Du Canr GoDMAN, Esq., 0 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W,, informed of any change of Residence, so that the Numbers of ' The Ibis ' may be sent to them without delay. FOURTH SERIES. Vol. III. No. 10. APRIL 1879. Frice 6s. i THE IBIS, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. EDITED BY OSBERT SALVIN, M.A., F.R.S., &c., AND PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S. SECRETAIIY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LOXDOxV. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOOEST, 1, P ATEllN OS TEE EOW. Annml Stihscr{2-)tlon, payahh hefore 31s« Marcli each year, £\ Is. ■ TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, PRINTERS,] [red lion court, fleet street. ^yJ5' BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. PRESIDENT. The Right Hon. Lord Lilford. SECRETARY. F. DuCane Godman, Esq. t. COMMITTEE. J. Edmund Harting, Esq. Edward E-. Alston, Esq. H. Sebbohm, Esq. The PRESIDENf. ") The Editors of 'The Ibis.^ > Ejp officio. The Secretary. j The British Ornithologists^ Union was instituted in 1858 for the advancement of the science of Ornithology. Its funds are devoted primarily to the publication of 'The Ibis/ a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, of which twenty volumes have now been completed. The Union consists of Ordinary Members, Honoraiy Members (hmited to ten), and Foreign Members (limited to twenty). Ordinary Members pay an admission fee of £2, and an annual contribution of £1 on election, and ifil on the 1st of January of each subsequent year. Ordinary Members and Honorary Members are entitled to receive a copy of ' The Ibis' gratis. Authors are entitled to 25 extra copies of their papers pub- lished in 'The Ibis,'' on applying for them to the Secretary. The Election of Members takes place at the Annual General Meeting, held in April or May of each year. Persons wishing to become Members are requested to apply to the Secretary for infor- mation respecting Election. F. DuCANE GODMAN, Secretary. 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W. The Editors of ' The Ibis ' are glad to receive copies of Books and Papers of any sort relating to Ornithology, which will be duly noticed in this Journal. List op Publications received since the issue of No. 9 and NOT noticed in THE PRESENT NuMBER. 1. Barboza du Bocage. Aves das possessoes portuguezas d' Africa occi- dental. Listas xvi., xvii. (Jorn. Sci. Lisboa, Nos. xxiii., xxiv., 1878.) 2. Barcoza du Bocage. Melanges ornitliologiques, iv., v. (Jorn. Sci. Lisboa, Nos. xxiii., xxiv., 1878.'> 3. Reinhaedt. En ny Mitua Art. (Vid. Medd. Nat. For. Kjob. 1879-80.) 4. OouES. Birds of tbe Colorado Valley. Part i. 8vo. Washington, 1878. 5. CouES. Field-notes on Birds observed in Dakota and Montana. (Bull. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. iv. No. 3.) G. Newton. Hawking in Norfolk. 7. Lawrence. Cattalogue of the Birds of Grenada. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus.) 8. MuLLER. On certain Variations in the Vocal Organs of the Passeres, Translated by F. Jeffi-ey Bell and A. H. Garrod. 4to. 1878. 9. Sharpe. On the Collection of Birds made by Dr. Meyer during his expe- dition to New Guinea and some neighbouring Islands. (Mitth. d. kgl.-zool. Mus. Dresden, 1878, Heft iii.) 10. Pelzeln's Bericht iiber die Leistungen in der Naturgeschichte der Vogel wahrend des Jahres 1877. 11. OusTALET. Note sur una nouvelle espece de Merle bronze, (Assoc. Scient. d. France, Bull. No. 580, 1878.) 12. Meyer. Noch einmal die Geschlechtsverschiedenheiten in der Papa- geiengattung Eclectus (Wagler). (Zool. Garten, Jahrg. xix.) 13. Ramsay. On new Species of P^j7o^«s. (Proc. Linn, Soc.N. S. W. vol. iii.) 14. Ramsay. Description of a Myiolestes from Fiji. (Proc. Linn. Soc. N, S. W. vol, iii.) 15. Ramsay, Five new Birds from Torres Straits and New Guinea, (Proc. Linn, Soc, N. S, W, vol, iii.) 16. Cabanis, Uebersicht der Vogel Ost-Afrika's, (J, f. 0. 1878,) 17. Buller. Notes on the Ornithology of New Zealand. (Trans, New-Zea- land lust. X. p. 191.) 18. Btjller, On the Disappearance of Anthornis mela7mra from the North Island, (Trans, New-Zealand Inst, x. p, 209,) 19. BuLiiEB, Further notes on Heteralocha acutirostris, (Trans, New-Zea- land Inst, X. p. 211,) 20. Buller. On the Species forming the Genus Ocydromtts. (Trans, New- Zealand Inst. X. p. 213.) 21. Buller. Notice of the Occurrence of Diomedea caida in the North Island, (Trans, New-Zealand Inst. x. p. 217.) 22. Buller, On the Addition of Phaeton rubricauda to the Avifauna of New Zealand. (Trans, New-Zealand Inst, x, p, 219,) 23. Sharpe. Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum, Vol. iv, Oampo- phagidae and Muscicapida}. 8vo, pp, 495, 14 Plates. London : 1879, CONTENTS OP NUMBER X.— EOTJRTH SERIES. Page X. Field-notes on the Eirds of Celebes. By A. B. Meter, M.D., C.M.Z.S., &G 125 , XI. Contributions to the Oi'nithology of Siberia. By Hexry Seebohm: 147 XII. On a Collection of Birds made by the late Mr. E. C. Buxton in Western Java. By Francis Nicholso^t, F.Z.S. . . . 164 XIII. Xotes upon Three American Ilaptorial Birds apparently new to Science. By John Henry Gurney. (Plate III.) . .171 XIV. Note on an unusually rufescent Example of Arddhuteo Jiemiptilojnis, Blyth. By John Henry Gurney . . .178 XV. Xotes on Collections of Birds sent from New Caledonia, from Lifu (one of the Loyalty Islands), and from the New Hebrides by E. L. Layard, C.M.G., &c. By H. B. Tristram, F.Il.S 180 XVI. Note on the Name of the Purple Waterhen of South-west- ern Europe. By P. L. Sclater 195 XVII. On a Collection of Birds from the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Columbia. By 0. Salvin and F. D. Godman . .196 XVIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 26. Sennett on the Birds of the Lower Rio Grande .... 207 27. Merrill on the Ornithology of Southern Texas 207 28. Ridgway on the American Species of Scops 209 29. Ridgway on a new Humming-bird from Guatemala . . . 209 30. Lawrence on the Birds of St. Vincent 209 31. Lawrence on the Birds of Dominica 210 32. Lawrence on the Birds of Antigua and Barbuda . . . .211 33. Lawrence on a new Cho'twa 211 34. Cordeaux on the Migration of Birds 212 35. A. Milne-Edwards on the Genus Mesites 212 30. Elliot on the Genus Porphyrio and its Species 213 37. Salvador! on the Subgenus Ghhiccra 213 38. Salvador! on new and rare Birds from the Sanghir Islands . 214 39. Salvadori's Prodromus of Papuan Ornithology 214 40. Boucard on Guatemalan Birds 214 41. 'Bulletin' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club 215 42. Sharpe on the Birds of Rodriguez 216 43. Sharpe's Notes from the Leyden Museum 217 44. Sacli's Llanos of Venezuela 218 45. Dalgleish's List of tlie Birds of Ardnamurchan, Argyllshire. 219 46. Moore's ' Columbarium ' 219 47. Oustalet on Ibises 219 XIX. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from Messrs. XL Gatke, E. L. Layard, D. G. Elliot, and J. II. Gurney ; Note on the Orthography of Phainopepla . . 220 Memoir of the late Marquis of Tweeddale 223 Announcement of General Index to the first three Series of ' The Ibis ' 232 Covers for binding last year's Volume may be had on application to the Publisher. Comnmuications may be addressed to the Editors, 0 Tenterden Street, Han- over Square, W. Advertisements &c. to the Publisher, John Van Voorst 1 Pateruoster Row, London, E.C. Members of the B. O. U. are requested to keep the Secretary, F. Du Cane GoDMAN, Esq., 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W., informed of any change of Residence, so that the Numbers of * The Ibis ' may be sent to them without delay. ^® FOURTH SERIES. ^^m Vol. III. No. 11. JULY 1879. Frice 6s. m^A HE IBIS, QUAETERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. EDITED BY OSBERT SALVIN, M.A., F.R.S., &c., AND PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.. BECRETAEY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OP LONDOIf. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATEENOSTEE EOW Annual Subscription, payable before 31si March each year, £1 Is. i I Va^ TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, PRINTERS,] [red lion court, fleet STREET. sJ;|^^ Price 10s. NOMENCLATOR AVIUM NEOTROPICALIUM : Sire avium, quae in Regione Neotropica hucusque repertoe sunt, nomina systematice disposita, adjccta cuj usque speciei patria. Acceduut generum et specierum novarum diagnoses. AuCTORIBtrs PHILIPPO LUTLEY SCLATER, A.M., Phil. Doct., ET OSBERTO SALVIN, A.M. R. H. PORTER, 6 TENTERDEN STREET, HANOVER SQUARE, W. BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. PRESIDENT. The Right Hon. Lord Lilford. SECRETARY. F. DuCane Godman^ Esq. COMMITTEE. J. Edmund Harting, Esq. Edward R. Alston, Esq. H. Seebohm, Esq. The President. "^ The Editors of ^The Ibis.^ > Ex officio. The Secretary. j The British Ornithologists^ Union was instituted in 1858 for the advancement of the science of Ornithology. Its funds are devoted primarily to the publication of 'The Ibis/ a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, of which twenty volumes have now been completed. The Union consists of Ordinary Members, Honorary Members (limited to ten), and Foreign Members (limited to twenty). Ordinary Members pay an admission fee of o€2, and an annual contribution of jgl on election, and £i on the 1st of January of each subsequent year. Ordinary Members and Honorary Members are entitled to receive a copy of 'The Ibis' gratis. Authors are entitled to 25 extra copies of their papers pub- lished in 'The Ibis,' on applying for them to the Secretary. The Election of Members takes place at the Annual General Meeting, held in April or May of each year. Persons wishing to become Members are requested to apply to the Secretary for infor- mation respecting Election. F. DuCANE GODMAN, Secret art/. 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W. The Editors of ' The Ibis ' are glad to receive copies of Books and Papers of any sort relating to Ornithology, which will be duly noticed in this Journal. List of Publications received since the issue of No. 10 and not noticed in the present number. 1. Sn.AJtPE. Contributions to the Ornithology of New Guinea. Parts v. & vi. (Trans. Linn. Sc. [Zool.] xiv.) 2. De Heldreicii. La Fauna de Grece. 8vo. Athenes, 1878. 3. Lawrence. A General Catalogue of the Birds noted from the Islands of the Lesser Antilles. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.) 4. Ramsay. Contributions to the Zoology of New Guinea. (Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. vol. iii.) 6. D'Albertis e Salvadori. Catalogo degli Uccelli raccolti da L. M. D'Albertis durante la seconda e terza esplorazione del Fiume Fly. (Ann. Mus. Civ. Geuova, xiv.) 6. Hartlaub. Ueber einige seltene Vogel der Bremer Sammlung. (Cab. J. f. O. 1879.) 7. Theel. NSgra bidrag till Novaja Semljas Fogelfaima. (CEfver. Kong. Veten.-Akad. Forh. 1870, No. 5.) 8. Theel. Beskrifuing ofver hufvudets-ben hos Anas boschas. 8vo : Stock- holm, 1872. 9. Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club. Vol. iv. No. 2. 10. Everard. Second Journey to the Kaieteur. 11. RoHWEDER. Beobachtungen liber den Einfluss der Witterung auf den Vogelzug. (Ornith. Centr. 1879.) 12. LaWence. Catalogue of a Collection of Birds obtained in Guadeloupe, (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., April 1879.) 13. CoLLETT. Om et Par for Norges Fauna nye Fuglearter. (Chr. Vid.- Selsk. Forh. 1877.) 14. CoLLETT. Norvege, Carte zoo-geographique, contenant iine liste conx- plete de tons les Auimaux Vertebres de Norvege. 4 sheets. Christiania, 1875. 15. CoLLETT. Mindre Meddelelser vedroreude Norges Fuglefauna i Aarene 1873-76. 8vo : Kristiania, 1877. 16. Reichenow und Schalow. Biographischen Notizen liber Omithologen der Gegeuwart. 17. Theel. Ornitologiska iakttagelser imder en resa i Norge sommaren 1870. (Sv. Jfigareford. Tidskrift, 1871.) 18. Hans Graf v. Berlepsch. Fine neue Gattung und neue Arten aus Siidamerika. (Ornith. Centralb. 1879.) CONTINUATION OF CONTENTS OF NUMBER XL Page Sharpe (two), Lord Clifton (two), Mr. T. M. Brewer, Hr. V. Pelzeln, Capt. J. W. P. Orde, and IL-. H. Gatke; Pro- posed Index to Reichenbach's ' Avium Systenia Naturale ;' New "Index Zoologicus," The New U".S. National Mu- seum at Washington; The Museum of Comparative Zo- ology, Hai-vard College, Cambridge, JNIass. ; Rare British Birds in the Zoological Society's Gardens. Obituary : Br. II. G. L. Reichenbach ; Valerian von Russow ; and Thomas Knight Salmon. Breeding of Darwin's Rhea ; Progress of Ornithology in India; Date of Prjevalsky's 'Bu-ds of Mon- golia;' Latest News from Heligoland; The generic Name Euchcetes ^^^ Covers for binding last year's Volume may be had on application to the Publisher. Communications may be addressed to the Editors, 6 Tenterden Street, Han- over Square, W. Advertisements &c. to the Publisher, John Van Voorst, 1 Paternoster Row, Loudon, E.C, Members of the B. 0. U. are requested to keep the Secretary, F. Du Cane GoDMAN, Esq., 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W., informed of any change of Residence, so that the Numbers of ' The Ibis ' may be sent to them without delay. CONTENTS OE NUMBER XI.— EOURTH SERIES. Page XX. Contributions to the Ornithology of Borneo. By R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S. &c. Part IV.— On the Birds of the Province of Lumbidan, North-western Borneo. (Plates VII. & VIII.) 233 XXI. Notes on a Collection of Birds' Skins and Eggs made by Mr. D. Gill, F.Il.A.S., on Ascension Island. By P. G. ^^ Penrose -^'2 XXII. l^otes on the 3Iilv us govinda oiSykes. By W. Edwin Brooks 282 XXIII. Additional Xotes on the Ornithology of Transvaal. By Thomas Ayres, Communicated by John Henrt Gurney 285 XXIV. On Melaniparus semilarvatus. By T. Salvadori, C.M.Z.S. (Plate IX.) 300 XXV. On the Systematic Position and Scientific Name of " le Per- roquet mascarin " of Brisson. By W. A. Forbes. . . 303 XXVI. Remarks on the Genus Sylvia and on the Synonymy of the ^ Species. By Henry Seebohm .... .... 308 XXVII. Remarks on the Second Part of Mr. Ramsay's ' Contributions to the Zoology of New Guinea.' By T. Salvadori, C.M.Z.S. 31 7 XXVIII. Report on the Ornithological Acquisitions of the British Museum in 1878 32 < XXIX. Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum.' By R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. ^ Gerney 330 XXX. Notes on the Birds of the Straits of Gibraltar. By L. Howard Irby 342 XXXI. Remarks on the Nomenclature of the British Owls, and on the Arrangement of the Order Striges. By P. L. Sclater 346 XXXII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications :— 48. Barboza du Bocage's ' Melanges Ornithologiques ' . . . .352 49. Barboza du Bocage on West- African Birds 852 50. Barrows's Catalogue of the Alcidte ... 353 51. Beccari's Ornithological letter from Sumatra 353 52. Bendire on the Birds of South-eastern Oregon 353 • 53. Cabanis on East-.lfrican Birds 354 54. Coues on the Birds of Dakota and Montana 354 55. Coues on the Birds of the Colorado Valley _ 355 56. Fischer and Reicbeuow on Birds from Zanzibar .... 355 57. Gibson on Birds from the Straits of Magellan 350 58. Gould's ' Birds of New Guinea ' 350 59. Hooker and Ball's Tour in Marocco 356 60. Lawi'ence on the Birds of Grenada 357 61. Merriam on the Birds of Connecticut 357 62. Meyer on the Sexes of JSclectus 358 63. Moseley's ' Naturalist on the Challenger ' 358 64. Miiller on the Vocal Organs of the Passeres 358 65. Newton on Hawking in Norfolk 359 66. Oustalet on a new Bronze Starling . ., 359 67. Pelzelu's Report ou the Progress of Ornithology in 1877 . 359 68. Ramsay on a new Ptilotis 360 69. Ramsay on a new Myiolestes 360 70. Ramsay on new Birds from Torres Straits and New Guinea 360 71. Ramsay on Birds from New Guinea 360 72. Reichenow's Catalogue of the Bird-show of the "^gintha." 361 73. Rosenberg's ' Malay Archipelago ' 361 74. Reinhardt on a new 3Iitua 362 75. Reinhardt on a Bird new to Greenland 362 76. Sharpe's Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum . . . 362 77. Sharpe on the Birds collected by Br. A. B, Meyer in New Guinea 363 XXXIII. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from Messrs. T. Salvadori, E. L, Layard (tvro), R. Bowdler (Continued on 3rd page of Wrapper.) FOURTH SERIES. Vol. III. No. 12. OCTOBER 1879. Frice 65. i^ m THE IBIS, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. EDITED BY OSBERT SALVIN, M.A., F.R.S., &c., AND PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.K.S. SECEETAEY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. LONDON: JOHN YAN VOOEST, 1, PATEENOSTEE EOW. Annual Subscription, jpayahJe hefore 31s< March each year, £1 Is. ; TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, PRINTERS,] [red lion covrt, pleet street. BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. PRESIDENT. The Right Hon. Lord Lilford. SECRETARY. F. DuCane Godman, Esq. COMMITTEE. J. Edmund Harting^ Esq. Edward R. Alston, Esq. H. Seebohm, Esq. The President. ~\ The Editors of 'The Ibis.^ >Eie officio. The Secretary. j The British Ornithologists' Union was instituted in 1858 for the advancement of the science of Ornithology. Its funds are devoted primarily to the publication of 'The Ibis/ a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology, of which twenty volumes have now been completed. The Union consists of Ordinary Members, Honorary Members (limited to ten) , and Foreign Members (limited to twenty) . Ordinary Members pay an admission fee of £2, and an annual contribution of £1 on election, and £1 on the 1st of January of each subsequent year. Ordinary Members and Honorary Members are entitled to receive a copy of ' The Ibis ' gratis. Authors are entitled to 25 extra copies of their papers pub- lished in 'The Ibis,' on applying for them to the Secretary. The Election of Members takes place at the Annual General Meeting, held in April or May of each year. Persons wishing to become Members are requested to apply to the Secretary for infor- mation respecting Election. F. DuCANE GODMAN, Secretary. 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W, and Papers of any sort relating to Ornithology^ which will be duly noticed in this Journal. List of Publications received since the issue of No. 11 and NOT noticed in THE PRESENT NuMBER. 1. Taczanowski. Quelques Mots sur les Pie-grieches a queue rousse de I'Asie Centrale. (Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1877.) 2. Salvadobi. Catalogo degli Uccelli delle Isole Kei. (Ann. Mus. Civ. Geneva, xiv.) 3. Beewee. Notes on tke Nests and Eggs of eight North- American Species of Empidoraces. (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1879.) 4. Dubois. Descriptions d'Oiseaux Nouveaux. (Bull. Ac. Roy. Belg. xlvii. June 1879.) 6. Dubois. Remai-ques sur la Faune de Belgique. (Bull. Acad. Roy. Belg. xlvii. June 1879.) 6. Laweence. A General Catalogue of the Birds noted from the Islands of the Lesser Antilles visited by Mr. Fred. A, Ober ; with a Table showing their Distribution and those found in the United States. (Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. i. pp. 48G-488.) CONTINUATION OF CONTENTS OF NUMBER XII. Page XLIX. Letters, Announcements, &c. : — Letters from E. L. Layard, H. W. Feilden, A. 0. Hume ; Date of and Birds figured in Prjevalsky's work on Mongolia, &c. ; Salvadori's Papuan Ornithology; Appointment of Major O. B. C. St. John, C.S.I., to the new Consulate of Astrabad ; News fi'om Dr. Finsch 484 Index, Titlepage, Contents, &c. Covers for binding last year's Volume may be had on application to the Publisher. Communications may be addressed to the Editoes, 6 Tenterden Street, Han- over Square, W. Advertisements &c. to the Publisher, John Van Vooest, 1 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. Members of the B. O. U. are requested to keep the Secretary, F. Du Canb GoDMAN, Esq., 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, W., informed of any change of Residence, so that the Numbers of ' The Ibis ' may be sent to them without delay. CONTENTS OE NUMBER XIL— EOURTH SEEIES. XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII. XXXIX. XL, XLI. XLII. XLITI. XLIV. XLV. XLVI. XLVII. XLVIII. \ "b Page Additional Notes on the Ornithology of Transvaal. By Thomas Atees. Communicated by John Heney Gtjrkey 389 Ornithological Notes from the Neighbourhood of Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. By Eknest Gibson, F.Z.S. 405 Descriptions of some new Tanagers of the Genus Buar- remon. By P. L. Sclatee and 0. Salvin. (Plate X.) 425 Remarks on certain Points in Ornithological Nomen- clature. By Heney Seebohm, P.Z.S 428 On a Collection of Birds from the Solomon Islands and New Hebrides. By H. B. Teistram, F.E.S. (Plates XI., XII.) 437 Ornithological Notes from Afghanistan. — No. I. By Lieutenant R. G. Waedlaw-Ramsay, 67th Regiment, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U 444 On the Orthography of some Birds' Names. By Henky T. Whaeton, M.A., P.Z.S 449 On a new Species of Rail from Macquarie Island. By P. W. Htttton, Professor of Natural Science in the Otago University 454 On Harpa novce-zealandice (Gmel.). By F. W. Htttton, Professor of Natural Science in the Otago University . 456 On a new Pheasant from the North-west Himalayas. By Capt. G. F. L. Maeshall 461 Notes on a ' Catalogue of the Accipitres in the British Museum ' by R. Bowdler Sharpe (1874). By J. H. GUENEY 464 On the Occurrence of Ninox borneensis in Java, and of a large Form oiScoj^s lempiji in Sumatra. By J. H. Gueney 470 On a new Thrush from the Loyalty Islands Group. By E. L. Layaed, C.M.G. &c., and H. B. Teisteam, F.R.S. 471 On a new Hawk of the Genus Urosjnzias, Kaup, from Bouru. By T. Salvadoei, C.M.Z.S 473 Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : — 78. Giiuther on a Land-Rail from Aldabra Island . . . 475 79. Berlepsch on new American Birds 475 80. Hartlaub on rare Birds of the Bremen Museum . . . 475 81. Harvie Brown on the Capercaillie in Scotland . . . 475 82. CoUett on the Norwegian Avifauna 476 83. Collett's Zoogeographical Map of Norway 476 84. Collett on two Birds new to Norway 477 85. Reicheuow and Schalow on the BiograpJiy of Orni- thologists 477 86. De Heldi'eich, ' Fauna of Greece ' 477 87. Dr. Coues on Private Letters of Wilson, Ord, and Bonaparte 477 88. Cecil Smith on the Birds of Guernsey 478 89. J. H. Gurney, Jun., on the Gannet of the Bass Rock . 478 90. Sharpe on the Ornithology of New Guinea .... 478 91. Elliot's Classiiication of the Trochilid(T- 479 92. Newton on moot Points in Ornithological Nomenclatm'e 480 93. Salvadori on Birds from Sumatra 480 94. Salvadori's ' Prodronms of Papuan Ornithology ' . . 481 95. D'Albertis and Salvadori on Birds of the Fly River . 482 96. * Bulletin ' of the Nuttall Ornithological Club . . .482 97. Gundlach's ' Ornithology of Cuba ' 483 (Continued on 3rd page of Wrapper.) ?;^ '£?TL 6"^