FOR THE PEOPLE

FOR EDVCATION

FOR SCIENCE

LIBRARY

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

T HE IB I S,

A

QUAllTEliLY JOUHNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY.

EDITED BY

PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., E.R.S.,

SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 01- LONDON,
AND

HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S.

VOL. V. 1887.
FIFTH SERIES.

Ibis avis robusta et multos vivit in aniios.

LONDON:

GURNEY AND JACKSON, 1 PATERN08TER ROW

(Successors to J. VAN VOORST.)

1887.

ALEHE 1 FLAMMAM.

PRtNTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RF,T) I.ION OOUUT, FLF.F.T STREET.

"^kw-i^^

PREFACE.

The Editors have now the pleasure of presenting to
the Members of the B. O. U. the twenty-ninth volume
of ' The Ibis,' which in value and interest will, they
trust, be found not unworthy to take rank with its
predecessors.

Although some of the older Members have discon-
tinued their ornithological work, others have taken
their places, and the Editors have found no lack of con-
tributions during the year. They are glad to say that
there is already in hand nearly sufficient MSS. for the
next Number, while other good papers are promised.
Amongst the latter the Editors hope to include a
general account by Mr. E,. S. Wray of his recent re-
searches on the Structure of the Bird's Wing, which
they consider to be one of the most important contri-
butions made to ornithological science during the
past year.

P. L. S.
H. S.

London, October 1st, 1887.

BRITISH ORNITnOLOGISTS' UNION.

1887.

[An asterisk indicates an Original Member.]

Date of
Election.

1881. William Randal, Earl of Antrim; St. James's Palace,

London, S.W.
1887. Frederick Charles Aplin ; Bodicote, Banbury.
1885. James Backhouse, Jun. ; West Bank, York.

1879. Valentine Ball, F.R.S. ; Science and Art Museum, Dublin.
5 1872. Hanburx- Barclay, Colonel, F.Z.S. ; Cross Oak, Great Berk-

hampstead, Herts.
1885. Hugh G. Barclay, F.R.G.S. ; Colney Hall, Norwich.

1884. Henry E. Barnes, Lieut. ; Commissariat Department, India.
1881. Richard Manlifpe Barrington, LL.B. ; Fassaroe, Bray, co.

Wicldow.

1885. E. F. Becher, Capt. R.A., F.Z.S. ; care of Rev. W. Becher,

Willow, Newark-on-Trent.
lo 1884. Frank E. Beddard, Prosector to the Zoological Society;
13 Castlebar Road, Ealing, Loudon, W.
1875. John Biddulph, Colonel, Bengal Staff Corps, Deoli, India.

1880. Edward Bidwell ; 1 Trig Lane, Upper Thames Street, Lon-

don, E.G.

1884. C. T. Bingham, Capt. ; Deputy Conservator of Forests,

Rangoon.
1873. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S. &c. ; 72 Bedford Gardens, Kensing-
ton, London, W.
1 5 1878. William Boerer, M.A., F.Z.S. ; Cowfold, Horsham.

1885. William F. Brockholes; Claughton-on-Brock, Garstang,

Lancashire.
1870, Sir Victor Brooke, Bart. ; Colebrooke, Fermanagh, Ireland.
1866. Henry Buckley, F.Z.S. ; 27 Whceley's Road, Edgbaston,

Birmingham.

VI

Date of
E lection.

18G8. Thomas Edward Buckley, B.A., F.Z.S.; Millerton, Inverness,

N.B.
20 1872. Sir AValter Lawry Buller, K.C.M.G., Sc.D., F.ll.S., &c.;

52 Stanhope Gardens, Queen's Gate, S.W.
1884. E. A. Butler, Lieut.-Col. ; Herringfleet Hall, Lowestoft.
1884. Geoffrey Powell Buxton ; Colney Hall, Norwich.

1879. Thojtas David Gibson Carmichael ; Castlccraig, Dolphinton,

N.B.
1884. Abel Chapman; 16 Roker Terrace, Sunderland.
25 1882. Robert William Chase; Southfield, Edgbaston Road, Bir-
mingham.

1880. William Eagle Clarke, F.L.S. ; 18 Claremont Road, Head-

ingley, Leeds.
. 1876. Edward Henry Stuart, Lord Clifton, F.Z.S. ; Dumpton
Park, Ramsgate.
1880. E. H. Cooper, Lieut.-Col. ; 42 Portman Square, London.
1874. John Cordeaux; Great Cotes, L'^lceby, Lincolnshire.
30 1882. Charles B. Cory ; 8 Arlington Street, Boston, Mass.,
U.S.A.

1882. Philip Crowley, F.Z.S. ; Waddon House, Croydon.
1877. J. J. Dalgleish ; 8 AthoH Crescent, Edinburgh.

1874. Charles Danford, F.Z.S. ; Conservative Club, St. James',
London, S.W.

1883. James Davidson ; 32 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh.
35 1884. William Ruxton Davison; Ootacamund, South India.

1883. Scrope B. Doig; Public Works Department, Bombay.
1880. Arthur Dowsett ; Castle Hill House, Reading.

1865. Henry Eeles Dresser, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; 6 Tenterden Street,

Hanover Square, London, W., and TopclyfFe Grange, Farn-
borough, Kent.
*Henry Maurice Drummond-Hay, C.M.Z.S., Lieut.-Col., Royal
Perth Rifles ; Seggieden, Perth.
40 1878. W. Arthur Durnford ; Elsecar, Barnsley.

1876. George LeC. Egerton, Lieut. R-JS".; The Lodge, Stoke Road,

Gosport.
1870. Daniel Giraud Elliot, F.R.S.E., «fcc. ; Fuller Buildings,
Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A.

1884. Algernon Elliott, 41 Holland Street, Kensington.

1866. Henry John Elwes, F.Z.S.; Preston, Cirencester.

45 1879. Arthur Humble Evans, B.A. ; 9 Harvey Road, Cambridge.

Date of
Election.

1873. H. W. Feilden, Lieut.-Col., F.Z.S., C.M.Z.S.; West House,

WeUs, Norfolk.
1886. Haeold Stuart Ferguson, Lieut. Nair Brigade ; Trivandrum,
Travancoro.

1884. Henry Ogg Forbes, F.Z.S. ; Rubislaw Den, Aberdeen.

1880. William Foster ; The Hill, Witley, Surrey.

50 1887. W. W. Fowler, M.A. ; Lincoln College, Oxford.

1865. Rev. Henry Elliott Fox, M.A. ; 12 South Eailey, Durham.

1881. Percy Etans Freke; 9 Sydenham Road, Dundrum, co.

Dublin.
1881. Hans Gadow, Ph.D. ; The New Museums, Cambridge.
1886. The Earl of Gainsborough ; Junior L^nited Service Club,
S.W.
55 1885. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, Bart. ; Thirkleby Park, Thirsk.
1879. Ernest Gibson ; 1 Elgin Crescent, Edinburgh.

*Frederick DuCane Godman, F.R.S., &c. ; 10 Chandos Street,

Cavendish Square, London, W.
*Percy Sanden Godman, B.A., C.M.Z.S. ; Muntham,
Horsham.

1874. H. H. Godwin- Austen, Lieut.-Col., F.R.S., &c. ; Shalford

House, Guildford.
60 1884. J. G. GooDCHiLD ; 28 Jermyn Street, London, S.W.

1886. William Graham ; Manor House, Crayford, Kent.

1878. Henry Grey, Bengal Staff Corps ; care of Messrs. Grindlay & Co.

1885. F. H. H. Guillemard, M.D. ; Eltham, Kent.

1876. Albert C. L. G. Gunther, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., &c. ; Keeper

of the Zoological Department, British Museum (IS^atural
History), London, S.W.
5r *JoKN Henry Gurney, F.Z.S. ; Xorthrepps Hall, Norwich.

1870. John Henry Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S. ; Keswick Hall, Norwich.

1887. John Pleydell Wilton Haines ; The Lodge, Gloucester.

1886. Edward Hamilton, M.D., F.L.S.; 49 Portugal Street, May-

fair, Loudon, W.

1877. Edward W. Harcourt, M.P. ; Nuneham Park, Abingdon,
yo 1883. Lewis Vernon Harcourt ; 7 Grafton Street, London, W.

1876. H. C. Harford, 99th Regiment ; Stapleton Lodge, Chelsea

Road, Southsea.

1877. E. Hargitt, F.Z.S. ; Broadwater Lodge, Broadwater, Worthing.
1868. James Edmund Harting, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; 6 Oxford and Cam-
bridge Mansions, London, N.W.

Date of
Election.

1873. JonNA.HARviE-BROWN,F.Z.S.; Dunipace House, Larbert,N.B.
75 1868. Rev. Herbert S. Hawkixs, M.A. ; Beyton llectory, Suffolk.
1887. Charles T. Herbert ; 12 Hereford Gardens, London, W.
1875. J. C. Hele ; Knowles, Newton- Abbot.
1884. C. J. HoLDswoRTH ; Wilmslow, Cheshire.
1877. E. W. H. HoLDswoRTH, F.Z.S. ; 84 Clifton HiH, St. John's
Wood, London, N.W.
8o 1881. Robert James Ho\yARD ; Blackburn, Lancashire.

*WiLFRiD Hudleston Htjdleston, M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.S. ; Oat-
lands Park, Weybridge.

1879. Baron A. von Hugel ; Cambridge.

1869. Allan Octavian Htjme, C.B. ; Simla, India.

1870. Hedworth Hylton-Jollifpe, Lord Htlton ; Merstham, Red

Hill, Surrey.
85 1870. Leonard Howard L. Irby, Lieut.-Col., F.Z.S. ; Army and
Navy Club, Pall Mall, London, S.W.

1886. Harry Berkeley James, F.Z.S. ; 16 Ashburn Place, Crom-
well Road, London, S.W.

1884. H. Hetwood Jones, F.Z.S.; Larkhill, West Derby, Liver-
pool.

1880. Henry Robert Kelham, Capt. 74th Highlanders ; Dagehai,

N.W. Provinces, India.

1874. Alexander W. M. Clark Kennedy, Capt., F.L.S., F.Z.S. ;

Henbury, Wimborne, Dorset.
90 1882. Philip M. Kermode; Seabridge Cottage, Ramsey, Isle of Man.
1882. Rev. Edw. Ponsonby Knubley, M.A. ; Stavely Rectory, Leeds.

1884. Herbert Langton ; 115 Queen's Road, Brighton.

1881. Hon. Gerald Lascelles; Queen's House, Lyndhurst.

1885. George Lawson, C.B.; 36 Craven Hill Gardens, Hyde Park,

London, W.
95 1870, Vincent Legge, Col., R.A. ; Commandant's Office, Hobart
Town, Tasmania.
1868. Hamon Le Strange, F.Z.S. ; Hunstanton Hall, King's Lynn,
Norfolk.

1875. Paget Walter Le Strange, Col. R.A. ; Glancothy, Nant-

garedig, R.S.O,, Caermarthenshire.

1886. Harold Littledale, B,A. &c. ; Vice-Principal, The College,

Baroda.
*Thomas Lyttleton, Lord Lileord, F,L.S., F.Z.S., &c. ; Lilford
Hall, OuiuUc, and 6 Tontorden Street, London, W.

Date of
Election.

loo 1874. John Hayes Lloyd, Major, F.Z.S. ; 30 Pulteney Gardens,Bath.

1877. J. LiTMSDEN ; Arden House, Alexandria, N.B.

1886. Erev. Hugh Aiexandee Macpheeson ; 3 Kensiugton Gardens

Square, "W.
1875. John Wingfield Malcolm ; 7 Stanhope Street, Mayfair,

London, W.

1878. Henry Stacy Marks, R.A., F.Z.S. ; 17 Hamilton Terrace,

St. John's AYood, London, J^.W.
105 1870. C. H. T. Marshall, Major, F.Z.S.; Superintendent, Chumba
State, via. Dalhousie, India.

1885. John Marshall, F.L.S. ; Belmont, Taunton,

1878. Eev, Murray A. Mathew, M,A., F.L.S, ; Stone Hall, Wolf's

Castle, Pembrokeshire.
1883. Edmund Gustavus Bloomfield Meade-Waldo; Kope HiU,

Lymington, Hants.

1886. John Gdille Mxllais, F.Z.S. ; 2 Palace Gate, Kensington, AV.
no 1879. Frederick Shaw Mitchell ; Clitheroe, Lancashire.

1864. Alexander Goodman More, F.L.S., &c. ; Science and Art
Museum, Dublin.

1887. George Morgan, Lieut.-Col. ; Biddlesden Park, Brackley.

1886. George Muirhead ; Paxton, Berwick-on-Tweed.
1885, Edward Neale ; 6 Tenterden Street, London, W.

1 15 1882. Thomas Hudson Nelson ; North Bondgate, Bishop Auckland,
Durham.
1876, Hugh ISTevill ; Newton Villa, Godalming,
1872, Francis D'Arcy William Clough Newcome ; FeltweU Hall,
Brandon, Suffolk.
*Alered Newton, M,A., F.Il,S,, F.Z.S.; Professor of Zoology

in the University of Cambridge.
*Sir Edward Newton, M.A., K.C,M,G,, F,L,S., C,M,Z.S. ;
Lowestoft,
120 1886. Howard Hill John Nicholls, M.E.C.S, ; The Moat, East-
bourne,
1876. Francis Nicholson, F.Z.S. ; Oakfield, Ashley Ed., Altrincham.

1887. George Cameron Norman ; Collingham House, Cromwell

Eoad, London, S.W.
1882. Eugene William Gates ; 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover
Square, London, W.
*Sir John W^. P. Campbell-Orde, Bart,, F,Z,S., late Captain,
42nd (Eoyal Highland) Eegiment; Eilmory House,
Lochgilphead, Argyllshire, N.B.

130

Date of
Election.

125 1883. Heney Paekee, C.E. ; Irrigation Office, Ceylon.

1880. Thomas Paekik, M.A., F.Z.S. ; Haltoii, near Hastings.
1884. E. L. Patterson, F.L.S. ; Croft House, Holy wood, co.

Down.
1886. E. Cambeidge Phillips ; The Elms, Brecon.
1886. E. LoET Phillips ; 22 Bolton Street, Piccadilly, W.
1883. Thomas Mayee Pike, M.A. ; Westport, Wareham.
1880. Chaeles Matthew Peioe; Adstock Manor, Winslow,

Bucks.
1872. R. G. Waedlaw Ramsay, Major, P.Z.S.; Coldliam Hall,

Wisbech.
1879. Heebeet Evelyn Rawson, F.Z.S. ; St. Stephen's Club, S.W.
1877. Savile G. Reid, late Capt. R.E. ; Ashridgewood, Wokingham.
135 1873. Sir Olivee Beatjchamp Coventey St. John, Colonel R.E. ;

care of Messrs, H. S. King & Co., 45 Pall Mall, London,

S.W.
1883. William Heebeet St. Quintin ; Scampston Hall, Rillington,

Yorkshire.
*Osbert Salvin, M.A., F.R.S., &c.; 10 Chandos Street, Lon-
don, W., and Hawksfold, Fernhurst, Haslemere.

1870. HowAED Saunders, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. ; 7 Radnor Place,

Hyde Park, London, W.
*Philip Lutley Sclatee, M.A., Ph.I)., F.R.S., &c. ; Zoological
Society of London,. 3 Hanover Square, London, W.
140 1881. J. Scully, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; care of Messrs. H. S. King & Co.,
45 Pall Mall, London, S.W.
1873. Heney Seebohm, F.Z.S. ; 6 Tentcrden Street, Hanover
Square, W., and 22 Courtfleld Gardens, London, S.W.

1871. Richard Bowdlee Shaepe, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; Senior Assistant,

Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History),

London, S.W.
1886. William Caestaies Shaav ; Bank of Madras, Ootacamund,

Nilgiris.
1870. G. Eenest Shelley, F.Z.S., late Captain, Grenadier Guards;

6 Tentcrden Street, Hanover Square, London, W.
145 1865. Rev. Chaeles William Shepheed, M.A., F.Z.S.; Trotters-

cUtfe Rectory, Maidstone, Kent.

1881. F. B. Simson: Broom Hill, Spratton, Northampton.

1882. Rev. Henry H. Slater, M.A., F.Z.S. ; Irchcstcr Vicarage,

Wcllingboro', Northam])ton.

Date of
Election.

1878. George Monlaw Slaughter, Brigade-Surgeon ; Farningham,

Kent.
1864. Eev. Alfred Charles Smith, M.A, ; Yatesbury Eectory,

Caliie, Wiltshire.
150 1874. Cecil Smith, F.Z.S. ; Lydeard House, Taunton, Somersetshire.
1881. Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S. ; 10 The Crescent, Chapel Field,

Norwich.
1875. A. C. Stark ; The Cottage, Whiteparish, near Salisbury.
1864. Henry Stevenson, F.L.S. ; 22 Unthauk's Road, Norwich.

1881. EoBERT Wright Studdy, Lieut.-Col. 2nd Manchester Eegi-

ment, India ; care of E. W. H. Holdsworth, 84 Clifton
Hill, St. John's Wood, London, N.W.
155 1887. Frederick William Sttan ; 23 Upper Bedford Place, Lon-
don, W.C., and Shanghai, China.
1887. John Swinburne ; Shona Ranch, St. John's, Apache Country,
Arizona, U.S.A.

1882. Charles Swinhoe, Col. Bombay Staff Corps, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ;

care of I. H. Wrentmore, 29 Bedford Row.
1884. W. C. Tait ; Oporto.

*Edward Cavendish Taylor, M.A., F.Z.S. ; 74 Jermyn Street,
London, S.W.
160 1864. George Cavendish Taylor, F.Z.S. ; 42 Elvaston Place,
Queen's Gate, London, S.W.

1873. William Bernhard Tegetmeier, F.Z.S. ; Finchley, Middlesex.
1886, Horace A. Terry, Lieut. 43rd Light Infantry; Burvale,

Walton-on-Thames.
*Rev. Henry Baker Tristram, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., &c.,
Canon of Durham ; The College, Durham.
1864. Henry Morris Upcher, F.Z.S. ; Sheringham Hall, Norfolk,
and Feltwell Hall, Brandon.
165 1881. WiLLOUGHBY Yerner, Capt. Royal Rifle Brigade ; 13 Bryan-
ston Square, W.
1884. A. S. Yesey ; 3 Campden YHlas, Barnes, S.W.
1886. H. D. Wade-Dalton, Major Middlesex Regiment ; Aldershofc.
1881. Thomas, Lord Walsingham, F.Z.S. ; Eaton House, Eaton
Square, London, S.W., and Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk.

1874. Charles Bygrave "Wharton, F.Z.S. ; Hounsdown, Totton,

Hants.
170 1878. Henry Thornton Wharton, M.A., F.Z.S. : 39 St. George's
Road, Abbey Road, London, N.AV.

xn

Date of

Election.

1884. Joseph Whitaker, F.Z.S.; Rainworth Lodge, Mansfield, Notts.

1887. Jeffery WniTEHEAD ; 8outhwood, Bickley, Kent.

1887. Scott Barchard Wilsobt ; Heatherbank, Weybridge Heath,

Surrey.
1871. E. Perceval Wright, M.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S., Professor of Botauy

in the University of Dublin.
175 1875. Charles A. Wright, F.Z.S. ; Kayhough House, Kew Gardens,

Kew.

1876. Claude W. Wtatt ; Addorbury, Banbury.

1878. John Young, F.Z.S. ; 64 Hereford Eoad, Bayswater, London,
W.

1877. J. H. Yule, Major, Devon Regiment; 41 Eaton Rise, Ealing.

Extra- Ordinari/ Member.

1860. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.Z.S. ; Nutwood Cottage, Frith
Hill, Godalming.

Honorary Memhers.

1886. Thomas Atres ; Potchefstroom, Transvaal.

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. Bremen,
5 1880. Heinrich Gatke, C.M.Z.S., Secretary to the Government of

Heligoland.
1860. Doctor Gustav Hartlaub, Bremen.
1860. Edgar Leopold Layard, C.M.G., F.Z.S., H.B.M. Consul, iVew

Caledonia.
1809. August von Pelzeln, Custos am k.-k. zoologischen Cabinete

in Wien.

Foreign Memhers.

1872. Prof. J. V. Barboza du Bocage, Royal Museum, Lisbon.
1875. Hans, Graf von Berlepsch, Miinden, Hannover.

1880. Louis Bureau, M.D., Ecole de medecine, Nantes.

1873. Prof. Robert Collett, Zoological Museum, Christiania.

5 1872. Doctor Elliott Coues, Smithsonian Institution, WasJdng-
ton, B.C.

Date of
Election.

1875. Marchese Giacomo Doria, Genoa.

1872. Doctor Victor Fatio, Geneva.

1872. Doctor Henry Hillter Giglioli, Ileal Instituto di Studi
Superior!, Florence.

1872. George N. Lawrence, New York.
^o 1872. Baron De Selys Longchamps, Liege.

1866. Doctor Julius yon Madarasz, National Museum, Buda-
Pesth.

1872. Doctor A. J. Malmgren, Hehingfors.

1883. Prof. Othniel Charles Marsh, Yale College, Newhaven,
U.S.A.

1881. Doctor Adolph Bernard Meyer, Director of the Royal
Museum, Dresden.
1 5 1872. Doctor A. yon Middendorff, Dorpat.

1872. Prof. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, Jardin des Plantes, Paris.

1881. General N. Prejeyalsky, Academy of Science and Art, St.
Petersburg.

1872. Prof. GusiAY Hadde, Tijlis.

1880. Robert Ridgway, C.M.Z.S., Smithsonian Institution, Wash-
ington, D.C.
2o 1872. Count Tommaso Salvadori, Zoological Museum, Turin.

CONTENTS OF VOL. V.— FIFTH SERIES.

(1887.)

Number XVII., January.

Page

I. A Review of the Species of the Family Ploceidce of the
Ethiopian Region. By Captain G, E. Shelley, F.Z.S. —
Part II. Phceiiice. (Plates I. & II.) 1

II. A List of Birds collected by Mr. Walter Ayres in Trans-
vaal and in Umzeilla's Country Ijing to the North-east of
Transvaal, between the 23rd and 2-ith degrees of South Lati-
tude and the 32nd and 33rd of East Longitude, with Notes by

the Collector. Communicated by John Henry Gfeney ... 47

III. On Empidonax hrunneus and its allied Species. By P.

L. Sclatee 64

IV. Observations in the Eastern Pyrenees. By James
Backhouse, jun QQ

V. Notes on Woodpeckers. — No. XIII. On Gecinus fforii,
and on the male of Poliojncns ellioti. By Edavard Hargitt,
F.Z.S 74

VI. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By William C. Tait,
Oporto 77

VII. On an apparently undescribed Hawk of the Asturine
Subgenus llrospizias, proposed to be called Urospizias jardinei.

By J. H. Gurney. (Plate III.) 96

XVI CONTENTS.

Page

VIII. On the Breeding-j^lumage of Podicrjjs occidentalis,
Lawrence. liy H. B. Tristram, D.D., E.ll.S 98

IX. On the Biillfinohcs of Siberia and Japan. By Henry
Seebohm 100

X. Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications : —

1. Beckham on the lluby-crowned Kinglet 103

2. Berlepsch on the Literature of the Trochilida) , . . 103

3. W. Blasius on the Birds of Celebes 104

4. Biittikofer on Birds from the Tenimber Islands . . 104

5. Biittikofer on a new Pericrocotus 105

6. Dubois on Birds from the Tanganyka District . . .105

7. Ferrari-Perez on Mexican Birds 105

8. Fischer and Pelzeln on the Birds of Jan Meycn . . 106

9. Godman and Salvin's ' Biologia Centrali- Americana ' . 107

10. Gould's ' Birds of Xew Guinea ' 108

11. Hartlaub on new African Birds 109

12. Huct on Additions to the Jardin des Plantcs . , . 109

13. Littleboy on the Birds of Hertfordshire 109

14. Meyer on some Birds from New Guinea 110

15. Milne-Edwards and Grandidier's ' Madagascar ' . .110

16. Nathusius on the Position of the Egg in the Oviduct . Ill

17. Nathusius on the Egg of /S^ra/7t?oZ?7/n(s Ill

18. Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society's Trans-

actions 112

19. Oustalet on anew Tetraophasis .112

20. Oustalet on Birds from Somali-land 113

21. Pelzeln and Kohl on Birds from Ceylon 113

22. Ridgway on Venezuelan Birds 113

23. Ridgway on (Estrelata sandwicliensis ] 14

24. Ridgway on Biifeo lalissimus 114

25. Shufeldt on the Osteology of Conurus . . . . .114

26. Smart on British Birds 115

27. Stejneger on Japanese Birds 117

28. Stejneger on the British Marsh Tit 118

29. Taozanowski's ' Ornithologie du Perou ' 118

30. Vorderman on the Birds of Western Java . . . .118

31. Wells on the Birds of Grenada 118

CO?J TENTS, XVI 1

Page
XI. Letters, Extracts, Xotices, &c. : —

Letters from Count T. Salvador! and Dr. A. B. Meyer; The
House Bunting of the Sahara and Marocco (Fringillana
Sahara:') ; Migration at Chicago ; The Ridgway Ornithological
Club ; Ornithological Works in Progress ; Exhibition at
Ekatei-inburg ; Xow Birds from the West Indies ; ' Stray
Feathers' : Obituary— Mr. A, E, Knox, Dr. G. A. Fischer . .119

XuMBER XVIII. , April.

XII. Description of a new Species of the Genus Setophaga.

By OsBERT Salvin, M.A., F.E.S., &c. (Plate IV.) .... 129

XIII. Notes on some Swiss Birds. By Scott B. Wilsojt . 130

XIV. Observations upon the Habits of Micropus melanoleucus,
with Critical Notes on its Plumage and External Characters.
By R. W. Shufeldt, C.M.Z.S., Capt. Med. Coq)s, U.S. Army.
(Plate V.) 151

XV. On Ftiho hahylonicus and Falco barbarus. By John

HfilfRT GURITET " 158

XVI. On a new Species of Trochalopteron from China. By

F. W. Styan, F.Z.S. (Plate VI.) 166

XVII. On Phasinnns colchicus and its Allies. By Henry
Seebohm 168

XVIII. Notes on the Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. By
Henry Seebphm. (Plate VII.) 173

XIX. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By William C. Tait,
Oporto. (Continued.) 182

XX. Notes on Birds in the Western Pacific, made in H.M.S.
'Constance,' 1883-5. By J. R. H. MacFarlane, Navigating-
Lieut., R.N 201

XXI. On a Collection of Birds from Foochow. By F. W.
Styan, F.Z.S 215

SER. V. VOL. V. b

XVIU CONTENTS,

Page

XXII. On an apparently new Species of Zosterops from
Madagascar. By H. B. Tristram, I),D., F.R.S 234

XXIII. The Polar Origin of Life considered in its bearing
on the Distribution and Migration of Birds, — Part I, By

H, B. Tristram, D.D., F.E.S 236

XXIV. Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications : —

32. 'The Auk' 243

33. Barboza du Bocage on Dupont's Lark in Portugal . . 244

34. Belgian Ornithological Report 244

35. Bianchi on a new Shrike 245

36. Bianchi on the Birds of the "Western Pamir .... 245

37. Bogdauow on a new Pheasant 245

38. The Bombay Xatural History Society 240

39. Booth on British Birds 246

40. Biittikofer on the Birds of Liberia 247

41. Biittikofer on Sumatran Birds 248

42. Guillemard's Cruise of the ' Marchesa ' 248

43. Harvie-Brown on North Rona 249

44. Lilford's ' British Birds ' 249

45. Macpherson on the Birds of Skye 250

46. Menzbier on the Migration Routes of Russian Birds , 250

47. Menzbier on a new Green "Woodpecker 251

48. ' Ornis,' Vol. I. No, 4, Vol. II. Nos. 1-3 . . , , 251

49. Oustalet on two new Species of Birds from the Cape

Verd Islands 252

50-52. Oustalet on new Birds from the Congo .... 253
53-54. On new or rare Species of Birds in the Paris Mu-
seum 253

55. Pelzeln and Lorenz on the Tj-pesin the Vienna Mu-

seum 254

56. Schperck on the Birds of the Amur 254

57. Shufeldt on Injuries to the Beak in Birds .... 254
58-59. Sousa on African Birds 255

60. S. Swinburne on Oceanic Birds 255

61. Vian on the Young in Down of the Ptilopcedes . . . 256

62. Vian on Asiatic "Warblers in Heligoland 257

63. Vorderman on the Birds of Borneo 257

64. Zaroudnoi and Menzbier on the Birds of the Trans-

Caspian Regions 257

CONTENTS. XIX

Page

XXV. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. : —

Letters f]-om Mr. J. H. Gurney and Canon Tristram ; ' Birds
of the Afghan Boundary ' ; Dr. Raddc's Trans-Caspian Exj)e-
dition ; Obituary — Mr. liobort Gray 258

Number XIX., Jidy.

XXVI. Notes on Mediterranean Ornithology. By Lord
LiLFORD. (Plate VIII.) 261

XXVII. On Horsfield's Woodcock, Scohpax saturata. By
Hehry Seebohm 283

XXVIII. Some Ilemarks on Suudevall's Account of the
number of Secondaries in Birds. By Henry Seebohji . . . 286

XXIX. Descriptions of new Species and Subspecies of Tro-
chilidoB. By Hans von Berlepsch 289

XXX. On some new or rare Palfearctic Birds, By Dr. M.
Menzbier, Professor in the University of Moscow. (Plate IX.) 299

XXXI. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By William C.
Tait, Oporto. (Continued.) 302

XXXII. A few Notes on British Guiana and its Birds. By

W. L. Sclater, B.A., F.Z.S 315

XXXIII. Ptemarks on the Species of the Genus Cydorhis.

By P. L. Sclater. (Plate X.) 320

XXXIV. Notes on a Collection of Birds from Kroonstad,
in the Orange Free State. By Edward Symonds. (Commu-
nicated by J. H. Gurnet.) 324

XXXV. Notes on the Birds of Natal and adjoining parts of
South Africa. By Henry Seebohm 336

XXXVI. Notices of Ilecent Ornithological Publications : —

65. Barboza du Bocage on new West- African Birds . . 352

66. Blakiston on the Water-Birds of Japan 352

67. Dubois on two new Birds 352

68. Gould's ' Supplement to the Trochilidcp. ' 352

XX COM'EM'S.

Page

69. Hartert on the Birds of the Niger District .... 353

70. Hoffmann on the Woodcock 35-4

71. Kolombatovic' on the Vertebrates of Dalmatia . . . 354

72. Lawrence on a new Thrash 354

73. Leverkiihn's ' Ornithological Excursions ' . . . . 354

74. Marshall on Changes in the German Avifauna . . . 355

75. Meyer and Helm on the Saxon Ornithological Stations 355

76. llidgway on a new Oj-stercatcher 355

77. Ridgway on a new Subspecies of Cijclorhis .... 356

78. Ridgway on a new Myiarchiis 356

79. Ridgway on a supposed Hj'brid Woodpecker . . . 356

80. Eidgway on a new Picolcqdes 356

81. Ridgway on Colours 356

82. Salvadori's ' List of Italian Birds ' 357

83. Stejneger on Pardalotus 358

84. Stejneger on a new Hail 358

85. Stejneger on a second European Ring-ouzel . . . 359

86. Stejneger's ' Review of Japanese Birds ' 359

87. Stejneger on t^ijntldihorhamphus wmnizusame . . . 359

88. Stejneger on Birds from the Liu Kiu Islands . . . 360

89. Wells and Lawrence on the Birds of Grenada, W. I. . 360

XXXVII. Letters, Extracts, Xotices, &c. ; —
Letters from Robert Ridgway, Esq., J. H. Gurney, Esq.,
A. Everett, Esq., Sir John AV. P. Campbell-Orde, and John J.
Dalgleish, Esq. ; Anniversary Meeting of the British Ornitho-
logists' Union, 1887 ; Song of Ci/pJiorJiiiius ; Structure of the
Penguins; Habits of the Oxpeckcr ; Birds of Diego Garcia . 361

NuMiiEK XX., October.

XXXVIII. On an apparently new Species of Zostero^is from
the Island of Anjuau, Comoro Group. By H. B. Tristram,
D.I)., E.R.S. (Plate XI.) 369

XXXIX. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By William C.
Taix, Oporto. (Concluded.) 372

CONTENTS. XXI

Page

XL. On new Species of Central-Asian Birds. By General
N. M. Pejevalsky. (Translated from the Russian by E.

DeLMAK MOEGAN.) • 401

XLI. Description of a rare Species of Plover from the

Cameroons Coast. By Captain G. E, Shelley, F.Z.S. . . . 417

XLII. Note on Baza ccijhnensis. By Samuel Bligh, of

Cattou, Coslanda, Ceylon. (Communicated by J. H. Gurney.) 419

XLIII. On the Structure of the Barbs, Barbules, and Bar-
bicels of a Typical Pennaceous Eeather. By Eichard S. Wray,

B.Sc. (London). (Plate XII.) 420

XLIV. Xotcs on the Birds of Teueriffe. By Capt. Savile

G. Eeid, ll.E 424

XLV. Notes on a Collection of Birds made by Mr. John
AVhitehead on the Mountain of Kina Balu, in Northern Borneo,
with Descriptions of new Species. By E. Bowdler Siiaepe,

F.L.S., &c. (Plates XIIL & XIV.) 435

XLVI. Notes upon the Northern Limit of the Italian Sparrow

{Passer ifalice). By H. M. Wailis 454

XLVII. Notices of Eecent Ornithological Publications : —

i)0. ' The Auk ' 456

91. Barboza du Bocage on new Birds from St. Thome. . 458

92. Bombay Natural History Society's Journal .... 458

93. British Association's Ileport on Migrations in 1886 . 458

94. Capen on the Eggs of the Birds of New England . . 459

95. Carazzi on some Italian Birds 460

96. Collett on new Norwegian Birds 460

97. Dixon (J. H.) on the Birds of Gairloch 460

98. Green on Ocean Birds 461

99. Hartlaub on Birds from Eastern Equatorial Africa . 461

100. Lawrence on new Neotropical Birds 462

101. Lorenz on the Birds of the Caucasus 462

102. Macfarland on the Euby-throated Humming-bird . . 463

103. Martin on the Birds of the Breune 463

104. More's ' Guide to the Dublin Museum ' 464

105. 'Ornis' 465

106. Eidgwey on a new Plumed Partridge 466

107. The Eidgway Ornithological Club's ' Bulletin ' . . . 466

XXU CONTENTS.

Page

108. Salvador! on Mrds from Sumatra and Nias Island . 467

109. Saunders's ' List of British Birds ' 467

110. Shufeldt's ' Contributions to Science ' 468

111. Sousa on the Birds of Dahomey 468

112. Stejneger on Brachyrhamphus perdix 468

XLVIII. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. : —

Letters from J. de La Touche ; Rev. H. A. Macpherson ; Dr.
A. B. Meyer ; Mr. R. B. Sharpe ; Lt.-Col. E. A. Butler, Lt.-Col.
H. W. Eeilden and Capt. Savile G. Reid ; Emin Pacha on the^
Birds of Lake Albert, Eastern Equatorial Africa : Nesting of
Nuafraga caryocatactes ; A new Fossil Bird from the Wealden ;
Guacharo-shootiiig in Trinidad ; Important Additions to the
New York Museum ; Obituary — -T. Henry Bowyer Bower, Sir
Julius von Haast, and Professor Spencer E. Baird .... 469

Index 481

Titlepage, Preface, List of Members, and Conteuts.

II.

PLATES IN VOL. V.

FIFTH SERIES.

Page

J Fig. 1. Ploceus gurneyi 17

I Fig. 2. Ploceus angolensis 18

r Fig. 1. Ploceus capitalis 34

I Fig. 2. Malimbus rubropersonatus 41

III. Urospizias jardinei 96

IV. Setophaga flavivertex 129

V. Micropus melanoleucus 151

VI. Trochalopteron cinereiceps 167

VII. Picus noguchii 178

VIII. Falco punicus 276

IX. Tharrhaleus pallidus 299

X. Cyclorhis atrirostris 324

■^j [ Fig. 1. Zosterops prsetermissa 1 ^^^

[ Fig. 2. Zosterops hovarum J

XII. Barbs and Barbules of Feathers 423

XIII. Chlamydochjera jefFeryi, d & 2 439

XIV. Arachnothera julise 451

ERRATA.

Page Line

18, 15 from bottom, for Calaphanfria read Cali/phantria.

26, 14 from top, for Hj/phornis read Hyphanfornis.

29, 17 from bottom, for hrantii read hrandtii.

30, 16 from bottom, for Tciifor read Textor.

32, 17 from bottom, for crythrothalma read erythrophtkalma.

112, top line, for Soclrfys read Society's.

115, 18 from top, for Northamptonshire read Nottinghamshire.

182, 18 from top, for arquatus read akquata.

276, 17 from top, for 1871 read 1761.
286, 2 from bottom, for arquatus read arquafa.
302, 5 from top, for rogallo read urogallo.

356, 17 from top, iov gaklncrii vquA gairdnerii.

THE I B I S.

FIFTH SERIES.

No. XVII. JANUARY 1887.

I. — A Review of the Species of the Family Ploceidae of the
Ethiopian Region. By Captain G. E. Shelley^ F.Z.S. —
Part II. Ploceinse.

(Plates I. & II.)

[Continued from ' The Ibis,' 1886, p. 359, and concluded.]

The second subfamily of the Ploceidae, Ploceinie, is distin-
guished by the larger size of the bastard primary, which is
never very sharply pointed ; the tail always square or
rounded, never elongated nor graduated ; the claws always of
moderate lengthy strong, and much curved.

The species of this group generally build in colonies, and
with few exceptions their nests are hung from the ends
of boughs or reeds^ and are spherical, with an elongated
entrance.

The members of this subfamily run so closely into each
other that I have only been able to base four genera upon
structural differences^ but have considered it advisable to
recognize two others, Plocepasser and Malimbus, separated
solely upon style of colouring, as they are well-marked
divisions and have been generally accorded generic rank.

SER. V. — VOL. V. B

2 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

The genus Ploceus iucludes a large number of more or less
well-marked " groups. ■" This term I prefer to subgenera, as
it does not necessitate the invention of new Latin names,
which I have no intention of employing ; but a comprehen-
sion of these groups will greatly simplify the classification
which I here propose.

Key to the Genera, of Vloceisje.

<t. With the base of the cuhnen formiuo- an angle
on the forehead in front of the eyes.
fl'. Nostrils touching the fiontal feathers.

fl^. Nostrils entirely covered by the frontal
feathers. Tail extending beyond the
wings by more than ]| length of tarsus.
Uuderparts white ; back earthy brown ;
forehead black, with the feathers edged
or tipped with white. Small : wing
rarely exceeds 2-5 inches in length.

Sexes similar in plumage 19. Sjwropipes, p. 3.

b^. Nostrils exposed. Tail shorter, never ex-
tends beyond the wings by 1| length of
tarsus, rarely by so much as the length
of the tarsus. Sexes generally dissimilar
in plumage.
b^. Entire underparts nearly white ; upper
back uniform earthy brown ; entu'e
crown uniform black or rufous. With

a broad white eyebrow 20. Plocepasser, p. 4,

c^. Never with a broad white eyeberow.
Never with the entire plumage black

and red 21. Ploceus, p. G.

cP. Entu-e plumage black and red 22. Malimhus, p. 39.

fe'. Nostrils not sufficiently basal to touch the
frontal feathers. With no yellow on the
plumage. Large : wings over 4 inches in

length. Sexes similar in plumage 23. Textor, p. 42,

b. With the base of the culmen not forming an
angle on the forehead in front of the eyes,
but extending back in a rounded ridge to a
line with the eyes. Bill very stout, culmen
evenly curved. Forehead and base of pri-
maries white in adults. Sexes similar in [p. 44.
plumage 24. Amblyospiza,

Ploceidce of the Ethiopian Region. 3

19. Sporopipes.
1847. Sporopipes, Cab. Arch. f. Naturg. Type. ■«

1847, p. 332 S. sqtiamifrons .

This is a well-marked genus; the covering of the nostrils
by feathers is a character entirely peculiar to it, and it shows
no very close affinities to any other of the genera. The nest,
which I believe to be well figured in Smith's 111. Zool. S. Afr.,
much resembles that of an Estrelda ; but the structural
characters of the two species, especially the possession of a
large bastard primary, refer them to the present subfamily.

Key to the Species.

a. Smaller. Back of the head and nape of the

same colour as the mantle 108. 8. squamifrons.

b. Larger. Back of the head and nape rufous,

mantle paler brown 109. »S'. frontalis,

108. Sporopipes squamifrons.

Estrelda squamifrons, Smith, Rep. Exp. Expl. Centr. Afr.
1836, p. 49.

Fringilla lepidopterus, Licht. 1842, fide Bp. Consp. i, 1850,
1836, p. 444.

Euplectes lepidopterus , Hartl. Syst. Verz. Brem. 1844,
p. 69.

Amadina squamifrons, Smith, III. Zool. S. Afr. 1844, pi. 95.

Sporopipes lepidopterus, Cab. Arch, f, Naturg. viii. 1847,
p. 332.

Philceter'us squamifrons, Strickl. & Sclater, Contr. Orn.
1852, p. 150.

Sporopipes squamifrons, Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. 1871, p. 61.

Hub. S.Africa: Matabele, Bamangwato, Transvaal, Orange
river. Great Naraaqua, Damara, and Benguela.

a, h. September and October, Matabele-land. c. January,
Rustenburg. These are all in full plumage.

109. Sporopipes frontalis.

Loxia frontalis, Daud. Traite Orn. ii. 1880, p. 445, Senegal.
Senegali a front pointelle, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805, p. 39,
pi. 16.

Fringilla frontalis, Vieill. N. D, xii. 1817, p. 181.

b2

4 Ciiptaiu G. E. Shelley on the

Amadina frontalis, Ptiipp. Neue Wirb. 1835-10, p. 101.

Estrelda frontalis, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 184-9,
p. 3G8.

Sporopipes frontalis, Cab. Mus. Hein, i. 1851, p. 179.

Hal). N.E., E., and W. Africa. South from about 17^ N.
hit. to Ugogo in E. Africa and Senegambia in W. Africa.

a, (J juv. February, Lado. The immature bird has no
white spots on the black forehead and moustaches.

20. Plocepasser.

1836. Plocepasser, Smith, Rep. Exp. Expl. Type.
Centr. Afr. 1836, p. 51 P. mahali.

1837. Agrophilus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i.

1837, p. 209 P. superciliosus.

1837. Leucophrys, Swains. Class. B. ii.

1837, p. 287, fig. 262 (head) .... P. inahali.
1851. Philagrus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. 1851,

p. 179 P. mahali.

The present genus shows, perhaps, slight affinities to
Sporopipes in its style of colouring. The latter is the sole
character on which I ' have separated it from Ploceus, to
which it is undoubtedly very closely allied.

Key to the Species.

a. Crown rufous. Rump and upper tail-coverts

brown 110. P. superciliosus.

b. Crown blackish. Eump and upper tail-coverts

white.
6\ With no trace of spots on the throat.
V^. Eyebrows, breast, and white on wing-
coverts slightly shaded with buff. The
white ends to the greater coverts nar-
rower 111. P. mahaJi.

c". With no shade of buft' on the white

portions of the plumage. The white [^i-hijnchus,

ends to the greater coverts broader . . Subsp. 112. P. melanu-
c\ With blackish spots on the throat and
crop.
(P. Bill black. Spots on the throat darker 113. P. pectoralis.
e^. Bill pale brown. Spots on the throat

less distinct 114. P. p7'apinQuaius.

PloceicUe of the Ethiopian Region. 5

110. Plocepasser superciliosus.

Ploceus superciliosus, Hiipp. Cretzschm. Atlas, 1826, p. 24j
pi. 15, Kordofan.

Agrophilus superciliosus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i, 1837, p. 209.

Plocepasser superciliosus, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. 1845, p. 78.

Passer rilppeli, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 510.

Philagrus super ciliaris, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. 1871,
pp. 536, cxxviii.

Hab. N.E. and W. Africa. Between about 16° and 9°N.
lat. ill E. Africa and Senegambia.

111. Plocepasser mahalt.

Plocepasser mahali. Smith, Rep. Exp. Expl. Centr. Afr.
183G, p. 51, N. of Orang-e river; id. 111. Zool. S. Afr. 1841,
pi. 65.

Leucophrys pileatus. Swains. Class. B. ii. 1837, p. 287,
fig. 262 (bead).

Philagrus mahali. Cab. Mus. Hein. i. 1851, p. 179.

Agrophilus hamatocephalus , Licht. Noioencl. 1854, p. 50
(type exam.).

Plocepasser pileatus, Layard, B. S. Afr. 1867, p. 187.

Hab. S. Africa, north of about 30° S. lat., Matabele,
Transvaal, Griqualand, Damara, Lake Ngami, and Benguela.

There is a black-billed specimen in the British Museum,
collected by Mr. Gates in Matabele-land, which is nearly
intermediate between this form and P. melanorhynchus.

112. Subsp. a. Plocepasser melanorhynchus.
Plocepasser melanorhynchus, Biipp. Syst. Uebers. 1845,

p. 78, Shoa.

Ploceus superciliosus, Des Murs (nee Riipp.) in Lefebvre's
Voy. Abyss. 1845-50, p. 110, Atlas, jjI. 9. fig. 2.

Agrop)hilus melanorhynchus, Licht. Nomencl. 1854, p. 50.

Plocepasser mahali, Antin. (nee Smith), Cat. 1864, p. 67.

Philagrus mahali, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. 1871, p. 537.

Philagrus melanorhynchus, Heugl. t. c. p. 538^ ph 31,
A pp. p. cxxviii.

Hab. N.E. and E. Africa. Between about 13 N. lat. and
2'^ S. lat., from Abyssinia to Ukambani.

6 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

113. Plocepasser pectoralis.

Philagrus pedoralis, Peters, J. f. O. 18G8j p. 133, Inliam-
bani (type exam.).

Hab. S. Africa, from the Zambesi to Inhambani.

In the British Museum there are three specimens from
Tette, on the Zambesi ; they differ from P. mahali in having
the bill black, the mantle of a rather more rufous shade, and
in the feathers of the crop having large dark brown lanceolate
centres.

114. Plocepasser peopinquatus.

Plocepasser propinquatus, Oustalet, MSS. in Paris Mus.,
Somali.

Hab. E. Africa, Somali.

As I have not seen a printed description of this bird, I
here give the notes I took from the type specimen when in
Paris last year. Very similar to P. melanorhynchus , but
diflFering in the bill being pale brownish, the sides of the
head paler, with black sides to the white throat much more
distinctly marked. The feathers of the crop with pale brown
centres. Wings similar in colouring to P. melanocephalus,
but about \ inch shorter. Tail-feathers with broad white
ends.

21. Ploueus. Type.

1817. Ploceus, Cuv. Regne An. i. p. 406 P.philippinus.
1837. Sympledes, Swains. B. W. Afr.

i. J). 170 P. bicolor.

1837. Eupodes, Jard. & Selby, 111. Orn.

pi. 10 P. bicolor.

1849. Hrjphantornis , Gray, Gen. B. ii.

p. 351 P. cucullatus.

1850. Foudia, Reichb. Av. Syst. Nat.

1850, pi. 79 P. madagascariensis .

1850. Nelicurvius, Bp. Consp. i. p. 439 P. pensilis.

1850. Sitagra, Reichb. 1850, fide Cab.

Mus. Hein. i. 1851, p. 181 . P. luteolus.

1851. Sycobrotus, Cab. Mus. Hein. i.

p. 182 ....... . P. bicolor.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 7

1851. Hijphanturgus, Cab. t. c. p. 182. P. ocularius.

1860. Calyphantria, Heiue^ J. £. O.

1860^ p. 144 (nom. emend, pro

Foudia) P. madagascariensis.

1861. Ploceolus, Keiclib. Singvog. p. 77 P. luteolus.
1861. Xanthophilus, Reichb. t. c. p. 84 P. aureoflavus.
1861. Oreolinus, Reichb. t. c. p. 84 . P. subaureus.
1861. Anaplectes, Reichb. t. c. p. 86 . P. melanotis.
1874. Ploc'eella, Oates in Hume's Nests

& Eggs Ind. B. ii. p. 443 . . P. hypoxanthus.
1878. Sharpia, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb.

1878, p. 258 P. angolemis.

1881. Icteropsis, Pelz. Verb, zool.-bot.

Ges. Wien, 1881, p. 149 . . P. ocularius.
1885. Melanopteryx, Reichen. Zool.

Jabrb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 125. P. nigerrimus.
1885. Cinnamopteryx, Reichen. t. c.

p. 126 P. castaneofuscus.

Key to the Groups.

A. Breast grey, pale browu, olive, or red. Sexes

dissimilar iu plumage I. 'Foudia ' Group.

B. Breast white. Bill slender and generally

orange-red; when blackish the throat is

white II. Anaplectes Group.

C. Breast entirely yellow, Entire upper parts

and sides of the head black or brownish
black. Bill rather slender and bluish,
paler towards the cutting-edges. Sexes
similar in plumage III. Symplectes Groxip.

D. Breast yellow or white. Throat yellow.

Sides of the head black. BiU black and [throated Group,

moderately strong IV. Black-eared Yelloio-

E. Breast yellow. Sides of the head yellow,

with a black band through the eye in
both sexes. Males with the throat black ;
females with the throat yellow. Bill
rather slender and black V. Hyphanturgus Group.

F. Entire underparts bright yellow. Witli no

black on the head. Bill black and variable

in strength, Sexes similar in plumage , . VI. Yellvw Group.

8 Captain G. E. Shelley o)i the

G. With a large portion of the plumage bright

yellow. Portion of the throat and portion

of the sides of the head black. Wings

brown, the feathers edged with olive or [loiv Group.

yellow. Sexes dissimilar in plumage ... . YIl. Black-headed Yel-
H. With no yellow on the underparts, which

are black or chestnut in adult males. '[Group.

With no red on the plumage VIII. Dark-coloured

Key to the Species.

A. FouDiA Group.

a. Breast grey. Under tail-coverts chestnut.

a\ Crown and sides of the head black 115. P. nelicourvi, c?.

¥. Crown and ear-coverts olive shading in

yellow in front -P. nelicourvi, $ .

b. Breast brown, olive, or red; under tail-

coverts never chestnut. Mantle brown,
olive, or red, with more or less di.?tinct
dark centres to the feathers,
c^ Head and neck yellow. Bill very stout . . WQ. P. sakalava.
d^. Plead, neck, and rump scarlet.

d'K With no black band through the eye.

Mantle olive-shaded brown. Bill \jnus.

stout 117. P. eminentissi-

e^. With a black band through the eye. [icnsis.

e^. Mantle red. Bill stouter ]18. P. madagascar-

f^. Mantle brown. Bill slender 119. P. ruber.

e*. Head and neck never uniform yellow.
Plead, neck, and rump never red. Bill
slender.
/^. Head and throat yellow, shaded with

red on the forehead and cheeks 120. P.Jlavicans.

g^. General plumage olive, with the crown

and throat shaded with yellow 121. P. seychcUensis.

B. Anaplectes Ghotjp.

a. Bill orange-red. The quills broadly edged
with bright yellow or red. The head and
neck red in full}^ adult males.
a}. Quills broadly edged with yellow. Head
and neck yellowish in the females.
o'**. With no black on the ear-coverts .... 122. P. rubriceps.
b^. With the ear-coverts black, partially

washed with red 1 23. P. gurneyi.

ft\ Quills broadly edged with red. Sides of

the head black 124. P. melanotis.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopimi Region. 9

b. Bill blackish brown. Quills not edged with
yellow or red. Throat white, like the
breast. Upper parts blackish brown, with
the rump pale yellow; the upper back
mottled with white ; the median and
greater wing-coverts with white ends .... 125. P. angolensis.

C. Symplectes Group.

a. Entire upper parts and the throat jet-black . 12G. P. kersteni.

b. Upper parts dark brown, with narrow whitish

edges to the quills. Throat not black.
b^. Feathers of the forehead and throat brown,

tipped with white 127. P. stictifrom.

c\ Forehead uniform brownish black.

c^ Chin white, shading into yellow on the
lower throat. Upper throat occa-
sionally mottled with blackish. Upper
half of the head uniform with the

back 128. P. bicolor.

cP. Throat brown, slightly mottled with

whitish. Upper half of the head [cephahis.

darker than the back 129. P. amawo-

D. Black-eared Yellow-throated Group.

a. Back of the neck and upper back olive.

Crown yellow in both sexes 130. P. haglafect.

b. Crown yellow in male, black in female.

6\ Back of neck and upper back black and
ashy brown. Abdomen and under tail-
coverts buff' 131. P. emini.

c^. Back of neck and upper back black. The

entire uuderparts bright yellow 132. P. reichenoivi.

E. Hyphanturgus Group.

a. Back, tail, and wings black or brownish

black. Males with the sides of the head

and crown yellow, the black ocular baud

scarcely extending behind the eye ; females

with tlie crown black and the black ocular

band extending back so as to join that

colour on the nape, thus forming a distinct

yellow eyebrow.
a}. Slightly paler above; rump, tail, and

edges of the quills tinted with olive .... 133. P. niyricoUis.
J?. Back, wings, and tail entirely jet-black. . 134. P. melanoxanthus.

10 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

b. Back, tail, and wing, when'closed, nearly uni-
form olive. Crown and sides of the bead
nearly similar in both sexes, the black there
being confined to a well-marked ocular
band.
c\ Bill rather more slender. Males with the
head slightly paler and with an olive
shade on the nape. Females with the
crown very similar to the male's ; throat
and sides of the head more strongly

tinted with chestnut 135. P. ocularius.

d}. Bill rather stouter. Males with no olive
shade on the nape ; yellow of the head
darker, being more strongly tinted with
chestnut. Females with the crown olive,
only passing into yellow on the fore-
head ; throat pale yellow ; sides of the
head with scarcely any trace of chestnut
shade 136. P. hrachypterus.

F. Yellow Group.

fl. Much larger : wings more than 3 inches.
fl\ With a strong chestnut shade on portion
of the head and neck.
a^. Entire front half of the head and the

throat shaded with chestnut 137 P. capensis.

P. Upper half of the head and sides of the
neck shaded with chestnut. Chin and

upper throat bright yellow 138. P. jn-inceps.

c'. Crown, nape, and sides of the neck
bright yellow. Entire throat and

cheeks strongly shaded with chestnut. 139. P. xanthoptterus.

h^. With no strong chestnut shade on the

plumage.

d"^. General plumage slightly more olive.

Inner webs of the quills narrowly

edged with ^buff. The tail-feathers

darker, and with no pale edges 140. P. xanthops.

e*. General plumage sHghtly yellower. The
inner webs of the quills and tail-
feathers broadly edged with bright

yellow 141. P. siibaureus.

b. Much smaller : wings less than 3 inches,
c^ Upper back uniform. No chestnut tm the
forehead.

Ploceidne of the Ethiopian Region. 11

/*. Upper back olive. Wiugs dark brown,
with strongly coutrastiug yellow edges
to the featliei-s. Head and nnderparta
deep yellow. Throat shaded with

chestnut 142. P. aurnntius.

y^. Back, wings, and tail when closed
nearly uniform yellow.
g^. Head and throat duller yellow, with

a slight chestnut tinge 143. P. aureoflavus,

h^. Head and throat of a bright orange

shade 144. P. hojeri.

d}. Upper back olive, streaked with dark
centres to the feathers. Forehead and
cheeks cbestnut 145. P. galhula.

G. Black-headed Yellow Group.

a. Bill very stout. Sides of the head and upper

half of the throat black in both sexes.
The male has the crown yellow ; the
female has it black, shading into olive on
the nape, and bounded on each side by a
broad yellow eyebrow. This eyebrow, in
the birds out of plumage, is brownish buff
and always strongly marked 146. P. superciliosus,

b. Bill weaker and variable in strength. Fe-

males with no black on the plumage.
6\ With no black on the centre of the fore-
head.
b^. Crown strongly shaded with chestnut.
b^. Black of the throat not extending
further down than in a line with
the back of the ear-coverts. Ear-
coverts black 147. P. vitellinus.

c3. Black of the throat extending to the
crop. Ear-coverts chestnut and

yellow 148. P. tceniopterus.

(?, Crown not shaded witb chestnut.
d^. Upper back strongly mottled with
jet-black, owing to the feathers being
of that colour with broad yellow

ends. Wing 3"5 inches 149. P. spilonotus.

e^. Upper back mottled with brownish
black, owing to the centres of the
feathers being of that colour with
their sides yellow, thus giving a

12 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

somewhat streaked appearance. The
dark colour shows mostly towards
the base of the neck, thus forming
a partial ill-defined collar. Wing

3"3 inches 150. V. spekh.

p. Upper back uniform yellowish olive.

Wing 2"7 inches 151. P. Jinujlini.

c\ With an entirely black forehead. Black of
the throat extending to the crop. Entire
sides of the head black.
rf*. With no portion of the back black.
if. Black of forehead narrow, not ex-
tending over the entire front half of

the crown. Bill stout 152. P. velatus.

(/*. Slightly smaller : wing 2-9 to 3-1

inches. Yellow of crown slightly

more shaded with chestnut next

to the black forehead.

(/'. Brighter. Back yellower. Edges

of the wing-feathers bright

yeUow 1st var.

h^. Duller. Back more olive. Edges

of the wing-feathers pale buflf. . 2nd var.
A^ Slightly larger : wing 3-3 to 3-4
inches. Yellow of crown slightly

more uniform ord var.

h^. Black of foreliead extending over the
front half of the crown. Nape not
black.
1*. Upper back olive. Chest yellow,
i'. Small : Aving less than 2-5 inches.
Bill comparatively long and
slender,
e". Back of the head uniform
deeper yellow. Back and
rump uniform olive. Wing-
feathers more narrowly edged

with olive 153. P. pnsonrifits.

f. Back of the head paler and
shaded with olive towards
the neck. Back slightly paler
and yellower, and inclining
to bright yellow on the rump.
Wing-feather.s broadly edged
with huffish yellow 151. P. hUcolmt.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 13

;'. Larger : wing more than 2*5
iaclies.
A". Slightly smaller. Under sur-
face of the wings not so
yellow ; under wing-coverts
and inner margins of the
quills buff. Above, edges of
the wing-feathers not so
broad and not such bright
yellow. Bill slightly longer
and more slender,
k"^. Bill slightly more slender.
Back and the wings when
closed nearly miiform olive 155. P. subpersonatus.

P. Bill slightly stouter. Mar-
gins of the wing-feathers
more buff or yellower than

the back 156. P. inter medius.

l^. Slightly larger: wing 3 inches.
Under surface of the wings
yellower ; under wing-co-
verts and broad inner margins
to the quills bright lemon-
yellow. Wing - feathers
broadly edged with yellow.
Bill slightly stouter and [cephalus.

shorter 157. P. melano-

k^. Upper back yellow like the nape.

Chest chestnut 158. P. dimidiatiis.

Z*. Entire back yellowish chestnut.
Wing-coverts broadly edged with
that colour. Chest chestnut .... 159. P. badius.
. Entire head including the nape black.
to'. Smaller : wing less than 3 inches.
Back yellow, slightly tinted with
olive. Wing-feathers broadly
edged with bright yellow. Under-
parts deep yellow, shaded with
chestnut towards the black of the

throat IGO. P. capitalis.

«■*. Larger : wing about 4 inches.
Back olive-yeUow, with obscure
dusky centres to the feathers.
Beneath yellow, shading into a
chestnut collar next to the black. IGl. P. yrandis.

14 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

e^. Back yellow and jet-black.

li^. Upper back evenly mottled, owing
to all the feathers being black with
broad yellow ends.
0*. Black of the head and throat sur-
rounded by chestnut, which ex-
tends over a portion of the chest . 162, P. cinctus.
p'^. Black of the head and throat sur-
rounded by yellow 1G3. P. niyriceps.

P. Upper back with a central angular
yellow patch, some of the feathers
being entirely yellow, and with a
broad black band down the sca-
pulars, some of the feathers being
entirely black.
5*. With the black of the head en-
tirely sm-rounded by a band of

deep chestnut 164. P. cicciiUatt/.'t.

r*. With the black of the head not
siuTounded by chestnut. Nape
yellowish chestnut 165. P. ahyssinicus.

H. Daek-coloitbed Gbotjp,

a. Wings and tail brown, with pale edges to
the feathers. Head and neck black, entire

body chestnut 166. P. ruhiginosus.

h. Wings and tail uniform black.

6^ Back, abdomen, and under tail- coverts

chestnut. Head, neck, and chest black . 167. P.castaneofuscus.
c\ Lower back black.

c^. Portion of the plumage chestnut.

c^. With a large yellow patch on the
upper back. Breast bright chest-
nut. Head, neck, thighs, and under

tail-coverts black 168. P. tricolor, S ad.

d^. Head, neck, part of upper back,
and the breast yellowish chestnut,
shading into dusky brown on the
flanks, abdomen, and under tail-
coverts P. tricolor, $ vel juv.

d/^. Entire plumage black 169. P. niyerrimus.

115. Ploceus nelicourvi.

Parvus nelicourvi, Scop. Flor.'et Faun. Insub. 1786, p. 96.

Loxia pensilis, Gm. S. N. i. 1788, p. 860.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 15

Ploceus pensilis, VicilL N. D. xxxiv. 1819^ p. 128; Milne-
Edw. & Grandid. Hist. Madag. Ois., Atlas, ii. pis. 179, 180.

Ploceus nelicourvi, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 352.

Nelicurvius pensilis, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 439.

Htjphantornis pensilis, Hartl. Vog. Madag. 1 877, p. 210.

Nelicurvius nelicourvi, Bartlett, P. Z. S. 1879, p. 771.

Hab. E. and N.W. Madagascar.

" Parvus/' Scop., being an adjective, cannot be employed
for a genus and, besides, it was no doubt an error for Parus.

116. Ploceus sakalava.

Ploceus sakalava, Hartl. Faun. Madag. 1861, p. 54; Milne-
Edw. & Grandid. Hist. Madag. Ois., Atlas, ii. pis. 177a,
178 ; Reicheu. Zool. Jalirb. Jena, i. 1886, pi. 5. fig. 2.

Hab. W. Madagascar.

117. Ploceus eminentissimus.

Foudia eminentissima, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 446, E. A£r.
(type exam.) ; J. Verr. Nouv. Arch, du Mus. iii. 1867, p. 7,
pi. 2. fig. 2, Zanzibar.

Ploceus algonda, Poll. P. Z. S. 1866, p. 423, Mayotte ;
Poll. & Schl. Faun. Madag. pi. 34.

Calyphantria comorensis, Cab. V. d. Decken's Reisen, iii.
1869, p. 31, pi. 10, Mayotte.

Caly23hantrla eminentissima, Cab. 1. c.

Foudia algonda, Hartl. Vog. Madag. 1877, p. 216.

Foudia comorensis, Hartl. t. c. p. 217.

Hab. E. Africa and Comoro Islands. Zanzibar Island,
Zambesi, and the islands of Mayotte, Anjuan, and Great
Comoro.

I examined in the Paris Museum some specimens of this
species, collected by M. Humblot in Great Comoro, with a
new MS. name on the labels, which I trust may never be
published.

118. Ploceus madagascariensis.

Bruant de I' Isle de Bourbon, Daub. PI. Enl. 321.
Loxia madagascariensis, Linn. S. N. i. 1766, p. 300.

16 Captain G. E. Slielley on the

Fringilla bruante, P. L. S. Miill. Naturs. Suppl. p. 164.

Emberiza fuscofulva, Bodd. Table d. PI. Enl. 1783, p. 20.

? Emberiza borbonica, Gm. S. N. i. 1788, p. 886, ex Bufl".

Foudi, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805, p. 96, pi. 63.

Fringilla madagascariensis, Vieill. N. D. xii. 1817, p. 235.

Euplectes ruber, Swains, (nee Gm.), An. in Menag. 1838.
p. 309.

Ploceus madagascariensis, Hartl. Ann. & Mag. Hist. Nat.
ser. 2, ii. 1848, p. 389; Milne-Edw. & Grandid. Hist. Madag.
Ois., Atlas, ii. pis. 181, 182.

Foudia madagascariensis , Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 445.

"^ Foudia borbonica, Reiclih. Singvog. 1861, p. 69, pi. 31.
fig. 248.

Calyphantria madagascariensis. Cab. V. d. Decken^s Reisen.
iii. 1869, p. 31.

Hab. Madagascar, and as an introduced bird in Mauritius,
Reunion, Seychelles, and Mohilla.

In the Paris Museum there is a specimen of P. madagas-
cariensis from Reunion, which is orange-yellow instead of red.
This abnormal colouring is due, I have no doubt, to its having
been caged.

119. Ploceus ruber.

Moineau de I' Isle de France, Daub. PI. Enl. 665.

Red-headed Finch, Brown, 111. 1 77Q, pi. 28. fig. 2.

Emberiza rubra, Gm. S. N. i. 1788, p. 877, ex Buff.

Fringilla erijthrocephala, Gm, t. c. p. 903, ex Brown.

Fringille cardinaline, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805, p. 52,
pi. 28.

Ploceus erythrocephalus. Swains. An. in Menag. 1838,
p. 308.

Foudia erythrocephala, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 445.

Foudia martineti, " Gray,^' Miill. J. f. O. 1856, p. 114.

Foudia rubra, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 68, pi. 31. figs. 244,
245.

Hab. Mauritius.

a, ad. Mauritius {Paris Mas.), b, ? . Mauritius {Bew-
sher, Shelley Mas.).

r^^"'" , P.O. '^^

^A,

KT^i'

J VORK

'^%4;jV4 TUBAL

vNs^:^

lbi,s.l887,Pl.L

.1 ,(l,Keulf,.rriiLn;; i. jh.

tfa.nha.i-lv jmp.

I.PI.OCKLJS CtURNEYI.
2.PL0CEU.S ANGOLENSJS

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 17

120. Ploceus flavicans.

Foudia flavicans,E. Newton, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 47, pi. 1.
figs. 1, 2, Eodriguez Island.

Ploceus flavicans, Sclil. P. Z. S. 1866, p. 424.
Hab. Island of Rodriguez.

121. Ploceus seychellensis.

Foudia seychellarum, E. Newton, Ibis, 1865, p. 353, note,
Marianne Island.
Hab. Seychelles.

122. Ploceus rubriceps.

Ploceus (Hyphantornis) rubriceps, Sundev. CEfv. K. Vet.-
Ak. Fork. Stockli. 1850, p. 97, Limpopo.

Sycobius rubriceps, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 438.

Anaplectes rubriceps, Reiclib. Singvog. 1861, p. 87.

Malimbus rubriceps, Elliot, Ibis, 1876, p. 466, pi. 13.
fig. 2,c?.

Sharpia ayresi, Shelley, Ibis, 1882, p. 353, pi. 7. fig. 2.

Hab. S. Africa: Matabele and Transvaal.

The type of my Sharpia ayresi agrees perfectly with two
other specimens I have examined in the British and Berlin
Museums, supposed to be females of P. ruficeps, and I have
been led to consider that my type was either not in full
plumage or a female, although it was sexed as a male by
Mr. T. Ayres, who is generally most accurate, and both he
and Mr. J. S. Jameson, who were present when it was shot
out of a colony then breeding, assured me they never saw a
red-headed specimen.

123. Ploceus gurneyi. (Plate I. fig. 1.)

Sycobius rubriceps, Bocage (nee Sundev.), Jorn. Lisboa,
1877, p. 275.

Hab. Benguela.

This species is very similar to P. rubriceps, from which it
differs in having the ear-coverts black, slightly washed with
red. The chin, space in front of the eyes, and the front and
upper portion of the cheeks black. Length 6*1 inches,
culmen 0*6, wing 3*3, tail 2*3, tarsus 0*8.

The type specimen, labelled Caconda (Anchieta), was pre-

SER. v. VOL. V. . c

18 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

sented to me by Prof. Barboza du Bocage, and a full account
of this species will be found in his 'Orn. Angola/ p. 334.
The specimen described is not quite in full plumage, the upper
back and crop being only mottled with yellow and red.

I have much pleasure in naming this South- African species
after Mr. J. H. Gurney, in acknowledgment of the able
work he has done for the ornithology of those regions.

124. Ploceus melanotis.

Ploceus melanotis, Lafr. Rev. Zool. 1839, p. 20, Senegal;
id. Mag. Zool. 1839, pi. 7.

Ploceus erythrocephalus, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. 1845, pp. 71,
7Q, Shoa.

Sycokius melanotis, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 438.

Ploceus leuconotus, Miill. Naum. iv. 1851, p. 28, Abys-
sinia.

Euplectes pyrrhocephalus , Heugl. Syst. Uebers. 1856^ p. 39.
no. 384.

Ploceus hcematocephalus, Wiirtt. Naum. 1857, p. 433,
Fazogl.

Anapledes melanotis, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 86, pi. 44.
fig. 323.

Malimhus melanotis, Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. 1871, p. 60.

Calaphantria melanotis, Fisch. Zeitsch. ges. Orn. 1884,
p. 332.

Calyphantria erijthrogenys, Fisch. & Reichen. J. f. O. 1884,
p. 181, Maurui, Pare.

Hab. N.E., E., and W. Africa. In East Africa between
about 14° N. lat. and 4° S. lat. and Senegambia and Casa-
manse on the West Coast.

a, S • March, Lado ; b,,$ . October, Shoa.

125. Ploceus angolensis. (Plate I. fig. 2.)

Sharpia angolensis, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1878, p. 258 ; id.
Orn. Angola, 1881, p. 558.
Hab. S. Africa : Benguela.

126. Ploceus kersteni.

Sycobrotus kersteni, F. & H. Vog. Ostafr. 1870, p. 404.
Symplectes kersteni, F. & H. t. c. pi. 6.

Ploceidae of the Ethiopian Region. 19

Hab. E. Africa : between about 2° N. lat. and 7° S. lat. ;
from Wito to Ugogo.

127. Ploceus stictifrons.

Sycohrotus bicolor, F. & H. (nee Vieill.), Vog. Ostafr. 1870,
p. 403, Zambesi (Livingstone).

Symplectes stictifrons, Fisch. & Reich. J. f. 0. 1885, p. 373,
Lindi (type exam.).

Hab. E. Africa; from the Rovnma to the Zambesi.

The type in the Berlin Museum agrees perfectly with a
specimen in my own collection procured by Mr. Joseph
Thomson near the Rovuma river, which bird has the wing
3-5 inches long. In the British Museum there are three
specimens collected in the Shire valley by the Livingstone
Expedition ; these measure in the Avings 3*1, 3*1, 3*25 inches ;
they are small and rather pale in the colouring beneath, and
although otherw^ise similar to the type in plumage, they
show, I consider, signs of immaturity in the structure of
some of the feathers, and in the colouring of their bills at the
gape. They may ultimately prove to be a small pale-breasted
subspecies.

128. Ploceus bicolor.

"^ Pyranga icteromelas, Vieill. N. D. xxviii. 1818, p. 291,
America !

Ploceus bicolor, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 127, Senegal.

Fringilla gregalis, Licht. Verz. Doubl. 1823, p. 23, Kaf-
fraria.

Ploceus chrysogaster, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1830, p. 92, inland
from Algoa Bay.

Symplectes chrysomus, Swains. B. W. Afr, i. 1837, p. 170,
S. Africa.

Euphodes wanthosomus, Jard. & Selby, 111. Orn. 1837,
pi. 10, S. Afr.

Hyphantornis chrysogastra, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351.

Sycobius gregalis, Gray & Mitchell, t. c. p. 352.

Sycobius bicolor. Gray & Mitchell, 1. c.

Symplectes bicolor, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 439.

c2

20 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

Sycohrotus bicolor, Cab. Mus. Heiu. i. 1851, p. 182.

Hyphantornis bicolor, Fiusch, J. f. O. 1867, p. 247.

Symplectes chry soy aster, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 373.

Hab. S. and W. Africa. In S. Africa it is only known from
the Transvaal, Natal, and the eastern portion of Cape Colony,
but in W. Africa it has been recorded from Angola, Abhor
on the Niger, Sierra Leone, Casamanse, and Senegambia.

a, $. 'W . My. {Maidstone Mus.). b. Cape of Good Hope
(type of Euphodes xanthosomus) .

In the Paris Museum I was shown what was said to be
the type of Ploceus bicolor. All the specimens I have seen
agree perfectly with Natal birds, so that I cannot agree with
Dr. Reichenow (J. f. O. 1885, p. 373) in considering the
S.- African bird distinct from Ploceus bicolor, and that the
plumage described as Sycobrotus amaurocephalus , Cab., is the
typical W. -African form.

With regard to the synonymy, all the names except those
given by Vieillot, and S. amaurocephalus, Cab., have been
bestowed on S. -African skins,

129. Ploceus amaurocephalus.

Sycobrotus amaurocephalus, Cab, J. f. O. 1880, p. 349,
pi. 31. fig. 1, Angola.

Symplectes amaurocephalus, Bocage, Orn. Angola, 1881,
p. 558.

Hab. W. Africa, Angola.

I have not seen the type, so have kept it separate from
P. bicolor ; but from the figure and description, and the fact
of there only being one specimen recognized, I much doubt
its specific distinctness from P. bicolor.

130. Ploceus baglafect.

Ploceus baglafect, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 127.

Ploceus melanotis, Guer, (nee Lafr.), Rev. Zool. 1843,
p. 321 ; Mull. Descr. Nouv. Ois. d'Afr. part iv. 1854, pi. 2,
head.

Ploceus auricularis, Flor. Prevost in Lefebvre^s Voy.
Abyss. 1845, Atlas, pi. 2. fig. 1 (type exam., Paris Mus.).

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 21

Hyphayitornis guermi, Gray, Gen. B. ii. 1849_, p. 351 ;
Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. pi. 11. fig. 3, head.

Textor melanotis, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 442.

Ploceus melanogenys, Miill. Naum. 1851, p. 28, Abys-
sinia.

Ploceus aurantius, Heugl. (nee Vieill.) Syst. Uebers. 1856,
p. 38. no. 360.

Ploceus leucophthalmus , Heugl. 1. c. no. 378.

Ploceolus melanotis, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 78, pi. 37.
fig. 286.

Hyphantornis melanotis, Blanf. Geol. & Zool. Abyss. 1870,
p. 403.

Hyphantornis temporalis, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1880, p. 244,
Caconda.

Symplectes baglafecht, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 373.

Hab. N.E. and S. Africa: Bogos, Abyssinia, Shoa, and
Caconda in Benguela.

a,^ ; b,^ . May, Senafe [Blanf ord, Brit. Mus.) , c, ^ .
January, Shoa.

In the characters given ior Hyphantornis temp or a lis, Socage,
I see none to separate it from the present species.

131. Ploceus emini.

Sycobrotus emini, Hartl. Orn. Centralbl. 1882, p. 92 j id.
J. f. 0. 1882, pi. 1. fig. 1, c?, 2, ? , Agaru {Emin Bey).
Hyphantornis emini, Hartl. J. f. O. 1882, p. 322.
Symplectes emini, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 373.
Hab. N.E. Africa : Upper White Nile, about 5° N. lat.
a, ? . April; b,^ , c, ^ , May, Agaru {.Emin Bey).

132. Ploceus reichenowi.

Sycobrotus reichenoivi, Fisch. J. f. O. 1884, j). 180, Lake
Naiwascha.

Hyphanturgus reichenoivi, Fisch. Zeitsch. ges. Orn. (Ma-
darasz), 1884, p. 330,

Symplectes reichenowi, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 373.

Hab. E. Africa, south of the equator to about 4° S. lat.

Mr. H. H. Johnston found it abundant in the Kilimanjaro
Mountains.

22 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

133. Ploceus nigricollis.

Malimbus nigricollis, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805^ p. 74;, pi. 45,
S, Congo.

Ploceus flavicapillus, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 128, (^ ,
Congo.

Ploceus nigricollis^ Vieill. t. c. p. 129.

Ploceus jonquil faceus, Vieill. t. c. p. 130, ? .

Ploceus atrogularis, Voigt, Cuv. Thierr. i. 1831, p. 564.

Ploceus atricapilla, " Vieill.,^' Less. Compl. Buff. viii. 1837,
p. 307 (err. Tpro flavicapilla) .

Sycobius St. Thomce, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1848, p. 109 ; id.
Abhandl. nat. Ver. Hamb. 1848, pi. 9 (very bad).

Symplectes nigricollis, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 439.

Hyphantornis grayi, J. & E. Verr. Rev. et Mag. Zool.
1851, p. 514.

Symplectes chrysophrys, J. & E. Verr, t. c. 1855, p. 106,
Gaboon.

Estrelda jonquillacea, Miill. J. f. O. 1856, p. 116.

Ploceus tricolor, Temm. MS. 1854, fide Hartl. (nee Hartl.
1854) Orn. W.-Afr. 1857, p. 135.

Hyjihantornis flavigula, Cass. Pr. Ac. Philad. 1859, p. 134,
Gaboon.

Hyphantornis nigricollis, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 87,
pi. 44. fig. 325.

Hyphantornis jonquillaceus, Reichb. 1. c.

Hyphanto7'nis amauronotus, Reichen. J. f. O. 1877, p. 27,
Loango.

Hah. W. Africa, from the Congo river to Senegambia.

134. Ploceus melanoxanthus.

Sycohrotus nigricollis, F. & H. (nee Vieill.) Vog. Ostafr.
1870, p. 405 (part E. Afr.).

Hyphanturgus melanoxanthus, Cab. J. f. O. 1878, pp. P.05,
232, ? , Mombas.

Hijphanturgus nigricollis, Cab. J. f. O. 1878, p. 232, (^.

Sycohrotus melanoxanthus, Shelley, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 585,

Hah. E. Africa : Zanzibar Province, between about 1° and
10° S. lat.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 23

135. Ploceus ocularius.

Ploceus ocularius, Smithy Proc. S. Afr. Instit. 1828, fide
Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. 1839, pi. 30. fig. 2,S-

Ploceus gutturalis, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 92, inland
from Delagoa Bay.

Hyphantornis gutturalis, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351.

Hyphantornis ocularia, Gray & Mitchell, 1. c.

Hyphanturgus ocularius, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. 1850, p. 182.

Ploceus ocularis, Gurney (err.), Ibis, 1862, p. 37.

Hyphantornis ocularis, Ay res, Ibis, 1867, p. 431.

? Hyphantornis crocata, Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Brem.
vii. 1881, p. 100, Magungo {Emin Bey).

? Icteropsis crocatayVelz. Verb, zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 1881,
p. 149.

Hab. E., S., and W. Africa : the whole of E. and S. Africa
south of about 5° N. lat., and Landana in W. Africa.

a, (^ . May, Agaru {Emin Bey) ; this would be, I suppose, a
typical H. crocata, Hartl. b, (J . Mombas ; p, (J . Zambesi
{Brit. Mus.) ; d, ^ . February, Landana {Petit, Shelley
Mus.) .

Dr. Hartlaub informs me by letter that his Hyphantornis
crocata is totally distinct from the Icteropsis crocata, Pelz.,
for which latter species he has therefore suggested the name
of Sitagra pelzelni.

136. Ploceus brachypterus.

ploceus brachypterus, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. 1837, p. 168,
pi. 10, S .

Ploceus flavigula, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 406, ^ ,
Accra; Miill. Descr. Ois. d'Afr. 1854, pi. 20. fig. 1.

Hyphantornis brachyptera. Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351.

Hyphantornis jiavigula. Gray & Mitchell, 1, c.

Textor flavigula, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 442.

Hab. "W. Africa. From the Gaboon to Senegambia and
Fernando Po.

This form is very closely allied to P. ocularius, but the

24 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

characters, though slight, appear to be constant. It has been
recorded from Landana (Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1867,
p. 309), but I think this may be a mistake, as I have P. ocu-
larius, ? , from that locality.

137. Ploceus capensis.

Oriolus capensis, Gm. S. N. i. 17b8, p. 392.

Icterus olivaceus, Hahn, Vog. As. &c. Lief. vi. 1822, pi. 4.

Icterus caffer, Licht. Verz. Doubl. 1823, p. 19, KaflFraria.

Ploceus aurifrons, Temm. PI. Col. 1823, pis. 175, (J,
176 ?.

Ploceus abyssinicus, Less, (nee Gm.) Traite d'Orn. 1831,
p. 434, Cape.

Ploceus icterocephalus, Swains. Class. B. i. 1837, p. 189.

Ploceus aureus, Des Murs in Letebvre^s Voy. Abyss. 1845,
p. 108.

Hyphantornis aurifrons. Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Hyphantornis capensis, Gray & Mitchell, I. c.

Oriolinus capensis, Beichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 84, pi. 42.
figs. 315, 316.

Oriolinus aurifrons, Reichb. t. c. pi. 43. figs. 317, 318.

Hyphantornis olivaceus, Gurney, Ibis, 1868, p. 161.

Hab. S. Africa : from the Zambesi to Natal and the
eastern portion of Cape Colony.

This species has been recorded from N.E. Africa by
Des Murs, Heuglin, and Hartlaub, and from Senegambia by.
Temminck and Rochebrune, but I feel confident that it is
not a native of any of these localities. Probably these
errors have arisen from the females of other species having
been mistaken for the present one, and have been multiplied
by copying.

138. Ploceus princeps.

Symplectes princeps, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 439, Prince's
Island.

Hyphantornis princeps, Reichb. Singvog, 1861, p, 87.
Hab, W.Africa: Prince''s Island.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 25

139. Ploceus xanthopterus.

Hyphantornis, sp,, Kirk, Ibis, 1864, p. 322, Shire.
Hyphantornis xanthopterus, F. & H. Vog. Ostafr. 1870,

p. 399 (type exam.).

Hyphantornis castaneigula, Cab. J. f. O. 1881, p. 240,
pi. 3. fig. 1, Zambesi (type exam.).

Ploceus castaneigula, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 118.

Hab. S.E. Africa : Shire and Zambesi.

a, type. Dcember, Lower Shire [Kirk, Brit. Mus.).

140. Ploceus xanthops.

Hyphantornis xanthops, Hartl. Ibis, 1862, p. 342, Angola
(type exam. Brit. Mus.).

Hyphantornis aurantiigula, Cab. J. f. O. 1875, p. 238,
Loango.

Ploceus xanthops, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 123, pi. 5. fig. 1.

Hab. E., S., and W. Africa. In E. Africa, Kituiin Ukam-
bani, Gonda, and Ugalla; in S. Africa, Matabele and Ben-
guela; in W. Africa from Angola to the Loango coast.

141. Ploceus subaureus.

Ploceus subaureus, Smith, Pr. S. Afr. Instit. 1832, April,
fide Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. 1839, pi. 30. fig. I, Algoa Bay.

Ploceus tahatali. Smith, Rep. Exped. Expl. Cen^. Afr.
1836, p. 50.

Hijphanto?'nis suhaurea, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351.

Oriolinus subaureus, Reichb. Singvog, 1861, p. 84, pi. 42.
fig. 314.

Hab. S. Africa : Swaziland, Transvaal, Natal, and the
eastern portion of Cape Colony.

A specimen in the British Museum, labelled H. tahatali,
is an immature bird of this species.

142. Ploceus aurantius.

Malimbus aurantius, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805, p. 73, pi. 44,
Congo (type exam. Paris Mus.) .

Ploceus aurantius, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 130.

26 Captain G. E. Slielley on the

Hyphantornis aurantia, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B, ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Hyphantornis 7'oyrei, J. Vcrr. J. f, O. 1865, p. 97.

Hub. E. and W. Africa : Mozambique (Oustalet), and from
the Congo to the Niger.

a. November, Bonny {Crossley, Brit. Mus.) ; b, ^ .October,
Landana.

143. Ploceus aureoflavus.

Ploceus aureoflavus, Smith, III. Zool. S. Afr. 1839, text to
pi. 30. fig. 1, W. Afr.

Hyphantornis aureoflava, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351.

Textor aureoflavus, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 441.

Hyphornis aurea, Natt., Hartl. J. f. O. 1860, p. 180.

Ploceus aurantius, Vieill. var., Bianc. Spec. Zool. Mosamb.
fasc. xviii. 1865, p. 322, Mozambique.

Hyphantornis subaureus, Hartl. (nee Smith), P. Z. S. 1867,
p. 826, Zanzibar.

Hyphantornis concolor, Heugl. J. f. O, 1867, p. 389.

Hub. E. Africa. Zanzibar Province from Mombas to Zan-
zibar, Simbaveni [Bdhm), and possibly Mozambique.

I doubt the accuracy of the following localities : — Nubia
[Eiipp. Leyden Mus.), Sierra Leone {Smith), and, in the
British Museum, ^"^ Senegal (Dr. Smith)."

144. Ploceus bojeri.

Xanthophilus aureoflavus, Reichb. (nee Smith) Singvog.
1861, p. 84, pi. 42. fig. 312.

Hyphantornis bojeri, Hartl, & Finsch in Cab. v. d.
Decken^s Beisen, iii. 1869, p. 32.

Ploceus bojeri, Reichen. Zool. Jalirb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 120-

Hab. E. Africa: between about 1° N. lat. and 7° S. lat. ;
from Barava in South Somali to Zanzibar Island.

a, cJ . July, Mombas Island.

145. Ploceus galbula.

Ploceus galbula, Rtipp. Neue Wirb. 1835-40, p. 92, pi. 32.
fig. 2.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 27

? Ploceus aureus, Des Murs in Leirebvre's Voy. Abyss.
1845; p. 108, Adowa.

Uyphantornis galbula, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B, ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Textor galbula, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 441.

Hab. N.E. Africa, east of the Nile from Suakim to Somali-
land, and resident at Aden.

146. Ploceus superciliosus.

Hyphantor7iis superciliosus, Shelley, Ibis, 1873, p. 140,
Fantee, Accra.

Ploceus superciliosus^ Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 155.

Hab. W. Africa, Loango, Niger, and Gold Coast.

a, ^ . November, Shonga on Niger. Crown yellow, sides
of the head and upper throat black. b, ? . Crown black,
shading into dusky olive towards the nape ; a broad yellow
eyebrow joins the yellow of the neck. Sides of the head and
upper throat black. Sides and lower half of the throat and
the chest yellow. Abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts
buif. Back olive-brown. These two specimens are in the
British Museum, and are in the fullest plumage I have yet
seen.

In the colouring of the crown in the sexes this species
somewhat assimilates P. emini and P. reichenoivi, but in its
general structure it most nearly approaches P. vitellinus.

147. Ploceus vitellinus.

Fringilla vitellina, Licht. Verz. Doubl. 1823, p. 23, Sene-
gambia.

Ploceus ruficeps, Swains. B. W. Afr. ii. 1837, p. 262,
Gambia.

Hyphantornis vitellina, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Textor vitellina, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 441 (syn. excL).

Ploceus sublarvatus, Miill. Naum. 1851, p. 28, Sennaar,
Nubia.

Textor sublarvatus , Miill. Descr. Ois. d'Afr. part iii. 1854,
pi. 12, c? ? .

28 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

Ploceus auranticeps, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. 1856, p. 38,
no. 370.

Ploceolus suhlarvatus, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 77, pi. 36.
figs. 279, 280.

Ploceolus vitellinus, Reichb. t. c. p. 78, pi. 37. figs. 284,
285.

? Xanthophilus sulphureus, Reiclib. t. c. p. 84, pi. 42.
fig. 313, ? .

Textor (jalhula, Antin. (nee Riipp.) Cat. p. 63 (part.).

Textor chrysopygus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1864, p. 246, ^,
Nubia.

Ploceus flavomarginalisy Pr. Wiirtt. MS. fide Heugl. J.
f. O. 1867, p. 299.

Ploceus vitellinus, Reicben. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 148.

Ploceus reichardi, Reichen. t. c. p. 150, Karema.

Hub. N.E., E., and W. Africa. South from Berber about
17° N. lat. to the Zambesi, and on the west coast from
Accra to Senegambia.

P. reichardi, Reichen., is only known to me by the original
description, which appears to me to agree perfectly with the
present species.

148. Ploceus t^niopterus.

Ploceus tceniopterus, Reichb, Singvog. 186], p. 78, pi. 36.
figs. 281, 282.

Ploceus intermedius, Heugl. (nee Riipp.) Syst, Uebers.
1856, p. 38. no. 372, Shoa.

Hyphantornis atrogularis, F. & H. (nee Heugl.) Vog.
Ostafr. 1870, pp. 394, 395.

Hijphantornis tanioptera, Heugl, Orn, N,0.-Afr, 1871,
pp, 554, pi. 18. fig. 2, head, App. p. cxxx.

Ploceus tceniopterus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 151.

Hah. N.E, Africa : Upper White Nile, between about 10°
and 5° N. lat.

a, (^ juv. or in full moult, March. b, ^ ad., May,
Lado, c, (^ ad., July, Bor [Emin Bey).

Ploceidae of the Ethiopian Region. 29

149. Ploceus spilonotus.

Ploceus spilonotus, Vigors^ P. Z. S. 1831 (June), p. 92,
Inland from Algoa Bay.

Ploceus stictonotus, Smith, S. Afr. Quart, Journ. 1831
(October), p. 11, Keislianna River.

Ploceus flaviceps, Swains. B. W. Afr. ii. 1837, p. 259j
pi. 32, Senegal.

Hyjjhantornis spilonota, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Ploceus chrysostictos, Licht, fide Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 441.

Ploceus cyclospilus, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 80, pi. 38.
figs. 295, 296.

? Ploceus brandtii, Reichb. t. c. p. 82, pi. 40. fig. 306.

Hab. E. and S. Africa: between Mosambique, Natal, and
Lake Ngami.

M. Rochebrune records this species from seven localities
in Senegambia, yet considers it to be rare there. Previously
it was only recorded on Mr. Swainson^s authority, from a
skin possibly incorrectly labelled. I cannot, upon the pre-
sent evidence, admit this species to be a native of Sene-
gambia, but it may have been introduced.

I have followed Dr. Reichenow in referring P. brantii,
Reichb., to this species, but it appears to me to be indeter-
minable.

150. Ploceus spekii.

Hyphantornis baglafecht, Blyth (nee Vieill.), Journ. As.
Soc. Bengal, xxiv. 1856, p. 301, Somali.

Hyphantornis spekiiy Heugl. in Peterm. Geogr. Mitth, 1861,
p. 24.

Hyphantornis somalensis, Heugl. J. £. O. 1867, p. 379,
Somali.

Uyphantoi'nis somalicus, " Heugl.,^^ Finsch, J. f. O. 1868,
p. 169.

Hyphantornis meloxit, An tin. M.S. fide Salvad. Ann. Mus.
Civ. Gen. 1884, p. 188, Galla.

Ploceus spekii, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 146.

Hab. N.E. Africa : Shoa, Galla, and Somali.

a, ^ . May, Shoa.

30 Captaiu G. E. Shelley on the

151. Ploceus heuglini.

Textor atrogularis, Heugl. (nee Voigt), J. f. O. 18G4,
p. 245.

Hyphantornis atrogularis, Heugl. J. £. O. 1867^ p. 387 ;
id. Orn. N.O.-Afr. pi. 19.

Ploceus heuglini, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 147.

Hab. N.E. and W. Africa : from the Upper White Nile to
the Niger and the Gambia.

In the British Museum there are specimens from Sassa,
Lokoja on the Niger, and the Gambia.

152. Ploceus velatus.

Ploceus velatus, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 132, Namaqua.

Ploceus personatus. Swains, (nee Vieill.), An. in Menag.
1838, p. 306.

Ploceus auricapillus, Swains, t. c. p. 346, S. Afr.

Ploceus mariquensis, Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. 1845,
pi. 103.

Hyphantornis velata. Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Hijphantornis mariquensis. Gray & Mitchell, 1. c. ; Gurney,
Ibis, 1868, p. 466, pi. 10.

Tentor mariquensis, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 441.

Hyphantornis nigrifrons. Cab. Mus. Hein. i. 1851, p. 182.

Ploceolus nigrifrons, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 78, pi. 37.
fig. 287.

Ploceus chloronotus, Reichb. t. c. p. 82, pi. 40. figs. 304,
305.

Hyphantornis capitalis, Layard (nee Lath.), B. S. Afr.
1867, p. 180.

Hyphantornis auricapillus, Layard, t. c. p. 183.

Hijphantornis (BtUops, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 380, Abys-
sinia [Ley den Mus.).

Hyphantornis vitellinus, Ayres (nee Licht.), Ibis, 1880,
p. 106, Transvaal.

Hyphantornis melanops. Cab. J. f. O. 1884, p. 240, pi. 3.
fig. 2, Zambesi (type exam.).

Hab. The whole of S. Africa.

PloceidfB of the Ethiopian Region. 31

This species is apparently entirely confined to S. Africa,
and the locality Abyssinia for the type of Hyphantornis
(ethiops, Heugl., is probably incorrect.

It appears to become gradually duller and more olive in
colour as it approaches Natal. In Namaqua the specimens
generally, if not always, belong to the bright form, my 1st var.,
to which I should refer P. velatus, VieilL, P. auricapillus,
Swains,, and H. melanops, Cab. My 2nd var., based upon the
specimen figured Ibis, 1868, pi. x., is probably the P.
mariquensis, Smith, which was founded upon a female bird ;
and my 3rd var. is the H. nigrifrons, Cab., P. chloronotus,
Reichb., and the H. (ethiops, Heugl.

153. Ploceus personatus.

Ploceus personatus, Vieill. Gal. Ois. i. 1825, p. 117, pi. 84.

Hyp)hantornis per sonata, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Ploceolus personatus, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 11 , pi. 36.
figs. 274,275.

Hah. W. Africa : from the Congo to the Gold Coast.

a, $ ) h,% . February, c, $ ; d,^ . March, Gold Coast
{Shelley) .

154. Ploceus luteolus.

Fringilla luteola, Licht. Verz. Doubl. 1823, p. 23, note,
Senegambia.

Ploceus melanotis, Swains. An. in Menag. 1838, p. 307.

Fringilla chrysomelas, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. 1846, p. 41.
no. 418, Bogos.

Ploceus minutus, Miill. Naumann. 1851, p. 28, Nubia.

Fringilla miilleri, Baldam. 1. c.

Sitagra luteola, Cab. Mus. Hein. i. 1851, p. 181.

Hyphantornis luteolus, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. 1857, p. 123
(part.), Senegal.

Ploceolus luteolus, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 77, pi. 35.
fig. 273.

Ploceus luteolus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 153.

Hab. N.E. and W. Africa. Between about 15° and 5° N.

32 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

lat. Bogos, Abyssinia, Shoa, White Nile to Lado in E. Africa.
Senegambia and the Bulama Islands on the West Coast.

a, (^ . July, Anseba valley {Blanford) . d, ^ . July, Lado
{Emin Bey).

155. Ploceus subpersonatus.

Hyphantornis subpersonatus, Cab. J. f. O. 1876, p. 92,
Loango Coast.

Ploceus subpersonatus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 152, pi. 5. fig. 4.

Hub. West Africa : Landana and Loango Coast.

156. Ploceus intermedius.

Ploceus intermedius, ^n^"^. Syst. Uebers. 1845, pp. 71,
76, Shoa (type exam.) .

Hyphantornis intermedia, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351 ; Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. pi. 18. fig. 2 (head).

Ploceus erythrophthalmus, Heugl. Syst. Uebers. 1856, p. 38.
no. 375, ?■ ?

Ploceolus capitalis, Reichb. (nee Lath.), Singvog. 1861,
p. 77 part, pi. 35. fig 276.

Hyphantornis erythrothalma, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 386.

Hyphantornis cabanisi, Peters, J. f . O. 1868, p. 133, Inham-
bani (type exam.).

Hyphantornis capitalis, Sharpe (nee Lath.), Cat. Afr. B.
1871, p. 58, Natal.

Hyphantornis nigrifrons, Buckley (nee Cab.), Ibis, 1874,
p. 380, 3amangwato.

Hab. N.E., E., and S. Africa. The whole East Coast of
Africa from Shoa to Natal.

a, b. Lamu and Pangani. c, d. October, Tati and Ba-
mangwato. e, ^ . December, Omaruru.

The chestnut shade on the yellow which surrounds the
black head is strongest in specimens from the north, and fades
out almost entirely in those procured to the south of the
Zambesi.

This and P. subpersonatus are little more than subspecies,
but the present bird may be easily recognized by having a

Ploceidge of the Ethiopian Region. 33

rather stronger bill and very distinctly marked pale edges to
the wing-feathers.

157. Ploceus melanocephalus.

Coccothraustes gambiensis, Briss. Oru. iii. 1760, p. 230,
descr. good.

Loxia melanocephala, Gm. S. N. i. 1788, p. 859, ex Briss.

Coccothraustes melanocephala, Vieill. N. D. xiii. 1817,
p. 523.

1 Fr'mgiUa capitalis, Liicht. (nee Latham), Verz. Doubl.
1823, p. 28, descr. defect., Senegal.

Ploceus cucullatus, Swains, (nee Miill.), B. W. Afr. ii.
1837, p. 261 ; Beichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 79, pi. 38. fig. 291,
very bad.

Textor cucullatus, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 441, ex Swains.

Hyphantornis capitalis, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. 1857, p. 148,
ex Licht.

Hyphantornis cucullatus, Hartl. t. c. p. 125, ex Swains.

Ploceus capitalis, Beichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 133.

Hab. W. Africa : Senegambia.

«, cJ . Gambia.

[Ploceus duboisi, Hartl. Bull. Mus. Boy. Hist. Nat. Belg.
iv. 1886, p. 144, pi. 4. fig. 1.

I have not examined a specimen of this supposed new
species, which was collected in the neighbourhood of Lake
Tanganyika by M. Storms. The type is undoubtedly an
adult male in full plumage of a species very closely allied to,
if not identical with, P. melanocephalus, which is the same as
the P. capitalis, Beichenow (nee Lath.).

The measurements given I cannot rely upon, as the two
specimens referred to this species are said to difi'er in the
lengths of their wings by 1*5 inch — an evident error.

As Dr. Beichenow is said to consider this to be a good
new species, its characters must have been overlooked in the
original description and figure.]

158. Ploceus dimidiatus.

? Ploceus affinis, Heugl. Sitz. math.-nat. CI. Ak. Wien, xix.
1856, p. 37. no. 366 ( ? ?, type exam. Berlin Mus.).

SER. V. VOL. V. D

34 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

Textor ruhiginosus, Heugl. (nee Riipp.), J. f. O. 1862,
p. 27.

Hypliantornis dimidiata, Salvad. & Antin. Att. R. Ace. Tor.
viii. 1873, p. 360; id. Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. iv. 1873, p. 483,
pi. 3.

Ploceus dimidiatus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 130, pi. 5. fig. 3.

Hab. N.E. and E. Africa : between about 16° N. lat. and
4° S. lat., from Kassala to Little Arucha.

It is, I consider, impossible to determine for certain to
what species P. affinis, Heugl., really belongs, as it is in the
dull female dress, but Dr. Reichenow is probably correct in
referring it to the present one.

159. Ploceus badius.

Hyphantornis badius, Cass. Pr. Ac. Philad. 1850, p. 57,
Fasoglo.

Ploceus 7'ufocitrinus, Miill. Naum. iv. 1851, p. 28.

Ploceus mordoreus, Licht. MS. fide Bp. Rev. et Mag. Zool.
1855, p. 76.

Ploceus badius, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 83, pi. 41. figs.
309, 310.

Textor galbula, Antin. (nee Riipp.), Cat. 1864, p. 62 ( ? ),
fide Salvad. Att. R. Ace. Tor. 1870, p. 240.

Textor castaneo-auratus , Antin. Cat. p. 65.

Ploceus, sp. ?, Heugl. J. f. O. 1865, p. 98.

Hyphantornis axillaris, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, pp. 298,381.

Hab. N.E. Africa : White Nile district.

160. Ploceus capitalis. (Plate II. fig. 1.)

Capital Tanaffer,'Lsiih. Syn. Suppl. i. 1787, p. 162, pi. 112,
very bad.

Tanagra cajntalis, Lath. Ind. Orn. i. 1790, p. 432.

Hyphantornis capitalis. Gray & Mitchell; Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351 ; Shelley, Ibis, 1883, p. 550, Abutschi and Shongo on
Niger; Sharpe ed. Layard's B. S. Afr. 1884, p. 442.

Hab. S. and W. Africa : Niger river.

In the British Museum there is a specimen labelled
'' S. Africa,^' and another, Hyphantornis prosoborinus, with

J rTjfeulein.a.ns libl-j

Ha/jhart -nip

1. PLOCEUS CAPITALIS,

2. MALIMBU3 RIJBR0PER5DNATUS

> CENTRAL PARK, ^
HEV/VOi^K. oV.

^A

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 35

no locality. Although Lathaui^'s description is poor and his
illustration shockingly bad, he describes his bird as having
the entire head black, being five inches in length, and with
the breast "" of a fine yellow, inclining to orange/^ From its
nearest allies it may be distinguished thus : P. melanocepha-
lus has the breast pale yellow with no orange shade, nape
yellow. P. dimidiatus and P. badius have the chest chestnut.
All the other entirely black-headed species are larger.

161. Ploceus grandis.

Ploceus collaris, Fraser (nee Vieill.), P. Z. S. 1842, p. 143,
St. Thomas Is. (type exam. Brit. Mus.) ; id. Zool. Typ.
pi. 45.

Hyphantornis grandis, Gray, Gen. B. ii. 1849, p. 351, ex
P. collaris, Fraser.

Ploceus grandis, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 83, pi. 51.
fig. 307.

Hub. W. Africa : St. Thomas Is.

162. Ploceus cinctus.

? Ploceus collaris, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 129, Angola,
Congo, Senegal.

'^Hyphantornis collaris, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. 1857, p. 126,
ex Vieill.

Hyphantornis cincta, Cass. Pr. Ac. Pliilad. 1859, p. 133,
Camma R. ; id. Journ. Ac. Philad. 1862, p. 184, pi. 23. fig. 2.

Ploceus cincta, Beichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 80.

Hab. S. and W. Africa : from Benguela to the Gold Coast.

In the British Museum there are three specimens from
Fantee, but they are all immature.

163. Ploceus nigriceps.

Hyphantornis larvatus, Sclat. (nee Riipp.), P. Z. S. 1864,
p. 110, Uzaromo.

Hyphantornis nigriceps, Layard, B. S. Afr. 1867, p. 180,
Kuruman.

Hyp)hantornis cucullatus, Bocage (nee P. L. S. MiilL), Jorn.
Lisb. 1867, p. 334, Capangombe.

Ploceus nigriceps, Beichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 137.

d3

36 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

Hah. E.J S.J and W. Africa. South from Barava on the
Somali coast, 1° N. lat.,to Natal, and from thence to Benguela
and Malauje in Angola.

161. Ploceus cucullatus.

Frinyilla setieyalensis, Briss. Orn. iii. 1760, p. 173, pi. 15.
fig. 2.

Oi'iolus cucullatus, P. L. S. Miill. Natnrs. Suppl. 1776, p. 87,
ex Briss.

Troupiale du SMeyal, Daub. PI. Enl. pis. 84 (J , 85 ? .

Oriolus textor, Gm. S. N. i. 1788, p. 390, ex BufE.

Ploceus textor, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 128, Congo.

Frmgilla longirostris, Vieill. Enc. Meth. 1823, p. 951, ex
Briss.

Frinyilla velata (part.), Licht. (nee Vieill.), Verz. Doubl.
1823, p. 23.

Ploceus senegalensis, Shaw, Gen. Zool. xiv. 1826, p. 34 ;
Swains. Zool. 111. n. s. pi. 37.

? Coccothraustes olivaceus, Eraser, P. Z. S. 1842, p. 144, ? ,
Fernando Po.

"i Ploceus modestus, Hartl. Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 406, $,
Senegal, Abyssinia.

Hyphantornis textor, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Hyphantornis modesta, Gray & Mitchell, 1. c.

Hyphanto7'nis melanocephala, Bp. (nee Gm.), Consp. i.
1850, p. 440.

Hyphantornis maynirostris, Verr. in Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr.
1857, p. 127, ? , Senegal.

Ploceus 7nagnirostris, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 82.

Ploceus soUtarius, Wiirtt. MS. fide Heugl. J. f. O. 1867,
p. 297.

Coccothraustes yambiensis, E. & H. (nee Briss.), Vog.
Ostafr. 1870, p. 389, note.

Hyphantornis yambiensis, Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. pp. 552,
cxxx.

Ploceus cucullatus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1856,
p. 133.

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 37

Hab. N.E. and W. Africa. It ranges from Abyssinia to
Senegambia^ and down the West Coast to the Gaboon and
the island of Fernando Po. It lias been recorded from
Angola, but its occurrence there is open to doubt.

Amongst the varieties may be seen specimens with the
black on the back nearly absent, and the amount of the
chestnut shade on the breast varies considerably. The black
of the crown does not always extend on to the nape, this part
being, I believe, the last to assume the full plumage. Most
of these variations may probably be attributed to the condi-
tion of the bird during its last moult.

165. Ploceus abyssinicus.

Loxia abyssinica, Gm. S. N. i. 1788, p. 860.

Ploceus melanocephalus (part.), Vieill. (nee Gm.), N. D.
xxxiv. 1819, p. 131, Abyssinia, Senegal.

Fringilla velata (part.), Licht. (nee Vieill.), Verz. Doubl.
1823, p. 23.

Ploceus larvatus, Riipp.Neue Wirb. 1835-10, p. 91, pi. 32,
fig. 1.

Ploceus flamrostr is, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. 1845, pp. 69, 70,
pi. 29, Abyssinia, Shoa.

Hyphantornis larvata, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 351.

Textor larvatus, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 440.

Hijphantornis melanocephalus , Antin. Cat. 1864, p. 63.

Ploceus solitarius, Wiirtt. MS. fide Heugl. J. f. O. 1867,
p. 297.

Hyphantornis abyssinicus, Finsch, Tr. Z. S. vii. 1869, p. 261.

Ploceus abyssinicus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886,
p. 131.

Hab. N.E. Africa : between about 16° and 5° N. lat.

a, ^ . July, Lado {Emin Bey) .

166. Ploceus kubiginosus.

Ploceus rubiginosus, Riipp. Neue Wirb. 1835-40, p. 93,
pi. 33. fig. 1, Abyssinia.

Hyphantornis rubiginosa, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. .ii
1849, p. 351.

38 Captain G. E. Shelley 07i the

Textor rubiginosus. Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 442.
Hyphantornis castanosoma, Reiclien. Orn. Centralbl. 1881,
p. 79, Berbera; id. J. f. O. 1881, p. 334.

Hab. N.E. and E. Africa : from Abyssinia to Ugogo.

167. Ploceus castaneofuscus,

Ploceus castaneofuscus, Less. Rev. Zool. 1840, p. 99, Casa-
manse.

? Ploceus isabellinus, Less. t. c. p. 226, ? ?, Sierra Leone.

Hyphanto7-nis castaneofusca, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii.
1849, p. 351.

? Hyphantornis isabeUma, Gray & Mitchell, 1. c.

Textor castaneofuscus, Bp, Consp. i. 1850, p. 442.

Ploceus [Cinnamopteryx) castaneofuscus, Beichen. Zool.
Jahrb. Jena, i. 1886, p. 126.

Hab. W. Africa : from the Congo to Senegambia.

This species has been recorded from Nubia by Heugiin,
on the authority of a single specimen, bnt I agree with Dr.
Beichenow that there must be a mistake.

168. Ploceus tricolor.

Ploceus collaris, J. E. Gray (nee Vieill.), Zool. Misc. i.
1831, p. 6.

Hyphantornis tricolor, Hartl. J. f. O. 1854, p. 110, Sierra
Leone.

Ploceus tricolor, Beichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 81.

Hyphantornis fusco-castanea, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1880,
p. 58, Bio Loemma; id. Orn. Angola, 1881, p. 558.

Hab, W. Africa : from the Congo to Sierra Leone.

Mr. T. E. Buckley, while with me at Abouri in the Agua-
pim mountains, shot out of a single flock two typically
coloured P. tricolor and one Hyphantornis fusco-castanea,
Bocage. I therefore feel no doubt that the latter form is
only the immature of the present species.

169. Ploceus nigerrimus.

Ploceus nigerrimus, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 130,
Congo.

Ploceus niger, Swains. An, in Menag. 1838, p. 306 (type
exam, Paris Mus.).

Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region. 39

Sycobius nigerrimus, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 352.

Malimbus nigerrimus, Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 612.

Sycobius albinucha, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1876, p. 247,
W. Afr.

Ploceus [Melanopteryx) nigerrimus, Reichen. Zool. Jahrb.
Jena, i. 1886, p. 125.

Hab. W. Africa : from the Congo to the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast specimens are apparently always rather
small, and have occasionally, but not always, white bases to
the feathers of the hind neck ; when these feathers are worn,
a -white collar at the back of the neck may sometimes be
traced. One of these specimens formed the type of Sycobius
albinucha, Bocage.

22. Malimbus.

1805. Malimbus, Vieill. Ois. Chant, p. 71, Type.

pi. 42 M. cristatus.

1816. Sycobius, Vieill. Analyse, p. 33 . . . M, cristatus.

1820. Ficophagus, Vieill M. cristatus.

1876. Atalochrous, Elliot, Ibis, 1876, p. 458 . M. rachelia.

Key to the Species,
a. Under tail-coverts black.

a'. Entire underparts black 170. M. malimbicus.

o?. Forehead red M. malimhicus, S •

h^. Forehead black M. malimbicus, $ .

h^. Portion of tliroat and front of breast red.
c^. Crested. Forehead, space round the

eye, and chin black 171. M. cristatus.

d"^. Not crested.

iF. Forehead, crown, and entire neck
red. Upper half of the throat and

sides of the head black 172. M. cassim.

e^. Entire head and back half of the

neck black 173. M. nitens.

Under tail- coverts orange-red.
f^. Upper half of the throat and entire sides

of the head black 174. M. sctdatus.

f^. With the entire crown, back, and

sides of the neck scarlet M, scutatus, J .

40 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

g^. With tlae entire head, back, and sides

of the neck black M. scutatus, 5 ,

g^. With the entire throat and front half

of the head orange-red 175. M, riibropersonatus.

c. Under tail-coverts yellow. Crown, neck,
and lower throat orange-red. Upper
throat and sides of head black 176. M. rachelice.

170. Malimbus malimbicus.

Tanagra malimbica, Daud. Ann. clu Mus. i. 1802, p. 151, ? ,
pi. 10. fig. 2.

Malimbus cristatus, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805^ p. 71, pi. 43,
2 , Congo.

Ploceus cristatus, Vieill. N. D, xxxiv. '1819, p. 129, ? ,
Congo.

Ploceus rubricollis, Swains. An. in Meuag. 1838^ p. 306,
ex Vieill. pi. 43, ? .

Euplectes rufovelatus, Fraser_, P. Z. S. 1842^ p. 142, Fer-
nando Po; id. Zool. Typ. pi. 46.

Sijcobius malimbus, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 438.

Malimbus rubiicollis, Strickl. Contr. Orn. 1851, p. 133,
Gaboon,

Sycobius nuchalis, Elliot, Ibis, 1859, p. 393, Gaboon.

Sycobius rubricollis, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 90, pi. 61.
figs. 33.2-334.

Malimbus rufovelatus, Sharpe^ Cat. A£r. B. 1871, p. 60.

Hab. W. Africa : from the Congo to the Gold Coast and
Fernando Po.

171. Malimbus cristatus.

Tanagra malimbica, Daud. Ann. Mus. Nat. Hist, i. 1802,
p. 151, c?,pl. 10. fig. 1.

Malimbus cristatus, Vieill. Ois. Chant. 1805, p. 71, pi. 42,
(J (type exam. Paris Mus.).

Ploceus cristatus, Vieill. N. D. xxxiv. 1819, p. 129, Sj
Congo.

Sycobius cristatus, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii, 1849,
p. 352.

Sycobius nigrifrons, Hartl. J. f. O. 1855, p. 356, Eio
Boutrv.

Ploceidee of the Ethiopian Region. 41

Si/cobius, sp. ?, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1866^ p. 140.
Malimbus cristatus, Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. 1871, p. 60.
Hab. W. Africa : from the Congo to the Gold Coast.

172. Malimbus cassini.

Sycobius cassini, Elliot, Ibis, 1859, p. 392, Gaboon (type
exam. Brit. Mus.).

Malimbus cassini, Elliot, Ibis, 1876, p. 461, pi. 13. fig. 1.

? Sycobius rubriceps, Reichen. (nee Sundev.) J. f. O. 1876,
p. 209, Camaroons.

Hab. W. Africa : Gaboon.

I have restricted the range of this species to the Gaboon,
although it appears probable that Sycobius rubriceps, Uei-
chen., belongs here; but as that name was given to an
immature bird, I should hesitate to decide upon the species to
which it belongs without seeing the type.

173. Malimbus nitens.

Ploceus nitens, J. E. Gray, Zool. Miscell. i. 1831, p. 7.

Sycobius nitens, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849, p. 352,
pi. 87.

Malimbus nitens, Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. 1871, p. 60.

Hab. Central and W. Africa : Ndoruma in Central Africa,
and in West Africa from the Gaboon to Sierra Leone.

The sexes appear to be perfectly similar in plumage, for in
a large series of specimens from the Gold Coast I find no
variations,

174. Malimbus scutatus.

Sycobius scutatus, Cass. Pr. Ac. Pliilad. 1849, p. 157; id.
Journ. Ac. Philad. 1850, p. 297, pi. 41 ! figs. 1 c?, 2 ? .

Mali?nbus scutatus, Shaqie, Cat. Afr. B. 1871, p. 60.

Hab. W. Africa : from the Gaboon to Sierra Leone.

The specific characters which distinguish M. cassini from
M. nitens are the same as those which characterize the sexes
in this species.

175. Malimbus rubropersonatus. (Plate II. fig. 2.)
The whole front half of the head^ the throat, crop, and under

tail-coverts bright orange-red. Remainder of the plumage :

42 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

upper parts glossy jet-black, underparts duller black, very
faintly tinted with brown. Bill huffish brown ; legs dark
brown. Total length 5*2 inches, culmen 0'55, wing 3"2,
tail 2*2, tarsus 0'8.

Most nearly allied to M. scutatus, from which it differs in
being smaller, and in having the entire chin, throat, and front
half of the head orange-red, and the bill pale.

Against its being an immature specimen of M. scutatus,
which the colouring of the bill and legs might suggest, is the
brightness of the red parts, and the absence of a brown shade
on the back. The type was collected by the late Governor
Ussher, in 1870, on the Gold Coast.

176. Malimbus racheli^.

Sycobius rachelice, Cass. Pr. Ac. Philad. 1857, p. 36, Muni
R. ; id. Journ. Ac. Philad. 1862, p. 185, pi. 23. fig. 3.
Malimbus rachelice, Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. 1871, p. 60.
Hab. W. Africa : Gaboon.

23. Textor. rv

Type.

1828. Textor, Temm. PI. Col. pi. 446 . . T. albirostris.

1836. Bubalornis, Smith, Rep. Exp. Expl.

Centr. Afr. 1836, p. 50 . . . . T. panicivorus.

1837. Dertroicles, Swains. B. W. Afr. i.

1837, p. 163 T. albirostris.

1861. Dinemellia, Reichb. Singvog. p. 88,

pi. 45. figs. 327, 328 T. dinemelli.

1861. Alectrornis, Reichb. t. c. p. 89, pi. 45.

fig. 330 T. albirostris.

1885. Limoneres, Reichenow, J. f. O. 1885,

p. 372 T. dinemelli.

Key to the Species.

a. Head and breast brown or black.

a'. AVitb more than half of the basal portion
of the inner webs of the quills white.

Bill red and smooth 177. T. panicivorus.

6' . With no white on the inner webs o f the

quills ] 78. T. albirostris.

Ploceid'ce of the Ethiopian Region. 43

h. Head and breast white,
e'. White parts with a huffish shade. Above

paler, aud witli broad wliite edges to most

of the wing-feathers 179. T. dinemelli.

d}. White parts witli an ashy shade. Above

darker, and with no white edges to any of

the wing-feathers 180. T. hoehmi.

177. Textor paniciyorus.

Loxia panicivora, Linn. S. N. i. 1766^ p. 302.

Bubalornis niger, Smith, Rep. Exp. Expl. Centr. Afr. 1836,
p. 51.

Textor erythrorhynchus , Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. 1841,
pi. 64.

Textor niger, Strickl. & Sclat. Contr. Oi'n. 1852, p. 150.

Textor panicivorus, Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. 1857, p. 131.

Alectrornis panicivora, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 89.

Hab. W. Africa : the whole of S. Africa and the Quanza
river, with the exception of Cape Colony and Namaqua-
land.

a, ^ . August, Bamangwato ; b, <^ . July, Transvaal ; c,(^ .
November, Damara ; d, e, (^ ? . October, Benguela.

1 78. Textor albirostris.

Coccothraustes albirostris, Vieill. N. D. xiii. 1817, p. 534.

Textor alecto, Temm. PI. Col. 1828, pi. 446.

Dertroides albirostris, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. 1837, p. 163.

Alectrornis albirostris, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 89, pi. 45.
fig. 330.

Textor intermedins, Cab. v. d. Decken's Reisen, iii. 1869,
p. 32, pi. 11, Dalaoni R. and Kisuani.

Textor scioanus, Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. 1884, p. 195,
Shoa.

Hab. N.E., E., and W. Africa. South from about 16° N.
lat. to Kisani in Central E. Africa, and from Senegambia to
Bissao on the West Coast.

This species has been divided into three, and a good key to
these varieties is given by Salvadori (Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen.
1884, p. 196) ; but in my opinion these slight variations only
indicate local and not always constant races.

44 Captain G. E. Shelley on the

Typical T. albirostris has the bill buff and swollen at the
base in adults, and brown and smooth in the immature.
From the Upper White Nile I have a specimen in almost
full plumage, with a smooth brown bill, which might belong
to any of the three races.

T. intermedins has the bill smooth and red in the adults.

T. scioanus has the bill red and swollen at the base in full
adults,

A typical specimen in my own collection, labelled '' (^ .
1-11-79: Dambi (Antinori) ,•"' is apparently f ally adult. The
bill is recorded as red, but is now buff with a dark tip. The
bill in all these forms is stouter and slightly shorter than in
the S. -African species.

179. Textor dinemelli.

Textor dinemelli, Horsf. Riipp. Syst. Uebers. 1845, pp. 72,
7Q, pi. 30, Shoa; Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849, pi. 87.
fig. 2 (spec. exam.).

Dinemellia leucocephala, Reichb. Singvog. 1861, p. 88,
pi. 45. figs. 327, 328.

? Alecto dinemelli, Sclat. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 102, Unyamuezi
[Speke).

Hah. N.E. and E. Africa : between about 12° N. lat. and
7° S. lat., from Shoa and Somali to Mamboio.

180. Textor boehmi.

Textor hbhmi, Reichen. J. f. O. 1885, p. 372.

Hah. Central E. Africa. Victoria Nyanza and Tanjanyika.

a, ?. October, Gonda [Bbhm, Shelley Mus.).

24. Amblyospiza.

1850. Amhhjospiza, Suudev. GEfv. Vet.-Ak. Type.

Forh. Stockh. 1850 (April), p. 98 . A. alhifrons.
1850, Coryphegnathus, Reichb. Av. Syst. 1850

(June), p. 79 A. alhifrons.

The genus Amblyospiza comprises four nearly allied species,
each confined to a separate subregion. The adult males of all
the species have the bill slaty horn-colour, a white forehead.

Ploceidae of the Ethiopian Region. 45

and a white speculum on the wing. In the immature birds
the bill is yellow, and there is no white forehead or speculum ;
the upper parts are more rufous and somewhat mottled, and
the underparts white, or nearly so, mottled with dark brown.
To a bird in this plumage must be referred Conjphegnathus
schiffi, Bp. (Consp. i. p. 451) ; but to which of the four
species, an examination of the type can alone decide.

Key to the Species.

a. Larger and darker. The white of the forehead

never extending back over the entire front half

of the crown. The white speculum much larger,

about 0'4 inch broad.

a}. Darker and generally smaller : wing SG

hiches. The head and neck with scarcely

any rufous shade 181. A. unicolor.

6\ Paler and generally larger : wing .3'6 to 4
inches. The head and neck decidedly more
rufous than the back.
6^. Head and neck deep chestnut-brown. Wing

3-9 to 4 inches 182. A. alhifrons.

c^. Head and neck lighter chestnut. Wing

3-6 to 3'7 inches 183. A. melanotis.

h. Smaller and paler : wing 3'3 to 3-35 inches.
Head and neck fawn-colour. The white on
the head extending over the entire front half of
the crown. The white speculum much smaller,
about 0'2 inch broad. Abdomen slate-colour. . 184. A. capitalbus.

181. Amblyospiza unicolor.

Pyrenestes alhifrons, Sharpe (nee Vigors), P. Z. S. 1873,
p. 713, Mombas.

Pyrenestes unicolor, Fisch. & Reichen. J. f. O. 1878, p. 264,
Zanzibar.

Amblyospiza unicolor, Shelley, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 589.

Coryphegnathus unicolor, Fisch. J. f. O. 1885, p. 134.

Hab. E. Africa : Zanzibar Province, between about 1° and
6° 30' S. lat.

182. Amblyospiza albifrons.

Pyrrhula albifrons. Vigors, P.Z. S. 1831, p. 92, Inland from
Delagoa Bay.

46 Oil the Ploceidse of the Ethiopian Region.

"? Pyrrhula frontalis , Swains. An. in Menag. 1838^ p. 319.

Pyrenestes frontalis, Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr. 1840, pis. 63
(ad.)j 63 (young) .

Pyrenestes albifrons, Gray & Mitchell, Gen. B. ii. 1849,
p. 356.

Amblyospiza albifrons, Sundev. CE£v.Vet.-Ak. Forh. Stockh.
1850, p. 98.

Coryphegnathus albifrons, Bp. Consp. i. 1850, p. 450.

? Coryphegnathus schiffi, Bp. t. c. p. 451.

Hah. S. Africa : Transvaal, Natal, and the eastern portion
of Cape Colony.

183. Amblyospiza melanotis.

Coryphegnathus melanotis, Heugl. J. f. O. 1863, p. 21,
White Nile.

Coryphegnathus albifrons, Heugl. (nee Vigors), Orn. N.O.-
Afr. pp. 591, cxxxv.

Amblyospiza albifrons, Hartl. Abhandl. nat.^Ver. Brem.
vii. p. 100, Lado and Magungo.

Hab. N.E. Africa : Upper White Nile, between about 10°
and 5° N. lat.

a, 6 . March, b, ^ . November, Magungo {Emin Bey,
Shelley Mus.) .

184. Amblyospiza capitalbus.
Pyrenestes capitalbus , Temm. MS., Ashantee.
Coryphegnathus capitalbus^ Temm. Bp. Consp. i. 1850,

p. 451.

Hab. W. Africa : from the Congo to the Gold Coast.

Since the publication of the first part of my Review of the
Family Ploceidse, the following species has been described : —

Lagonosticta nitidula, Hartl. Bull. Mus. Roy. Hist. Nat.
Belg. iv. 1886, p. 145, pi. 4. fig. 2, ^ and ? ?

I have examined the type of the adult male. It is a very
well-marked form, which, according to my key of this genus,
should be placed between L. rufopicta and L. senegala, with

Mr. W. Ayi'es on Birds from the Transvaal S^c. 47

both of which it agrees in having the " bill red, with the
cuhnen black," although in the illustration the bill is incor-
rectly coloured yellow.

It must not, on account of its name, be confounded with
the Estrelda nitidula, Hartl. Ibis, 1885, p. 269, which I refer
to the genus Pytilia (Ibis, 1886, p. 319).

II. — A List of Birds collected by Mr. Walter Ayres in Trans-
vaal and in Umzeilla's Country lying to the North-east
of Transvaal, between the 23rd and 2Uh degrees of South
Latitude and the 32nd and 33rd of East Longitude, ivith
Notes by the Collector. Communicated by John Henry

GURNEY.

[Such of the following species as have been obtained within
the Transvaal boundary, and have not been previously recorded
from thence by Mr. Thomas Ayres or myself, are here num-
bered consecutively with those of which I have previously
spoken in the pages of 'The Ibis.^ — J. H. G.]

ScELOSPiziAs poLYzoxoiDEs (Smith). Smithes Many-
banded Hawk.

Female, adult, iris brick-red, shot in high trees, 19th
June, 1885, at Lehtaba river, lat. 23° 10' and long. 31° 30'.

AsTURiNULA MONOGRAMMiCA (Temm,). Oue-streakcd
Hawk.

Female, shot at Buffers (Transvaal), September 1, 1885.

I have met with these birds in the Rustenberg district ;
they are not so shy as most Hawks, and with a little caution
one can generally get within shot of them ; they are always
found in bushy country.

AcciPiTER MiNULLUs (Daud.), Least South-African
Sparrow-hawk.

Female, adult, Lehtaba river, August 21, 1885. Length
lOf inches, tail 5, wing 6^. Irides and legs yellow. Stomach
contained small birds. Shot from the top branches of a
high tree.

48 Mr. W, Ayres on Birds collected in the

385. LopHOAETUs OCCIPITALIS (Daud.) . Long-crested
African Hawk-eagle.

Male, immature, shot 1st July, 1885, at the junction of
the Mashupan and Olifants rivers (Transvaal).

There was a dead stump in an old Kaffir garden close to
my skerm on which I several times noticed this bird sitting,
no doubt watching for rats ; and when I had the time to
spare I shot and preserved it. I only saw one other at that
place, and had not previously met with them since leaving
the coast. These Eagles perch on some low bush or dead
stump when watching for their prey, M'hich principally con-
sists of rats, which they swallow whole; they are not shy
birds, and when disturbed they fly low and usually settle
again close by.

Haliaetus vocifer (Daud.). African Sea-eagle.

Male, adult, shot at Rovi-rand, in Umzeilla^s country,
July 1885.

I met with a few of these Eagles on the Olifants and
Lehtaba rivers ; the present specimen I killed with my rifle
while it was perched on the branch of a tree overhanging
the Spruit at Rovi-rand near the Lehtaba river.

These Eagles are shy birds, and it is very difficult to get
within shot-range of them; one evening, however, just at
dusk, one allowed me to pass within twenty yards of it as it
was sitting on a dead tree, where it had evidently taken up
its quarters for the night ; for, on returning at early dawn,
after watching all night for game, I found it still in the
same place, and again it allowed me to pass close to it.

HuHUA lactea (Temm.). Verreaux's Owl.

Female, shot 5th August, 1885, near the Sinquitzie river
(a small river in Umzeilla^s country), in lat. 23° 30' and
long. 32°.

Passing under a large tree in the dense bush by which the
river Sinquitzie is bordered for about a mile on either side, I
disturbed this Owl, which flew off" and alighted high up in
the branches of another very large tree close by, where it had
hardly settled when I heard a rush of wings and saw a small

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 49

Eagle coming at lightning speedy which clashed viciously at
the Owl several times, but did not succeed in knocking it off
its perch, and in fact the Owl did not seem much concerned :
the Eagle then settled on a tree close by, and from the way
in which it stretched its neck and looked about, I thought it
seemed surprised and disappointed. It was an active-looking
little Eagle, with along neck, small head, and feathered down
to the toes ; all its upper parts were dark slate-colour, the
lower parts white with a few dark blotches ; it was very like
Nisaetus spilog aster in appearance and build, but smaller^.

After observing the Eagle for a few seconds I turned my
attention to the Owl, which I shot with a bullet, having been
at the time in search of large game.

I met with a pair of these Owls at Buffels, and fired at one
with No. 7 shot at very close range, but failed to bring it
down. I had also a close shot at one at Rovi-rand, but it
got away ; they are certainly very tough. I think they vary
a good deal in size. They seem to have a wide range, as I
have found them in the Free State, in the Rustenberg dis-
trict, and along the Limpopo ; when once disturbed by day
they are very shy and difficult to approach.

[I now agree with Mr. Sharpe that Huhua verreauxi of
South Africa is not specifically distinct from the more
northern H. lactea, as I have already explained in the
P. Z. S. 1884, p. 560.— J. H. G.]

Glaucidium perlatum (VieilL). African Pearl-spotted
Owlet.

Female, Lehtaba river-drift, August 1885.

This little Owl, when I shot it, had just killed a large
striped field-mouse; this was about eight o'clock in the
morning, and the sun was well up.

These Owls are often to be seen by day flying from tree
to tree, and appear to be very wide awake ; they also call a
good deal in the daytime. I have found them plentiful
along the Limpopo river, and also in the Eustenberg district

* [I think there can be little doubt that this Eagle was a small male
of Nisaetus spilogaster. — J. H. G.]

SER. V. — VOL. V. E

50 Mr. W. Ayres oti Birds collected in the

wherever there is suitable bush ; they have a dipping flight,
opening and shutting their wings pretty quickly, very unlike
the steady flight of the larger Owls. Other small birds
have a great dislike to them, and never lose a chance of
tormenting them and driving them about.

386. TiENiOGLAUX CAPENSis (Smith). African Barred Owl.

Female, shot 2nd July, 1885, at the junction of the Ma-
shupan and Olifants rivers (Transvaal).

I shot this Owl in a dense strip of bush that skirts the
Mashupan river. I had not before met with it, but later on
I saw another on the Sinquitzie rivei", though, having only
a rifle with me, I could not secure it.

[The late Mr. E. Buxton informed me that he found this
species common at Dar-es-Salaam, on the coast, about 70
miles S.W. of Zanzibar. Conf. Shelley, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 563,
and 1882, p. 305.— J. H. G.]

CoRACiAs CAUDATA, Vicill. Lilac-brcastcd Roller.

Male and female, shot at Buflels' Kraal, May 1885.

These are shy birds and, as a rule, difficult to approach,
invariably settling on the top of some isolated tree or bush.
They are generally to be found singly or in pairs ; but when
the grass is burned in suitable localities I have seen as many
as a dozen or more together ; they then follow the course of
the fire, settling on trees and bushes in front of the flames
and pouncing down on beetles or grasshoppers that are driven
out by the heat.

Ceryle maxima (Pall.). Great African Kingfisher.

Male, shot at Lelitaba river-drift, August 1885.

These birds, though nowhere plentiful, are to be found on
nearly all the rivers in this country, but they are extremely
shy and difficult to shoot. One of their nests was discovered
by my Boer driver in a perpendicular bank of a little stream
running into the Lehtaba at the drift ; it was in a hole about
four feet from the top of the bank, and, from below, a man
standing in the water up to his middle could just reach it.
The place w.as an awkward one to get at, especially as there

Transvaal and Uinzeilla's Country. 51

were crocodiles about ; however my driver and a Kaffir, by
digging with a spade to a considerable depth, managed to
get at the nest. The Boer put his arm into the hole and felt
the eggs ; he also felt the ohl bird, not sitting on the eggs,
but a little on one side, where it remained and allowed itself
to be caught : it was my intention to let it go, but my com-
jDanion wishing for its skin it was retained, and on dissection
proved to be a male bird. The eggs were four in number,
and white.

387. BucERos BUCCINATOR, Tcmm. Trumpeter Hornbill.

Two females, shot July 1885, at the junction of the
Mashupan and Olifants rivers (Transvaal).

I found a few of these strange birds in the bush along the
above-mentioned rivers, where they were feeding on wild
figs. The last time I had previously met with this species
was many years ago on the coast of Natal.

These Hornbills are shy and difficult to approach; their
flight is peculiar, and they make a great noise with their
wings; their note is loud, harsh, and not easily described, a
sort of kor-kor, kor, kor, kor-kor, which has a melancholy
sound.

[The two females sent measure as follows, the larger bird
being apparently the older of the two : —

Wing. Tail. Tarsus.

in.
10-5o

in.
8-60

lO.

1-80

10-40

8-30

1-60

In Sharpens ' Layard^ the wing is given as 11*50 and the
tail as 9*50, which may probably be the measurement of a
male bird. — J. H. G.]

Irrisor erythrorhynchus (Lath.). Red-billed Wood-
hoopoe.

Male, shot at Rovi-rand, June 1885.

I found these birds tolerably plentiful all along my route
wherever there was suitable bush ; they are found in small
families, varying from three to eight in number ; they search
for food principally amongst the dead branches of trees and

e3

52 Mr. W. Ay res on Birds collected in the

dead creepers, and are fond of hunting over old dead stumps,
around which they move almost as nimbly as a Woodpecker.

388. K.HINOPOMASTES cYANOMELAs (VicilL). Scimitar-
billed Wood-hoopoe.

Female, shot at Rovi-rand, June 10, 1885.

These birds occur singly or in pairs ; though I have not
found them plentiful in any one locality, they have a wide
range, and I have met with them more or less wherever I
have travelled in the Transvaal.

[The specimen sent was obtained just beyond the Trans-
vaal border ; hut, on the strength of Mr. Walter Ayres^s note,
I have included the species in the Transvaal enumeration. I
may add that in the present specimen there is no white on
the inner primary-coverts, and that in 'The Ibis^ for 1868,
p. 44, I recorded a male in which the white spot on these
coverts existed on one wing only, — J. H. G.]

Centropus natalensis, Shelley. Natal Spur-heel Cuckoo.

Male, shot May 30, 1885, at Tentie river, on the Transvaal
boundary.

These birds are found in the thick reeds and underwood
growing along the streams ; they search for their food on the
ground, and depend for their safety more on their legs than
on their wings ; when once disturbed it is difficult to find
them again, as they hide away either on the ground or in
the dense underwood.

I shot the specimen sent whilst it was creeping about in
the thick leaves of a wild palm-tree which grew on the edge
of the river.

[The specimens referred by me to C. senegalensis in ' The
Ibis,^ 1871, p. 261, and 1881^, p. 225, were incorrectly named,
and are examples of C. natalensis, of which I now possess four
Transvaal skins. None of these show any trace of a white
eyebrow; this latter is evidently by no means a constant
character in this species. — J. H. G.]

389. Barbatula bilineata, Sund. Bridled Barbet.
Male and female, shot 27th July, 1885, at Umzingeilla's,
near the Olifants and Maslmpau rivers (Transvaal).

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 53

Length of male in the flesh 4 inches, wing 2^^, tail 1 ;
bill black, legs ash-colour.

I noticed these little Barbets hunting about for insects on
a tall species of acacia tree in the thick bush adjacent to the
Mashupan river, and was fortunate enough to secure them
both. I had never met with these Barbets before, nor did I
see any others of them where I killed this pair.

[In the pair sent no difference is perceptible between the
sexes. The female bird has been added to the collection at
the British Museum.— J. H. G.]

Mesopicus NAMAQuus (Licht.). Bearded Woodpecker.

Male, shot 5th May, 1885, at Sibideilla's (Transvaal).

These Woodpeckers are not at all plentiful, but are to be
found sparingly in most parts of the country where the bush
is favourable : they make a loud tapping noise that can be
heard at a considerable distance, and is generally answered
at a distance by the bird^s mate ; it is certainly a call-tap,
heard at regular intervals, having always the same sound and
invariably tlie same number (four) of taps.

Campothera abingtoni (Smith). Golden-tailed Wood-
pecker.

Male, shot June 13, 1885, at Rovi-rand, Umzeilla's country.

I found these birds fairly plentiful, especially in the
Mopani forest, near Lehtaba river-drift.

Campothera bennetti (Smith). Bennett's Woodpecker.

Male, Lehtaba river.

Female, Buffels (Transvaal).

The same remarks apply to this species as to the preceding
one. I have found both in the Rustenberg district amongst
the Boukenhout trees, which are not unlike the Mopani.

390. PsiTTACus rusciCAPiLLUs, Verr. & Des Murs. Goe
Parrot.

Two males, shot 24th July, 1885, at Umzingeilla's, near
Olifants river (Transvaal).

I first found these Parrots a little below Buffels, and from
thence, more or less, till I got to Umzingeilla's, where they

54 Mr. W. Ayres on Birds collected in the

are plentiful^ and the Kaffirs told me that in the summer
months they come in great numbers and do much damage
to their crops of Indian corn and millet. I generally met
with them in pairs, but sometimes saw as many as seven or
eight together. They are fond of sitting in the top branches
of some dead tree, and are very difficult to see, as, when
approached, they hide most cleverly behind the branches ; I
have sometimes stood for nearly half an hour gazing up at a
dead tree in vain, though I knew that two or three of these
birds were hiding amongst the branches. They continually
utter their loud and harsh cry, but see them you cannot, even
in trees where one would think a mouse would hardly evade
detection. In winter their food consists of the fruit of the
wild fig-trees, of which there are an abundance, in full
bearing, along the Olifants and Mashupan rivers.

391. CossYPHA NATALENsis, Smith. ISlatal Chat-thrush.
Female^ shot 24th July, 1885, at Umzingeilla's near Olifants

river (Transvaal).

I met with a few of these birds in the above locality and
also at Uovi-rand ; they are found in the dense underwood
along the river-banks searching for their food on the ground,
and are difficult to shoot on account of the impenetrable
nature of the bush which they frequent.

392. CossYPHA QUADRiviRGATA, Rcich. Four - streaked
Chat-thrush.

Male, near Olifants river, Transvaal.

This bird I shot on 29th July, 1885, in the thick Mopani
forest some few miles from Umzingeilla^s. I do not remember
having met with this species previously, and I know nothing
of its habits.

[The specimen sent is the most southern example of this
species which has come under my notice ; it has been added
to the collection of the British Museum. — J. H. G.]

393. Saxicola shelleyi, Sharpe. Shelley^s Wheatear.
Two males, shot at Lehtaba river-drift, August 1885.
Female, shot at Umzingeilla's, Olifants river (Transvaal),

29th July, 1885.

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 55

I do not remember to have met with these birds before.
They seek their food on the ground, constantly flyiug up and
settHng on the lower branches of some convenient tree, and
then returning to the ground ; they are constantly on the
move, and are rather shy, flying, when disturbed, from tree
to tree, and not admitting of a near approach.

[The above specimens agree in coloration and markings
with the description given by Mr. Sliarpe at p. 246 of his
edition of ^ Layard,^ and at p. 52 of vol. vii. of the British
Museum 'Catalogue,^ except that in the present female the
entire chin, throat (from one ear-covert to the other), and
jugulum are transversely, but somewhat irregularly, barred
with blackish brown. Both the above males measure 4*20
inches in the wing, and the female 3'70; the tarsus mea-
sures 1*10 in all three specimens. This species is, I think,
obviously a very near ally of S. monticola, and I can hardly
think that these two Chats ought to be geuerically separated
merely on account of a very slight difference in the propor-
tions of then* primaries ; but the present bird has been
referred to the genus Thamnolea, whilst the Mountain
AVheatear has been retained in that of Saxicola. Vide
Sharpens ' Layard,' p. 819.— J. H. G.]

394. CiNNYRis GUTTURALis (Linn.). Natal Sun-bird.

Male, shot at Umzingeilla^s, near the Olifants apd
Mashupan rivers (Transvaal), 1st July, 1885.

Whilst trying for a shot at Sea-cows one morning, along
the Mashupan, 1 noticed several of these handsome little
birds busily extracting honey from the flowei's of a shrub in
blossom ; there was only a patch of it a few yards in circum-
ference, but this was alive with Sun-birds, and, besides the
present species, I noticed C. marujuensis and C. talatala.
The next day I went with my shot-gun and obtained the
specimen now sent; I subsequently saw two others near
BuflFels, but was not able to secure them. This is the first
time I have met with the Natal Sun-bird since leaving the
coast of Natal in 1870.

56 Mr. W. Ayres on Birds collected iti the

CiNNYRis TALATALA (Smith). Soutb - African White-
breasted Sun-bird.

Malcj immature.

I shot this specimen at Rovi-rand on 19th June^ 1885 ; it
was hopping about very quickly^ sipping honey from the
flowers of a creeper which grew in the thick underwood
along the banks of the spruit, and was quick and restless
in its movements ; on dissection it proved to be a male. I
found no other Sun-bird about this spot.

[The present specimen has been kindly identified for me by
Captain Shelley as a young male of C. talatala. — J. H. G.]

395. Anthodi^ta coLLARis (Yieill.). Natal Collared Sun-
bird.

Female, Umzingeilla's, near Mashupan river (Transvaal),
1st July, 1885.

I met with a few of these tiny Sun-birds in the dense bush
along the Mashupan, where they find flowering creepers to
their taste.

Graucalus pectoralis, Jard. & Selby. Pectoral Cuckoo-
shrike.

Female, Rovi-rand near Lehtaba river, 13th June^ 1885.

Length 9| inches, wing 5|, tail 4f. Bill and legs black;
eyes dark brown, and very large for the size of the bird.
When I shot this specimen it was catching insects in the top
branches of a high mimosa tree ; from its flight I mistook
it for a Cuckoo, and only discovered my mistake when I
picked it up; its stomach contained green caterpillars and
the shell of a green locust. I unfortunately lost the label
on which I had noted the sex of this specimen, but believe it
to have been a female.

Male, shot 20th June, 1885, at the same spot as the female.
I have not met with this species in Transvaal, neither do I
remember seeing it in Natal.

[The two specimens sent appear to be correctly sexed. I
do not include them amongst the Transvaal species, as they
were killed in a locality beyond the Transvaal border. —
J. H. G.]

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 57

396. SiGMODus RETzii (VValilb.). Retzius's Helraet-shrike.
Male, nearly adult, shot 23rd July, 1885, at Umzingeilla^s

near Olifants river (Transvaal).

Female, fully adult, same date and place. Eyes yellow ;
bill red, but yellow at the tip ; legs red ; eyelids red and
deeply notched.

Whilst hunting in some rather open low bush I came
across a family of about ten of these strange birds, of which
I only managed to secure two ; in flight and habits they
exactly resembled Prioiiops talacoma, frequenting bushes
and hunting on the ground or on the lower branches of
stumps and trees for insects. Their flight is heavy, and they
fly low, and never go far at a time ; but when disturbed they
go from bush to bush, and commence feeding again directly
they settle.

[In Mr. Sharpe's edition of Mr. Layard's ' Birds of South
Africa,^ a clerical error has occurred in the treating of the
genus Sigmodus, which it may be useful here to point out;
at p. 407 a description of S. rnfiventris has by some accident
been substituted for that of S. tricolor. Both of these species
have, however, been correctly described by Mr. Sharpe in
his ' Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum,^ vol. iii.
pp. 323 and 325.— J. H. G.]

397. Laniarius sulphureipectus, Less. Yellow- fronted
Bush-shrike.

Male, shot 9th June, 1885^ at Lehtaba river.

Female, shot 24th July, 1885, at Olifants river (Transvaal).

I met with these birds in the thick bush on the banks of
the rivers, where they find their food amongst the thick
creepers, &c. ; they are also to be found searching for insects
in the mimosa trees. I met with this species several times in
favourable localities, and I also noticed it in 1884 some two
hundred miles down the Limpopo, in the thick bush that
grows along the banks of that river.

Laniarius poliocephalus, Licht. {L. icterus of the first
edition of Layard's ' Birds of South Africa'). Large Grey-
headed Bush-shrike*.

58 Mr. W. Ayres on Birds collected in the

Male and female^ shot at Lehtaba river-drift, 20th August,
1885,

I found a pair of these birds in the bush which skirts the
Lehtaba river, and was fortunate enough to get both of
them ; a few days previously a bird of this species had been
observed several times by a Kaffir picking at some strips of
meat cut from a girafle and hung on the branches of a tree
to dry. I had not met with this Shrike since leaving Natal,
and there they are scarce; they are fond of searching for
their food amongst thick creepers.

[These specimens appear to have been killed beyond the
Transvaal boundary, and I have therefore not included
them in the Transvaal list. — J. H. G.]

Telephonus senegalus (Linn.). Senegal Tchagra-shrike.

Female, shot at Rovi-rand, 14th June, 1885.

I frequently met with this bird. It is generally found near
water, hunting on the ground for its food ; when disturbed it
flies up into a bush or tree ; its flight is heavy, and it never
goes far without settling.

[In 'The Ibis^ for 1879, p. 399, the specific name of
erythropterus was by an error of mine applied to the present
species. — J. H. G.]

398. BupHAGA ERYTHRORHYNCHA, Staul. Red-billed Ox-
pecker.

Male, shot 1st May, 1885, at Olifants river (Transvaal).

I met with but very few of these birds, which seem to be
disappearing as the large game becomes scarcer. The speci-
men sent was settled with two others on our cattle, making
their breakfast of ticks ; when disturbed they flew on to the
top branches of a high tree close by, whence I shot one of
them.

Hyphanturgus ocuLARius (Smith). Smithes Weaver-
bird.

Two males, shot at Rovi-rand, 10th and 14th June, 1885.

Both these specimens were shot at the edge of the spruit
in Rovi-rand, a small stream close to the Lehtaba river ; one

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 59

was searching for food amongst the leaves of a wild date-tree
growing in the thick underwood, and the other was hopping
about in some high grass and reeds, from whence it flew,
when disturbed, into a tree, where I shot it.

[The specimen shot on 14th June is in tlie full breeding-
plumage of the male bird ; the other shot on 10th June,
which is also marked as a male by Mr. Ayres, agrees with
the description of the female given in Sharpe's ' Layard,'
p. 436, and seems therefore not to have yet acquired its
nuptial dress. Mr. Ayres descriu.^s the latter specimen as
having the " Eyes light brown, the legs ash-coloured, and
the bill light brown, with the base of the lower mandible
flesh-coloured. — J. H. G.]

399. Malimbus RUBRicEPS (Sund.). Red-headed Weaver-
bird.

Two females, shot at Rovi-rand, 17th June, 1885. Length
5^ inches, wing 3^, tail 2. Eye reddish brown ; bill orange ;
legs flesh-coloured.

I found a small flock of six or eight of these birds, some
of which were feeding on the ground, and others perched on
low thorn-bushes ; I killed two at a shot, both females, but
they all appeared to be in the same dull plumage. I do not
remember to have previously met with this species.

[The present specimens appear to have been killed beyond
the Transvaal boundary ; but I enumerate the species as
belonging to Transvaal, it having been there obtained by
Dr. F. H. Guillemard. The females sent by Mr. Ayres agree
with the description given by Dr. Guillemard in ' The Field '
newspaper of 13th November, 1880, p. 714, and quoted in
Sharpe's edition of Layard's ' Birds of South Africa,^ p. 445.
I think it probable that the small flock from which these
females were obtained may have also comprised male birds
which had not attained their nuptial dress.

The Weaver- bird described by Du Bocage {' Birds of An-
gola,' p. 33 i) under the title of Sycobius rubriceps, and
identified by him with the present species, is stated in his
description to have '' la region auriculaire noiratre,'^ which

60 Mr. W. Ayres on Birds collected in the

is not the case either in the male of the present species
preserved in the British Museum, or in tlie females sent
by Mr. Ayres, one of which has also been placed in the
Museum. A very distinct species likewise received the
name of Sycobius ruhriceps from Reichenow, in the ' Journal
fiir Ornithologie ' for 1876, p. 209 ; but, according to the
law of priority, the name cannot be retained for the species
there described by Reichenow, which, moreover, seems to
me, by his description, to be identical with MaUmbus cassini
of Elliot, first described in ' The Ibis,' 1859, p. 392, and sub-
sequently figured in ' The Ibis,' 1876, pi. xiii., where a figure
of the male, in full plumage, of the true MaUmbus rubriceps,
taken from the male which is now in the British Museum,
is also given. — J. H. G.]

Spermestes cucullatus. Swains. Hooded Dwarf Finch.

Two males and two females, shot at Rovi-rand, 16th June,
1885. Eye brown; legs black; upper mandible black,
lower ash-colour.

I found these little birds fairly plentiful in flocks, varying
from four or five to as many as fifteen in number ; they feed
on small seeds, and are generally found in low open bush
near water. They feed a good deal on the ground, though
. I have at times seen them on the top branches of high trees.
They are shy little birds, and when disturbed often fly quite
out of sight.

[The specimens sent appear to have been obtained beyond
the Transvaal boundary. — J. H. G.]

Lagonosticta senegala (Linn.). Little Ruddy Waxbill.

1 found five of these little birds together at Rhinoster-
poort, and killed them all at one shot; they are generally
found in thick grass or scrub, and are fond of pecking about
on little patches of bare ground. The eye in this species is
red, and the eyelid yellow. The specimens sent were shot on
13th May, 1885, and I noticed several others subsequently.

400. Chalcopelia afra (Linn.). Emerald-spotted Wood-
dove.

Female, shot at Rovi-rand, 17th June, 1885.

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 61

These pretty little Doves are generally scarce^ and only to
be found singly or in pairs ; but about the Mashupan river
I found them rather plentiful^ and on one occasion saw as
many as seven together ; they are usually found near the
edge of the bush skirting the rivers. They search for their
food on the ground, settling, if disturbed, on some low tree
or bush. They are most difficult birds to seej I have met
with them in the Rustenberg district.

[Although the specimen sent was obtained beyond the
Transvaal boundary, I include the species in the Transvaal
lists, as having been observed by Mr. W. Ayres in the
Rustenberg district. — J. H. G.]

Francolinus pileatus. Smith. Pileated Francolin.

Male, shot May 1855, at Lehtaba river-drift.

These Francolins inhabit the thick bush on the river-banks,
but are not very plentiful ; when frightened they stick their
tails straight up and erect their head-feathers, which gives
them a crested appearance.

Francolinus subtorquatus. Smith. Cogni Francolin,
Female, shot May 1885, at Lehtaba river-drift.
These birds are fairly plentiful, frequenting the open bush-
country, where they are found in coveys, varying from five
or six in number to a dozen ; they lie very close, and, except
with a good dog, are difficult to flush.

401. Otis c^rulescens, Vieill. Blue-breasted Bustard.

Male, shot 6th April, 1885, between Potchefstroom and
Middelburg (Transvaal) .

I met with eight or ten of these birds near Klip river-
drift, but only succeeded in bagging two of them. This is
the only spot in the Transvaal, I believe, where these Bustards
are to be found ; but I killed some, many years ago, at
Rhinoster river, in the Free State. They are found in pairs
or in small companies of five or six, and, as a rule, are not
so shy as the other Bustards ; if you walk round them,
gradually decreasing the distance, they will squat and allow
you to get within shot. They are found in quite open veldts.

62 Mr. W. Ayres on Birds collected in the

and in the Free State I generally met with them near home-
steads. They have a loud croaking note,

402. Parra africana, Gmel. Greater African Jacana.

Female, shot 30th July, 1885, at Masliupan river-drift
(Transvaal). Wing 7"05 inches, tarsus 2-80, middle toe
s.u. 2-90.

I found these birds on most of the rivers and swamps
where there were suitable weeds and stagnant water; they
may be seen sometimes running along the edge of the water
picking up insects, and at other times walking on the leaves
of the water-lilies or on the thick weeds that float on the
surface of the still pools.

Whilst watching one day for Sea-cows on the river
Mashupan, I had a good opportunity of observing one of
these birds for at least a quarter of an hour ; it was running
about on a bed of weeds that floated on the surface of the
pool just below me, and kept incessant^ turning with its
beak lily-leaves and branches of Aveed, and then pecking at,
no doubt, small water-insects or shells which adhered to the
lower surface of the leaves. Some of the bundles of weed
were heavy, and turning them over seemed quite hard work
for the bird; but it was very persevering, and not satisfied
till it had turned the weeds completely over.

LiMNocoRAx NIGER (Licht.) . Black Crake.

Female, shot June 1885 at Rovi-rand.

I found a good many of these birds in the spruit at Rovi-
rand, and also in other small streams, where there were pools
of still water with weeds suitable to their habits ; they are
shy birds, and get away very quickly in the reeds on the
approach of danger ; when moving about on the feed, they
continually utter their note, chuck-cJmck-chuck.

Ardea melanocephala, Vig. & Childr. Black-necked
Heron.

Male and female, shot Gth May, 1885, at Unigoopie river,
Leibideila's,

I found about ten of these Herons sitting on the top

Transvaal and Umzeilla's Country. 63

branches of a clump of high trees, where they had nests ; I
could not climb to the nests, which were high up in the top
branches, but think they must have contained eggs or young,
as the birds would not be driven away from them. I fired
four shots at them, killing as many birds, but the others
flew, circling round, and settled again immediately.

These Herons are fond of searching for food in the Kaffir
gardens ; the stomach of one that I shot contained a mouse.

BuTORiDEs ATRicAPiLLA, Afzcl. AfHcan Black-headed
Heron.

Male, shot at Rovi-rand, 19th June, 1885. Female shot
at the same place, 17th June, 1885. Iris yellow; upper
mandible black ; lower mandible yellow, with a black stripe
along the upper edge.

I found these little Herons on several of the small streams
where the banks were well wooded ; those I saw were perched
on trees or bushes on the edge of or overhanging the water.
When disturbed they utter a harsh cry, not unlike that of the
Great Kingfisher {Ceryle maxima).

403. Leptoptilus CRUMENiFER (Cab.). African Marabou.

Two specimens, both in process of change from immature
to adult dress, shot at Rovi-rand, 11th June, 1886, one of
which was found to be a male, and the other was believed to
be a female ; but injury from the course of the bullet pre-
vented this from being ascertained with certainty.

Male — length 4 feet 10 inches, wing 2 feet 7 inches, tail
1 foot 2 inches, expanse of wings from tip to tip 9 feet
8 inches. Iris brown; bill dirty green; legs black, but
covered with fine ashy powder; a patch of yellow skin at
the back of the neck, where it joins the body.

Presumed female — length 4 feet 3 inches ; wing 2 feet
3 inches; tail 1 foot 1 inch.

I have found these birds very scarce; but in ISS^ I met
with one down the Limpopo, near the Mallabas ; and just
after the Bo&r war a few visited Pretoria, and fed on the
dead mules and cattle which were lying about the camp.

The two specimens sent came about our camp, and I killed

64 Mr. P. L. Sclater on Empidonax brunneus.

them with the rifle : the stomach of one contained bits of
dry gamCj skin, and bones, picked np at a deserted Boer
camp close by ; that of the other was crammed full of what
appeared to be horse-dung.

These birds generally come with the Vultures, and with
them may be seen circling round at great altitudes ; like the
Vultures, they often settle about on the trees before alighting
on the ground to commence a meal.

[Although the specimens sent were killed beyond the
Transvaal boundary, yet, as Mr. Walter Ayres has met with
other specimens within that limit, I include the species in
the Transvaal list. — J. H. G.]

404'. Dendrocygna viDUATA (Linn.). White-masked Duck.

Female, shot 13th November, 1885.

This, with us very scarce Duck, was shot by my friend
Mr. J. Taylor, of Potchefstroom ; he saw fifteen of these
Ducks sitting in a shallow drift of the Movi river, just above
Potchefstroom, and succeeded in bagging seven with a right
and left shot, one of which he kindly gave to me. These birds
must have wandered from some distant haunts, as this is
certainly not their habitat, though I remember having seen
one many years ago in a vley about six miles from Potchef-
stroom.

Ill, — On Empidonax brunneus and its allied Species.
By P. L. Sclater.

At Mr. Ridgway's kind request the authorities of the Smith-
sonian Institution have most obligingly sent over to me for
examination the typical specimens of Empidonax brunneus,
together with examples of Empidochanes fringillaris, and of
the (so-called) E. oliva, concerning which Mr. Ridgway has
written in the last number of this Journal {' Ibis,' 1886,
p. 460). In his Empidonax brunneus I at once recognized
the bird which I have heretofore usually called Empidochanes
fuscatus. But Mr. Ridgway has been able to examine the
original types of Muscipeta fuscata of Pr. Max., and has shown

Mr. P. L. Sclater 07i Empifloimx hrunneus, 65

that it does not belong to tliis species. There is no doubt,
therefore, that my identification was incorrect. At the same
time, however, I may say that I believe I have found an
earlier name for this species than Empidonax brunneus.

The Muscipeta bimaculata of d'Orbigny and Lafresnaye
(given in the ' Museum Heincanum ' as a synonym of Myio-
phobus olivus) was quite unknown to me until a short time
since, when a typical specimen of it from the Paris Museum
was kindly lent to me for comparison. The specimen is not
in very good condition ; but after a close examination of it
I have come to the conclusion that it belongs to the same
species as Mr. llidgway's types of Etnpidonax brunneus. It
follows that, adopting Mr. Ridgway^s view that this bird
should be referred to Empidonax and not to Empidochanes ,
we must in future call this species Empidonax bimaculatus.

Of Empidonax bimaculatus my collection and that of
Messrs. Salvin and Godman contain together eight examples
from various localities in South-eastern Brazil. A ninth
skin, which I must also refer here (in Messrs. Salvin and
Godman^s collection), is from Pebas in Eastern Peru [Haux-
wtll), showing that Empidonax bimaculatus is not quite re-
stricted to South-eastern Brazil.

Of a nearly allied northern representative of Empidonax
bimaculatus , distinguished by its smaller size, more olive hue
and yellower belly, the two collections above named contain
three examples from Guiana, Venezuela, and Upper Ama-
zonia. This is, I think, the species that is 7nost likely to be
the Muscicapa oliva of Boddaert (based on Pl.Enl. 574. fig. 2),
and I shall call it for the present Empidonax oliva. Like
E. bimaculatus it has short tarsi, small feet, and a white
lower mandible.

As regards the three species of Empidochanes distinguished
by Mr. Bidgway in his article above referred to (' Ibis,'' 1886,
p. 461), I am as yet acquainted with only two of them. Of
E.friugillaris of Brazil a series of six specimens (e Muss.
P. L. S. et S.-G.) is now before me. Two of these are
Nattererian skins, and typical specimens of E. fringillaris
of Pelzeln. But of E. fuscatus (Max.), if distinct, I have as

SER. v. VOL. V, F

G6 Mr. J. Backhouse's Observations

yet seen no traces. E.fuscatus o£ Pelzcln (Orn. Bras. p. 115),
I may remark, is Emjndonax bimaculatus.

0£ Mr. Bidgway's third species of Enipidochanes {E.
oJiva [?] of Lawrence), for which the alternative name
" vireohinus" is suggested, seven specimens belonging to the
two collections above mentioned are before me, from Colombia,
Amazonia, Venezuela, and Tobago. One of these is the type
of Ochthoeca arenacea, Scl. et Salv. (P. Z. S. 1877, p. 20).
I fear, therefore, that Mr. Bidgway's suggested term for this
bird will also have to give way, and that the species must be
called Enipidochanes arenaceus. It must be confessed, how-
ever, that Mr. Bidgway could not have been expected to
look for a name for an Empidochanes in the genus Ochthceca,
and T feel that J almost owe him an apology for pointing out
this identification !

IV. — Observations in the Eastern Pyrenees. By James
Backhouse, Junr., M.B.O.U.

During the month of January, 1886, 1 made a short stay in
the Department of the Pyrenees-Orientales in order to see a
little of the ornithology of the district in the winter season ;
and although, owing to the unusual severity of the weather
(during the greater part of my visit) and to the shortness of
time at my disposal, the results were not specially good, yet,
considering that this Department has never been thoroughly
worked, I feel that I cannot do better than simply record
what observations I was able to make on this occasion —
the more so, as the season of my visit was the one of all
others during which the avifauna of the district is least
observed.

On January 4th I arrived at Perpignan, the chief town of
the Department. Here the necessary " pertnis de chasse "
was obtained, which, by the way, occupied most of the
morning. Here also I found time to examine the market,
which is a very rich one, and is always worth a visit, from

in the Eastern Pyrenees. 67

the variety of material brouglit into it from the numerous
marshes between Perpignan and the sea on one side, and
from the mountainous regions further inland on the other.

From Perpignan I proceeded to Vernet-les-Bains, a small
village and favourite French summer resort, snugly situated at
the base of Mont Canigou, at an elevation of about 2000 feet
above the sea-level. Fortunately the weather, for the first
two or three days, was all that could be desired, and obser-
vation was consequently easy. But before I left Vernet the
weather had become unsettled and exceedingly cold, and
snow, rain, and violent winds prevailed.

At Vernet, too, I had the opportunity of looking over a
small collection of birds shot in the district, and from this,
though rapidly going to ruin (if not actually arrived there !),
I was able to m*,ke notes of several species which I had not
the good fortune to meet with alive.

My next point of observation was the valley of the Tech,
lying immediately to the south of the Canigou range,
bordered again to the south by the Spanish frontier. Here
the nature of the ground is more rugged and wild, and
consequently the avifauna (in winter time at any rate) is less
varied and more restricted in numbers.

Upon leaving the Tech valley, I again descended to Per-
pignan, and again visited the bird- market and explored the
flat, marshy region coiJtiguous to the sea.

The following is a resume of my notes on the principal
species obtained or observed : —

1. TuRDus viscivoRus (Liuu.). Missel Thrush.

2. TuRDus Musicus (Linn.). Song Thrush.

Both pretty abundant in the markets, but the latter less so.

3. TuRDus iLiAcus (Liuu.) . Redwing.

Not actually met with in the Pyrenees-Orientales, though
seen in the Narbonne market in the adjacent Department of
Aude. Lacroix, in his ' Catalogue Raisonne des Oiseaux
observes dans les Pyrenees Fran9aises,'' states that it is found
in this Department in winter.

F 2

68 Mr. J. 13ackliou!se's Observations

4. TuRDus PILARIS (Liuii,). Fieldfare.

5. TuRDUS MERULA (Liiin.). Blackbird.
Both common everywhere.

6. TuRDUs TORQUATUS (Liiiii.). Ring Ouzel.

My only notice of this bird is from Vernet-les-Bains, where
here is a specimen in the local collection before referred to.

7. MoNTicoLA CYANUs (Linn.). Blue Rock Thrush.

One in Perpignan market, and a bird, probably of this
species, was heard singing in a rugged mountain-gorge south
of Aries (Tech valley). (See ' Ibis/ 1884, p. 369.)

8. CiNCLUs AQUATicus (Bcchst.). Dipper.

9. CiNCLUs ALBicoLLis (Vieill.). Pale-backed Dipper.
On most streams in the neighbourhood of Vernet and on

the Tech river Dij>pers were noticed, in the former locality
in very considerable numbers. Unfortunately, however,
not a single specimen fell to my gun, so that nothing definite
can be said as to the species. Probably both occur in the
Department.

Lacroix says that Cinclus aquaticus inhabits the mountain-
regions in summer, and the plains in winter, but the writer
never observed a single example in the districts of the low
country visited by him.

10. Saxicola leucura (Gmel.). Black Chat.
Met with once only in Perpignan market,

11. Pratincola rubicola (Linn.). Stonechat.

12. RuTiciLLA TiTYs (Scop.). Black Redstart.
One old male bird exposed for sale in Perpignan.

13. Erithacus rubecula (Linn.). Robin.
Abundant everywhere.

14. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.). Blackcap.

Common in Perpignan market and one shot also in the
neighbourhood of Pradcs, west of Perpignan.

15. Sylvia melanocephala (Gm.). Sardinian Warbler.
Once seen between Amelie and Aries ; another the writer

watched for some time between Perpignan and the sea. In

in the Eastern Pyrenees. 69

both cases these birds frequented small isolated thorn bushes
on dry banks. Others appeared for sale in the market.

16. Melizophilus UNDAius (Bodd.). Dartford Warbler.
A bird, which was doubtless of this species, seen in the

neighbourhood of Salses, a small village lying to the north
of Perpignan, in close proximity to a large reedy marsh,
which opens out into a lagoon nearer to the Mediterranean.

1 7. Regulus cristatus (Koch) . Goldcrest.

18. Regulus ignicapillus (C. L. Brehm). Firecrest.
These two species appeared to abound in both the valleys.

A specimen of R. ignicapillus was brought to me at Vernet.

19. Phylloscopus trochilus (Linn.). Willow Wren.
In Perpignan market.

20. Accentor modularis (Linn.). Hedge Sparrow.
Fairly common in the mountain regions.

21. AcREDULA ROSEA (Blytli). British Long-tailed Tit-
mouse.

This species was very abundant in the vicinity of Vernet-
les-Bains. Out of several family parties three or four speci-
mens were obtained for identification. All these appear to
be true A. rosea — i. e., with distinctly vinous-coloured and
not grey scapulars. Not a single example of Acredula irbyi
came under the writer^s observation in the Department;
and while writing upon this subject, it may be well to state
that one of the two birds shot in the Central Pyrenees and
recorded as A. irbyi (' Zoologist,^ 1884, p. 20) is probably
also referable to the English form A. I'osea.

22. Parus major (Linn.) . Great Titmouse.
The most abundant species of Titmouse met with.

23. Parus ater (Linn.). European Cole Titmouse.
Noticed once only, in a small wood near to Amelie-les-

Bains. Had the extensive forests lying round Mont Louis
been examined, this species would doubtless have been met
with more frequently.

70 Mr. J. Backhouse's Observations

24. Parus c^RULEUS (Linn.). Blue Titmouse.
Very common everywhere.

25. Certhia FAMfLiARis (Liuu.) . Creeper.
Fairly abundant round Vernet.

26. TiCHODROMA MURARiA (Linn.). Wall Creeper,

Not observed alive, though looked for long and carefully,
but a stuffed specimen was in the local collection, shot, as
the writer was informed, upon JNIont Canigou.

27. Troglodytes parvulus (Koch). Wren.
Pretty generally distributed.

28. MoTACiLLA alba (Linn.). White Wagtail.

A few on the upper waters of the Tech river, near Aries,
but not once observed in the Tet valley. Frequently in the
market at Perpignan.

29. MoTACiLLA MELANOPE (Pall.). Grey Wagtail.
Numerous in most suitable localities.

30. Anthus pratensis (Linn.). Meadow Pipit.

This bird seemed to be somewhat scarce, for only one was
noticed near Amelie-les-Bains, and a few in Perpignan
market.

31. Lanius meridionalis (Temm.). Southern Grey
Shrike.

On January 12th a beautiful adult of this species was pur-
cbased in Perpignan, but it was the only representative of its
genus that was met with, though, according to Lacroix, tliis
bird is rather common in the Department.

32. Carduelis elegans (Steph.). Goldfinch.
Very abundant near the coast, less so inland.

33. Serinus hortulanus (Koch). Serin Finch.
Abundant.

34. LiGURiNus CHLORis (Liuu.). Greenfinch.
Perpignan market ; apparently not very common.

35. Passer domesticus (Linn.). House Sparrow.
Abundant.

in the Eastern Pyrenees. 71

36. Passer montanus (Linu.). Tree Sparrow.
A few for sale in Perpignan market.

37. Petronia STULTA (Gmel.) . Rock Sparrow.
Narbonrie market.

38. Fringilla celebs (Linn.). Chaflfinch.

By far the commonest bird in the Department during
the winter. Their numbers in the plains are simply astonish-
ing, while great quantities were also noticed among the
mountains.

39. Fringilla montifrinqilla (Linn.). Brambling.

A small flock watched feeding in a vineyard between Per-
pignan and the coast.

40. LiNOTA cANxNABiNA (Linn.). Linnet.

Very abundant in the upper Tech valley and in the low
country.

41. Pyrrhula VULGARIS (Naum.). Bullfinch.

This species seems to be scarce in the Department in winter.
A single bird only was obtained at Veruet-les-Bains.

42. Emberiza miliaria (Linn.). Common Bunting.
Seen not unfrequently in Perpignan market.

43. Emberiza cirlus (Linn.). Cirl Bunting.

One brought in the market at Prades, the only specimen I
met with.

41. Emberiza citrinella (Linn.). Yellow Bunting.
Abundant, especially in the low country.

45. Emberiza cia (Linn.). Meadow Bunting.

Very common indeed among the mountains and probably
also noticed at Perpignan.

46. Emberiza schceniclus (Linn.). Reed Bunting.
Frequently to be seen in Perpignan and in the marshes

bordering the sea near the little village of Salses before men-
tioned. Scores might be seen among the reeds, in fact they
were the only birds actually observed in the marsh.

72 Mr. J. Backhouse's Observations

47. Alauda cristata (Linn.). Crested Lark.

Fairly abundant in the vineyards bordering the coast, and
very partial to the highroads, but never noticed far inland.

48. Alauda arvensis (Linn.). Sky Lark.

Very abundant, especially in the vineyards near to the
coast. Vast numbers exposed for sale in all the markets.

49. Alauda ARBOREA (Linn.). Wood Lark.

The writer fell in with a small party of these birds on a
barren hill-side near to the Spanish frontier, at an elevation
of not less than 3000 feet above the sea-level, south-west
of Amelie-les-Bains, and shot a couple of specimens for
identification.

50. Melanocorypha CALANDRA (Linn.). Calandra Lark.
This handsome bird was frequently noticed in Perpiguan

market, but never satisfactorily identified on the wing.

51. Sturnus vulgaris (Linn.). Starling.

A small flock of birds seen between Perpignan and the
sea probably consisted of this species.

52. Garrulus glandarius (Linn.). Jay.

Pretty abundant in the low country, resident also in the
mountains.

53. Pica RUSTicA (Scop.). Magpie.

Common everywhere. On one occasion four were noticed
all together upon a ridge above Vernet.

54. CoRvus coRONE (Linn.). Carrion Crow.

55. CoRvus coRAX (Linn.). Raven.

Both these species were seen in the Tet and Tech valleys.

56. Gecimus viridis (Linn.). Green Woodpecker.
Two or three in Perpignan market.

57. Alcedo ispida (Linn.). Kingfisher.

One reported to me whilst at Vernet, but spoken of as
'^ tres rare " !

58. Asio OTUS (Linn.). Long-eared Owl.
One at Vernet which had been recently killed.

in the Eastern Pyrenees. 73

59. Bubo ignavus (Forst.). Eagle Owl.
One in the Vernet collection.

60. Athene noctua (Retz.). Little Owl.
This species was also in the same collection.

, 61. BuTEo VULGARIS (Leach). Common Buzzard.
One seen near Vernet^ probably of this species.

6.2. Aquila chrysaetus (Linn.). Golden Eagle.
One in the Vernet collection.

63. AcciPiTER Nisus (liinn.) . Sparrow Hawk.
One near Amelie.

64. Falco tinnunculus (Linn.). Kestrel.

Abundant in the Tet valley^ also seen in the neighbourhood
of Perpignan.

65. Anser, sp.

A Goose was noticed exposed for sale in Amelie-les-Bains,
but not satisfactorily identified^ though it possibly may have
been A. segetum.

66. Anas boscas (Linn.). Wild Duck.

The only specimens seen were brought into Perpignan
market.

67. QuEKQUEDULA CRECCA (Linn.). Teal.
Apparently the commonest Duck in the Department,

judging from the numbers brought into the different markets,

68. Mareca PENELOPE (Liuu.). Wigeon.
Frequently brought into Perpignan market.

69. CoLUMBA PALUMBus (Linn.). Ring Dove.
Plentiful in Perpignan market.

70. Caccabis rufa (Linn.). Red-legged Partridge.

71. Perdix ciNEREA (Liuu.). Partridge.

The former species was abundant, but of the latter one
example only was observed in the market at Perpignan.

72. Rallus aquaticus (Linn.). Water Rail.
Two or three exposed for sale in Perpignan.

74 Mr. E. Hargitt on two Species of Woodpeckers.

73. Gallinula chloropus (Linn.). Moorhen.

74. FuLicA ATRA (Linn.). Coot.

Both of these species appeared in Perpignan market.

75. CEdicnemus scolopax (Gmel.). Stone Curlew.

On January 18th a beautiful specimen appeared in Per-
pignan market, and two more the following morning.

76. Charadrius PLuviALis (Linn.). Golden Plover.

77. Vanellus vulgaris (Bechst.). Peewit.

Golden Plover were frequently exposed for sale in Per-
pignan, and two or three parties of Peewits noted near to
Rivesaltes.

78. Scolopax rusticula (Linn.). Woodcock.

79. Galltnago CiELESTis (Frenzel). Common Snipe.

80. Gallinago gallinula (Linn.). Jack Snipe.

The Woodcock was remarkably abundant throughout the
Department, and commonly exposed for sale. The Common
and Jack Snipe were seen in Perpignan market, the former
in considerable numbers.

81. ToTANUs ocHROPus (Liuu.). Green Sandpiper.
Purchased in the flesh in Perpignan.

82. Larus canus (Linn.). Common Gull.

A flock of what was believed to be this species observed
between Narbonne and Salses.

V. — Notes on Woodpeckers. — No. XIII. On Gecinus gorii,
and on the male of Poliopicus ellioti. By Edward Har-
gitt, F.Z.S.

The object of this short paper is to draw the attention of
naturalists to some interesting Woodpeckers which have
recently come under my notice, the first being a species of
Gecinus from Southern Afghanistan, the other bird being the
male of the rare Poliopicus ellioti from the Congo. A skin of
the above-mentioned Gecinus has been brought to this country
by Brigade- Surgeon Aitchison, naturalist with the Afghan Dc-

Mr. E. Hargitt on two Species of Woodpeckers. 75

limitation Commission, the bird having been shot by Captain
Gore, R.E., on the 26th of October, 1881, at Padda Sultan, on
the Helmund. The species is allied to G. squamatus, but differs
from it in several important characters, which I give in my
diagnosis. The nature of the country in which the present
bird was found appears to be totally different from that inha-
bited by the true G. squamatus. Dr. Aitchison informs me that
the only indigenous trees are Populus euphratica and Tamarix
articulatu ; these grow in the bed of the river, with numerous
small tamarisks and reeds — the high banks beiug arid in the
extreme, and bare of any thing in the way of vegetation ex-
cept salsolaceous scrub. This was the only species of Wood-
pecker procured by Dr. Aitchison, and, unfortunately, the
specimen of which I am treating has been much injured
about the head and neck by water. It was carefully examined
by Dr. Aitchison, and proved to be a male, which one would
expect, as it possesses the red head which characterizes the
male of G. squamatus, and the same facial characters are to
be traced even in its imperfect state. Upon examining the
Gecini in the Hume Collection, I found a female of the pre-
sent species which had been procured at Quetta {cf. Swinhoe,
Ibis, 1882, p. 102) by Dr. Duke. It resembles the Padda-
Sultan bird in every respect, except that, being a female, it
has the black crown, occiput, and nape belonging to that
sex. I subjoin a brief diagnosis of the species, and, at Dr.
Aitchison^s request, I have named it after Capt. Gore, from
whom he received the specimen.

Gecinus gorii, sp. n.

Gecinus squamatus, Swinhoe, Ibis, 1882, p. 102 (nee
Vigors) .

G. similis G. squamato, sed supra dilutius viridis ; tectricibus
alarum et scapularibus saturatiore viridi transfasciatis ;
plumis corporis inferioris squamosi linea nigra intra-
marginali tenui ornatis ; caudse fasciis transversis albis
latis, fasciis nigris angustioribus (his in G. squamato
latissimisj illis vero angustioribus) .

Hub. In Afghania meridional i.

This is a desert form of G. squamatus , distinguished by

76 Mr. E. Hargitt on two Species of Woodpeckers.

the following characters : — Above very pale green, the wing-
coverts and scapularies barred with a darker green; the
squamate markings on the underparts reduced to a thread-
like intermarginal line ; the light bars on the quills as broad
as, or even broader than,, the black interspaces ; the tail
creamy white, narrowly barred with brownish black, these
bars showing but faintly on the under surface, which is
strongly washed with golden yellow.

Female. Similar to the mule, but with the sexual distinc-
tion of the black crown, occiput, and nape.

In the British Museum there is a female specimen of a
Gecinus from Chughur Bala, Kaffirstan {Griffiths), obtained
in March 1839, which I refer to G. squamatus, but it shows
a slight tendency towards some of the characteristic points
possessed by G. gor'ii.

The second species which I have to mention in this paper
is one I think likely to possess a great interest for students
of African birds. When my paper " On the Woodpeckers
of the Ethiopian Region'-' appeared in 'The Ibis' in 1883,
the rare African species Poliopicus ellioti of Cassin was
known to science only from the female example procured by
M. Du Chaillu on the river Muni, Western Africa, and con-
tained in the Academy Museum of Philadelphia. Not having
seen the type, I was uncertain whether its generic characters
allied it to Dendropicus or to Campothera, and I placed it
between these two genera. An examination of a male bird,
which I have recently received from the Congo district, in-
clines me to think I was right in so doing. The generic
characters are distinct, but they are more those of Dendro-
picus than of Campothera, and, judging by the plumage of
the bird, one would infer that such would be the case. The
male of this interesting species (of which I am the fortunate
possessor) is evidently a fully adult bird, and was obtained
by M. Lucan, at Landana, in November 1882. Its diagnosis
is as follows : —

^ . Feminffi similis, sed pdeo postico et occipite vivide scar-
latinis.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 77

VI. — A List of the Birds of Portugal.
By William C. Tait^ Oporto.

During the year 1883 I commenced the publication of a
'' List of the Birds of Portugal/' in the Portuguese magazine,
' Jornal da Sociedade d'lnstru^ao do Porto.^ After a few con-
secutive numbers of this periodical had appeared, its publi-
cation was temporarily suspended, but it is about to reappear.
However, I have resolved to publish my list in the English
language also, in case any of our British ornithologists may
feel interested in the observations on the birds of this
country, many of which are probably British migrants.

Very little has hitherto been published on the ornithology
of Portugal, and, indeed, few people have, so far as I am
aware, studied it. In 1862, Dr. Barboza du Bocage pub-
lished a catalogue of the Portuguese birds then existing in
the Lisbon Museum. Dr. Albino Giraldes also published a
list of those in the Coimbra Museum ; and the Rev. A. C.
Smith contributed to this Journal (Ibis, 1868, pp. 428-460)
a '' Sketch of the Birds of Portugal,''^ in which he enumerated
193 species.

Since these lists were printed, the knowledge of the orni-
thology of this country has increased, and many species
which were then thought to be rare have since proved to be
common, at least in suitable localities or at some special
season of the year ; other forms have been differentiated,
such as Sitta ccesia, Acredula irbii, &c. Unfortunately, how-
ever, the number of lovers of ornithology in Portugal has
continued very small, and, so far as I know, there are at the
present moment only two field-ornithologists in this country,
my valued friend. Dr. Jose Maria Rosa de Carvalho, of
Coimbra, and myself. We have for many years had a very
pleasant occasional correspondence on our favourite hobby,
and to him I am indebted for many particulars in this list,
more especially as regards the birds observed by him in the
neighbourhood of Coimbra and the popular names by which
they are known there.

Of late years many of my friends, learning that I was

78 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

collecting observatious on birds, have kindly sent me speci-
mens, with dates and localities where obtained while out
shooting. This has proved of much assistance to me in
fixing the dates of arrival of many of the larger and rarer
autumn migrants.

Although the fauna of Portugal is, as would naturally be
expected, almost identical with that of Spain, and much
resembles that of Italy, there are nevertheless some special
points of interest in this country. It forms the extreme
westerly point of Europe, and many of its birds differ
widely from those of the east of Europe ; it has a long
line of coast washed, by the Atlantic, favourable for observa-
tions on sea-birds, some of which perhaps are not met with
in the Mediterranean ; it is also one of the great high-
ways for the migration of birds to Africa and back again.
Some species are merely regular summer or winter resi-
dents.

Numerous observations on what has been called the
" Mystery of Mysteries/^ the migration of birds, are much
required from all countries. Colonel Irby made some excel-
lent notes on the birds of Southern Spain during his stay
at Gibraltar, and gave them in his book, ' The Ornitho-
logy of the Straits of Gibraltar;^ and these, I believe, are
the only ones which have been published on the migration
of the birds of Spain. What renders Portuguese ornitho-
logy more especially interesting is the gi'cat current of
migrants which passes every autumn along the coast of
Portugal from north to south, and again in spring from
south to north. There are also arrivals on the coast as
winter approaches of birds which appear to come from the
mountains of the interior of Spain and Portugal, as, for
instance, the AVood Lark, Southern Grey Shrike, and Dart-
ford Warbler ; this latter species has been thought to be one
of those which do not wander, but there is no doubt that
it is partly migratory in this country.

The most superficial observer cannot avoid noticing the
passage southwards of flocks of Turtle Doves, Tree Pipits,
and Hoopoes during the month of September, followed by

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 79

that of Wood Pigeons^ Sky Larks, Meadow Pipits, Golden
Plover, Lapwings, Stone Plover, &c.

A I'emarkable circumstance is that many of the species
of birds which pass in such thousands in the autumn from
north to south do not appear to return by the same route
in the spring. It is known that they appear in the south of
Spain in the spring, but they do not seem to return north-
Mards by the coast of Portugal ; whether they pass further
inland I cannot say. It does not, however, appear probable
that marsh-birds, at all events, would take the route across
the inland Serras.

In the spring months I have repeatedly and in vain searched
for the Aquatic, Sedge, Grasshopper, and Blue-throated
Warblers in those marshy localities along the sea-coast where
they were so common and certain to be found during their
autumn migration. Even the Whinchat deserts us till the
following autumn. Col. Irby mentions the departure of the
Whinchat in September, and its return to Gibraltarin the spring.
It would be interesting to trace it on its way back to the
north of Europe by a route different to that by which it came.

The sea-birds and Waders and a few land species return
north along the coast.

Graminivorous birds. Goldfinches, Linnets, Serin Finches,
and Greenfinches, many of which are found here all the year
round, and of which larger numbers than are generally
supposed migrate south during the autumn months, return
northwards through Portugal in the spring ; yet they take a
rather more inland line than they do Avhen migrating south-
wards. This is well known to the bird-catchers.

Palmen mentions that in a few localities it has been re-
marked that certain birds appear only in the autumn ('Zug-
strassen der Vogel,-' pp. 18, 28, and 37), and attempts to
account for this in a manner not satisfactory to my mind,
when his arguments are applied to marsh-birds. On the west
side of the Iberian peninsula it is only along the coast that
suitable resting-places for these birds are to be met with, and
in these we should expect to meet with our autumn visitors
during the spring also, but they do not appear.

80 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

A parallel case is that of a bird frequenting mossy
meadows, Ray's Wagtail, wliich passes down the coast of
Portugal during the autumn, taking the place of the southern
form, the Grey-headed Yellow Wagtail. In the spring the
latter returns, but only on one occasion have I seen a Ray's
Wagtail in the spring. This would be a more likely bird to
pass inland than the Grasshopper and Aquatic Warblers ;
I suspect, however, that they pass up the east coast of Spain
in the spring to reach their northern summer stations.

When one stands on the Portuguese coast on a favourable
autumn morning, while an easterly land-breeze is blowing,
and watches flock after flock of migrating birds pass flying
due south, steadily on, a curious feeling of wonder creeps
over you. From what countries do they come, and to what
countries are they going ? We know that many of them
cross the Straits of Gibraltar to the African coast. How far
down that coast do they go ?

Some of the later arrivals spend the winter with us (for
instance, the Pied Wagtails, Rooks, Lapwings,Sky Larks, and
Meadow Pipits), disappearing in the spring. The land-birds
usually migrate from about half an hour after sunrise until
9 o'clock in the morning, after which hour they saunter along
or feed in the fields and woods.

Most of the species of migrating Portuguese birds have
been watched by me on the move southwards : — Swallows,
Swifts, Sky Larks, Tree Pipits, Meadow Pipits, Turtle Doves,
W^illow Wrens, Wood Pigeons, Lapwings, Terns, Gulls,
Ducks, Sandpipers, and others too numerous to mention.
The largest migration of sea-birds which I ever witnessed
was during a somewhat foggy morning, on which occasion I
noticed, among others, Gannets, Terns, Gulls, Ducks, and
Waders. It is usual with the latter to migrate chiefly during
the night. I have heard the notes of thousands of Sand-
pipers passing overhead at night, and have recognized the
notes of several, such as the Dunlin, Turnstone, Redshank, and
Whimbrel, more especially during foggy weather, when they
call constantly to each other. I have seen the Whimbrel re-
turning north in large flocks in the spring during the daytime.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 81

No observations on the migration o£ birds on the coast of
Portugal seem to have been published hitherto. Palmen, in
his ' Zugstrassen der Vogel ' (the migration-roads followed
by birds), gives on his map the coast of Portugal as one of
them, and in this he is right ; yet he seems to have pos-
sessed very few data regarding this route, and these concern-
ing only two species on the north coast of Spain, and none
on the coast of Portugal.

On the 18th April, 1884, when on a visit to the south of
Portugal with Dr. Hans Gadow and Mr. Scott B. Wilson,
I shot two specimens of a very dark-plumaged Sky Lark
on the summit of the Foja peak, Serra de Monchique, in
the extreme south-west of Portugal. Being surprised to
find Sky Larks in Portugal at this time of the year, as they
are all gone from the neighbourhood of Oporto by the end
of March, and remarking that my two Foja specimens were
of darker plumage than those seen near Oporto during the
winter, it struck me that the Foja Sky Larks might belong to
a southern form of this species, either resident or spending
only the summer there. My two specimens were unfortu-
nately lost through the carelessness of a porter ; but as this
Lark was afterwards found on the Serra do R,oxo, near
Coimbra, I obtained a specimen of a young bird and sent
it to England. Mr. Howard Saunders reports that a darker
specimen has been received from Riigen, Baltic, and there
is no ground for making it a new species. I draw attention
to this bird, as it appears to me quite possible that the
southern Sky Larks may vary considerably from the northern
form, and that those Sky Larks which are found in winter in
the fields near Oporto may not remain in Portugal during the
summer, but migrate north to France, England, Germany,
&c. They appear to me lighter in colour, but 1 have not
had the opportunity of examining more than two adult speci-
mens and one young one of the darker form. It is possible
that as winter comes on the northern dwellers may move a
few degrees south, taking the place of a more southern
group of the same species, which has also moved still further
south about the same time. We know that this obtains with

8ER. V. VOL. V. G

82 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

individuals of dififerent species. It appears to me probable
tbat it may occur with individuals of the same species.
This is a subject worthy of attention, and it is only by the
close study of the migrations of geographical varieties that
it can be settled.

My notes on the migration of birds in Portugal began
systematically in 1878, and since that time I have made many
thousands of notes,, which are condensed in this list. They
have supplied an interest to my walks during my leisure
hours. Had I possessed more time at my disposal, they
might have been more complete ; but it is useless to expect
absolute accuracy, they must go for what they may be worth.
I believe it has been noticed by American ornithologists
that towards the southern limits of a species the reproductive
powers of birds become weakened; and, so far as I have been
able to ascertain, this seems to hold good in Portugal. The
Missel Thrush and the Hedge Sparrow, which breed in this
country, their southern summer limit in the west of Europe,
appear to me to lay fewer eggs in Portugal than they do in
England. I have mostly found only three eggs in their
nests in Portugal, and of the Hedge Sparrow I have only once
found a nest with five eggs. To be able to draw a reliable
conclusion on this point, it would be necessary to keep for
some years a record of the number of eggs in each nest
found and repeatedly visited, allowing the bird to sit, of
course, to ensure that the nest shall have its full comple-
ment of eggs, and to compare the record with a similar one
kept in a more northern country.

During my rambles in the various provinces of Portugal,
it has been my constant care to obtain the correct local
names of the commoner birds of each locality. My long
residence in this country and intimate knowledge of the
language have, I believe, enabled me to overcome many diffi-
culties and to avoid errors arising from the country people
giving the same name to different species in different loca-
lities, and occasionally giving the wrong name to myself,
for some of the country people are not acquainted with
the names of the birds in their own district. In this they

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 83

are not singular — although, as a rule, the country people of
Portugal have a very fair acquaintance with the commoner
birds, and can distinguish them by popular names. Many
of these are onomatopoaic [i. e. derive their origin from the
notes uttered by the birds), such as " Pim-pim'^ (Chaffinch,
neighbourhood of Oporto) . Many bear traces of Latin origin
— ''Arvella" (Wagtail, Aveiro) : some are almost identical
with the Latin — " Merula " (Blackbird, province of Algarve),
"Tordo" (Thrush, all over Portugal). Some are possibly
from the Moorish, as "Boita" (Fan-tailed Warbler, Aveiro),
" Bou-fesito " at Tangiers (see Col. Irby's ' Ornithology of
the Straits of Gibraltar^), '^Bibes" (Lapwing, Algarve and
Alemtejo), " Beebet'^ at Casa Blancaon the coast of Morocco.
Some are taken from a distinguishing mark, as the crest-
plume of the Lapwing ('^ Gallispo,'^ near Oporto : Latin Gallus,
a cock). Others are from their habits, " Pica-pau,'' lit. " the
Woodpecker'^; or from their favourite food, "Papa-amoras,"
the Whitethroat, lit. " blackberry-eater/' Others may
puzzle philologists to trace their origin. One can understand
why the largest species of Woodpecker is called '' real," or
royal, but why is the smallest called. " gallego '' ? This
same diminutive is given to other species, such as Jack
Snipe " Narceja gallega,"' the Short-toed Lark '^ Calhandra
gallega,'' the Little Bittern " Touro gallego, ""^ &c. Galicia
is one of the northern provinces of Spain, from which
come many servants and porters to earn their living in
Portugal, and are a very useful and industrious class. Being
hewers of wood and drawers of water, the Portuguese have
acquired the habit of looking down on them, and "^ gallego ''
is here a term of inferiority. It may have been in this
sense applied to the smaller species when there is more than
one nearly allied. Where a bird is of specially bright
plumage it is sometimes called " Francez " (French) or " Da
India '* (from India) . The peasants may have learned to con-
nect high ornamentation with those two countries, with which
Portugal has had commerce for many centuries.

I must apologize for many shortcomings in this list. My
leisure has been very limited ; there are here no specimens

g2

84 INIr. W. C. Tiiit on the Birds of Portugal.

for comparison with my own; there are very few reference-
books on natural history in the Public Library, especially on
ornithology. I take this opportunity of acknowledging the
kind and ready assistance of Professor Alfred Newton, of
Cambridge, who has been good enough to write me very full
particulars in reply to my queries on various points.

The classification which I have followed in this list is that
given in Dresser's list of European birds, but in a. very few
instances I have ventured to add a third name on the tri-
nomial system. I find it much against the grain to give
names of specific weight to closely allied races.

j4 List of Birds observed in Portugal, with Special Reference
to those met ivith in the neighbourhood of Oporto.

1. TuRDUs viscivoRUs. " Tordcia,'-" Oporto j '' Tordeira/'
'' Tordoveia,'^ Coimbra.

Abundant, at all events in the north of Portugal, where
it breeds. It is found also in the extreme south, on the
Serra de Monchique, and I have met with it at Abrantes.
Dr. Jose Maria Rosa de Carvalho informs me that it is com-
mon near Coimbra. I have received eggs from the Beira.
I have generally found only three eggs in the nests of this
species in Portugal. In the year 1878, I saw one bird at
the mouth of the river Douro, which commenced to sing as
early as Dec. 3rd.

2. TuRDUS Musicus. " Tordo,^' Oporto and Portugal
generally ; " Tordo branco/' Coimbra.

This bird arrives in Portugal in the beginning of October,
passes the winter here, and is sometimes met with as late as
the end of March or even the beginning of April, being most
abundant during its passage south in November. When it
arrives in Portugal, the grapes are already gathered, and
therefore it does not damage the vineyards, as it is reported
to do in France. It is very fond of the small Portuguese
olives, and probably assists in the disjsersal of the seeds of
small stone-fruits. When on passage, the birds usually travel
singly, in pairs, or in small flocks. It has not yet been

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portuyul. 85

known to breed in Portugal. I have looked for it without
success during summer in the northern Serra do Gerez,
which would be the most likely place if it lingered any-
where in this country.

3. TuRDUs iLiACUs. ^' Tordo/^ Oporto ; '' Tordo ruivo/'
Coimbra; "Tordo pisco/' Penafiel.

Arrives a little later than T. musicus, and is almost as
abundant in winter^ departing in January and February.

4. TuKDUs PILARIS. " Tordeia/^ Oporto ; " Tordo tornal/^
Coimbra.

Rather common during severe winters, and arrives later
than T. musicus and T. iliacus.

5. TuRDUS MERULA (Linn.). " Melro," general name in
Portugal ; " Merula/' Algarve ; " Merlo/' Galicia.

Very abundant all over Portugal and resident. In the
beginning of February it makes a noise like that of striking
two pebbles together, and shortly afterwards begins to sing,
continuing till the end of July. I fancy that those in the
extreme south of Portugal have a shriller song than those
in the north. This species does not recommence song in the
autumn as most other birds do. Albino and pied varieties
have been met with here.

6. TuRDUs TORQUATUs. " Mclro de papo branco."

I have seen a few specimens obtained in Portugal, but
with no note of the dates on which obtained. It is probable
that they arrive from the north in October. Penafiel, near
Oporto, is one of the localities where it has appeared. On
March 14th of this year, my brother Alfred saw one on the
mountain-side near Pinheiro, which is near Braga.

7. MoxTicoLA SAXATiLis (Liuu.). " Macuco," Melres ;
" Melro das rochas,'^ Coimbra.

Common on the Abitureira cliffs near Melres, Pinhao,
and other rocky localities along the river Douro, where it
breeds. Of the two specimens in the Coimbra Museum,
one was obtained from the Serra do Zorro ; one was shot
in May, and the other in July. Migratory, sings perched on

86 Mr. W. 0. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

a rock, or on wing when flying from one rock to another,
shivering with its wings, as is usual with birds when they
sing on the wing. Its song is pleasing and melodious.

8. MoNTicoLA CYANUS (Liuu.) . " Merifela," Pinhao ;
*' Melro fragoeiro," Douro ; " Melro lapeiro/' Caldas
de Aregos ; " Melro azul,'^ Coimbra ; '' Solitario/^ Alemtejo
and Algarve.

Common on the rocky banks of the river Douro, above
Melres. I have seen a specimen obtained at Villa Real ; and
it is met with at Coimbra, where, according to Dr. Jose Maria
Rosa de Carvalho, it is not very common. In April of 1884,
I saw two of these birds on the banks of the river Guadiana.
Resident.

9. CiNCLUS AQUATicus. " Mclro peixeiro,'^ general name;
" Melro do rio," river Minho.

Common and resident on the rivers and streams in moun-
tainous localities, especially in the north of Portugal. It
appears on some of the tributaries of the Mondego, and on
this latter river east of Coimbra. The young follow the
parent for some time, and it is interesting to see the latter
dropping from a boulder into the water, to reappear very
soon with an insect for its expectant youug.

10. Saxicola (enanthe (Linn.). '^Tanjarro,^^ Peniche;
" Caiada,^^ " Rabo branco,^^ Coimbra and Estremadura.

I have met with this species from May till the 17th
October on rocks near the sea-shore, as at Lavadoz (southern
side of the mouth of the Douro), Peniche, &c. ; also on the
mountainous serras, in stony and desolate places. Rare
near Coimbra. Summer migrant.

11. Saxicola ALBicoLLis, Vieill. " Tanj-asno/^ Algarve ;
" Coelva," Abrantes.

So far as I am aware, this species has not been met with in
the north of Portugal ; at all events, it is not found near
Oporto or Coimbra. There are specimens in the Lisbon
Museum from Penamacor and Barranhos, and I saw and ob-
tained specimens in the Algarve, where it prefers the plains.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 87

and is often to be seen perched on the fig-trees. It is a con-
spicuous and handsome bird, and has a somewhat pleasing
and short song. I have also seen it near Abrantes. Summer
migrant.

12. Saxicola RUFA (C. L. Brehm). '^ Caiada/^ '' Quei-
jeira/^ "Tanjarra^^ (Coimbra) ; "Tanjarro/' Tras os Monies
andPeniche; "Tange-asuo/^ Alemtejo; " Chasco branco/'
Melres.

Commoner in the southern half of Portugal than in the
northern localities and heaths. Summer migrant.

13. Saxicola leucura (Gm.). ''Rabo branco/' Pinhao
(Alto Douro) ; " Chasco de leque/^ Melres.

Common on the rocky banks of the Douro ; for instance,
on the Abitureira cliffs, Bateiras, &c. It may sometimes be
seen perched on the roof of a wine-lagar, where the grapes
are pressed and the wine fermented. It was thought that
it did not exist near Coimbra until one was shot on the Serra
do Zorro. I have seen it nowhere but on the river Douro.
its song is lively and pleasing. The local name of " Ave de
leque/' or fan-bird, is derived from its habit of spreading out
the tail-feathers like a fan. It is the only species of Saxicola
resident in Portugal.

14. Pratincola rubetra (Linn.). " Chasco," *' Tange-
asno," Coimbra.

Appears near Oporto on passage from the second week of
September till nearly the end of October, and is common
during this migration. The earliest date on which I have
seen this bird is the 9th Sept. (1883), and the 19th Oct.
(J 879) the latest. The migration lasts about a month. It
is fond of perching on the top of the dry Indian-corn stalks.
The popular name at Coimbra, '' Tange-asno " (gee-up,
donkey !) originates from its note, like that used by the
donkey-boys to urge on their beasts. It is also applied to
other Chats with similar note and to the Woodchat.

15. Pratincola rubicola. " Chas-chas," Redondela,
Galicia, Spain ;" Chasco,''^ north of Portugal; '' Cartaxo,'^
southwards.

88 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

The educated classes pronounce the c soft in " Chasco," and
the hard pronunciation of the c by the peasants is piobably
archaic, the name being no doubt onomatopoeic. It is in-
teresting to observe the sharp boundaries of the two very
distinct popular names of this bird. 1 have not been able to
discover the origin of the southern name '' Cartaxo ; " but its
northern coast-limit (Angeja, near Aveiro) curiously enough
coincides more or less with the southern name of the White
Wagtail, which at Angeja takes the nameof " Arve'la/^'from
the Latin arvum. The most northern inland locality is Caldas
de Aregos, where " Cartaxo " is sometimes used.

This species is very abundant all over the country, settling
on the stone walls, top of the furze bushes, on the telegraph-
wires, or some other elevation. The pairs seem inseparable,
and it is a tame, fearless bird. This Chat is one of the
earliest to nest.

The country people have a superstition that this is a
" pe9onhenta '' or excommunicated bird, and upon inquiry
they told me that it was the bird which led Judas to where
Christ was to be found. Iq Galicia the country people say
that while leading Judas, the Stonechat cried (m Gallego
dialect !) " Chas, chas, por aqui bem has '' {" This is the
way ") ; but the Chaffinch tried to lead in a contrary direction
by crying "Pirn, pirn, por aqui bem vim'^ (" Come this way ^') .
The Chaffinch is therefore looked on with more favour.

16. RuTiciLLA PHffiNicuRUS (Linn.). "Rabeta," Coimbra.
The Coimbra Museum contains some specimens, and Dr.

Carvalho informs me that this bird usually appears in the
neighbourhood of that city in September on passage, and
disappears during October, being scarcer in some years than
in others.

17. KuTiciLLA TiTYs (Scop.) . " Pisco fcrrciro,^^ Oporto;
''Inja," Melres; '' Raboruivo," Peuafiel, Peniche ; "^^ Ne-
grone/' " Noite negra," Vigo ; '■' Perreiro,^' Coimbra.

This rock -loving-bird is of general distribution in stony
places ; it is also found in towns, where it makes its nest in
holes in walls, or under the roofs. I often hear its clear short

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 89

song from the tops of the houses as I pass along the streets
Oporto. It begins to sing from the middle to the end of
February, and continues till the end of June. After the
autumn moult it recommences its song in September and goes
on till nearly the end of December. I met with it in two of
the most westerly parts of Europe, namely the Berlengas
Islands on the west coast of Portugal^ and the Cies Islands
at the entrance to Vigo Bay^ Galicia.

18. Cyanecula wolfi (C. L. Brehm).

Apjoears abundantly in August, September, and October,
on migration, frequenting low bushes and skulking in damp
meadows near water. It is sometimes seen in gardens. The
earliest date noted was August 10th ; the latest, October 17th,
on the banks of the creek, Leya de Palmeira near Oporto. I
have never seen this species on the spring migration, although
I have repeatedly looked for it in the places where it was
sure to be found in autumn.

19. Erithacus RUBECULA (Linn.). '' Bisco.^'

This species is very abundant all through the year in this
country, more so in the north than in the south, the former
being more wooded and having a greater rainfall. Like its
relative the Bluebreast this bird evidently likes a leafy shade
and a dampish situation. Although by no means shy it is
not so familiar here as it is in England during winter, for as
no snow falls except on the serras, it can always find some
food for itself. It nests early and it has been known to breed
in mild winters : for instance, on the 22nd Oct., 1880, Dr.
Carvalho wrote me from Coimbra that a pair were building a
nest in the Cellas church, entering through a broken pane in
a window. That month was very mild. On the 4th of
January, 1884, a friend informed me that he had seen a
fledgeling in his garden opposite Oporto.

20. Daulias luscinia (Linn.). *^' Rouxinol," Portugal;
'* Ruisenor," Galicia.

Arrives in April and remains till the autumn. Scarce in
the immediate neighbourhood of Oporto. Very abundant in

90 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

the provinces of Minho, Douro, and Beira. I am not aware
that the Northern Nightingale, Daulias philomela (Bechst.),
has been found in this country.

21. Sylvia rufa. " Papa-amoras/' literally berry-eater.
Oporto; "Cliarrasca/' Melres; " Cheldra/' Esmoriz.

Abundant and generally distributed. Generally arrives at
Oporto about the 8th April, and I have met with it in
March. Its disappearance in October coincides with that of
the blackberries, of which it is gluttonously fond, and it is
probable that many blackberry-plants are dispersed by seeds
dropped by this bird. In the neighbourhood of Santa Clara
a Velha and S. Martinho das Amoreiras, I met with a variety
with a darker head and brighter colours than the usual
form of the northern part of Portugal. Prof. Newton, to
whom I sent a specimen, reported that he had never seen so
bright-coloured a specimen of this species.

;j^0TE. — I am almost certain that I have seen Sylvia curruca
near Oporto. There is a specimen in the Coimbra Museum ob-
tained in 1878 at Majorca. As it occurs in winter and spring
in Andalucia (Irby, Saunders), it is probable that it will be
found in Portugal on migration.

23. Sylvia suBALPiNA (Bonelli).

Dr. Carvalho informs me that in the Coimbra Museum
there is a specimen obtained in August at Braganfa.

23. Sylvia conspicillata (Marm.).

The Lisbon Museum possesses two specimens, one of which
■was obtained from Arrabida.

24. Sylvia melanocephala (Gm.). " Tutinegra dos
Vallados," Coimbra ; " Fura-Moita," Verride.

Very common on the banks of the Mondego, also at
Abrantes, and appears to be pretty generally distributed in
the south of Portugal. I believe I saw this skulking species
near Oporto on the 10th of June and the 23rd of December,
1883, and it is probably resident in this country all the year
round, as it is in some parts of Spain. Many were seen

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 91

by me at Abrantes in November, but I have not seen it
north of Oporto.

25. Sylvia orphea, Temra.

I have not met with this species in the north of Portugal,
but it is found near Lisbon, and abundantly in the Pinhal
da Quarteira, near Albufeira, Algarve, in June. Its song is
very loud for the size of the bird, and is a combination of
the Wood Lark's with that of the Blackcap. This, like the
Sardinian Warbler, is one of the birds of the southern half
of Portugal ; it does not seem, however, to be at all common
near Coimbra. I have seen this bird in the Alemtejo.

26. Sylvia atricapilla (Linn.). " Tutinegra '' for
" Touta-negra,'' i. e. " black-poll."

This species is abundant and resident, frequenting gardens
and wooded country. Its song may be heard all through the
year except in November, December, and January, being
most vigorous in spring and fainter in July and August,
during which months the bird moults.

27. Sylvia salicaria (Linn.).

I found a nest of the Garden Warbler, with three fresh
eggs (June 9th, 1882), on the Ilha do Conguedo, near
Valenfa, on the river Minho, obtaining the bird, and others
were seen in the bushes. At Angeja, near Aveiro, and in the
grounds of the Zoological Gardens at Lisbon, I again met
with it in summer. Near Oporto I have only seen it in the
months of August, September, and October, when large
numbers appear in the orchards and gardens. They are very
fond of figs, elder-berries, and other fruit.

28. Melizophilus undatus (Bodd.). " Cheide," Jou,
Traz-os-Montes ; " Felosa preta," Penafiel ; " Rozinha,''
Vianna do Castello.

The Dartford Warbler is found in Portugal all the year
round, but there is no doubt that it is at least partially migra-
tory. The mouth of the Douro, for instance, is a locality
where it is not found in summer, but appears about the
10th of October, remaining until the beginning or middle of

92 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

February. It does not entirely avoid the sea-coast in summer,
for I saw a bird and nest on the 4th June, 1882, on Cies
Island, Vigo Bay. This species likes the heather and gorse
on upland moors and serras ; and I have occasionally seen
small flocks in winter, when the snow and cold on the serras
probably drives them down to the valleys and sea-coast. I
have met with this species also in the Serra do Gerez,
Beira, Estremadura, Ribatejo, Alemtejo, and Algarve, on
heaths.

29. Regulus CRisTATUs (Koch). " Estrellinha," "Felosa
de Touta," Penafiel.

Appears in winter in small flocks.

A variety, Regulus cristatus maderensis, is found in
Madeira.

30. Eegulus ignicapillus.

The Fire-crest, which bears the same local names as the
above, appears in winter generally in pairs. Colonel Irby
says that this bird breeds near Gibraltar ; there is therefore a
chance of finding it in this country in summer, at which
season, however, I have not yet met with it.

31. Phylloscopus coLLYBiTA (Vieill.). "Foloso," Oporto;
" Firafolha,^' Anchora; '^ Ferifolha," Jou, Tras os Montes ;
"Feloca,'' Ovar; '' Furifolha,'' Estoi, Algarve; ^'Filosa,''
Redondela, Galicia, Spain.

Resident and abundant, nesting in the gorse and brambles
about a foot from the ground. More numerous in the
autumn. Sings from the first week in February till nearly
the end of August, and recommences in November for a
short time.

32. Phylloscopus TRocHiLus (Linn.). '^ Folosa,^'
Appears in August and September on passage. I am not

aware that this species breeds in Portugal ; but as Colonel
Irby says it has been known to breed in the south of Spain,
it may perhaps be found in summer in this country also.

33. Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechst.). " Folosa.^'
There is one specimen in the Lisbon Museum, obtained at

Barranhos.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 93

34. Phylloscopus bonellii (Vieill.).

There is a specimen in the Coimbra Museum, and Dr.
Carvalho tells me it appears in that neighbourhood in
autumn.

35. Hypolats polyglotta (Vieill.). " Folosa/^ " Floria,"
Oporto.

Common. Arrives in the spring and goes away in the
autumn. Builds in bushes, about a yard or two from the
ground, an open nest lightly and neatly made of stalks of
grass. It is specially fond of broom thickets.

I have not met with the Icterine Warbler, but I am not
surprised to see that it has been met with in Spain during
spring and autumn, as I considered it a northern form and
should have expected it only at those seasons.

36. Aedon galactodes (Temm.).

I have seen this bird in the scrub near Abrantes and also
near Tavira in the Algarve. I have not met with it in the
north of Portugal.

37. AcRocEPHALUS sTREPERUs (Vieill.). '' Rouxinol pe-
queno das cani9as,'^ Ovar.

Abundant in the reeds in marshy places such as Ovar,
Esmoriz, and Estarreja. Arrives in the spring, nests in May
and June ; in August it appears in the hedges aud orchards
on passage, and is seen till nearly the end of October.

38. AcRocEPHALUs ARUNDiNACEUS (L.). " Rouxinol graudc
das cani9as,^' Ovar ; " Ferreiro," Murtoza ; '' Pinta-ro-ro,^'
Vagos, near Aveiro.

Abundant in the tall reeds in large marshes such as those
at Ovar, Estarreja, Angeja, and Aveiro, but is not found
during the winter months. It is a giant edition of A. stre-
perus, frequenting larger reeds, over deeper water, singing a
louder song and having a heavier flight. Its song, harra-
harra-karra, karree-karree-karree, charra-charra-charra, rings
loud and clear far over the marshes, and occasionally the
bird can be seen flitting from one clump of reeds to another,
where it plunges into the thickest parts, clinging to the reeds
sideways or perching near the bending top. Its nest is

94 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

beautifully made of stalks of dry grass artistically woven
together to a cup-shape, and suspended against three or more
tall reeds where they stand thickly together.

39. ACROCEPHALUS AQUATICUS (Gmcl.).

This species is common on the old salt-pans at Mattosinhos,
near Oporto, in the second week of August, and is to be
found there till about the third week in October. I have
found it also in the water-meadows near the Castello do
Queijo, but only in the autumn, although I have frequently
looked for it there in the winter, spring, and summer.

40. AcROCEPHALUS SCHCENOB.ENUS (L.).

This species is also found near Mattosinhos on the banks
of the Le^a creek, where it frequents the reeds, while A. aqua-
ticus prefers the rushes. It occurs in August and September
on passage, and I saw two near Abrantes on November 5th,
1882.

41. LocusTELLA N^viA (Bodd.) .

Appears on passage in September and October in company
with A. aquaticus and frequents somewhat similar situa-
tions, but is fonder of the ditch-sides. Dr. Carvalho informs
me that this species is common on the alluvial plains on the
sides of the Mondego below Coimbra in September and part
of October, and that he saw one once in January. I have
never met with it near Oporto except in the autumn.

42. LocusTELLA LusciNioiDEs (Savi).

Dr. Carvalho, who is my authority for this species, informs
me that he once met with it in the S. Fagundo marsh, near
Coimbra, where he saw the old bird and young. I have
looked for it in vain in the large marshes near Aveiro and in
the Algarve.

43. Cettia CETTi (Marmora). ^'Rouxinol bravo.''

A few birds appear every year in the bushes on the edges
of streams near the sea about Castello do Queijo, near
Oporto, and remain there from October till March; the
species is therefore somewhat migratory. I found it very
abundant on the banks of the Mondego, near Coimbra, in

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 95

October, and Dr. Carvalho tells me it is met with there all the
year round, and nests in the bushes. It sings throughout
the year, and it is somewhat startling in winter to hear a loud
and abrupt burst of song resembling that of the Nightingale
from a thick bush close to one.

44. CisTicoLA cuRsiTANS (Fraukl.). " Boita,^' Aveiro ;
" Fuinha,'' " Fuim,'' Estoi, Algarve ; " Cochicha," Ovar ;
'' Chinchafolle,'' Vagos; " Bentpinha,'' Santa Clara a Velha,
Alemtejo.

Abundant in rushes and long rank grass on edges of
marshes or marshy streams near the seaside. Its note is a
very distinct, shrill , monosyllabic tzit-tzit-tzit, and may be
heard when the bird is so far off as to be scarcely visible. It
is fond of flying about in circles with festoon curves, uttering
its note at each ascending curve.

At Ovar and Estarreja it is very abundant, and at Matto-
sinhos it is common and nests on the salt-pans and banks of
the creek. It generally arrives at the Foz do Douro (mouth
of the Douro) about the 20th of March, and disappears at
the end of August or middle of September, a stray bird or
two sometimes remaining till the end of October. I have
never seen it near Oporto in winter. Dr. Carvalho informs
me that at Coimbra it is found all the year round, moving in
winter to the higher ground of the rye-fields. Near Abrantes
I have met with it in winter as well as summer.

It is both an early and late nester : on the 8th April, 1880,
I saw a nest with young birds, and on the 20th July, 1879,
I found one still building, and two days afterwards I met
with another nest with newly hatched young and some eggs.
On the 17th July, 1881, a nest which I found contained three
fresh eggs.

The nest, a most remarkable structure, cocoon-shaped, and
looking as though made of floss silk, is generally attached to
stalks or leaves of long rank grass about a foot or two off
the ground; the opening is at the top, narrow and well-
concealed. In fact one might at first sight mistake this nest
for a mass of spider-web and pass it by. As remarked by

96 Mr, J. H. Gurney on an apparently

Mr. Howard Saunders, the eggs are very variable. One nest
contained three eggs with light greenish-blue ground, one of
them without, and two with purple spots. Another clutch
consisted of four much larger eggs, white ground with
purplish-red spots of two shades and small blotches. These
would probably be the pink eggs mentioned as having been
met with by some writers, for when fresh they would appear
transparent and rosy. They are rather larger than some eggs
which I have of the Crested Titmouse (a larger bird), but in
coloration and markings they much resemble the latter.

This species was first described by Temminck from skins
brought from Portugal by Link and HofiPmannsegg.

45. Accentor MODULARis. '^Negrinha," Oporto and Es-
moriz ; " Pretinha,'^ Leca de Palmeira.

Resident. Common in the north of Portugal and very
abundant about the mouth of the Douro, where I have fouud
nests and eggs. This appears to be about the southern limit
for this species in Portugal. Dr. Carvalho tells me that it is
rarely met with near Coimbra, and Col. Irby mentions that
at Gibraltar it is seldom seen and only in winter. Those
nests which I have seen in this country have usually con-
tained about three eggs, a smaller complement than is usual
in England.

[To be continued.]

VII. — Oil an apparently undescribed Hawk of the Asturine
Subgenus Urospizias, proposed to be called Urospizias
jardinei. By J. H. Gurney.

(Plate III.)
Amongst the Raptorial specimens which were acquired for
the Norwich Museum at the recent sale of the collection of
the late Sir William Jardine is a Hawk which bears a ticket
with the following inscription : —

" ASTUR POLIOCEPHALUS.

A fl \ Uncertain — a — 284.^'

Ibis 1887 Pi. HI.

J OKeulemaJis Iith.

Ha.Tiharb ir;

UROSPIZIAS JARDINFJ,

undescribed Species of Hawk. 97

The bird is certainly not Asiur poliocephalus of Gray^ and
much more nearly resembles an adult of the white-breasted
phase of Urospizias cdbigidaris ; it is, however, quite distinct,
as will appear by the measurements given below^ in which I
have compared it with an adult specimen (a female, as T
believe) of Urospizias albiguluris, as well as by certain dif-
ferences of coloration, Avhich I will also specify.

Before proceeding further in my comparison of the two
species it may be convenient to mention that I propose to
call the new one Urospizias jardinei, in commemoration of
the collection from which it passed into that of the Norwich
Museum.

The following are the comparative measurements, taken in

inches and tenths ; —

First Middle

Wiug. primary. Tail. Tarsus. toe, s.u.

V.jardinei .... H'O 00 7-80 220 1-65

U. albiyularis . . lO'D 4-20 7-20 2-50 1-60

Although U.jardinei is somewhat the larger bird of the
two, it is remarkable that it has a shorter tarsus ; and a
further evidence of its specific distinctness exists in the
greater proportionate length of its first primary.

U.jai'dinei, like U. albigularis, is white on the under and
black on the upper surface, where^ however, there is some
difference of hue, owing to the bird having been killed whilst
moulting ; the new feathers in the mantle being of a full black
colour^ whilst the older part of the upper plumage is black
slightly tinged with brown. But although the coloration of
U.jai'dinei bears this general resemblance to that of U. albi-
gularis, the following differences exist between the two
species : the cheeks and ear-coverts are a decided black in
U.jardinei, instead of being a dark lead-colour as in U. albi-
gularis, and the dark colour extends somewhat lower down^
with the result of the white portion of the throat being per-
ceptibly narrower in U. jardinei than in U. albigularis.

In both species the inner webs of the primaries are white
cross-barred with blackish brown, but in U.jardinei the cross-
bars are less narrow than in U. albigularis and are not placed
so closely together ; they also extend beyond the notch in the

SER. v. VOL. V. H

98 Canon Tristram on the

inner web^ which the corresponding bars in U. albigularis do
not reach.

In U. jardinei the flank-feathers, axillaries, and under
wing-coverts, instead of being a pure whiter as in U. albi-
gularis, are tinted, though but very faintly, with grey, and
many of these feathers also exhibit darker shaft-marks of a
hair-like fineness.

The most striking peculiarity of plumage in U. jardinei is,
however, to be found in the tail, which, in addition to a
slight whitish tip, is crossed on the upper surface by four,
and on the under by five, transverse whitish bands, which are
entirely wanting in U. albigularis ; these bands, on the upper
surface of the tail, are about 0'4 of an inch in depth, the
uppermost band being a decided, though not a pure, white,
the lowest whitish brown, and the two that are intermediate
jn position being also intermediate in hue ; all the bands are,
however, more conspicuously white on the outer than on the
central rectrices, and more so on the under than on the
upper surface of the tail. I may add that the fifth white
bar on the underside of the tail is placed higher up than the
four bands which are common to both surfaces.

It is much to be regretted that the habitat of Urospizias
jardinei must, for the present, remain unknown ; but, if I
am correct in referring this species to the subgenus Uro-
spizias, its home will probably be found somewhere in the
great Australasian Oceanic Region, which is the home of its
congeners ; and it is hoped that the figure which accompanies
this article may assist in the identification of future spe-
cimens, should any such come to light.

VIII. — On the Breeding -plumage o/Podiceps occidentalis,
Lawrence. By H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.R.S.

At the sale of Sir W. Jardine^s collection I became the
possessor of a specimen of Podiceps occidentalis, Lawrence,
labelled in Sir William^s handwriting '' Podiceps leucopterus,
King, ? , Vancouver's Island, coll. Mr. Brown." The bird

Breeding-plumage o/"Podiceps occidentalis. 99

was in full nuptial dress. I saw at once that it differed from
Podiceps major (Bodd.), PI. Enl. 404, admirably figured by
Jardine and Selby (111. Orn, pi. 107) under the name o
P. leucopterus, King. Of this bird I have a specimen in
breeding-plumage obtained by Mr. Bridges in Chili. It is
impossible on comparing the two birds to confuse them,
and I can only suppose that Sir W. Jardine labelled his
specimen without comparison; and indeed his own collection
does not appear to have contained a South-American
specimen of P. major.

The breeding-plumage of P. occidentalis appears to be
quite unknown; at least I can find no description of it in
the latest North-American works on the subject*. They do
but repeat the remark of Prof. Baird : — " It is fair to infer
that in its nuptial attire it makes a grand display. In this
plumage its acquisition is very desirable " (Baird^s Birds,
p. 894). Both the North- and South- American species are
representatives rather of P. griseigena than? of P. cristatus.
My specimen from Vancouver Island agrees in measurements
with Baird's Puget Sound specimen. The cheeks, throat,
and ear- coverts are silvery white, the forehead and occiput
are glossy green-black, forming an elongated massive crest,
behind which the white of the throat extends in a narrow line,
forming a narrow collar only interrupted in the centre of the
back of the neck. The line of the white throat is sharply
defined, and the front and sides of the neck are a rich chestnut,
becoming gradually paler as it blends with the silvery white
breast and abdomen. The nuptial dress of P. occidentalis, it
will be seen from this description, differs from that of its
southern congener, P. major, which has the throat dark ashy
grey, becoming almost black as it approaches the chestnut of
the neck ; while P. griseigena has the throat light ashy grey
bordered with white. The crest or ruff of the northern bird
is also decidedly larger and thicker than that of either of its
congeners.

• [We would suggest a reference to 'The Water-Birds of North
America/ by Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, vol, ii. p. 422 (Boston,
1884).— Edd.]

h2

100 Mr. H. Seebohm on the

IX. — On the Bullfinches of Siberia mid Japan.
By Henry Seebohm.
In 1871 (JourD. f. Orn. p. 318) Cabanis describedanew species
of Bullfinch from Lake Baikal ; in 1872 ( Journ.f . Orn. p. 31G)
he named it Pyrrhula cineracea, and in 1874 (Journ. f. Orn.
pi. i.) he figured the male and female. There is a great deal
of white on the wing-bar of this bird^ but the cheeks and
ear-coverts are very grey. In 1876 Mr. Dresser, in his ' Birds
of Europe^ (iv. p. 100)^ devoted a paragraph to the new
species, containing a brief diagnosis and a survey of its range.
He appears to have examined several skins — one from Dauria,
which he informs us was in his own collection, and several,
which he states were from Japan, in the Swinhoe collection.
There are, however, no skins of this species in the Swinhoe
collection from Japan, nor has any collector obtained it from
any of the Jaj)anese islands ! Mr. Dresser's further statement
that the Japanese skins " are as a rule a little more dull in
general coloration than those from Siberia,^^ though not
strictly accurate if applied to the four females of Pyrrhula
rosacea from Yesso in the Swinhoe collection, is evidently
intended to apply to them. Compared with females of
P. cineracea they are not " as a rule '' but invariably, not
" a little more " but very much broAvner both on the upper
and underparts. The statement that " i\\& male resembles
the female, but is much clearer grey on the upper as well
as on the underparts " also favours the assumption that
the remarks apply to females of P. rosacea, as true females
of P. cineracea are scarcely less grey than males on the
upper parts, but are absolutely brown, instead of grey, on
the underparts. The assertion that the female of P. cine-
racea " very closely resembles the female of Pyrrhula major,
differing only in having the outer web of the innermost
pi'imary (no doubt a misprint for secondary) grey and not
red," somewhat increases the difficulty. In the first place
the females of P. major are as often without the red as
with it; and in the second place females of P. major are
almost always distinguishable from females of P. cineracea
by the much greater amount of brown on their mantles, and

Bullfinches of Siberia and Japan. 101

generally from females of P. rosacea by the much less amount.
Under all circumstances we may, however_, erase the species
P. cineracea from the list of Japanese birds.

Pyrrhula rosacea appears to be a good species^ confined to
the island of Yesso and the opposite coast of the mainland,
whilst P. orientaUs is found only on the other Japanese
islands. Mr. Sharpe has separated the Knrile Island birds
as P. kurilensis. They are unquestionably much paler, but
further investigation is almost sure to lead to the discovery
of intermediate forms, and I have not the least doubt that
both species will be ultimately reduced to the rank of sub-
species, and will stand as Pyrrhula orientaUs rosacea and
Pyrrhula orientaUs kurilensis respectively.

If the same rules be applied to P. cineracea, it must also
be divided into two forms. The typical form from Dauria
(Krasnoyarsk, Lake Baikal, and Onon Kiver) has a great deal
of white on the wing-bar, and none on the sides of the head.
Examples from the Altai Mountains and from the valley of
the Ussuri, on the other hand, have the wing-bar grey, the
sides of the head almost white, and are paler on the under-
parts generally. I propose to call the extreme eastern form
Pyrrhula cineracea pallida, as it differs quite as much from
its more western ally as P. kurilensis does from P. orientaUs.
In the same way I propose to reduce P. kamtscJiatica to the
rank of a subspecies, and to call it P. vulgaris kamtschatica ;
it differs from the typical form in being somewhat paler in
colour, and in having more white on the wing-bar.

The Black-headed Bullfinches vary very much, probably
because they are only gipsy migrants and have wide ranges.
P. vulgaris in some form or other ranges from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, from the British Islands to Kamtschatka. In
the west it reigns supreme, except that the colony on the
Azores is recognized by all ornithologists as an independent
nation claiming full specific rank as P. murina. In the
east it has two rivals to contend with, P. orientaUs and
P. cineracea. The former has a very restricted range, the
three forms into which it is subdivided being almost confined
to the Japanese Islands, the Kurile Islands, and the Island

102 On the Bullfinches of Siberia and Japan.

of Askold, opposite Vladivostok, To the mainland it is
doubtful whether it be more than an occasional visitor.
Dybovvski obtained a single example in the upper valley of
the Ussuri (Journ. £. Oru. 1876, p. 200), and the Abbe David
says (Ois. de la Chine, p. 349) that during the whole of his
residence in Pekin he only saw three or four examples.
Middendorff unquestionably obtained one example of P.
orientalis rosacea on the island of Udskoi in the most
westerly bay of the Sea of Okhotsk ; but that it was paired
with a female of P. vulgaris major, as he states, is very
questionable. Schrenck found both species (P. rosacea and
P. major) in the lower valley of the Amoor ; but Eadde failed
to find either P. rosacea or its subspecific ally P. orientalis,
so that we may safely assume it to be rare in that locality.
It is remarkable that whilst P. vulgaris is found as far south
as Asia Minor on the west, its eastern form has not occurred
further south than lat. 48° in the Ussuri valley. In this
valley all three species occur. I have an example of P.
cineracea pallida (the type) from lat. 48° in the Ussuri
valley, and one of P. orientalis was obtained by Dybowski
(as already mentioned) in lat. 43°.

P. cineracea (either in the paler or darker form) has a
wide range. Severtzow obtained it at Vernoe (he gave me a
female from that locality) in long. 67° in Russian Turkestan,
and my Ussuri example was collected in long. 135°. Prje-
valski did not find any Black-headed Bullfinch in Mongolia;
but Severtzow gave me a skin of P. cineracea from the
Mongolian slopes of the Altai Mountains, though Tancre*s
collectors failed to find it there. It belongs to the pale
form, though it is somewhat intermediate.

This geographical distribution of Pyrrhula presents one or
two very interesting features. The genus consists of eight
good species, four of which are confined to the Himalayan
range from Gilgit and Cashmir to Sikkim and the naountains
of Eastern Thibet, and are distinguished by not having black
heads. The subspecies are climatic forms, and present in
nearly every case the usual variation produced by the heavy
rainfall of Western Europe and the bright cold climate of

Recently published Ornithological Works. 103

Siberia, the extreme of which is reached as usual in Kamts-
chatka. The one exception to these rules of variation is
that P. orientalis of the southern islands of Japan, which
are almost tropical, is a greyer, whiter bird than P. orientalis
rosacea of the north island of Japan and the opposite
coast, which are almost arctic. There can be little doubt
that P. orientalis was originally isolated and differentiated
in Japan ; but it seems highly probable that the north island
was subsequently invaded by a large colony of P. major
before differentiation had proceeded far enough to make fertile
interbreeding impossible. If we regard P. rosacea as the
result of an ancient cross between the ancestors of P. major
and P. orientalis, all difficulties as to the peculiarities of its
coloration will disappear.

X. — Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications.

1. Beckham on the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

[Remarks upon the Plumage of Regidus calendula. By Charles Wick-
liffe Beckham. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. viii. pp. 625-628.]

The author reviews the conflicting statements of various
writers respecting the asserted presence of the brightly
coloured crown-patch in females and young autumnal birds.
He concludes that the female does not have this brightly
coloured crown, but that some, and perhaps a majority, of
the young autumnal males exhibit this ornament.

2. Berlepsch on the Literature of the Trochilida.

[Kritische Bemerkungen zm* Colibri-Literatur. Von Hans von Ber-
lepsch. Festschr. d. Ver. f. Natm-kunde zu Oassel, 1886.]

In this unpretending essay, which must have cost the
author much time and trouble, will be found an excellent
account of the whole literature of the Trochilidae from their
first discovery (1535-47) to the present time. The full titles
of the numerous works referred to are carefully given in
footnotes. Graf v. Berlepsch considers that 450 well-definable

104 Recently published Ornithological Works.

species and some 50 or 60 subspecies of Trochilidse are now
known. The largest special collection of this group is that
of John Gould^ now in the British Museum (5378 examples) ;
the two next, probably, those of Salvin and Godman and of
Mr. D. G. Elliot ; and the fourth in extent that of the author
(about 2000 examples of 350 species and 30 subspecies).

3. W. Blasius on the Birds of Celebes.

[Beitviige zur Kemitniss der Vogelfauna von Celebes. II. Von Prof.
Dr. Willi. Blasius. Zeitschr. f. d. ges. Ornithologie, 1886, Heft ii.]

In this memoir Dr. W. Blasius gives a full account of a
collection formed in Minahassa, Northern Celebes, by Mr.
Riedel in 1865 and 1867, and presented in 1866 to the Ducal
Museum in Brunswick, of which he had previously given a
preliminary notice. The species treated of are 80 in number,
on which many excellent critical remarks and comparisons
are given. The only species new to Celebes is Terekia cinerea,
but it is not quite certain that the specimen of it belongs to
this collection. Had the series been worked out at the time
of its arrival in Europe it is obvious that it would at that
epoch have contained many novelties since described from
other sources.

4. Buttikofer on Birds from the Tenimber Islands.

[On a Collection of Birds from the TenimLer Islands. By J. Biit-
tikofer. Notes Leyden Mus. viii. p. 58.]

In 1883 Mr, Riedel, the Resident at Amboina, presented
to the Leyden Museum a collection of 35 birds from the
Tenimber or Timor-Laut group of islands. Mr, Biittikofer
refers them to 31 species and gives us some interesting notes
on them, Krythroniyias riedeli is a new species, and Ardea
picata and Fregata minor are new to the fauna. It seems
that the White Cockatoo of the Tenimber Islands, which
Sclater (P. Z. S. 1883, p, 197) referred to Cacatua sanguinea,
is rather smaller in size, and is exactly the same as the type
of C. gqffiui, Finsch, in the Leyden Museum, Erytltromyias
riedeli is nicely figured, and E.pyrrhonota of Timor is repre-
sented as a companion figure.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 105

5. Biittikofer on a new Pericrocotus.

[On a new Species of Pericrocotus from Sumbawa. By J. Biittikofer.
Notes Leyden Mus. viii. p. 155.]

The species is described and figured as P. lanshergii, from
Sumbawa. It belongs to the section of P. pereyrinus and
P. igneus.

6. Dubois on Birds collected by Capt. Storms in the Tan-
ganyka District.

[liiste des Oiseaux recueillis par M. le Capitaine Em. Storms dans la
region du Lac Tanganyka. (1882-1884.) Par M. Alpli. Dubois. Bull.
Mus. Roy. d'Hist. Nat. de Belgique, iv. (1886).]

This is a nominal list of 205 species, of which specimens
are contained in the collection made by Captain Storms.
Dr. Hartlaub has described the new species {v. inf. p. 109).

7. Ferrari-Perez on Mexican Birds.

[Catalogue of Animals collected by tbe Geograpbical and Exploring
Commission of the Republic of Mexico. By Fernando Ferrari-Perez,
Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 125.]

It will be news to most of our readers that the Mexican
Government has appointed a Geographical and Exploring
Commission. Such, however, seems to have been the case
as long ago as 1877, when a Commission was constituted,
consisting of a Director (Mr. Agustin Dias, C.E.) and four
engineers as assistants. The original object of this body was
to prepare a general map of the Republic ; but astronomical,
geodetic, and toj)Ographical branches were subsequently
added, and for this purpose the strength of the Commission
was increased to fifty members. Finally, a natural history
division, of which the first object was to investigate the
geology of the country, was appended. The first collections
of natural history formed by the natural history division
were shipped to New York in 1884, in order to have the
objects determined and exhibited in the Exposition at New
Orleans. These first collections were lost in transit by the
burning of the vessel in which they were placed. Much to

106 Recently published Oi'nithological Works.

the credit of the Commission, however, this unfortunate
accident was not allowed to interfere with the scheme, and
other collections were formed during the winter of 1884-85,
and sent to New Orleans in time to take their place in the
Exhibition of 1885. Since then these collections have been
transmitted to Washington to be determined by comparison
with the specimens in the U.S. National Museum, and the
report upon them is now published. The birds enumerated
in the present list by Mr. Ferrari-Perez are 241 in number,
chiefly from the States of Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Vera Cruz.
The supposed novelties have been already described by
Mr. Kidgway in 'The Auk^ for 1886 {Amphispiza ferrari-
perezi, Pipilo submaculatus , P. complexus, Anas diazi, and
Philortyx pej'sonatus). But see Mr. Salvin^s views {infra,
p. 108) as to the three Fringillidae. Mr. Ridgway now
further characterizes the Micrathene of Socorro as distinct,
under the name M. graysoni. The occurrence of Micrathene
whitneyi and Anthus spraguii so far south as the State of
Puebla is now first recorded.

8. Fischer and Pelzeln on the Birds of Jan Mayen.

[Vogel und Saugethiere von Jan Mayen, gesammelt von Dr. F. Fisclier,
bearbeitet von Dr. F. Fischer und August von Pelzeln. Die Internat.
Polarforscbung 1882-83. Die Oesterreicbigche Polarstation Jan Mayen.
Bd. iii. 1886.]

Those who have not the geography of the Arctic regions at
their fingers" ends may like to be reminded that Jan Mayen
is a long narrow island of volcanic formation, situated near
the edge of the ice-pack which fringes the east coast of
Greenland, rather more than a third of the way between the
north-east of Iceland and the south of Spitsbergen. It is
often sighted and sometimes visited by the Dundee and
Peterhead whalers and sealers, as well as by yachting ex-
plorers ; but the first description of its avifauna was published
by Herr Mohn, in his account of the Norwegian Arctic
Expedition (Christiania, 1882), in which a brief list of only
seven species was given. The Austrian expedition passed
a year on this desolate island, exploring the interior as well

Recently published Ornithological Works. 107

as the coast; and the result is that Dr. Fischer has given us
a catalogue of no less than 46 species^ many of them of great
interest, owing to this extension in their previously known
range. Such, for instance, are E^-ithacus rubecula, Turdus
pilaris, T. musicus, T. merula, Anthus aquaticus*, and A. ar-
bor eus, none of which have hitherto, we believe, been found
in Greenland or Iceland, and certainly not in Spitsbergen.
The Great Northern Diver is said to breed on Jan Mayen, in
which there are two large freshwater lagoons ; but it would
be interesting to know whether the bird obtained was the true
Colymbus glacialis, or the presumably circumpolar C. adamsi.
The remarks on the variation in the dimensions of Briinnich^s
Guillemot would carry more weight if the plate given in
illustration did not seem to indicate that one of the supposed
Guillemots was really a young Razorbill ! No very rare
waders or sea-birds appear to breed on Jan May en, and even
Pagophila eburnea and Xema sabinii are only known as
visitors. On the whole this is a paper of unusual interest.

9. Godman and Salvin's ' Biologia Centrali- Americana'

[Biologia Centrali-Ainericana ; or, Contributions to the Knowledge of
the Fauna and Flora of Mexico and Central America. Edited by F.
DuCane Godman and Osbert Sal vin. (Zoology.) Parts XXXV.-LI. 4to.
London : 1885-86. Publislied for the Editors by R. H. Porter,
10 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, W.]

Considerable progress has been made with this important
work since we gave our last notice of it (Ibis, 1885, p. 227),
seventeen more Parts having been issued. Of these the
sheets and plates relating to the Birds are contained
in numbers xliii., xlvi., xlviii., 1., and li. The letterpress
(pp. 345-416) continues the history of the numerous Frin-
gillidse of Central America down to Spiza, a term which has
lately been revived to supersede Euspiza.

Hcemophila lawrencii is a new name for H. ruficauda, Lawr.,

* [We do not think that the author's Anthus aquaticus is the Water
Pipit, A. spipohtta, Linn., nor can we determine from the description and
references whether the species obtained was A. obscurus or A. ludovici-
anus ; the latter has occurred in Greenland. — Edd.]

108 Recently published Ornitholngical Works.

of the Tehuantepec district. Mr. Salvin refers the recently
described Amphispha ferra7'i-perezi, Ridgway, to Hmnophila
humeralis, and the same author's P'qnleo complexus to P.
macronyx, and his P. submaculatus to P. maculatus. The
following species are figured : — Cyanospiza rositce, Junco
alticola, Zonotrichia vulcani, Haplospiza uniformis, Zonotri-
chia quinrjuestriata, Spizella pinetor7im, Peuceea notosticta,
Anmiodromus petenicus, Hcemoplnla humeralis, H. rufescens,
H, super ciliosa, and H. ruficauda.

10. Gould's 'Birds of New Guinea.'

[The Birds of New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan Islands, iuchiding
any new Species that may be discovered in Australia. By [the late]
John Gou!d, F.R.S. &c. Parts XXI., XXII. Folio. London : 1886.]

The two Parts of the ' Birds of New Guinea ' published in
1886 contain figures of the following species : —

Part XXI.

Erythrotriorchis dorife. Xanthotis chrysotis.

Drepanornis bruijnii, Rhipidura rubrofrontata.

Eos fuscata. Pachycephala collaris.

jEgotheles wallacii. Calornis feadensis.

Meliarchus sclateri. Dicseum pectorale.

Stigniatops kebirensis. Pseudogerygone notata.

squamata.

Part XXII.

Astur melanochlamys. Melanopyrrhus orientalis.

Ninox dimorpha. Aniblyornis subalaris.

Psittacella madaraszi. Melirrhophetes batesi.

Oeyx gentiana. Megapodius brenchleyi.

Edoliisoma poliopse, Pseudogerygone chrysogastra.

Rhipidura hyperythra. cinereiceps.

Melanopyrrhus anais.

Melirrhophetes batesi and Pseudogerygone cinereiceps are
recent discoveries of JMr. H. O. Forbes in the Sogeri district
of New Guinea *.

* Cf. Sharpe on " Mr. Forbes's expedition to New Guinea," in ' Nature/
xxxiv. p. 346 (Aug. 12, 1886), where some account is given of Mr. Forbes's
collections.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 109

We are informed that the publishers have determined to
brin^ this great work to a termination after a few more
numbers. This is much to be regretted, as only about 325
species will have been figured out of an avifauna known
already to contain at least 1000 species.

11. Hartlaub on new African Birds.

[Description de trois nouvelles especes d'Oiseaux rapportees des environs
du Lac Tangauyka (Afrique Centrale) pair le Capitaine Em. Storms. Par
le Dr. G. Hartlaub, de Breme. Bull. Mus. Roy. d'Hist. Nat. de Belgique,
vol. iv., 1886.]

The new species are named Turdus stonnsi, Ploceus duboisi,
and Lagonosticta nitidula. All three are figured. Dr. Hart-
laub adds a note on a specimen of Monticola brevipes.

12. Huet on Additions to the Jar din des Plantes.

[Note sur les naissances, dons et acquisitions de la Menagerie du Museum
d'Histoire Naturelle pendant les mois de Mai, Juin, Juillet et Aout 1886,
et de Janvier, Fevi'ier, Mars et Avril 188G. Par M. Huet. Bull. Soc.
Nat. d'Acclim. France, 1886.]

jVE. Huet states that in 1885 hybrids were produced be-
tween a male Phasianus 7-eevesi and a female Ph. torquatus,
and that in 1886 the said hybrids bred inter se. The Silver
Pheasant and a Euplocamus, apparently E. leucomelanus , have
also interbred; and so have Oi Euplocamus and a Jungle-cock.
Some interesting notes upon a Lyre-bird [Menura superba)
are also given ; but the other arrivals call for no particular
remarks.

13. Littleboy on the Birds of Hertfordshire.

[Notes on Birds observed in Hertfordshire duringatlie Year 1885. By
John E. Littleboy. Trans. Ilertf. Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. iv. p. 53.]

Mr, Littleboy, an active local ornithologist, read his
annual report for 1885, at Watford, in April last. No
species new to the lists are known to have occurred in Herts
in that year, but some additions are recorded from examples
preserved in the collection of Mr. A. Holland Hibbert of

110 Recently published Ornithological Works.

Munden House^ and elsewhere. These raise the number of
species belonging to the Hertfordshire avifauna to 1 79.

14. Meyer on some Birds from New Guinea.

[Notiz iiber Lopliorina minor (Rams.) imd Euth/rhijncha fulvigiila,
Schl. Von A. B. Meyer. Zeitsclir. f. d. ges. Ornitliologie, 1886, p. 180.]

Dr. Meyer shows that the expanded neck-collar of Lopho-
rina minor, Ramsay, has quite a different form from that of
L. superba. He also describes the differences between the
specimens of Euthyrhyncha fulvigula recently obtained by
Hunstein in the Horseshoe Mountains of S.E. New Guinea
and a typical example of the same bird from the Arfak
Mountains in the north-west of that island.

15. Milne-Edwards and Grandidier's ' Madagascar.*

[Histoire Physique, Natui-elle et Politique de Madagascar. Publico
par Alfred Grandidier. Vol. XII. Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. Par
MM. Alpli. Milne-Edwards et Alf. Grandidier. Tome I., Texte, i. 2" partie.
Vol. XIV. Tome III., Atlas, ii., 2' partie. Vol. XV. Tome IV.
Atlas, iii. 4to. Paris: 1881-85. Imprimerie Nationale.]

The ornithological portion of the great work on Mada-
gascar, of which we have already spoken (Ibis, 1878, p. 180^
and 1880, p. 136) , is now complete. It consists of one volume
of text (770 pp.) and three of plates (upwards of 300), many
of the latter being devoted to osteology, anatomy, points of
structure, and oology. The figures of the whole birds are
drawn by Keulemans and nicely coloured.

As summarized by our authors, the avifauna of Mada-
gascar contains 238 species. Of these there are 89 of more
or less extended distribution, leaving 149 as the characteristic
forms of Madagascar. Of these 149, 4 have a considerable
range, 9 are of African origin, 7 Asiatic or Oceanic, and no
less than 129 are absolutely restricted to the island. But the
extraordinary point is, that of the genera to which these 129
species are referred, 35 are generic types unknown elsewhere.
Thus we have an island with more than half the known
species of its avifauna peculiar to it, and a large proportion

Recently published Ornithological Works. Ill

of its genera, a fact iinparallelled elsewhere on the eartVs
surface.

We offer our best congratulations to the authors for having
brought this important and profusely illustrated work to a
successful conclusion, A few novelties may still be picked
up in Madagascar, but M. Grandidier^s care and enei'gy will
render it veiy difficult to add much more to the list of species
of this singular avifauna.

16. Nathusius on the Position of the Egg in the Oviduct.

[BesteLt eine ausnaliinslose Kegel liber die Lage der Pole des Vogel-
eies im Uterus iin Verhaltniss zur Cloakenmiindung ? Von W. v.
Natliusius. Zool. Anz. 1885, p. 415. — Ueber die Lage des Vogeleies im
Uterus. Von W. v. Nathusius. Ibid, p. 713.]

Is there an invariable rule as to whether the large or small
end of the e^g is in front in the bird's oviduct before extru-
sion ? It would have been supposed that such a simple
matter of fact would be easily ascertained. Dr. Taschenberg
has asserted that the big end always comes out first. Herr
V. Nathusius was at first of opinion that there is no definite
rule on the subject ; but in his second note he admits that
the experiments of Dr. Erust, of Caracas, have shown that
the big end is commonly in front.

17. Nathusius on the Egg of Struthiolithus.

[Ueber das fossile Ei von Struthiolithus chersonensis, Brandt. Von W. v.
Nathusius. Zool, Anz. 1886, p. 47.]

Herr v, Nathusius has examined the microscopical structure
of the fossil egg described by Brandt in 1872 as Struthiolithus
chersonensis *. His verdict is, that Struthiolithus was cer-
tainly a Struthionine bird and, so far as its eg^ is concerned,
not generically separable from Struthio. On the other hand,
Apteryx, as judged by its egg, has no relationship to the
Struthiones.

* Found in 1857 in an old river-bed (a so-called balka) near Malinowka
in the Government of Cherson. It measured about 18 centim. in length
and 15 in diameter, and is therefore considerably larger than any Ostrich's
egg rCf. Brandt, Mel. Biol. Ac. So, St, P6t, t. v. no. 5).

112 Recently published Ornithological Works.

18. Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society's Trans-
actions.

[Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society's Transactions, vol. iv. pt. ii.
Norwich: 1886.]

This Partj recently issued, is peculiarly rich in papers
bearing upon ornithology. The interesting Address by the
late President, Major H. W. Feilden, with its skilful treat-
ment of the distribution of Arctic species, is followed by
" An Account of the Nesting of the Crossbill in Suffolk/' by
Mr. F. Norgate; "A Visit to a Colony of various species of
Herons on the Danube/' by Mr. J. Young ; '' Remarks on a
female Redstart assuming the plumage of the male/' by
Mr. J. H. Guruey, jun.; ''Ornithological Notes at Cley/'
by Messrs. G. E. and F. D. Power; " A Visit to the Isles of
Scilly during the Nesting Season/' by Mr. E. Bidwell ; '' The
Habits and Plumage of the Manx Shearwater, as observed
on the Island of Eigg, in the Inner Hebrides," by Rev. H. A.
Macpherson; "Notes on the Fulmar Petrel in Confinement/'
by Mr. G. Smith ; and " Notes on a Female Honey-Buzzard/'
by Mr, J. H. Gurney. Last, and most important, is Section
I. of "The List of Norfolk Birds," by Messrs. J. II. Gurney,
jun., and T. Southwell, in which 145 species are noticed,
commencing with the Accipitres and ending with the Gallinse,
the arrangement followed being that of the fourth edition of
Yarrell. This forms a valuable supplement to the portions of
Stevenson's ' Birds of Norfolk/ which were published sixteen
years ago.

19. Oustalet on a new Tetraophasis.

fDescription de quelques Oiseaux nouveaux de la Chine et du Thibet.
Par M. E. Oustalet. Le Naturaliste ,1886.]

Notwithstanding the title, only one species is actually
described as new, although allusions are made to rare and
interesting birds, such as Sibia desgodinsi, described by
M. Oustalet in 1877, and others, sent from Yer-ka-lo, on
the Me-kong, by the Abbe Desgodins. In the new species,
Tetraophasis desgodinsi, the plumage of the male diflfers from

Recently published Ornithological Works. 113

that of T. obscurus in having the rump and upper tail-coverts
greyer, the throat is clear yellow and not chestnut as in the
latter, and the feathers of the flanks are of a rich red-brown
with tawny margins,

20. Oustalet on Birds from Somali-land.

[Catalogue des Oiseaux rapport6s par M. G. Revoil de son deuxieme
voyage aux Pays des Qomalis (Afrique Orientale), Par M. E. Oustalet.
Bibl. de I'Ecole de Hautes £tudes, Sect. d. Sc. Nat. xxxi. no. 10
(188G).]

M. Oustalet gives an account of the collection of birds
made in Somali-land by M. Georges Revoil during his second
expedition to that country in 1884. It contains examples of
73 species, besides others of wide distribution. A remarkable
discovery is that of a new species of the genus Machirhamphus
{M. revoili), intermediate in some respects between M. alcinus
and M. anderssoni. Pyrrhulauda signata (allied to P. verti-
calis) is also described as probably new.

21. Pelzeln and Kohl on Birds from Ceylon.

[Ueber sine Sendung von Saugethieren und Vogeln aus Ceylon. Von
August V. Pelzeln und Franz Fr. Kohl. Verhandl. k. k. zool.-bot.
GeseUsch. Wien, 1885, p. 525.]

The collection, sent to the Imperial Museum of Vienna
by Herr Gr. Hiitterolt, of Trieste, contained examples of
39 species of birds. A few observations and field-notes are
added to the list of names.

22. Ridgway on Venezuelan Birds.

[Descriptions of some new Species of Birds, supposed to be from the
interior of Venezuela. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1886,
p. 92.]

The specimens here described are of somewhat novel origin.
They are skins formerly attached to a bead-belt, supposed to
have come from some portion of the Upper Orinoco region.
Two species are described as new, Pyroderus masoni and
Aulacorhamphus dimidiatus. Examples of a third species are

SER. V. VOL. V. I

114 Recently published Ornithological Works.

referred, somewhat doubtfully, to the Mexican Myiopsitta
lineola (Cassin). But we may remind Mr. Ridgway that if
the Venezuelan bird is distinct, it has already been provided
with a name by Souance (Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1856, p. 144),
based upon specimens from Caracas.

23. Ridgway on CEstrelata sandwichensis.

[On ^strelata [sic] sandwichensis, Ridgw. By RoLert Ridgway. Proc.
U. S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 95.]

Mr. Eidgway has now been able to compare the Petrel
from the Sandwich Islands, which in the ' Water-birds of
North America'' (vol. ii. p. 395) he referred with much
doubt to (E. hcEsitafa, with an undoubted specimen of the
latter species. He finds them very different, and points
out the characters which confirm CE. sandwichensis as dis-
tinct. It is possible, however, that the Sandwich-Island bird
may be the same as (E. phceopygia of Salvin, from the
Galapagos.

24. Ridgway on Buteo latissimus.

[Description of a melanistic specimen of Buteo latissimus. By Robert
Ridgway. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 248.]

The description is taken from a female specimen recently
acquired by the National Museum from Iowa. It " presents
an exceedingly close general resemblance to the browner
examples of Buteo fuliginosus, Scl., which is said to be the
melanistic phase of B. hrachyurus."

25. Shufeldt on the Osteology o/Conurus.

[Osteology of Conui-us carolinensis. By R. W. Sliufeldt. Journ. Anat.
& Phys. XX. p. 407, pis. x., xi.]

This is one of Dr. Shufeldt's osteological monographs,
executed with his customary exactitude, and illustrated by
two beautifully drawn plates. At the conclusion a useful
" synopsis of the skeletal characters'^ is given.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 115

26. Smart on British Birds.

[Birds on the British List : their Title to Enrolment considered, espe-
cially with reference to the British Ornithological \_sic] Union's List of
British Birds : with a few remarks upon ' Evolution,' and notes upon
the rarer Eggs. By the Rev. Gregory Smart, M.A. 8vo. London and
Preston: 188G.]

Unless this book had been sent to us for notice,, we
should gladly have ignored a work in which a long series
of blunders commences on the very titlepage. Besides
being steeped in silliness^ it is often so incoherent and un-
intelligible in siyle^ that it is inconceivable how any one of
ordinary education could have written it. But gross inaccu-
racies in pretended quotations from authors whose names are
given, and whose exact words are supposed to be indicated by
inverted commas, are so mischievous that we cannot con-
scientiously leave them unexposed. Take a few refutations of
Mr. Smart's misstatements. Messrs. Sterland and Whitaker
do not say, in their ' Birds of Northamptonshire/ that Buteo
borealis was submitted to Mr. Gould in the flesh ; and Mr.
Seebohm will hardly recognize the version given of his
remarks on p. 10. Mr. J. H. Gurney never wrote the
incoherent nonsense respecting the African Buzzard attri-
buted to him between quotation-marks (p. 11) ; and Mr.
Seebohm's meaning with regard to the American Hawk Owl
is quite perverted by misquotation (p. 14) . The Blue Rock
Thrush was not " shot at Westmeath on Nov. 17th, 1866,
by Mr. B. Knox/^ nor by any one else, seeing that it was
brought from Cannes, in France ; and Professor Newton did
not " admit the occurrence ^' : he recorded the assertion of
the occurrence, which is a very different matter. Respecting
the reported capture of the Red-eyed Vireo in Derbyshire,
Mr. Smart says, " the only question seems to be whether the
genuine occurrence is authentic. And upon this Professor
Newton throws no shadow of distrust," the italics being
the author's. Naturally, the cautious Professor did not
commit himself to anything beyond the bare record of the
existence of such a statement ; but in this and similar cases
we may remember Lord Burleigh's nod. Yet even Professor

i2

116 Recently published Ornithological Works.

Newton did not count upon being interpreted by one gifted
with the poAver of divining intentions possessed by Mr. Smart,
who remarks, on the Rustic Bunting in ' Yarrell^s British
Birds/ that " the article conchides Avith a very significant
vignette of a young person playing with a bird which has
been let out of a cage^': the italics again being the author's.
Respecting the [wrongly] recorded Demoiselle Crane in
Soraersetshire, Saunders is made to say "^ that it had pro-
bably escaped from confinement ; " but there is not one
syllable of the kind in '^YarrelP (vol. iii. p. 192), and Mr.
Smart's statement is a pure fabrication. Again (p. 68) it
is asserted that Saunders says " the eggs [of the Noddy
Tern] are more calcareous than, and indistinguishable \sic']
from eggs of the Sooty Tern ; " but reference to ' Yarrell,^
vol. iii. p. 564, shows that the very reverse is the case, the
words being '^ the shell [of the egg of the Sooty Tern] is
smooth, in which respect it differs strikingly from the egg of
the Noddy, in which the shell is of a rough calcareous
nature.^' As regards the American Laughing Gull, Mr.
Seebohm does not " point out that the specimen stated in the
B, O. U. List to be in the British Museum is 'Ridibundus";''
on the contrary, as shown by Saunders, he says that it is a
nearly adult specimen of the American L. atricilla — the point
being that it is not the identical bird said to have been obtained
by Montagu at Winchelsea, and which was merely a Larus
ridibundus. More might be said, but we think the above
will suffice.

Children are sometimes encouraged to make collections of
foreign postage stamps under the impression that they may
thereby acquire a knowledge of geography, and we hope tliat
the acquisition of egg-shells may in time exercise a similar
beneficial effect upon Mr. Smart. He may possibly learn
that " Ungarn " is merely German for a country known in
English as Hungary ; that " Ost Finmarken " is East Fin-
mark ; and that '' Los Angelos Cala " [sic'] means Los
Angeles, California. " Torn Lapland " seems to indicate an
aggression by some northern power, but we do not venture
upon politics.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 117

27. Stejneger on Japanese Birds.

[Review of Japanese Birds. By Leouhard Stejneger. Proc. U, S. Nat.
Mus. 1886, p. 99. I. The Woodpeckers.]

We are much pleased that Mr. Stejneger has taken up the
subject of Japanese Ornithology, and intends to write a
" comprehensive and reliable guide " thereto, with '^ ample
descriptions of all the known forms, from original Japanese
specimens.^' Such a work is niuch wanted at the present
moment, and Captain Blakiston having given his unrivalled
collection of Japanese birds to the U.S. National Museum,
together with his MS. notes and catalogues relating to the
same subject, there can be no question that excellent mate-
rial is available for the purpose. Nor is there any doubt
that Dr. Stejneger, with his accurate knowledge of the birds
of both the Palgearctic and Nearctic Regions, is a proper man
to undertake the task. Captain Blakiston^s collection is
chiefly from the northern island of Yesso, but a fine series
from the central part of Hondo has been transmitted to the
U.S. National Museum by Mr. P. L. Jouy, which serves to
confirm the fact, already pointed out by Captain Blakiston,
that the former island belongs rather to the Siberian division
of the Palsearctic Region, while Hondo and the two smaller
southern islands belong to China. As, however, much more
of Japan remains to be explored before the exact distribution
of the local forms can be adequately worked out. Dr. Stej-
neger proposes to commence his labours with a set of preli-
minary papers, which he hopes may induce his brother
ornithologists to supply further materials and information.
In the present essay an account is given of the Japanese
Picidse ; of these one species of Wryneck and twelve Wood-
peckers are recognized. Of the latter, two are named as new
species, Dryohates subcirris, from Northern Hondo and Yesso,
and D. namiyei, from the south-western portion of the same
island, and one as a new subspecies, Pious canus yessoensis,
from Yesso.

118 Recently published Ornithological Works .

28. Stejneger on the British Marsh Tit.

[The Britisli Marsh Tit. By Leonhard Stejneger. Proc. U. S. Nat.
Mus. 1886, p. 200.]

Dr. Stejneger maintains that the British Marsh Tit is
quite as distinct from the true P. palustris of Northern
Europe as the so-called Pants britannicus is from P. ater,
and proposes to make it a new subspecies, Pans palnstris
dresseri. It is '^ much darker'^ in colour : " the brown of
the back more olive ; the rump clearer and lighter bnffish
brown ; flanks much browner ; tail shorter."^ Similarly he
would call the Cole Tit of Great Britain Parus ater britan-
nicus.

29. TaczanowskV s ' Ornithologie du Perou'

[Ornithologie du Perou, par Ladislas Taczanowski. Tables. 8vo.
Eennes : 1886. Pp. 218.]

]VT. Taczanowski^s " Tables " greatly add to the value of
his ' Ornithologie du Perou.' The volume contains, first a
set of keys for the determination of the various genera and
species, and secondly an alphabetical index to the three
former volumes. We congratulate IM. Taczanowski on the
final completion of a laborious and most useful work.

30. Vorderman on the Birds of Western Java.

[Bijdrage tot de Kennis van de Avifauna der Preanger Regentschappen
Langs de Wijnkoopersbaai (West-JaTa). Door A. G. Vorderman.
Natuurk. Tijdschr. v. Nederl. Indie, Dl. xlvi. Afl. 1.]

In June 1885, INIr. Vorderman paid a visit to the districts
of Pelaboean and Djaraperry Koelon, on the west coast of
Java. After a short preliminary dissertation, in which
Rubigida dispar, Ixidia squamata, Brachypodius melano-
cephalus, and Philentoma velatum are mentioned as character-
istic forms of this district, a list is given of the 86 species
met with. ]\Iany remarks and observations are added.

31. Wells on the Birds of Grenada.

[A List of the Birds of Grenada, West Indies. By John Grant Wells.
8vo. Grenada, W.I. : 188G.]

IVIr. Wells has made 39 additions to the 54 species of birds

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 119

met with by Mr. F. Ober in Grenada, and gives a nominal list
of the whole of them. Specimens of most of those obtained
by Mr. Wells have been sent to the Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, and have been determined by Mr. Lawrence.

XI. — Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c.

We have received the following letters addressed to the
Editors of 'The Ibis:'—

Sirs, — I beg leave to send you a short note on the proper
generic name for the Nightingales.

The following generic names have been proposed for these
birds : —

Luscinia, Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1280.

DauUas, Boie, Isis, 1831, p. 542.

Philomela, Selby, Brit. Orn. i. p. 206 (1833).

Lusciola, Keys. & Bias. Wirbelth. Eur. p. Iviii (1840).

Although Luscinia has the priority, still, even in one of
the most recent works {' A List of British Birds, compiled by a
Committee of the British Ornithologists' Union,' p. 11), the
genus DauUas, Boie, has been used for the Nightingales, but,
according to my view, not quite correctly. Both Luscinia,
Brehm, and DauUas, Boie, were published by their authors
without characters ; but while Luscinia has been accepted
and characterized by G. R. Gray, in the ' Genera of Birds,'
i. p. 173, since 1818, and accepted also by Cabanis (Mus.
Hein. i. p. 1) and others, DauUas was revived much later by
Dr. Sclater (' Revised List of the Vertebrate Animals in the
Gardens of the Zoological Society,' p. 126), in 1872, and first
characterized nearly at the same time, or very shortly after-
wards, by Prof. Newton {' Yarrell's British Birds,' i. p. 312)"^.
From all this it is quite evident that Luscinia, Brehm,

* Strickland, in 1841 (Ann. & Mag. N. H. vi. p. 422), thinking that
Luscinia had been first used generically by Bonaparte in 1838, wrote
that it "should give way to Philomela, Selby, 1833, unless DauUas,

120 Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c.

established and characterized before Daulias, Boie, is the

proper generic name to be used for the Nightingales.

I have heard that one reason adduced for rejecting " Lus-

cinia " is that Brehm^ in using that name, has attributed it

to Brisson, as if he was reviving a Brissonian genus, whereas

Brissoa made no such genus. But I do not see any good

reason in this. Brehm could not have thought that he was

reviving a Brissonian genus Luscinia, as he must have read

that Brisson puts Luscinia in the genus Ficedula ; Brehm

only meant that the term Luscinia (like Cymiecula, Ruticilla,

and other names, which have been generalhj accepted and

attributed to Brehm, even in the B.O.U. List) is to be found

in Brisson. It is, however, a fact beyond any doubt that

those names were used in a generic sense for the first

time by Brehm, and consequently they must be attributed

to him. ^j o

Yours &c.,

T. Salvauori.

Sirs, — In the notice of my article on Birds from Emperor-
William^s-Land, in the last number of ^ The Ibis,' the locality
in one passage (p. 518, line 8) is given as *' Lifu." It
should be " Kafu."

Begging of you to notice this erratum.

Yours &c.,

Dresden, November 1886. A. B. Meyer.

The House Bunting of the Sahara and Marocco (Fringil-
laria saharse). — " One very pleasing feature in Marocco is the
tameness of all wild creatures. At Kaid Maclean's dinner-
table there were always a number of little birds hopping
about on the cloth, which at first we thought were pets of
the family, till we were told they were the Sparrows of the

Boie, be prior to the latter name;" but Strickland at that time was
not aware that Luscinia had been used by Brehm in 1828, long before
Bonaparte.

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 121

city. They picked up the crumbs uuder your very nose, and
boldly perched on the bread and the edge of one's wine-glass,
a familiarity which at times I found had its disadvantages.
They are held sacred, and being thus preserved from injury
are perfectly fearless and domesticated. This bird, which is
called tabib (doctor), is quite different from the European
Sparrow, being of a red-brown colour with pretty markings,
about the same size, but of a less stout build. When I woke
of a morning there were often one or two of these little
fellows on my pillow, and others perched on the end of the
bed.^' — Stutfield's ' El Maghreb : 1200 miles' ride through
Marocco,' p. 253. [Cf. Tristram, Ibis, 1859, p. 295.]

Migration at Chicago. — The ^American Naturalist' of
September last contains the following curious story (Am.
Nat. XX, p. 818) :—

" The building of the Board of Trade of Chicago has a ring
of electric- arc lights around its dome, some 300 feet above
the pavement. The ring is thirty feet in diameter, and
contains twenty lights. They were lighted for the first time
on the evening of January 1st, 1886. On the night of
May 8th following, a terrific thunderstorm passed over the
city between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight. During
the storm the attention of the few people who were in the
street at that time was attracted to the spectacle of a great
number of birds hovering about this ring of lights and
dashing at them. In the morning it was discovered that
hundreds of dead birds were scattered about the foot of the
tower, and hundreds more were found upon the roof of the
building. When the workmen ascended the tower to renew
the carbons in the lights, they found many of the globes
occupied by the bodies of birds, some containing as many as
eight, and many of the carbons had been broken ofi" by the
birds. Over two hundred bodies were picked up by one of
the workmen attached to the building, which was but a small
part of those carried away by the news-boys and others in
the morning. A person who saw them before any were taken

122 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c.

away, estimated that more than a thousand were killed.
But even this was hut a small portion of what were seen in
the air about the tower. It is to be regretted that no person
competent to determine the species of the birds killed on
this occasion was present when they were first observed. I
understand that a few of them afterwards fell into such
Lands, but I have heard no report. From the testimony of
those who saw them they appear to have been, for the most
part, the smaller song-birds."

The Ridgivay Ornithological Club. — Mr. H. K. Coale sends
us the subjoined summary of the recent proceedings of the
Ridgway Ornithological Club of Chicago.

Aug. 12th. Mr. George L. Toppan read a paper on
''Spring Notes for Cook and Lake Counties, 111., and Lake
Co., Ind." A paper from Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, entitled '^The
Future of American Ornithology,^'' was also read. Dona-
tions of skins, eggs, and ornithological literature were received
from resident and corresponding members.

Sept. 9th. Mr. J. G. Parker, Jun., read a paper on the
" Ornithology of Sauk and Colombia Counties, Wisconsin,"
illustrated with skins of the rarer species,

Oct. 14th. A paper by Robert Ridgway, entitled " List
of the Birds found breeding within the corporate limits of
Mount Carmel, 111.," was read. The subject of publishing
the Proceedings of the Club was discussed and favourably
thought of, although definite action will not be taken until
the November meeting.

Ornithological Works in Progress. — Our President, Lord
Lilford, is endeavouring to gather together what little is
known of the Birds of Cyprus, and is making plans for a
further investigation of the avifauna of tnat island during"
the approaching spring. He would be glad, we are sure, to
receive any information on this subject. It is certainly high
time that steps should be taken to make us better acquainted
with the natural history of this recently acquired portion of

Letters, Extracts, Notices, &^c. 123

the British Empire, which, though small in area, is of great
interest as regards its position.

Mr. H. H. Johnston, now H.B.M. Vice-Consul in West
Africa, aided by a grant from tbe British Association, has
already effected a preliminary survey of the summits of
the Cameroons, and obtained amongst other spoils a small
series of birds. We trust that it may contain, along with
other rarities, additional specimens of Strobilophaga burtoni,
of which the only known example Was obtained by Sir Richard
Burton when he made his ascent of the Cameroons in 1861.
The presence of this arctic type in the Cameroons would
lead us to expect to find there accompanying forms of like
origin.

Mr. Seebohm is busily engaged on the final revision of his
work on the " Geographical Distribution of the Charadriidse,
or Plovers, Sandpipers, and Snipes," which will be ready for
publication about May next. It will be illustrated by twenty
excellent plates of the rarer species, which have been executed
by Keulemans, besides about 200 woodcuts. The same facile
artist has, we believe, undertaken the preparation of the
plates for Sir Walter Buller's new edition of the ' Birds of
New Zealand.^

Messrs. J. A. Harvie-Brown and T. E. Buckley have in
preparation a ' Vertebrate Fauna of Sutherland, Caithness,
and West Cromarty,^ a work based upon the authors^ personal
acquaintance with the larger portion of the area treated of,
during a period of twenty years. It will be issued in small
quarto, with a map showing the faunal areas, and plates, at
a cost of 2\s. to subscribers, who are invited to send their
names in to Mr. Harvie-Brown, Dunipace House, Larbert,
N.B. Up to the present the names of intending subscribers
have been coming in very slowly, and unless 250 are secured,
it may not be considered desirable to proceed with the work.
The failure of so promising a contribution to our history of
local faunas would be very regretable, and we trust that those
Members of the B.O.U. Avho have not yet sent in their names
will no longer imperil the work by delay.

Aided by a grant from the donation fund of the Royal

124 Letters, E.vtracts, Notices, l^c.

Society^ Mr. W. H. Hudson has been able to devote much
of bis time lately to rewriting bis excellent field-notes on tbe
birds of tbe Argentine Republic, wbicb bave been published
in the ' Proceedings ' of the Zoological Society, the ' Field '
and elsewbere. Sclater is preparing them for publication in
connection with a new descriptive catalogue of the same
avifauna, and proposes to publish them under the title of
' Argentine Ornithology/ They will form two octavo volumes
of about the size of ' The Ibis/

Exhibition at Ekaterinburg. — The Societe Ouralienne
d^ Amateurs des Sciences Naturelles sends us a polite invi-
tation to visit Ekaterinburg next summer, any time between
the 15th of May and the 18th of September, in order to see
the " Exposition scientitique et industrielle de la Siberie et
des Monts Ourals,^^ in which specimens of birds and eggs
will form a portion of the exhibits in Class IV. " Zoology,
Zootomy, and Anatomy." The route is by railway to
Nislini, steamer thence to Perm, and railway again to
Ekaterinburg. Tickets will be issued at very reduced rates
to those furnished with vouchers by the Committee of the
Exhibition. The Committee of the B.O.U. will be glad to
hear from any Member who would like to make this in-
teresting journey.

New Birds from the West Indies. — A supplementary paper
to the last number of ' The Auk,' 1866 (pp. 497 et seqq.),
shows how much there is still to be done in the smaller
islands of the West-Indian archipelago, even in the well-
worked subject of ornithology. Mr. Charles B. Cory, who
has for some time so successfully devoted himself to explora-
tions in this quarter, has sent a collector to the small islands
known as Grand and Little Cayman, which are situated
south of Cuba and about one hundred and thirty miles
north-west of Jamaica. As has recently been shown to be
the case in the Island of Cozumel, off the coast of Yucatan,
here also isolation has continued long enough to permit

Letters, Extracts, Notices, &^c. 125

many of the birds shut off from intercourse with their parent
forms to acquire differences which amount to what are usually
regarded as specific. Out of about forty species of which
examples were obtained by Mr. W. B. Richardson for Mr.
Cory, no less than thirteen are considered to be new, and
several others are stated to vary slightly from known West-
Indian forms. The new species are named: — (1) Certhiola
sharpei, (2) Dendroica vitellina, nearest to D. discolor, (3)
Chrysotis caymanensis, next to C. leucocephala of Cuba^
(4) Colaptes gundlachi, like C. chrysocaulosus of Cuba, (5)
Engyptila collaris, (6) Zenaida spadicea, (7) Centurus cay-
manensis, (8) Miinocichla ravida, (9) Quiscalus caymanensis,
(10) Spiudalis salvini, most like S. pretrii, (11) Vireo alleni,
(12) Myiarchus denigratus, and (13) Icterus bairdi, most
nearly allied to /. leucopteryx of Jamaica. On the whole, as
might have been expected, the "Avifauna Caymanensis" seems
to be most nearly connected with that of Cuba. But probably
the Caymans were mainly stocked with life, not by immigra-
tion, but when still part of the old continent out of which
the Antilles were carved by the Gulf-stream. For this
continent I suggest the name Pr^eantillesia. Some of the
types of its ancient life we have still left in Solenodon and
Capromys amongst Mammals, and Todus, Temnotrogon, and
Spindalis amongst Birds.

Messrs. Godman and Salvin have also lately received a
collection of birds from Ruatan and some of the other
smaller islands off the coast of Yucatan, amongst which are
objects of considerable interest. Of this collection, Mr.
Salvin promises us an account for a future number of
'Thelbis.'— P.L. S.

'Stray Feathers' — While two new ornithological periodicals
have recently appeared on the continent of Europe (the
' Zeitschrift fiir die gesammte Ornithologie ' and ' Ornis '),
our Indian contemporary, ' Stray Feathers,^ has, we fear,
altogether come to an end. It was hardly to be expected,
perhaps, that Mr. Hume, having presented his noble col-

126 Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c.

lection to the British Museum^ would be in a position to
continue his work of editing ' Stray Feathers ' ; but we
venture to hope that he will at least issue or permit to be
issued a fourth part and index to the last unfinished volume,
so that we may be able to bind it up. Thus brought to a
respectable termination, ' Stray Feathers ' must be regarded
as a most valuable contribution to our knowledge of the
Indian avifauna, and as a lasting credit to the energy of its
talented Editor.

Obituary. Mr. A. E. Knox. — The British Ornithologists'
Union has lost another of its original members by the death
of Arthur Edward Knox, which occurred on the 23rd of
September last at Dale Park, near Arundel. Born in Dublin,
the 28th of December, 1808, the deceased gentleman was the
eldest son of the late Mr. John Knox of Castlerea, in the
county of Mayo (who died in 1861), the descendant of a
branch of the Scottish family of that name which had settled
in Ireland early in the seventeenth century *. Being the
heir of a large and, as it was then believed, a flourishing
property, our late fellow-member entered Brazenose College
in the University of Oxford, where he graduated M.A., and
obtained a commission in the Second Kegiment of Life-
Guards, from which he retired about the time of his marriage,
in 1835, with Lad}^ Jane Parsons, daughter of the second
Earl of Rosse, and therefore sister to the constructor of the
famous telescope. Mr. Knox soon after took up his abode
at Pagham, on the coast of Sussex, and there began that
course of observations on the birds of that county, the
results of which have appeared in his two best-known works.
A few years later he removed to New Grove near Petworth,
subsequently to St. Ann's Hill, Midlmrst, and, about 1860,
to Trotton House near Petersfield, which he occupied until
quite recently. For some time after leaving the army, the
expectations to which he had been born gradually dwindled,

* See Dr. Charles Rogers's ' Genealogical Memoirs of John Knox and
of the Family of Knox ' (pp. 33-40), printed for the Grampian Club in
1879.

Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c. 127

and finally the terrible famine of 1845 reduced him^ like so
many others dependent upon Irish landed property, almost
to penury. In the endurance of poverty he found much
solace through the outdoor study of natural history; and at
length, by means of the Encumbered Estates Act, prosperity
again dawned upon him, but at the cost of parting with the
family possessions. His first published notes appeared in
'The Zoologist' for 1843 ; and, in 1849, he brought out his
' Ornithological Rambles in Sussex : with a Systematic Cata-
logue of the Birds of that County ' — the precursor of so many
works of similar local scope, few of which, however, have
equalled it as regards personal experience, while none have
surpassed it in spirit. A favourable notice, by his friend and
country-neighbour, the late Bishop Wilberforce, in the
' Quarterly Review,^ not only helped the sale of this little
book, so that a second and a third edition appeared in 1850
and 1855 respectively, but encouraged the immediate publi-
cation of another — ' Game Birds and Wild Fowl ' — of no less
merit, though herein the author shows more of the sportsman
than the ornithologist. A scientific ornithologist, indeed,
Mr. Knox never professed to be ; but, so far from being one
of the many popular writers who because they know not
science aflJ'ect to despise its teachings, he held it in the utmost
respect ; and in the dark November days of 1858, when the
most sanguine were at times in doubt whether the required
score of members of the B.O.U. would ever be found, he
readily threw in his lot, took the greatest interest in the
project, and contributed, as all know, a pleasantly written
little paper to the first volume of this Journal (Ibis, 1859,
pp. 395-397). Mr. Knox's last work was ' Autumns on the
Spey,' published in 1872, and its frontispiece will give to
those who knew him not some idea of his personal appearance,
though to them no conception can be conveyed of his genial
nature, his fund of humour, and his varied accomplishments
— among which mention may be made of his power as a
draughtsman, though this may be judged of by the plates to the
now rare original edition of his first work. His collection of
birds, formed almost entirely in Sussex, he gave, on breaking

128 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^'c.

up his establishment at Trotton, to his long-attached frient.
the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, to be preserved at Good-
wood House, where it is now lodged.

Dr. G. A. Fischer. — We also regret to have received
intelligence of the death at Berlin, on November 11th last, of
the well-known German explorer and ornithologist, Dr, G. A.
Fischer. Dr. Fischer first went out to East Africa in 1876,
as a physician at Zanzibar, and made several short excursions
into the interior in 1877 and the following years. In De-
cember 1882, with the assistance of the Geographical Society
of Hamburg, Dr. Fischer undertook a more lengthened ex-
pedition. Starting from Pangani, he travelled through
Masai-land towards the Victoria Nyanza, and reached the
southern end of Lake Naivasha, returning to the coast in
the August following.

In August 1885, after a short holiday in Europe, Dr, Fischer
started again from Pangani, for the purpose of carrying
succour to Dr. Junker, Emin Bey, and the other Europeans
isolated in the Soudan by the Mahdi^s rebellion, with which
object he was sent out by Dr. Junker's brother. Dr, Fischer
reached the Victoria Nyanza successfully, but on proceeding
to skirt the lake on the eastern side found the country
devastated by famine, and was forced to return, without
succeeding in obtaining any communication with Dr. Junker
and his companions. He reached Zanzibar again in June
last, and had only recently arrived at Berlin at the time of
his unexpected decease. Besides several geographical papers
and two books of travel (' Das Masai-land,' Hamburg, 1883,
and ' Mehr Licht im dunklen Weltteil,' Hamburg, 1885),
Dr. Fischer wrote numerous ornithological notes, which
will be found mostly in the ' Journal fur Ornithologie.''
The remarkable Touracou, Corythaix fischeri, obtained by
Dr. Fischer in Wito in 1877, will perpetuate his name
amongst naturalists, A general summary of his ornitho-
logical discoveries will be found in his " Uebersicht der in
Ostafrika gesammelten Vogelartcn, rait Angabe der verschie-
denen Fundorte," in the J. f. O. 1885, p. 113.

Itis,1887.Pir/

J.G.Kpiilemauslitln.

SKTOPH.A^A FI.AVIVF.RTKX

THE IBIS,

FIFTH SERIES.

No. XVIII. APRIL 1887.

XII. — Description of a new Species of the Genus Setopliaga.
By OsBERT Salvin, M.A., F.R.S., &c.

(Plate IV.)

Setophaga flaviverteXj sp. n.
Supra olivaceo-oleaginea, capite nigro^ vertice summo flavo,
superciliis et fronte albis, tectricibus supracaudalibus
nigris ; alls fusco-nigris ; cauda nigricante^ rectricibus
utrinque tribus externis gradatim albis ; subtus omnino
flava, crisso pallidiore; rostro et pedibus nigricanti-
fuscis. Long, tota 5 2, alse 2*4', caudse 2 6, rostri a rictu
0-6, tarsi 0'8.
Av.Jr. supra olivaceo-fusca, capite ejusdem col oris ; subtus
flava^ gula ochraceo-fusco induta.
Hab. Colombia septeutrionalis.
Mus. nostr,

Obs. S. albifronti forsan affinis quoad frontem et supercilia
alba, sed vertice flavo uec castaneo, dorso quoque olivaceo,
facile distinguenda.

Mr. Whitely recently brought me two specimens of this
Setophaga, together with a few other birds, stating that he
had received them from a correspondent who had obtained

SER. V. — VOL. V. K

180 jVIr. S. B. Wilson's Notes

them in the neighbourhood of the Sierra Nevada of Santa
Marta in Colombia. Amongst the other species in the
same collection I find Basileuterus conspicillatus and Buar-
remon melanocephalus, both discovered by Mr. Simons in
this district^ and as yet only known to be found there.

That a peculiar species of Setophaga should inhabit the
Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta was to be expected, and also
that its nearest ally should be found in the uplands of
Venezuela^ the two districts having many zoological affinities,
S.flavivertex, however, is obviously distinct from S. albifrons,
its yellow occiput being a peculiar feature, no other species
of the genus Setophaga having this character.

This is the most important addition to our knowledge of
Setophaga made since I wrote my synopsis in 1878 (' Ibis,'
1878, p. 302 et seq.), though the acquisition of additional
specimens of S. castaneocapilla from British Guiana has
established the differences of that bird from tlie Bolivian
S. brumieiceps. A good deal, however, has been written on
Setophaga. The Central-American species were treated of
in the ' Biologia Centrali- Americana,' and Mr. Sharpe has
reviewed the whole genus in the tenth volume of the ' Cata-
logue of Birds.' In his Key to the species, Mr. Sharpe
adopts a somewhat different arrangement from mine ; but I
think the result does not bring out the natural affinities of
the species so clearly. The division of all the species,
except S. ruticilla, into those with crimson and those with
yellow breasts, associates S. miniata with 8. picta, and not
with S. verticalis, to which it is certainly most closely allied ;
S. picta standing apart from the rest.

XIII. — Notes on some Siviss Birds.
By ScoTT B, Wilson.

As a short introduction to these notes, I may briefly mention
the chief places in Switzerland at which they were taken.
My observations extend over the springs of 1885 and 1886,
with a few taken in the winter of 1885, when living at
Geneva, where I had the advantage of having access to the

on some Swiss Birds. 131

Museum of Natural History under the able direction of ray
friend M. Lunel, who was always willing to give me infor-
mation. To Dr. Victor Fatio^s kindness in advising me as
to the best localities in the Alps for observations on birds
I am much indebted for what success 1 have had, and, lastly,
to my old guide Johann Anderegg, whose field-knowledge of
birds is excellent and was of great assistance.

I arrived in Geneva in March, and on the 28th went to
St. Maurice, a small village in the Uhone valley, some fifteen
miles from the east end of the Lake of Geneva, to search
for Nutcrackers' nests ; but from want of knowing the
chasseurs and their language, I was not successful, though
one old chasseur told me that he knew that the " Nussheher ''
nested in the fir-woods near Evionnaz, two miles from St.
Maurice. My next excursion was made in the end of May
from Chaux-de-Fonds, in the Canton of Neuchatel, near the
French frontier — a very good place at which to observe birds,
the town being situated on the slopes of the Jura, and within
ten minutes' walk of its pine-forests. There I found the
Citril Finch, Ring Ouzel, Firecrest, and Black Woodpecker
breeding, and saw a fir-tree whence the year before a nest of
the Nutcracker was taken. The latter was in the thick of
the great pine-forests, at a lower altitude than Chaux-de-
Fonds, and in those forests I hope some day to take the nest
myself.

Thus it was not until June 10th that I started for the
Alps, fortified with a ^'^ permis special'^ from the Govern-
ment to collect birds, without which one can do nothing in
Switzerland. From Geneva I went up the Rhone valley to
Simplon and Leukerbad — the latter one of the best-known
bathing establishments in Switzerland, almost at the foot of
the Gemmi Pass, well known as connecting the Rhone valley
with the Bernese Oberland. In the fir-woods about the
village of Leukerbad, Crested Tits, Black Woodpeckers,
Crossbills, and Ring Ouzels are to be found in fair quantity,
and in the lower meadow-land Meadow Buntings, White
Wagtails, and many Warblers ; Black Redstarts are also
very plentiful about Leukerbad. Thence I ascended the

k2

132 Mr. S. B. Wilsou's Notes

Gemmi (7540 feet) and spent a week in the little hotel of
Schwarenbach, making observations on the Snow Finch,
Alpine Accentor, &c. From Schwarenbach and the Gemmi
I went to Kandersteg, where I observed the Wall Creeper
on the very same crags whence my friend Mr. John Hancock
obtained specimens in 1845. From Kandersteg I went to
Interlaken, Brienz, and up the Haslithal to Meiringen, in
the vicinity of which village the Crag Swallow and the Alpine
Swift breed. From Meiringen, on June 23rd, I started
with Anderegg for the Engstlen Alp (6100 feet), where we
stayed till the 28th, finding the Water Pipit {Anthus
spipoletta) very abundant. On July 2nd I returned to Inter-
laken, and thence to Berne, where I wished to see the Alpine
Swift which breeds regularly in the cathedral ; and thence
to Geneva: my trip in 1885 extending from June 10th
till July 4th.

In the spring of 1886 I made another tour, on which I was
more successful, as must generally be the case when collecting
in a new country. Arriving at Lucerne on May 26th, some
three weeks earlier than the previous year, I went by rail
to Goschenen, intending to go up to the St. Gothard Hospice ;
but on account of the quantity and bad state of the snow I
was unable to do this, and was obliged to cross by the Furka
and the Grimsel to Meiringen — no easy matter, owing to
the snow. From Meiringen I again went to the Engstlen
Alp, where I arrived on June 3rd, and stayed till the 11th,
the rain pouring in torrents every day, which greatly hin-
dered us in collecting and observing. From Meiringen, on
the 15th, I returned to Lucerne over the Brlinig Pass, and
from Lucerne to Goschenen, as I wished to take the eggs of
the Snow Finch myself, having been too early when I first
crossed the Furka ; from the Furka down to Brieg, and after
a visit to the Simplon Hospice, I went, on June 19th, to
Leukerbad, to spend a few days there in my old quarters
before returning to England. Thus the two places at which
I was most successful, and at which I made the longest stay,
were the Engstlen Alp in the Canton of Berne and the
Gemmi in the Valais.

on some Swiss Birds. 133

The following are ray observations, more especially on
the Alpine species : —

TuRDus TORQUATUs. ^' Mcrle k plastron/' " Ringamsel."
We found several nests of this bird in the Jura (3070 feet)
in May, some with eggs, and several w ith young killed by the
snow. On the Engstlen Alp, up to the limit of tree-growth
(6100 feet) we obtained some fine specimens in June, and we
subsequently shot a yoimg bird on the Gemmi on July 5th.
The Ring Ouzel passes the summer in the high forests, and
comes out towards evening from the forests to search for
worms among the alpine pastures. It arrives at the end of
March and departs late in September.

Saxicola (enanthe. '' Traquet motteux," " Grauer Stein-
schmatzer."

We took the nest and saw the young of the Wheatear on
the Gemmi (7540 feet), and also obtained its nest on the
Furka, at a height of 8150 feet. Although a common bird
in the plains, it deserves mention as it breeds at an altitude
as high as the Snow Finch, and is one of the few birds which
enliven the solitude of the glacier.

RuTiciLLA TiTHYs. " Rougc- qucuc,'' " Haus Roth-
schwanz."

The first nest we took of the Black Redstart was on June
13th, 1885, during an excursion to the Torrenthorn Alp ; it
was placed on the cross-beam of a tumble-down old chalet,
one of about twenty which are only inhabited in the summer,
when the cows and goats are on the Alps. The birds were
flying in and out ; but we had quite an hour's search before
finding a nest, which was composed chiefly of dry grass-
stems woven together with hair and lined with Ptarmigan's
feathers, and contained two eggs, of a beautiful pale rose-
colour before blowing, and afterwards of an extremely pure
white. The next spring 1 obtained a fine series of nests and
eggs, mostly from chalets in the environs of Leukerbad ;
the nests being invariably placed on the long beam which
runs from one end of the building to the other, and I re-
member seeing seven nests (three of which, however, were

134 Mr. S. B. Wilson's Notes

old) placed on the same beam. This bird generally prefers
newish chalets to old ones. At first we used to search all the
chalets alike, but soon found that searching old ones was
mostly time thrown away. The only nest we found that was
not in a chalet was in a hole in a large boulder of rock,
close to the little inn on the Engstlen Alp. The Black
Redstart certainly breeds twice a year, as we took eggs
between the dates of June 2nd and July 7th ; and on June 9th
in the spring of last year I observed eggs freslily laid, eggs
hard set, young just hatched, and young fully fledged and
ready to leave the nest, all on the same day.

With regard to there being two distinct species, R. tithys
and R. cairii, Degland and Gerbe say that " the second
nesting of R. cairii takes place close to the eternal snow,
where the Alpine Accentor and the Snow Finch breed, and
where R. tithys is never seen,'' thus implying that R. cairii
and R. tithys breed in different regions. Now I observed a
male R. tithys, with conspicuously black breast, in the breed-
ing-season on the Gemmi, which does away with one supposed
distinction in the habits of the two species !

Regulus ignicapillus. "Roitelet a triple bandeau."
I found this bird breeding in the Jura pine-forests, when
searching for the nest of Chrysomitris citrinella. The nest
which I took is constructed almost entirely of green moss,
woven very closely together with hair, and bunches of feathers,
among them those of the Nutcracker : it contained eight
eggs, the pinkish colour of which renders them very easily
distinguishable from those of the Goldcrest. The note of
the Firecrest is very like that of the Goldcrest, but still
it is distinguishable. W^e had the pleasure of watching a
pair of Firecrests flitting about in a fir within a few feet
of us ; their motions were just the same as those of their
congener, but perhaps they are rather more &\\y. The Fire-
crest appears to be not at all uncommon in the Jura ; I also
met witli it in the Jura Vaudois, near Divonne. It breeds in
the neighbourhood of Geneva, and I saw its eggs in the col-
lection of my friend M. Demole, taken the year before in a
fir-tree in his garden in the environs of that town.

on some Swiss Birds. 185

Accentor collaris. " Accenteur des Alpes," " Alpeu-
lerch/'

It was in the Gemmi, on the 17th June, 1885, that I first
heard the sweet song of the '^ Alpenlerch/' as it is called in
Switzerland. A slight noise on my left made me look round,
and I saw one of these birds within four yards of me, perched
on a flat stone. After looking well at me for several
minutes, he began to sing — such a sweet joyous song, re-
minding me much of a Pipit, but with something very
plaintive in it. He sang on for quite five minutes without
moving from the stone, so I had good time to observe him :
the eye has just the same quiet expression so characteristic
of our Hedge Accentor ; but the '^ Alpenlerch "" is much
ro buster in form, and the legs are a lovely and conspicuous
yellow-pink. I may here observe that this bird may be kept
in a cage by feeding it on the same food as the Warblers,
my friend M. Coleman, of Chaux-de-Fonds, having often kept
them without difficulty. From the Gemmi we went to the
Engstlen Alp, and on excursions to and about the Joch Pass
(7200 feet) we again met with this bird. On the 27th June
we found a pair which evidently had a nest, though we were
not fortunate enough to find it ; nevertheless I will shortly
describe our search, as it will give an idea of the sort of
ground on which they breed — moreover, too, as the nest we
subsequently obtained was from the neighbouring Hasliberg,
where the country has just the same character as the Engstlen
Alp. We went some way without seeing Alpine Accentors,
though the place looked just suitable for them, rough broken
ground, covered with a thick scrub of the alpine rose and other
dwarf shrubs; at last, however, we came upon several pairs
hopping aboTit a sort of wall of rock, to which they would
persist in returning as soon as we had gone to some little
distance ofi"; we then sat down to watch, but though we
saw them enter several times into likely-looking places, holes
and crevices, we searched every one, as we thought, without
success. That at least one pair had a nest here is, I think,
most probable, from their so constantly returning to the
same place ; that they had eggs is also probable, as I

136 Mr. S. B. "Wilson's Notes

never observed a bird with any material for a nest in its
bill. My guide ultimately shot one, which proved, on dis-
section, to be a male. The following June, on the Furka
Pass, we observed an Alpine Accentor collecting materials
for its nest ; it was a very misty day, with occasional storms
of sleet. We never saw Alpine birds so close to us ; Water
Pipits, Alpine Accentors, Wheatears, Black Redstarts, often
came within a few yards of us when the mist was very thick,
and a Kestrel hovered for some minutes not more than ten
yards straight above our heads. The " Alpenlerch '' would
come to a large rock, the top of which was covered with moss,
close to the roadside and to where we were sitting, and creep
about in just the same sly way that our Hedge Accentor
does, collecting bits of moss, and would then fly off, soon
returning for more ; we did not search for the nest, as we
did not wish to disturb the bird whilst building.

On the 1st June, 1886, we had a nest with four eggs of
the Alpine Accentor brought to us at Meiringen by a
botanical collector, whom we questioned about it, and he
described the species to us, having seen one of the birds quite
close. The nest, which he found on the Hasliberg whilst
searching for plants, was placed in a crevice, which was a
very difficult place to get at. It is round, somewhat shallow,
and fairly compact ; composed mainly of dry grass-stems and
very small pieces of moss, the inside being lined entirely with
the same species of moss, still wonderfully green, and five
small white feathers of the Ptarmigan. On the 8th July I
obtained a young bird of the year on the Gemmi, which
agrees Avith the description of one given by Mr. Dresser in
his ' Birds of Europe ' from the collection of Mr. Howard
Saunders, obtained on the Sierra Nevada, Spain, in August.
The white patch on the throat is entirely absent, and the
unaerparts are of a very dusky yellow-brown, and much
spotted, as in the young Hedge Accentor.

Of the eight adult specimens obtained, only one was a
female, which differed in no way in plumage from the male.
In autumn we saw several Alpine Accentors during a
botanical excursion to the Dent de Morclcs, where^ according

on some Swiss Birds. 137

to Tschudi, they may be seen in small flocks. In winter they
descend to the valleys and^ according to our old guide, who
knows the bird well, they may be seen about the village of
Meiringen. The food of this species consists, in summer, of
insects and larvae : in winter of anything it can get. We
never observed the " Alpenlerch " shake its wings in the way
our own Hedge Accentor so often does, and as we watched
it often for a long time together, we doubt if it has that habit.
Professor Xewton asked me if I had noticed whether the
Alpine Accentor had this habit or not.

MoTACiLLA ALBA. " Bergerouettc grise," " Weisse Bach-
stelz.''

I found this bird nesting near Leukerbad, and obtained
two nests with five eggs in each, one of them being placed on
the roof of a chalet, the other on the ground ; this was at an
altitude of 4500 feet. Personally, I never observed it in the
alpine region ; but according to M. Saratz of the Upper
Engadine, " it arrives in March (at first isolated individuals,
then in large flocks), keeping in the valleys as long as the
snow is not melted on the mountains, and ascends to the
heights as soon as the snow has disappeared, after which it
is to be found along the edges of any small stream.'''

Anthus spipoletta, L. " Wasserpieper.^'

The Water Pipit arrives in April, searches for places free
from snow in the Alps, establishes itself there for the whole
summer, and in autumn seeks the rivers and lakes of the
plains, where some pass the winter ; but the greater part
migrate by small flocks into Italy. On the Eugstlen Alp,
on the 25th of June, it was very common, mounting into the
air singing, and continuing its song till alighting, invariably
on the extreme top of any tree near, generally either a
spruce or Pinics cembra ; it would then rest a few minutes,
and begin its song again while still perched on the tree. The
song is very simple, the same note being repeated over and
over again — tit, tit, tit. We must have seen at least fifty in
the course of the day, but though we searched most care-
fullv, did not then find a nest. As we were coming back

138 Mr. S. B. Wilson's Notes

from the Joch Pass we observed a pair of Pipits Lopping
about a rough stony piece of ground^ clearly most anxious
about nest or young; but although we searched long, we
could find neither. The next day, on returning to the same
place, we only saw one bird, which I shot, despairing of finding
the nest ; it was very much spotted and greatly resembled
the Tree Pipit, but I have since made it out to be a bird of
the year of A. spipoletta. The same day we shot an adult
male, with its plumage a good deal worn ; however, the
reddish colour of the breast and neck and the whitish of the
belly, together with the prevailing grey-brown of the upper
plumage, make it not at all an ugly little bird. My friend Mr.
John Hancock, to whom I gave the specimen, has stuffed it
most beautifully, and it is now in the Newcastle Museum.
In winter the breast is white, with greyish-brown spots.

On the 10th June, 1886, Anderegg found, on the Engstlen
Alj}, a nest placed on the ground under the shelter of a large
stone, with five eggs. He saw the old birds near the nest,
but did not shoot them. I subsequently found a nest myself
when walking over the Furka Pass alone, in a snowstorm, on
July 17th. The bird flew off this nest, which was placed
only two or three yards from the main road, in a depression
in the ground overhung by a large rock, and contained five
young, just hatched ; I took one of them in my hand, the
old bird perching on a stone near all the time. The nest is
loosely composed of dry grass-bents and stems, resembling
very much a nest of the Common Whitethroat, lined inside
with a few hairs and feathers.

CoTiLE RUPESTRis. " Hiroudelle des rochers,-"^ " Felsen-
schwalbe.'"

I saw the Crag Swallow flying about the perpendicular crags
of the Gemmi in June 1885, but observed it more particularly
and found it breeding on the 1st of June, 1886, near Mei-
ringen. The two nests I saw were placed against the face of
an almost perpendicular crag, about thirty yards from the
ground, and I could see the head of the old bird projecting,
as it sat on the nest ; but, alas ! both nests were quite iuac-

on some Swiss Birds. 139

cessible from below or from above, as tbey were placed
immediately beneath an overhanging projection of rock.
We watched the birds nearly all day — both when high above
with slow undulatory flight, and when dashing past, catching
insects. They are conspicuous on the wing by the large oval
white spots on the inner web of the tail-feathers. We shot
two, a male and female. The sexes do not differ in plumage.
According to our guide, Anderegg, the Crag Swallows
pass the winter here in the Haslithal, hiding in caves and
crevices in the rocks ; and he says he has seen them in
winter flying about the village of Meiringen. We also saw
this bird about the rocks of the Briinig Pass.

TiCHODROMA MURARiA. " Tichodromc echellete," '' Mauer-
laufer.^'

Of the Wall Creeper I was not successful in obtaining the
nest ; indeed, in the two springs that I passed in Switzerland
I only saw six specimens, and obtained one — a male in
summer plumage — on the Gemmi in June. I saw four on
the great crags near Kandersteg, and one on the 10th No-
vember creeping up the wall of the Academic at Lausanne.
Anderegg says that they are very common at the Teufels-
briicke, near Goschenen; but unfortunately the day we
were there was very wet, which no doubt accounted for our
not seeing them. Anderegg, who has accompanied Dr. Victor
Fatio and other naturalists, and whose observations on birds
are generally to be trusted, told me that " at the time of the
moult from the breeding-plumage in July and August, the
bird loses half of its long bill, which, however, soon grows
again ; " and he has sent Dr. Fatio specimens to prove it. I
have not seen Dr. Fatio since, to ask him. In the collection
of Herr Staufler of Lucerne, I saw a pair of old birds with
three young stufied, all of which he obtained himself in the
Grisons.

The note of the Wall Creeper, according to my own
observation, resembles that of the Tree Creeper, but is clearer.

M. Lecthaler-Dimier, of the Museum of Natural History
at Geneva, told us that in winter he had often shot the Wall

140 Mr. S. B. Wilson's Notes

Creeper on Sal^ve, a mountain close to Geneva, celebrated aa
a breeding-place for Neophron percnopterus, and on which, in
winter, the Snow Finch and Alpine Accentor are also to be
found. Some interesting observations by Dr. Girtanner, on
the bringing-up of a family of this bird, are to be found in
the Proc. Nat. Hist. Society of St. Gall for 1867-68.

Chrysomitris citrinella. " Venturon,^' " Citronen-
zeitis:.^'

Leaving Chaux-de-Fonds early on the 28th May, we
arrived at the small village of Gennevys-sur-Coffrane about
6 A.M., and began to ascend through the glades of pine-forests
Our first find was a nest of Parus ater, with five eggs ; and,
perched on a bush close by, we observed a fine male of Lanius
collu7'io, in whose song we recognized imitations of the Lark
and Linnet. These woods are a great place for Woodcocks,
and on the way my friend, a sportsman as well as naturalist,
showed me the place where many a " becasse " had met its
death. Our chasseur brought us a Sparrow-hawk's nest with
five eggs, two Ring OuzeFs with five eggs in each, and a
Linnet's nest.

After breakfast, at an altitude of 3000 feet, we began our
search in earnest for the Citril Finch, of which we soon ob-
served a pair, pecking about on the ground, collecting materials
for a nest. A few minutes afterwai'ds we saw a nest placed
high up in a spruce-fir, at the extreme end of a branch ; the
chasseur climbed up and brought down the nest, with three
eggs. This nest, which contained several feathers of the
Nutcracker, was cup-shaped, and constructed chiefly of dry
grass-stems, moss, and thistledown, woven together with fine
roots and hair, lined with thistledown and feathers. Another
nest contained no feathers, being lined entirely with thistle-
down. A third was lined entirely with hair, and very little
thistledown had been used in its construction.

After lunch we found two more nests, with three and five
eggs respectively, both placed at the extreme end of a bough.
Then we came upon a Ring Ouzel with five young, killed by
the snow; soon after, a Buzzard passed quite close to us;

on some Swiss Birds. 141

then we saw a pair of Kestrels, and then a pair of Buzzards,
one of which kept mounting the air in circles till almost lost
to sight. It suddenly (as I saw clearly through my glass)
began to hover, in the same way as a Kestrel, then, partially
shutting its wings, came down at a great rate, just as a Lark
does, after soaring, the last few yards before reaching the
ground — an action I never observed in a Buzzard before.

We now began to descend, and our next find was a nest of
Parus horealis in an old tree-stump, quite finished, but with
no eggs ; according to my friend, this species always breeds
in old stumps. Not far from here he showed me a fir
tree in which he and the chasseur who was with us had
taken a Nutcracker's nest three years ago, early in March,
the snow being then some two feet deep in the forests. I
took a large piece of lichen from the tree as a souvenir. We
only heard the Nutcracker once that day, although keeping a
good look-out. We next found a nest of the Firecrest ; the
old birds were very tame^ hopping about within a few feet of
us. At 5 o'clock we had our tea on a small plateau, with a
magnificent view of the distant Alps, now tinged a lovely
rose-colour by the setting sun ; the sky, too, was a rich
pinkish yellow, and the Lake of Neuchatel below us as
smooth as glass and reflecting even the smoke of the steam-
boat. While sitting here, a Black Woodpecker flew across,
littering its shrill note ; and our chasseur said he knew of a
nest with young, but that it is by no means common in
these forests. He also told us that he had seen the first
Quail that morning, and also a Blackcock and two Grey-
hens. We got back to Chaux-de-Fonds about 9 o'clock, after
a most enjoyable ramble after birds in the Jura.

LiNOTA RUFESCENS, ViciUot.

Of six specimens, all shot on the Engstleu Alp, one
only had the breast red. I also observed this bird on the
Gemmi, where it was very plentiful, frequenting the rising
ground just behind the inn of Schwarenbach. While staying
on the Engstlen Alp, on June 8th, 1886, Anderegg, found
a nest containing four eggs, placed in a very thick dwarfed

142 Mr. S. B. Wilson's Notes

fir. He was much delighted, and said that it was " nie in
der Schweiz gefunden ; " but a note of Dr. Victor Fatio
on this species, under the name of Fringilla borealis, in
M. Saratz's " Catalogue of the Birds of the Upper Engadine "
(Bull. Soc. orn. Suisse), says : — " It is always the F. borealis
which I have met with in other parts of the Alps, nesting
up to the edge of the glaciers.^'

MoNTiFRiNGiLLA NIVALIS. " Nivcrolle," '^ Schncefink.'^
This bird we observed at a greater height than any other
Alpine bird, at the foot of the Lammern glacier ( 7600 feet) ,
and we found it breeding at the summit of the Furka Pass,
as well as at the Gemmi, to which places these notes prin-
cipally refer.

The first Snow Finches w^e saw were a pair on June 12th,
1885, on the Gemmi Pass; and on the following day, during
an ascent of the Torrenthorn, we saw on one of its lower
slopes a Snow Finch running about on the snow in company
with a pair of Alpine Accentors. Higher still (about 9000
feet) we saw this species in small flocks. On the 17th
June we ascended the Gemmi, and took up our quarters
at a small inn at the very summit of the Pass, intending to
do our best to find a nest of the Snow Finch and to observe
other Alpine birds. On the 18th we got up at 3.30 a.m., and
saw several pairs about the house, one pair being so tame
that they took bread thrown to them, just as Sparrows
do. We sat down to watch, hoping to track them to their
nest ; but they flew over the edge of the Pass and were
soon lost sight of. All the ground was covered with snow,
and we could not see where it was possible for the birds to
have their nest except among the perpendicular crags of the
Gemmi which do not hold the snow ; and there it turned out
to be. On the 19th June we had gone on overnight to the
little town of Schwarenbach ; but we thought we would give
the Gemmi another trial : so we started from Schwarenbach
at 2.30 a.m. We got back to the Gemmi about 3, the path
not being easy to find, as there were only a few stakes here
and there to show it, and we often sank into the snow above

on some Siviss Birds. 143

our knees. Arrived at the Pass, we sat down to watch for
birds, while our chasseur went off with the gun. We had
not waited long before we saw a pair of Snow Finches flying
backwards and forwards, always to the same place — a great
isolated mass of rock high above the right-hand side of the
path, and quite inaccessible, at least from below. The parent
birds were, we should say, judging from the date (27th May)
on which we subsequently found a nest with young, bringing
food to their young. All the time they were flying back-
wards and forwards they kept uttering their rather peculiar
note, which greatly resembles that of the Brambling. When
the chasseur came back, we attempted to get at the place
to which we had seen the birds flying, and where the nest
evidently was, from above ; but this, though the chasseur
was a well-known chamois-hunter, we found to be impossible.
Thus, though not successful in getting a nest, we saw at
least in what sort of a place, for want of a better, the Snow
Finch breeds.

We recrossed the Gemmi on July loth, and on the wild
desolate country round the Daubensee, which was now almost
free from snow, we met with a family of Snow Finches — two
old birds and three young ones of the year, — and were suc-
cessful in "obtaining the three young and the male. The pure
white of the breast and underparts of the young birds, together
with the clear bright yellow of their bills, was very distinctive,
as compared to the worn dirty-white underparts and pale
bluish-yellow bill of the old bird. These young were most
probably bred among the crags of the Gemmi, and, as soon as
they were able to fly, were brought by the parents to search
for their food (small seeds, of which their crops Avere full)
among this rocky and desolate-looking waste. There is
scarcely any vegetation here except dwarfed grass ; the rocks
themselves are, however, mostly covered with the pretty little
Azalea procumbens , with here and there patches of gentians
(G. acaulis and G. verna), Ranunculus alpestris, and other
Alpine plants, with their lovely bright colours.

In the spring of 1886 we were successful in finding the Snow
Finches nest, but in a very different place. Remembering

144 Mr. S. B. Wilson's Notes

that our friend Dr. Fatio had advised us to look about under
the eaves of any small buildings near which we savs^ any
Snow Finches^ we went straight to Lucerne (where, we may
remark, en passant, that Herr Stauffer has a fine collection of
Alpine mammals and birds), and thence to Goschenen,
intending to search the St. Gothard. On the 27th May,
with Anderegg, who had accompanied me the previous
spring, I left Goschenen at 11 a.m., intending to push on
to Meiringen over the Furka, as we heard from the inn-
keeper at Goschenen that the Saint Gothard was impass-
able, owing to the soft state of the snow — the road over
this Pass not having been cleared of snow since the opening of
the St. Gothard Railway. We slept at Realp, the highest
village in Switzerland except Miirren. Next day we left
Realp early, and found men hard at work clearing the
Furka road of snow, which they had done to within twenty
minutes' walk of the Hospice ; but in places where it had
been only partially cleared, we walked between walls of snow
10 feet high. When we got within fifty yards or so of the
Hospice, we were delighted to see Snow Finches flying all
about, and perched on the roofs of the buildings, singing
gaily. Arrived at the Hospice, which was as yet only
inhabited by two men and some St. Bernard dogs, we pro-
cured a rickety old ladder, which we put up against one of
the outhouses under the roof of which we saw a Snow Finch
fly in ; and there I found the nest, placed on the top of the
wall of the building, covered by the roof : it was finished, but
contained no eggs. We tried four more nests, all placed
under the slates, the old birds sometimes perching quite close
to us, piping vigorously and much excited. Some of these
nests were not yet finished, and none contained eggs. One
nest, built in a hole in the tower of the Hospice itself, we
were able to look right into from a window on the first floor ;
it was a very large nest, quite finished, and it was afterwards
brought to me. Besides this nest, we only found one
which was not under the eaves, and that was placed in
a hole in a wall made of stones, the bird entering by a very
small aperture, so that we had to remove several stones to get at

on some Swiss Birds. 145

the nestj in which the birds had not yet laid. I have since
received eggs and a nest from here, of which a short descrip-
tion is given below. On June 16th we recrossed the Furka,
in the hope of taking the eggs ourselves ; but now all the
nests contained young just hatched, to which the old birds
were bringing small larvse and insects in their bills.

From these observations it appears that the Snow Finch
breeds at an altitude of not less than 6500 feet, and lays about
the end of May or the beginning of June, at a time when the
ground in these Alpine regions is entirely covered with snow ;
from which cause, I suppose, it is obliged to place its nest
under the roofs of buildings, or, where there are no buildings,
in rocks which do not hold the snow — the former not only
affording them a dry nesting-place, but one which also
protects the nest from the storms of snow and sleet, which
have by no means ceased to fall by the end of May.

A nest obtained on the Furka is made principally of dry
grass-stalks, intermingled with which are tufts of hair, wool,
leaves, shavings of wood, and a few feathers ; the inside walls
are lined with Ptarmigan^s feathers, both white and brown,
these being woven together very compactly with horsehair,
and in the nest before me also with strands of green
worsted. The bottom of the nest is not lined with feathers.
The outside diameter, w Inch is nearly round, is 8 j inches ;
the inside diameter 3^ inches ; thus the inside cup is small
in proportion. The eggs are pure white, and from three to
five in number.

To these personal observations perhaps I may add some
information we received from several people while in the
Alps. Tiie Snow Finches in winter descend from the
Alpine region to the lower valleys ; and a lady who spent a
Avinter at Leukeibad told me that they used to sit on a tree
in the courtyard of the hotel to the number of thirty or
forty, and would fly dow n and pick up bread from the ground.
At the Simplon Hospice, where we spent a night, one of the
monks (who, by the way, had a fine collection of insects) told
me that these birds come into the corridors and are very
familiar. One spring he caught a " Niverolle," which he

SER. V. VOL. V. L

146 Mr. S. B. AVilson's Notes

shut up in a room, feeding it on grain and rice, and it became
so tame that it would sit on the desk where he was writing ;
he kept it through the winter, and let it go the following-
spring. At the Furka the owner told me that several years
ago he used to amuse himself with watching a pair of Snow
Finches playing with a St. Bernard, They would never let
the dog eat in peace, but would fly down, feigning to strike
at him, until the dog got furious, and barked and snapped at
the birds, which only seemed to enjoy the fun all the more.

I do not think there is a prettier sight than a flock of
Snow Finches on the wing; with the sun shining on them,
the black and white of their plumage shows so beautifully,
and when they are flying up slowly against the wind they
look just like great black-and-white butterflies.

Pyrrhocorax alpinus. " Choquard,'^ " Steinkrahe."
I obtained specimens on the Gemmi ; but was not success-
ful in finding the nest, although I saw a pair of these birds
in the breeding-season repeatedly entering the same cleft in
the rock, halfway up the Pass, where, no doubt they had
their nest. Their flight is powerful, and as they rise high
into the air in circles, it reminds one of that of a Falcon ;
their harsh cry is heard at a great distance, as we observed on
the Gemmi, when, after firing a shot, any Choughs which
happened to be concealed in clefts in the rock, would dash
out, screaming loudly, and fly away far down beneath us.
They appear to feed in flocks of not more than forty, at least
we never saw more in a flock, and very often not more than
twelve. In harvest time, according to my chasseur, they
descend to the fields and feed on grasshoppers. They also
nest in large colonies in several places in Switzerland, of one
of which we were told the whereabouts, but unfortunately
had not time to visit it.

Cyi'selus melba. ''Martinet k ventre blanc,'^ ^'Alpen-
segler.'^

On July 3rd we paid a visit to the cathedral at Berne,
where the Alpine Swift breeds regularly in large numbers.
On approaching the building we saw great numbers of them

on some Swiss Birds. 147

flying round the tovrer, uttering their harsh scream ; we
then went up the tower and questioned the custodian, who
told us that all the birds were now sitting, and that most
probably the young were hatched, but that we could go
and see for ourselves. We then went higher still to see the
nests, the floor being very dirty, owing to the mutings of
the birds, to say nothing of the dust ; it was also very dark,
there being no light except from under the roof. The nests,
of which we could see about twenty, were placed on the ledge
which goes round the tower, and about 4 feet below the main
floor, on which we were standing, so we were obliged to
kneel down and look very quietly over the edge at the nests ;
sometimes there were three or four in the space of 3 yards, all
placed on the same beam, and on most of the nests which we
could see there was an old bird sitting. On making the
least noise, the sitting birds would immediately look up at
us, and then roll themselves off the nests, disappearing with
harsh screams into the air, but would soon come flying back
again under the roof and crawl to their nests.

The male and the female appear to take turns in sitting on
the eggs, for as we were watching a bird on its nest, another
Swift suddenly dashed in under the roof and began to caress
the bird on the nest ; they both kept twisting their heads
about, rubbing against each other's cheeks with open bills;
then the sitting bird rolled itself off' the nest and vanished
into space, the other taking its place.

We were lucky in finding one nest which still contained
two freshly laid eggs, which we took ; other nests contained
eggs already much incubated, and one had young just hatched,
with only a little black down on them. The nest is very
shallow, constructed of dry leaves, bits of paper, a few dry
grass-stems, bits of fir-bark, and a few feathers, the whole
being made fairly solid by the mucous fluid which the bird
emits. The nest was infested by a parasite. The eggs,
generally four in number, are pure white, and out of 35 eggs
we obtained no varieties in colour, but some are much larger
than others.

The Alpine Swift nests in colonies in many of the cathedral

l2

1 18 i\Ir. S. B. Wilson's Notes

towers iu Switzerland, and also among high crags in the
Alps. I observed several pairs on the Gemmi, also at
Meiringeu, where I shot one on June 12th as it was flying
about some crags, in company with Crag Swallows and
Common Swifts.

The note is very powerful and different from that of the
Common Swift, added to whicli the white underparts,
brownish upper plumage, and the enormous length of wing
render this species easily distinguishable. It arrives at the
end of April or beginning of May, and leaves between the
middle of September and the middle of October, according to
the season. Sometimes they have already left the cathedral
of Berne by the end of August.

GvPAiiTUs BARBATUS. " Lammcrgeyr."

This bird has now become veiy rare in Northern Switzer-
land, tliough several pairs still breed in the Grisons. The
only specimen I saw recently killed was one wbicb Herr
Stauffer of Lucerne was stuffing ; it had been lying for some
days in the snow before lie received it, and the difficulty in
preserving it must have been great, as the feathers of the
head and neck came out at the least touch. I observed fine
specimens in all the museums, particularly in Herr Stauffer's
collection ; but owing to the high prices given by these estab-
lishments this species has become so rare that in a few years
it will probably be no longer found in Switzerland.

Aquila chrysaetus. '' Aigle royal/' " Steinadler.-"
I observed about a dozen specimens of this noble bird
during the two springs I passed in Switzerland. On the
Engstlen Alp, where marmots are very abundant, they form
the Eagle's principal food, a fact which I do not remember
to have seen mentioned by any author. On 26th June,
1886, we watched an interesting chase ; the sharp whistle
of a marmot v>as heard, and looking down Ave saw an Eagle
in fiTll pursuit, flyiug close to the ground, and the marmot
running at full speed, screaming loudly : it just gained its
hole in time.

on some Swiss Birds. 1 19

The Golden Eagle cannot be common, at any rate in the
Canton of Berne, as my old chasseur has only shot three in
forty years ; he tells me that a dead marmot is the surest hait.
All the museums have a number of specimens of this bird,
and to this cause, as in the case of the Bearded Vulture, its
rarity may be attributed.

MiLVUS MIGRANS.

The Black Kite arrives towards the end of ]\Iarch or
begiDning of April, and departs in September. It is to be
seen near Geneva, fishing in the Rhone, and also on the
lake at Lausanne. AYhen bathing, a Black Kite has often
come within a few yards of me, every now and then carrying
off one of the small fish which swim in shoals near the
surface of the water, and which the natives call ' Sardines '
{Alburiius lucidus). It breeds on Saleve near Geneva,
where I have seen several paii's in May ; also near Neuchatel,
and in the rocks near Villeneuve at the east end of the lake.
In September 1885 I received a live specimen of this bird,
taken from the nest on Saleve, which had already been two
years in captivity. My friend M. Hermann Goll kept it for
me in his aviary at Lausanne, and when I left in January
the bird had become very tame, knowing M. Goll and myself
])erfectly, and showing great delight when we came near the
cage. It fed chiefly on raw meat varied with Sparrows, but
what it liked most was the head of a duck, off which it
would peck every morsel ; we gave it no fish at all, though in
a wikl state the Black Kite feeds principally on fish.

On May 3rd, 1885, from the promenade which runs along
the edge of the lake of Neuchatel, I watched a pair of
Black Kites fishing ; they were wonderfully clever in eating
while on the wing; and I saw very clearly through my
glasses how they managed this. The Kite would swoop down
and carry off a fish in its claAvs from the surface of the water,
and then mount from 20 to 40 yards above the surface of the
lake, going straight up from where it had found the fish,
and thus not losing any hunting-ground ; it tlien lowered

150 Notes on some Swiss Birds.

its expanded tail, and, at the same time grasping the fish in
the claws of one foot only, bent its body downwards and
forwards, until it was able to reach the fish with its bill,
which it then attacked voraciously, tearing at it repeatedly,
until the fish, which during the operation remained firmly
grasped in its claws, was finished. During this meal the
Kite remained quite stationary in the air, not descending in
the least. A habit of the Black Kite I noticed was, that
when one Kite was flying a few yards only above the surface
of the lake, looking out for food, it was almost invariably
accompanied by its mate, at an immense height, but almost
straight above. In this way the two traversed at least two
miles of the lake ; then the one which was flying above
would descend and join its mate, and they both flew away
together to the further side of the lake, where they no
doubt had a nest.

Caccabis saxatilis.

I saw several pairs in the breeding-season in difi'erent
parts of the Alps, but the species was nowhere abundant. I
obtained a nest with twelve eggs from the Torrenthorn, near
Leukerbad ; and on the Engstlen Alp I shot a male on
June 8th, 1886.

It is a truly Alpine bird, not being found at all in the
Jura ; in summer its food consists of the buds of the Alpine
rose and of other plants, insects, &c. In winter, however,
like other Alpine birds, it descends to the lower valleys and
lives upon all kinds of seeds^ berries of the juniper, and pine-
needles.

I saw one alive in the possession of Herr Staufi'er at
Lucerne, which he had had for two months, and M. Goll, of
Lausanne, kept one for some time in his aviary ; he tells me
it is not a diflficult bird to keep in captivity.

"^ CENTRAL PARK, "^
o^ NEW YORK. ^

]ms.\8d7.?] V

'><irici>'^

^

■A J

J.&Keulemanslitli.

MICROPUS MF.LANOLRUCUS

HaDliarL

On the Habits o/Micropus melanoleucus. 151

XIV. — Observations upon the Habits of Micropus melauo-
leucus, with Critical Notes on its Plumage and External
Characters. By R. W. Shukeldt, C.M.Z.S., Capt., Med.
Corps, U.S. Army.

(Plate V.)

My first acquaintance with this very interesting Swift was
made during the spring of 1878, while I was on my way from
the little frontier town of Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory,
to the military station of Fort Laramie, situated some 80
miles to the northward of it. On the Chngwater Creek,
about halfway between these two points, we pass some very
high and imposing chalk cliffs w^hich constitute the more
striking and prominent features of the landscape, as the
country about them is low and unbroken, being quite prairie-
like in its character.

The head of one of these large chalk-bluffs, as it stood out
against the clear blue sky and far above me, actually looked,
with the cloud of white-throated Swifts swarming about
it, like some great beehive from which the inhabitants had
been suddenly aroused. These birds were far above the
range of my fowling-piece, though one, now and then,
dipped clown with the most inconceivable velocity and in a
graceful curve over my head, as if to obtain a better view
of me. A snap-shot brought down one of these more accom-
modating individuals, whose curiosity cost his life, and gave
me not only a beautiful specimen, but the opportunity to
examine in the flesh, for the first time, one of the then rarest
birds in our American collections.

During the past eight years I have only caught glimpses
of single specimens of this bird here and there, and some-
times in the most unexpected places. Once, far out on the
open prairie, in the north-western part of the United States,
a magnificent adult Swift of this species shot by me with
the velocity of a meteor, his white flank- patches contrasting
conspicuously with his black-brown body and wings. It was
not, however, until I came to Fort Wingate that the oppor-
tunity was really afforded me to more intimately study and

152 Dr. R. W. Slmfeldt on

observe this Swift in its favourite haunts ; for all through
north-western New Mexico occur deep, even-walled canons
of rock, to which Micropus melanoleucus resorts to rear its
young.

Early in the spring of 1885 (April) I found some two
dozen pairs of them in just such a canon about three miles
west of Fort Wingate. The walls of this magnificent gorge
are of solid rock, being nearly 350 feet deep in some places,
and for the most part roughly perpendicular, though fre-
quently arching over and outwards at their summits. It
was within the deep and crack-like fissures seen in the walls
of the eaves of these latter recesses, away high up on either
side of this rocky chasm, that Micropus resorted to lay its
eggs. So wisely had every pair of these birds chosen the
cleft wherein their nests were hidden, that all my plans and
attempts to secure a set of eggs proved futile'; and Professor
Coues tells us that they " do not appear to have been taken
yet, but are presumed to be white, as in all the species the
eggs of which are known " ^.

However, I find Dr. Heermann, the ornithologist who
accompanied one of our early surveys, expressing himself in
the following words upon the nidification of the " White-
bellied Swift '' in his report. He says : — " I met this bird
several times, first in San Fernando Pass, near ' Los Angeles,''
again near Palm Spring, between Colorado desert and Valle-
cita ; again near Tucson, and, lastly, in Texas, always,
however, flying at a great height, being either far beyond
or on the extreme limit of gun-shot range, and was there-
fore unable to do more than slightly wound one of them.

" From the extent of their wings, the birds of this family
appear to be formed to live in the air, where, in fact, they
pass most of their time, gliding about in extensive circles,
without effort, and apparently little motion of the wings.

''This ease of flight stands them in good need in their
migratory movements, allowing them readily to pass into
warmer climes. During pleasant weather they find their

* E. Coues, ' Key to North American Birds,' 2nd ed. (Boston, 1884),
p. 456.

the Habits o/Micropus melanolencus. 153

insect prey in tlie uj)per air^ but Avhen cloudy or rainy we
finrl them skimming the ground in their pursuit. When on
the ground, the shortness and weakness of their legs, added
to their length of wing, incapacitates them from again rising
in the air ; hence I have several times seen the European
species, C. murarius, picked up in the streets of Geneva,
Switzerland, having fallen there during a quarrel with its
fellows. When they wish to take rest during the day, which
is rare, they always alight on some elevated point, whence
they can throw themselves into the air and take to wing.

"Though numbers were flying about the rocks near
Tucson, I heard them utter no note. Sociable among them-
selves, gathering in large flocks, they never mingle with their
nearly related brethren the Swallows. They generally con-
struct their nests in the crevices of rocks or the holes in old
buildings, many species having secretory glands, exuding a
glutinous substance with which to fasten them firmly. The
eggs, from 4 to G in number, are pure white and of an elon-
gated form^' *.

Some of these observations I can confirm, but up to the
present time I have never been so fortunate as to see one of
these Swifts alight in any locality. On one occasion I saw
a pair of them commence to quarrel high up in the air, and
continue the closely contested claw-and-wing conflict until
they reached the ground, where the dust they raised pre-
vented me from clearly seeing their movements ; but in a
second they were both in the air again, and oft' like two darts,
in different directions.

Very rarely have I seen them circle about, as described
by Dr. Heermann, but, on the contrary, at all times during
ordinary flight, either high up or low down, there is, at
closely following intervals, rapid movements of the wings.
Sometimes one will shoot down from an enormous height

* A. L. Heermann, M.D., in * Reports of Explor. and Surveys to
ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Eailroad from
tlie Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean,' 1853-56, vol. x. (Washington,
1859, p. 10) of report on the 13irds.

154 Dr. R. W. Sliufeldt on

iuto the canon I have alhided to above, to very near the
ground, when it will ascend close to its wall with almost
equal velocity, and at once enter the fissure wherein its nest
is. Such a movement is invariably accompanied by a loud
whirring noise made by its sharp wings, a sound much
intensified by the acoustic properties of the walls of the
canon. It was under such circumstances that I secured the
only two specimens I obtained during the year 1885.

As already observed by Coues [loc. cit.), the note of this
Swift is " a loud shrill twitter,-" and I may add that in
character it commences rather slow with the several utter-
ances quite distinct, but advances and closes with the sounds
increasing in rapidity. These birds have a habit of giving
vent to this peculiar twitter while they are within their
nests or in the clefts wherein they are concealed, a practice
also common, as we know, to many species of Swallows.

The best and about the only opportunity one has of
collecting specimens of this Swift is, as Dr. Heermann
remarks, upon rainy and cloudy days. At such times as
these I have seen them skimming close over the sage-brush
on the prairie about Fort Wingate, or, as the weather clears
uj) a little, rising high in the air to career about over the
surrounding hills, where, from their great elevation and rapid
flight, almost in the clouds, it taxes one's eyes to follow
them.

A few days prior to the 8th September, 1886, we had here
a rainy and cloudy time, but the Swifts kept pretty high up,
and when they did condescend to sweep down towards the
ground it was with a velocity that would tax the skill of
the best shot in the world. However, I tried them, and
out of thirteen shots, fired in about one hour and a half, I
secured five fine specimens. A few days afterwards (11th
September) a still better day, in fact as good a one as we
could hope for for the purpose, presented itself, and I
hastened to the open where my favourites usually could be
found at such times. To my delight 1 saw some thirty or
forty skimmeriug low over the ground, like so many black-
and-white meteors, and I immediately chose a suitable

the Habits of Micropiis melanolencus. 155

position to try for them. My success on this occasion far
exceeded my most sanguine expectations, for in a little more
than an hour I bagged ten beautiful specimens out of just a
dozen shots. These fifteen birds are now before me, and
about them I would offer a few remarks.

Dr. Heermann, in the Report I have already quoted above,
gives the original description of the specific characters of
this Swift in the following words : — ''Head dusky brown;
body, tail and wings, dusky black; throat, breast, and a band,
half inch in breadth from breast to vent, white; ends of
larger coverts tipped with white ; a large white patch on the
flanks, a faint white line over the eye and the outer edge
of the first primary white. Length 5^ inches." Coues
{he. cit.) says : — '' Black or blackish ; chin, throat, breast,
and middle lines of belly, tips of secondaries, edges of outer
primary and lateral tail-feathers, and a flank-patch, white.
Forehead and line over eye pale ; a velvety black space before
eye. Bill black ; feet drying yellowish. The purity of the
colour varies with the wear of the feathers, some specimens
being a dull sooty brownish, others more purely and even
glossy blackish. The extent of the white along the belly is
very variable. The flank-patches are conspicuous in life,
sometimes almost meeting over the rump. Length 6'50-7'00 ;
extent about 14"00 ; wing the same as total length ; tail
about 2*66, forked, soft.'"'

Now judging from the fifteen specimens of Micropus in
my hands at the present time, these descriptions are more
or less faulty. In the first place I find by careful measure-
ments that none of these birds measure 5^ inches (Heer-
mann), nor so long as 6 (5-50-7*00, Coues). They all fall
between 5^ and 6 inches, while in total alar extent they
measure about 13^ inches. I find further that it is the
females only wherein the black parts are a dusky blackish
brown, and the crowns of a much lighter grey, the feathers
being edged with lighter in the latter situation. The black
parts in the old males become very dark, and in their vernal
plumage show a dark green sheen in certain lights.

Instead of a " velvety space before the eye,'' as described

156 Dr. R. W. Shufeldt o/j

by Professor Coiies^ I fiud a peculiar whorl of black and
rather stiffish feathers. It is present in both sexes.

The position of the white flank-patches is quite constant,
as to their size and colour^ and they only meet " over the
rump " when we cause them to do so, the long soft feathers
of the parts easily admitting of this. The extent of the
white on the throat and upper breast is also quite constant,
though the median ventral stripe may vary either in width
or length. I see in some of the specimens it does not quite
reach the vent.

There are eight secondaries in either wing, more or less
deeply tipped with white, the white extending highest on
their outer vanes. The primaries are also finely emarginated
with white, and, as has been described, the entire outer vane
of the first one is pure white.

Unless we have here a new variety of this bird I cannot
quite understand how both Dr. Heermann and Professor
Cones overlooked the peculiar coloration of the tail. Cones
evidently gives us to understand that the outer edges of the
lateral tail-feathers are also white. I find this to be the
case in the lighter-coloured specimens, while in all the
middle pairs of tail-ieathers are of the same colour as the
rump. But this is not the oily feature that has apparently
been overlooked ; for in all ray specimens, better mai'ked
in some than in others, the remaining tail-feathers are
characterized by a white or greyish-white elongated spot
on the inner vane of each feather. These spots become
gradually smaller as we proceed outwards, while they are all
shut out from sight by the feathers overlapping each other
and the lower rump-feathers when the tail is closed. In
one fine specimen of a male in my lot, I find these elon-
gated sub-elliptical spots of a pure white, large, and absent
on the lateral feathers, which latter are distinctly emargi-
nated with white along their entire outer edges.

The upper eyelid in Micropus is naked, but a single row
of minute brown feathers lines the free edge of the lower
one. The skin covering the feet in the living birds is of
a bright flesh-colour. The hind toe is not nearly so lateral

the Habits o/Micropus melanoleucus. 157

in its position as it is generally described to be. When at
rest it naturally assumes the more normal posterior position,
but is easily moved to a lateral one, fioiu wliich it springs
back to the rear of the metatarsus when loosed.

In other particulars the descriptions of Heermann and
Coues answer very well ; and the principal errors I find to
correct are : — (1) the length ; (2) the general coloration, espe-
cially of the tail; (3) feathers on the eyelids, not '' naked '^
(as stated by Coues) ; and (J?) the characters of the feet.

Through the courtesy of Mr. Robert Ridgway I have
received from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution
the following well-selected specimens for comparison with my
series : —
One...

Colorado.

H. W. Heuslu

iw.

Cat

. No. 94084.

Lower Califoruia.

L. Beldiug.

„ 97605.

Tucson, Arizona.

E. W. Jselson.

„ 99205.

Lower California.

L. Belding.

„ 100316.

After a careful examination of these four skins I fail to
find any essential differences from those collected by me
here at Fort Wingate, N. Mexico. They all possess the
characters set forth in this paper, including the white
markings on the inner vanes of their tail-feathers, near the
bases.

All of my birds were covered with a rather large species of
louse; but two of them had each on their bodies a pair of
extraordinary and very large ticks, the names of which I am
at present unable to give. One pair of these parasites I sent
to my friend Lieut. Thomas L. Casey, of the U.S. Engineer
Corps, a well-known entomologist, while the remaining pair
I send herewith*.

* [The parasites forwarded by Dr. Sliufeldt have been examined by
Mr. Charles 0. Waterhouse, of the British Museum. Mr. Waterhouse
informs us that they consist of specimens of a bird-louse (Anopleura) not
easily determinable, and of two examples, apparently females, of a singular
new parasitic dipteron, of the family Hippoboscidse, closely allied to
Anapera pallida, which is found on Cypselus apus, but much larger, and
distinguished by the almost total absence of wings. Mr. Waterhouse has
described this insect under the name oi Anapera Jinibriata m the Proc,
Zool, Soc. Lond. for the present year. — Edd.]

158 Mr. J. H. Gurney on

It has given me much pleasure to seud for illustration
a skin I made of the handsomest male specimen of these
Swifts taken on the above occasion. The coloured figure of
this Swift illustrating Dr. Heermann's Report (1853, plate
xviii.)j already alluded to, is an unusually poor representation
and, to me, hardly recognizable. In fact I do not believe
there is a good coloured figure of this truly interesting bird
in existence, and I have availed myself of the present oppor-
tunity to present a coloured figure of a fine old male bird.

28th September, 188(3.

XV. — On Falco babyloiiicus and Falco barbarus.
By JoHiM Henky Gurney.

In ' The Ibis ' for 1882, p. 439, I wrote respecting Falco
babylonicus that it seemed chiefly to differ from F. barbarus
by its larger dimensions, and I added that, at that time, I
believed I had never seen an adult male of F. babylonicus.
Since then the British Museum has acquired — partly through
the liberality of Mr. Hume, and partly through that of other
donors — a very fine series of Falco babylonicus, which I have
recently had an opportunity of examining, arriving, as the
result, at the conclusion that, whilst the females of F. baby-
lonicus are decidedly larger than those of F. barbarus, the
males of F. babylonicus differ but little, either in size or
colour, from F. barbarus, in which latter species the propor-
tionate distinction of size between the sexes is less than in
F. babylonicus. I observe, however, that the adult males of
F. babylonicus, when compared with the few African adults
which I have examined of F. barbarus, exhibit, in most
instances, a somewhat paler grey on the lower part of the
back, upper tail-coverts, and basal portion of the tail ; that
most of them have a larger extent, and sometimes a brighter
tint, of rufous on the nape and sides of the neck, and also
more decidedly rufous foreheads.

Generally s^jeakiiig, the adult females of F. babylonicus
exhibit a slightly darker tint of grey on the upper surface

Falco babylouiciis atid Falco barbarus. 159

than the males, and some adult females are more rufous on
the under surface than any of the males that I have examined.
Such a female is well represented in the plate of this Falcon
given in Gould's ' Birds of Asia.' The adult females of this
species are also more cross-barred with dark lines on the
under tail-coverts than is the case with the adult males.

The less rufous adult females of F. babyloniciis greatly
resemble in colouring the most rufous adult females of
F. purlieus, but the males of these two species resemble each
other much less closely than do the females^.

I may here remark that when F. babylonicus first assumes
the adult plumage, the interscapular feathers, especially in
the males, are edged with a rather dull rufous brown, which
disappears as the bird advances in age ; also that the trans-
verse bars on the basal portion of the tail, which are usually
somewhat strongly marked when the bird first attains the
adult dress, gradually become obsolete and disappear more
or less completely in the course of subsequent years.

In the P. Z. S. for 1876, pi. xxiii., a figure is given of a male
Falcon which was shot in the Etawah district of Northern
India by the late Mr. Andrew Anderson, who referred it to
F. babylonicus, with which identification I concurred ; but
Mr. Hume, in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1877, p. 140, expressed
his opinion that the bird was too small for F. babylonicus,
and that it should have been referred to F. barbarus. In
deference to this opinion, and considering that Mr. Hume
had enjoyed superior opportunities to either of ourselves for
examining specimens of F. babylo?iicus, we acceded to his
view, and expressed our concurrence with it in the P. Z. S.
1878, p. 2 ; but after examining with some care the series
of these Falcons now preserved in the British Museum, I
have reverted to my original opinion, and believe that Mr.
Anderson's Falcon, now in the Norwich Museum, and several
other Indian Falcons which Mr. Hume referred to F. barbarus
(in which I followed him in 'The Ibis,' 1882, pp. 311, 312)
are, in fact, males of F. babylonicus, my present impression

* For a detailed description of several adult males and females of Falco
pu)iivus, see ' The Ibis ' for 1882, pp. 313 to 321.

160 Mr. J. H. Guruey on

being that the true F. barbarus docs not extend its range so
far eastward as India.

Falco bubylonicus, on the contrary, appears to be a regular
winter visitor to Northern India, and especially to the north-
western portions of that country.

Of the Indian examples of this Falcon that I have examined,
five are recorded as having been obtained in November, six in
December, eight in January, two in February, and two in
March, of which last-named specimens one was an immature
male, shot by Col. E. A. Butler at Hyderabad, in Sind, on 9th
March, 1878, and the other an immature female, obtained at
Peshawur on 31st March, 1869. The earliest autumnal
example in the series is an adult male shot by Mr. Doig at
Ahmedabad, Guzerat, on 5th November, 1885.

The following dates are recorded of specimens of Falco
habylonicus collected beyond the Indian frontier, and now
preserved in the British Museum : — An adult female killed
near Kelat, in October 1876 ; an adult female obtained by-
Sir O. St. John at Kandahar, 14th February, 1871 ; an adult
female obtained at Samarcand, 5th March; an adult female
purchased by Dr. Scully at Yarkand, 6th March, 1875 ; an
immature male obtained by Dr. Scully at Gulgun Shab,
Eastern Turkestan, 37th August, 1875. The last and two
young females (one fj'om Kashgar, marked 13th December,
1874, and the other from Yarkand, marked 26th February,
1875) were apparently procured alive by Dr. Scully, probably
having been brought up from the nest ; and Dr. Scully, re-
ferring to these specimens in ' Stray Feathers ' for 1876,
p. 118 (under the name of F. barbarus), remarks, "this
Falcon is said to inhabit the hills of Kizil-tagh and Kugiar,
and to breed there in summer.'^

The most western Asiatic specimen of F. babylonicus that
I have seen is the female in change from immature to adult
dress, which was procured long ago in Babylonia by Com-
mander Jones, and which suggested the specific name that I
subsequently proposed for this Falcon; but it is probable
that Falco bubylonicus is also sometimes found, though very
rarely, so far west as North-eastern Africa. The Norwich

Falco babylonicus and Falco barbarua. 161

Museum contains an adult female purchased from M. Par-
zudakij of Paris, who asserted that it was obtained in Abys-
sinia; and I am also now disposed to think that the Nubian
Falcon in the British Museum, which I referred (P. Z. S.
1878j p. 2) to F. barbarus, is in reality a male in the second
yearns plumage of F. babylonicus* .

With regard to the western range of F, babylonicus, I may
also refer to the translation by Mr. Dresser in ' The Ibis/
1875, pp. 106, 107, of some valuable notes by the late Prof.
Severtzoff as to the breeding of this species in Turkestan ;
but the supposed ''young male'^ from Chimkent there men-
tioned would seem, by its wing-measurement, either to have
been incorrectly sexed, or to be an immature example of
some allied species. In the same article Severtzoff records
a specimen taken in Persia and two " taken from the nest
on an island in the Volga."

The following measurements have been taken by myself
from Falcons which I believe to be referable to F. babylonicus,
and which have been marked as males by the collectors ; they
are all adult birds, and all preserved in the British Museum
at South Kensington, except where I have mentioned the
contrary : —

Middle
Wing. Tail. Tarsus, toe, s. u.
in. in. in. in.

From Eastern Narra, Sind, collected

by Mr. Doig (immatiu-e in change) 10'8o 5"75 1-75 1-85
From Hyderabad, Sind, collected by

Col. Butler 10-95 5-50 1-75 180

From Eastern Narra, Sind, collected

by Mr. Doig 1100 5-40 170 170

From Cutch, collected by Dr. Sto-

liczka ll-lo 5o0 170 170

From Eastern Narra, Sind, collected

by Mr. Doig ll-2o 5-25 1-70 1-75

From Hyderabad, Sind, collected by

Col. Butler 1125 5o0 170 1-90

From Hyderabad, Sind, collected by

Col. Butler (immature in change) 11-25 5*75 170 180

* This specimen measures as under: — Wing ll'lo inches, tail oJO,
tar.sus 1-65, middle toe s. u. 1-80.

SER. V. VOL. V. M

Middle

TuU.

Tarsus.

toe, s. «.

in.

in.

in.

5-70

1-80

1-80

5-45

1-75

1-70

G-00

1-70

1-90

163 Mr. J. H. Gurney on

Wing,
in.

From Gulg'un Shah, Eastern Turkes-
tan, collected by Dr. Scully (im-
mature) 11 •25

From Eastern Nan-a, Sind, collected

by Mr. Doig 1150

From Etawah, collected by Mr. An-
derson (Norwich Museum)* 11'50

From Ahmedabad, Guzerat, collected
by Mr. Doio^, and presented by him
to the Norwich Mu.seum 11-50 5-90 1-80 1-90

The subjoined measurements I hav^e taken from specimens
in the British Museum, which I believe to be males of
F. babylonicus, but of which the sex was not recorded by the
collectors : —

Middle

Wing. Tail. Tarsus, toe, s. u.
in. in. in. iu.

From Kurachi, collected by Col.

Butler (immature in change) .... 10-90 6-85 1-80 1-80
From Arung, near Raipur, Central

Provinces, collected by Mr. Blewitt

(immature in change) 11 -05

From Delhi, collected by Mr. Hume

(immature in change) 11-15

From Delhi, collected by Mr. Hume

(immature in change) 11-20

From Eastern Narra, Sind, collected

by Mr. Doig (adult) 11-25

From Guzerat, Sind, collected by Mr.

Doig (adult) 11-35

I must also refer to a specimen which has much perplexed
me, and which is contained in the collection presented by-
Mr. Hume to the British Museum. This Falcon was con-
sidered by Mr. Hume to be a female of F. barbarus; it was
obtained by Mr. F. R. Blewitt in the Nursingpoor district of

* As to some discrepancy between Mr. Anderson's measurements of
his specimen and my own, see 'The Ibis,' 1882, p. 311 (note).

5-70

1-75

1-70

5-55

1-70

1-70

5-6.5

1-70

1-75

5-40

1-70

1-70

5-50

170

1-70

Falco babylonicas and Falco barbarus. 163

the Indian Central provinces on 16th December, 1869, and
agrees in coloration with the most fully adult males (as I
conceive them to be) of F. babylonicus, but is a slightly
larger bird.

Elaborate measurements of this specimen, taken from it
whilst in the flesh, are quoted by Mr, Hume in ' Stray Fea-
thers,' vol. i. p. 21, and from these I extract the following
for comparison with others above recorded, viz. ; — wing 11 '40
inches, tail 6*40, tarsus 1*80, middle toe s. u. 1*80. My own
measurements, taken from this specimen in the skin, give a
slightly different result, viz, : — wing 11*70, tail 5*60, tarsus 3,
middle toe s. u. 1"90.

Mr. Hume, writing {he. cit.) of this Falcon, and of the male
obtained by Dr. Stoliczka in Cutch, of which I have already
given my measurements, states that he at first referred both
of them to F. babylonicus, but subsequently became convinced
that they were a male and female of F. barbarus, and adds
" in both specimens the sexes were ascertained and recorded
by, I need not say, careful observers."

Notwithstanding the strong evidence of Mr. Hume's state-
ment, I cannot but suspect that some accidental error may
have occurred in determining the sex of the supposed female
specimen, and that in reality it is not a female of F. barbarus,
but an unusually large and very adult male of F. babylonicus,
and I conceive that some confirmation of this suspicion arises
from the circumstance that on the ticket attached to this
specimen, presumably by the collector, a blank space was
left for the sex, which has been filled with the word " female "
in a different handwriting from the rest of the ticket, and
with a different ink, red instead of black.

The following are measurements which I have taken from
specimens of F. babylo7iicus which were marked as females
either by the collector or the taxidermist employed ; except
where otherwise described, the birds are all adult, and all
preserved in the British Museum : —

M2

164 Mr. J. H. Gurney on

Middle
Wing. Tail. Tarsus, toe, s. u.
in. in. in. in.

Purcliased at Kashan by Dr. Scully

(immature) Imp. Imp. 1-70 1-90

Kandahar, collected by Sir O. St. John

(immature in change) Imp. 6-75 2-00 2-05

Kashgar, collected by Dr. Scully (im-
mature, wings slightly imperfect) . ll'SO G-10 1'90 1'95
Himalayas, collected by Dr. Jerdon,

in possession of Canon Tristram

(immature) 12-20 565 1-85 TOO

Punjaub, collected by Dr. Jerdon, in

possession of Major Wardlaw Ram-
say (immature) 12-30 . . . . 200

East Narra, Siud, collected by Mr.

Doig (immature in change) 12-35 6-50 1-90 2-10

Kandahar, collected by Sir 0. St.

John (immature in change) 12-40 6-55 190 200

Peshawar, collected by Mr. Hume

(immature in change) 12-45 G-80 2-00 2-05

Dado, Sind, collected by Mr. Doig

(immature in change) 12-50 (i-G5 1-85 2-10

Babylonia, collected by Commander

Jones (immature in change) .... 12-70 6-65 2-00 2-05
India, collected by Col. Delm<5 Rad-

cliffe, in possession of Lord Lilford 12-70 6-50 2-00 2-10
Samarcand, presented to Brit. Mus.

byMr. Seebohm 1270 630 210 190

Etawah District, collected by Mr.

Brooks 12-70 650 1-90 200

Eastern Narra, Sind, collected by Mr.

Doig 12-90 6-65 1-80 210

Allygurgh, N.W. India, collected by

Mr. Brooks 1300 6-50 190 195

Umballah, India, collected by Dr.

Scott, in possession of Major Ward-
law Ramsay 13-10 . . 2-00 2-05

Yarkand, collected by Dr. Scully . . 13-15 6-80 2-15 2-00
Tempeer, Lower Sind, collected by

Mr. Hume 13-15 690 2-00 210

Attok, India, collected by Mr. Hume

(immature) 13-15 7-30 1-90 2-10

Hyderabad, Sind, collected by Col.

Butler (immature in change) 13-20 680 2-00 220

Middle

Tail.

Tarsus.

toe, s, u.

m.

in.

in.

6-60

2-00

210

6-40

1-90

210

Falco babyloiiicus and Falco barbarus. 165

The following are measurements which I have taken from
presumed females of F. babylonicus, the sex of which has not
been recorded ; these specimens (except where the reverse is
mentioned) are all adult and preserved in the British
Museum : —

Wing,
in.

Etawab, District, collected by Mr.

Hume (immature in cbange) .... 12*20

Khelat, collected by Mr. Hume .... 12'40

Delbi, collected by Mr. Hume (im-
mature) 12-60 6-55 2-00 2-00

Umritzer, tbe Punjaub, in tbe pos-
session of Major Wardlaw Hamsay 12-65 .. 2-00 210

Oudh, collected by Col. L'Estrange,

in tbe possession of Lord Lilford.. 12-80 6-70 2-00 2-05

Locality unknown, preserved in Nor-

wicb Museum 12-90 6-50 2-00 2-05

Guzerat, collected by Mr. Doig 12-90 6-90 2-10 2-10

Eastern Narra, Sind, collected by Mr.

Doig 12-95 6-30 1-90 210

Oudb (type specimen), collected by
Col. Irby and preserved in Norwicb
Museum 13-20 700 1-95 1-95

Said to be from Abyssinia, preserved
in Norwicb Museum 1330

Punjaub, collected by Mr. Hume . . 13-30

Nepal, collected by Mr. Hodgson . . 13-35

I add^ for comparison, the following measurements of adult,
or nearly adult, specimens of Falco barbarus, the sex of which
has been recorded by the collectors.

These measurements have been taken by myself from the
specimens in question, which have all been obtained in
Northern Africa ; but additional carefully sexed African
examples of F. barbarus are much to be desired, for the sake
of supplying a larger series for comparison than exists at
present.

6-50

200

1-95

7-10

2-10

2-00

7-00

1-90

1-90

166 Mr. F. W. Styau on a

Males.

Middle

Wing. Tail. Tarsus, toe, s. u.

in, in. in. In.

Tangier (Favier), in Norwich Museum 10-9o 5-55 1-70 lOO

Sakkara, Egypt, in Norwich Museum 11 '00 5-50 1-70 1-80

El Kab, Egypt, shot by and in the

collection of Capt. Shelley 11'20 5-45 IwO I'SO

Females.

Kef, Boudjato, Eastern Atlas {vide
'The Ibis,' 1859, p. 187), in Nor-
wich Museum 11-20 5 60 T60 180

Egypt, obtained by Mr. W. C. B.

Medlycott, in Norwich Museum . . 11T5 5-60 170 1-70

In conclusion, I may mention two adult Falcons froip
Nepal, which were presented by Mr. Hodgson to the British
Museum, and which, notwithstanding the very eastern locality
where they were obtained, I can only refer to Falco punicus.
The smaller of these specimens, which I believe to be a male,
is entered at p. 387 of the Museum Catalogue under the
head of Falco barbarus, and the larger, which is presumably
a female, is one of the two specimens entered at p. 389 under
the title of Falco babylonicus, to which species the other speci-
men from Nepal, also thus entered, does appear to me really
to belong. The following are my measurements of these
Falcons : —

Presumed J
Presumed 5

Middle

Wing.

Tail.

Tarsus.

toe, s. u.

in.

m.

m.

m.

11-50

5-80

1-70

1-85

13-30

G-00

1-70

2-04

XVI. — On a new Species o/ Trochalopteron /rom China,
By F. W. Styan, F.Z.S.

(Plate VI.)

In 1885 I purchased in Hankow two living specimens of a
Trochalopteron which appears to be undescribed, and for
which 1 propose the name of T. cinereiceps. Its nearest ally is
T. cineracenm of Godwin- Austen (P. Z. S, 1874, p. 45, pi. xi.).

Ms. 1887?] .VI.

B-.Ksuiemaiis lith. .

'reOCHALOPTEROW CmtRP.lCEPS

Haiikarb imp

new Species o/Trochalopterou. 167

from^Munipur, India, from which it dift'ers in its more olive
and less grey upper parts, in having a dusky brownish-grey
cap to the head instead of black, and in its rufous ear-coverts
and white on the cheeks. The underparts in the two species
are practically identical. The following is the description : —

Trochalopteron cinereiceps, sp. n. (Plate VI.)

Upper parts olive-brown, brighter on the rump, and mer-
ging gradually into dusky brownisb grey on the top of the
head, the feathers of which are faintly margined with black.
Wing-coverts like the back, primary-coverts black, bastard
wing lavender-grey. Primaries, outer web lavender-grey,
which in the last three fades into olive-brown at the base,
inner web blackish. Secondaries and tertiaries olive-brown
like the back, inner web blackish, a broad black bar with a
narrow white tip terminates each feather. Tail, two central
feathers olive-brown like the back, terminated by a black
bar with a faintly visible white tip. The remaining rectrices
have a broad white tip, a black subterminal bar, then a rather
faintly marked lavender bar, more conspicuous in the outer-
most, which fades softly into olive-brown. Head below the
dusky grey of the vertex is an olive-brown, eyebrow merging
into rufous on the ear-coverts. Below the eye is a white
patch succeeded by a black moustache. Lores black, above
which a small white patch. Under surface, as far as breast,
isabelline buff, paler on the throat ; abdomen, flanks, under
wing-coverts, and under tail-coverts ochraceous buff. Legs
and feet yellowish brown, beak ditto, upper mandible dark.

Beak, along culmen | inch, to gape 1 inch ; wing 3 1 inches ;
tarsus 1^ inch; tail 3f inches.

The two specimens I procured from a dealer who regularly
imports live birds to Hankow from Western China, having
an agent at Ichang, who collects them and forwards them
thence by steamer down the Yangtse. He said they came
from Yunnan. In addition to these there is a specimen in
the Shanghai Museum, with no name or history attached,
which was probably procured from the same source. All
three specimens are identical in appearance, and one is still
alive in my aviary in Shanghai. It constantly utters a soft

168 Mr. H. Seobohm on

plaintive call of three or four notes, and warbles in a sort
of undertone, like others of this family ; but I never heard
it sing with a rich full tone like T. canorum, some of which
are its companions.

XVII. — On Phasianus colchicus and its Allies.
By Henry Seebohm.

There is a great deal of truth in the old saw which says
that " it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good." England
and Russia quarrelled over the line which divides Afghanistan
from Turkestan. Some millions sterling were spent in con-
sequence, a deputation from the two countries met in the
basin of the Murghab, and discovered a new subspecies of
Pheasant. Ornithologists ought to be the last to quote
"parturiunt montes/' and will agree with me that the English
proverb is much more to the point. Any discovery which
throws light upon the difficult question of the inter-relation-
ship of the Pheasants is valuable.

The fact that all the true Pheasants interbreed freely with
each other and produce fertile offspring, may be accepted as
absolute proof that they are only subspecifically distinct from
each other. Like all other subspecies, they only exist upon
sufferance. The local races appear to be distinct enough,
but they only retain their distinctive characters so long as
they are isolated from each other. The moment they are
brought into contact they begin to interbreed; crosses of every
kind rapidly appear, and in a comparatively short time the
swamping effects of interbreeding reduce the two or more
local races which have been brought into contact to a single
and uniform intermediate race. Such swamping effects of
interbreeding have practically stamped out in the British
Islands the two very different-looking races of Pheasants
which were introduced into them — Phasianus colchicus, from
Asia Minor, and Phasianus torquatus from China. The
Pheasant of the British Islands is, with very rare exceptions,
only a mongrel between these two races, but, it must be
admitted, a very healthy and fertile one.

Phasianus colchicus atid its Allies. 169

The difference between these two races is by no means small,
and is remarkably well defined geographically. Phasianus
colchicus and its allied sub-races are only found west of the
meridian of Calcutta ; whereas P. torquatus and its allies are
only found east of that line (about long. 90" E.).

The two races may be contrasted as follows : —

P. COLCHICUS. P. TOBQUATUS.

Predominant colour of rump. Predominant colour of rump,

upper tail-coverts and tail red. upper tail-covert?, and tail green

and lavender-grey.

Cross-bars on tail-feathers nax- Cross-bars on tail-feathers broad,
row.

Ground-colour of mantle red. Ground-colour of mantle buff

Crown green. Crown greyish.

Wing-coverts white or red. Winsr-coverts lavender-grey.

While the true Pheasants may be divided longitudinally
into these two races, they may also be divided latitudiually
into two other races. A line drawn from Astrakan through
the valley of the Amu-Darya, following the watershed of the
Pamir and Thian-shan ranges, crossing the desert of Gobi
and Thibet, entering China north of Sechuen, and passing
southwards east of that province, divides the Ringed Phea-
sants fi'om those which have no ring — the former lying north
of the line, and the latter south of it.

Confining our attention to the western races, it may be
interesting to trace their various geographical ranges, and
point out the chai-acters which distinguish one race from
another.

Typical examples of the six races of P. colchicus may be
distinguished as follows : —

X- ^ .1, (colchicus \ Wing-coverts reddish

rso green on the j brown.

centre of the J

breast or on j ^

[ principalis I Feathers of mantle

> broadly edged wiih
chrt/somelas . . . . ) green.

t:?Mici.

A white cofiar roimd

nungoiicuf ■{ the back and sides

of neck.

170 Mr. H. Seebohm ow

Phasianus colchicus.

The range of the Common Pheasant^ irrespective of the
countries where it has been artificially introduced, may be
comprised in a triangle, of which Smyrna may be regarded
as the western apex, and the western shore of the Caspian,
from Astrakan almost to Astrabad, as the base.

P. colchicus scarcely differs from P. persicus, except that
its wing-coverts are redder; the much whiter wing-coverts
of its Trans-Caspian ally being caused, probably, by the
difference in the rainfall of the area of its distribution com-
pared with that of its ally. There is also a difference in the
colour of the rump and upper tail-coverts, which are brick-
red in the western form and purple-lake in the eastern one.

In speaking of the colours of the plumage of Pheasants,
it is of the utmost importance to remember that most of the
colours are lustrous or metallic, and consequently vary with
the direction of the light. If a skin of P. mongolicus be
placed between the observer and the light, the mantle appears
to be brick -red; on the other hand, if the observer stand be-
tween the light and the bird, the mantle of the latter appears
to be green. Under a similar change of position the colour of
the rump and upper tail-coverts of P. persicus changes from
brick-red to purple-lake, and the sj)ots on the uuderparts of
P. chrysomelas pass from an almost peacock-blue to a nearly
emerald-green. The colour of some other parts, as the
breast of P. principalis or the mantle of P. chrysomelas, only
varies slightly in intensity with the change of position.

Phasianus persicus.

This Pheasant is only known from the valley of the
Attreck river.

It is an intermediate form between P. colchicus and P.
principalis, having the narrow margins of the feathers of the
underparts of the former, and the whiter wing-coverts of the
latter, and differing from both in having the rump and upper
tail-coverts suffused with purple-lake when the light falls
upon the bird from the back of the observer. In none of
these three races can any green be detected on the centre of
the breast and belly in any light.

Phasianus colchicus and its Allies. 171

Phasianus principalis.

This Pheasant is only known from the basin of the Mur-
ghab river.

It is an intermediate form between P. persicus and P.
shawi. It differs from the former in having the rump and
upper tail-coverts glossed with brick-red instead of purple-
lake^ and the dark margins and tips of the feathers both of
the upper and underparts broader and more lustrous. From
the latter it differs in having less green below the neck on
the upper or underparts. On the centre of the breast and
belly no trace of green can be detected, even when the light
falls upon the bird from the back of the observer. Some
examples of P. shawi almost, but apparently never quite,
lose this trace of green.

Phasianus shawi.

This Pheasant is only known from the basin of the Kashgar
river, in the west of Chinese Turkestan. It is very nearly
allied to P. priticipalis, and is only prevented from inter-
breeding with it by the impassable plateau of the Pamir,
which effectually separates the two races. Typical examples
of each are most easily distinguished by the colour of
the margins of the feathers of the breast, especially the
lower breast, which is red or purple in the western race and
green in the eastern race. Occasionally, however, some of
the Kashgar Pheasants lose almost all trace of green on the
underparts below the neck; but the much narrower dark
margins of the feathers, especially on the mantle and flanks,
prevent them from being mistaken for P. principalis.

But though P. shawi is prevented from interbreeding with
P. principalis or with P. chrysomelas by its geographical
position, it interbreeds with P. mongolicus, or, to speak more
accurately, with the race of that subspecies inhabiting the
basin of Lake Ebi. The strain of the latter species shows,
itself in a more or less imperfect white collar and in the
greater amount of green on the underparts. One of these
mongrels was described by Mr. D. G. Elliot (Proc. ZooL
Soc. 1870, p. 404) as P. insigtiis, and figured as a good species-

172 On Phasianus colchicus and its Allies.

in his monograph of the Phasianidae, and afterwards erro-
neously identified with P. chrysomelas of Severtzow {' Stray
Feathers/ 1877, p. 198) by that author, although Dr. Scully,
a distinguished Indian ornithologist, as remarkable for the
excellence of his field-work as for the accuracy of his literary
labour, had pointed out (' Stray Feathers,' 1875, p. 433) that
the two forms completely intergrade. Severtzow's P. chryso-
melas was, unfortunately, described from a mongrel between
the true P. chrysomelas (of which there is a fine example in
the British Museum, with no trace of a white collar) and
P. mongolicus. It is probable that every Pheasant inter-
breeds with its nearest allies wherever the respective areas of
distribution meet; but the mongrel between P. mongolicus
and P. chrysomelas is always distinguishable from the mon-
grel between P. mongolicus and P. shawi by the margins of
the feathers of the mantle, which are broad and green in
the former, and very narrow and black in the latter. The
points in which P. insignis is alleged by ElKot to otherwise
agree with P. chrysomelas and to diflPer from P. shawi
were probably individual peculiarities, as I can detect no
trace of any of them in the large series which I have
examined. ^

The proportion of mongrels to typical examples in the
basin of the Kashgar appears to be from 10 to 20 per cent.

Phasianus chrysomelas.

This Pheasant is only known from the lower valley of the
Amu-Darya,

It is remarkable for the rich metallic green margins of the
feathers of the mantle and tips of those of the underparts.
When thoroughbred it has no ring round the neck, but the
majority of examples show a more or less perfect approach
to the interrupted ring of P. mongolicus. It is not known
that intermediate examples between P. chrysomelas and
P. principalis occur, though it is possible that P. komarovi
of Bogdanow*, from the Kopet-Dagh mountains, may prove
to be one of them.

* [Bull. .\cad. Sci. St. lYter.sb, xxx. p. 356. See Notices, m/rrt.— Edd.]

Notes on the Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. 173

Phasianus mognolicus.

The Pheasant wliicli bears this name appears to range from
the lower valley of the Syr-Darya, across the basin of Lake
Balkash, as far east as Lake Saissan and the valley of the
Black Irtish. I ca.n find no evidence of the occurrence in any
part of Mongolia of thoroughbred examples of this Pheasant.

In some respects it is intermediate between P. chrysomelas
and P. torquatus, resembling the latter in having a ring
round the neck (though it does not quite meet in front),
and in having a great deal of green on its rump and upper
tail-coverts. It can scarcely be regarded as a cross between
the two, as in the colour of its mantle and wing-coverts, and
in the pattern of its tail, it agrees with the former, and shows
no inclination to approach the latter.

There can be little doubt, however, that it interbreeds both
with P. chrysomelas and P. shaivi. The outlying colony in
the basin of Lake Ebi shows so much strain of P. shawi that
Severtzow described it as a new species under the name of
P. semitorquatus. Examples with traces of a white ring are
very common in collections of P. chrysomelas, and far from
uncommon in series of P. shawi.

XVIII. — Notes on the Birds of the Loo-choo Islands.
By Henry Seebohm.

(Plate VII.)

The Loo-choo, Liu-kiu, or Ryu-kyu Islands lie between
Japan and Formosa, and enjoy a climate of remarkable
equability. The summer is not too hot to permit the growth
of wheat, and the winter is not too cold for the cultivation of
sugar-cane and pine-apples. From an ornithological j)oint of
view these islands are said to rival Heligoland as a station
where migration may be seen on an extended scale.

By the kind assistance of Mr. H. Pryer, to whom we are
indebted for much valuable information respecting the birds
of Japan, I am enabled to produce a preliminary list — not of
the migrants which pass the Loo-Choo Islands in such count-

174 Mr. H. Seebohm on the

less numbers, but of the resident birds, amongst which ap-
pear to be two new to science. These islands were visited
in February and March by Mr. Namiye. In May and June
Mr. Pryer was there himself, and his collector remained until
the end of August.

The following list of birds obtained on these islands has
been furnished me by Mr. Prj^er ; those specimens which have
passed through my hands are specially mentioned.

1. Scops semitorques.

2. NiNOX JAPONICUS.

3. Fringilla spinus.

4. Passer montanus.

Mr. Pryer has sent a skin, which appears to me to be that
of the Tree Sparrow, a bird of the year ; but the Loo-choo
bird has been described as distinct under the name of Passer
saturatus (Stejneger, Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. viii, p. 19).

5. Emberiza personata.

Mr. Pryer says this was the only species of Bunting seen
on these islands.

6. Merula naumanni.

7. Merula pallida.

8. Merula chrysolaus.

9. Hypsipetes amaurotis.

Mr. Pryer remarks that an example of the Red-eared Bul-
bul from the Loo-choo Islands agrees with those from Ogas-
awara, or Boniu Island, in being darker than Japanese birds.
The Bonin-Island bird is certainly larger, as the following
measurements will prove : —

Ningpo. Yokohama. Bonin.

Wing 5-0 4-7 5-3

Tail 4-6 4-4 4-8

Culmen 1-2 1-1 1--4

Tarsus OSo 0-9 095

10. MONTICOLA SOLITARIA.

11. Tarsiger CYANURUS.

Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. 175

12. Erithacus komadori.

Mr. Pryer, or, to be strictly accurate, his friend Mr. Na-
miye, has solved the mystery of the so-called ' Corean Uobin.'
It appears that, after all, this bird, as remarkable for the gaiety
of its plumage as for the melody of its song, does not come
from the Corea. In Japan it is only known as a very expen-
sive cage-bird, but about twenty miles from the town of
Shiuri, on the largest of the Loo-choo Islands, and on the
island of Amami, Oho- Shima, it is a common species. As
Mr. Jouy saw no trace of this bird during his three years*
residence in the Corea, it should for the future be called the
Loo-choo Robin.

13. CiSTICOLA BRUNNEICEPS.

The skin of a Fantail Warbler from Loo-choo, dated 2nd
June, differs from any that I have seen before. This is an
extreme form of the eastern or tropical race, which may
possibly have a right to the name Cisticola schoenicola
brunneiceps. In breeding-plumage, examples from South
Africa, the plains of India, Ceylon, Japan, and Formosa
approach very near it, but it differs from European examples
in the colour of the tail. The black subterminal band is
separated from the black basal half by brownish buff on
both webs of the two central tail-feathers and on the outer
webs of the rest, and by chestnut-buff on the inner webs of
the latter. This chestnut or buff band across the tail is
considerably more than half an inch wide : it is absent in
winter plumage, but examples showing more or less of it are
found in breeding birds in all the tropical countries where it
is found, but never in the colder portions of its range.
Under these circumstances it must be regarded as subspe-
cifically distinct from C. schoenicola.

In this case the Loo-choo species is decidedly not Malayan
in character. C. exilis has no trace whatever of the buff band
across the tail. Its range extends northwards from Australia
and many of the islands of the Malay archipelago to the
Malay peninsula and the Philippines, inosculating with that
of its more \*estern ally in Burma, Assam, and Formosa.

170 Mr. H. Seebohiii on the

14. motacilla sulphurea.

15. Parus ater.

16. Parus minor.

17. Parus varius.

18. Ampelis phcenicoptera.

19. Pericrocotus cantonensis ?

Mr. Pryer remarks that lie obtained on the islands a Peri-
crocotus smaller and darker than P. cinereus ; but as he has
not sent a skin^ the determination of the species must for the
present remain doubtful.

20. CoRVUS JAPONENSIS ?

Mr. Pryer says that this Crow resembles the Carrion Crow,
but addsj '' beak much larger than ordinary, but short in the
primaries." He describes it as not at all common on the
islands.

21. HiRUNDO JAVANICA?

Mr. Namiye obtained an example o£ a '' small and dark "
Swallow, which may possibly prove to belong to this species,
which has occurred in the Philippine Islands. Mr. Pryer
says that it is not found in Japan, but has not sent a skin.

22. ZOSTEROPS JAPONICA.

Mr. Pryer says that, " next to the Sparrow, this is the
commonest bird found on the island,"

23. Halcyon coromanda.

The Ruddy Kingfisher must be regarded as a decidedly
Malay element in the fauna of the Loo-choo Islands. It has
found its way up through Burma to the Himalayas, and
through the Philippine Islands to Formosa and Japan, but is
not known to have occurred in China.

24. Alcedo ispida bengalensis.

An example sent by Mr. Pryer agrees in every respect
with examples of the small eastern race of the Common
Kingfisher from China and Japan.

Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. 177

25. Iyngipicus kizuki nigrescenSj subsp. n.
The Woodpeckers are specially interesting because so many
of them vary in colour and size in different areas of their
distribution, the variation being certainly coincident with,
and probably caused b}^, difference of climate. The extreme
of climatic variation is doubtless reached in our two British
species of Spotted Woodpecker, Picus major and P. minur,
but it is also very marked in the more typical genus Iyngi-
picus. I. pygmaus is a resident in the Himalayas. In
Formosa and Hainan it is represented by a slightly larger
bird, with more white on the plumage, /. pygmaeus kaleensis.
In China it has increased in whiteness and slightly in size,
and becomes /. pygmceus scintilliceps ; and in South-eastern
Siberia the maximum both of size and whiteness is reached
in /. pygmceus doerriesi. It is difficult to say which error
ought to be more carefully avoided — the exaggeration of the
differences, so as to make these climatic races into distinct
species, or the depreciation of them to the extent of confusing
the climatic races together as one species.

The Japanese species of Iyngipicus appears to have become
differentiated completely from /. pygmceus and its con-
specific forms. It agrees with that species in having black
upper tail-coverts and central tail-feathers, but it differs from
it in having the white superciliary stripe separated from the
white sides of the neck. It is, however, itself subject to
climatic influence, and may be subdivided into at least three
climatic races. Iyngipicus kizuki was originally described
from Kyu-lyu, the most southern of the three Japanese
islands. It is a small bird, with a brown head and not very
much white on the upper parts ; for example, the outer webs
of the three longest primaries have five small white spots on
each. In the Central and North Island it is represented by a
larger bird, with a grey head and much more white on the
upper parts ; for example, the white spots on the outer webs
of the three longest primaries are larger and are six in
number. It is difficult to regard /. kizuki seebohmi as more
than subspecifically distinct from its nearest ally, especially
as the South-east Siberian form of this species is a still larger

SER. V. VOL. V. N

178 Mr. H. Seebohm on the

bird, I am now, thanks to Mr. Fryer's kindness^ confirmed
in this opinion by the sight of the opposite extreme of the
climatic races of this species. An example from Nalia, one of
the Loo-choo Islands, is smaller and darker than any which I
have seen from Japan ; the head is nearly black, and there
are only four very small white spots on the outer webs of
each of the three longest primaries. I propose to call it
/. nigrescens, or, if its full title be given, I. kizuki nigrescens.
There can be little doubt that in a large series from both
localities some examples would be absolutely indistinguishable.
In a series of sixteen examples in Mr. Hargitt's collection
and my own, those from the North Island of Japan arc indis-
tinsuishable from those from the Middle Island, whilst those
from the Southern Island are conspicuously darker. On the
other hand. Dr. Stejneger (Pr. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 121)
regards a series, apparently of nine skins, from the Middle
and Southern Islands as practically the same, while those
from the North Island are treated as specifically distinct.
It is, of course, possible that Dr. Stejneger is right, and
that all our skins from the Middle Island are those of winter
migrants from Yesso.

26. Pious noguchii, sp. n. (Plate VII.)

This entirely new species, which I have named according
to Mr. Pryer's instructions, is unquestionably the most inter-
esting bird in the collection. It is a young bird which has
partly completed its moult into the plumage of the adult.

The general colour of the upper parts is black, each fea-
ther on the forehead, crown, and nape tipped with crimson.
All the small feathers of the upper parts, except the wing-
coverts, are obscurely tipped with dull crimson. There is a
white spot on each web of all the quills at the base, and^ in
addition, a white spot on the outer web of the third to the
sixth primaries, and two white spots on the inner webs of the
third to the eighth primaries. The tail is uniform black.
The sides of the head, the chin, and the throat are brown,
shading into nearly black on the breast and the rest of the
underparts. The old feathers on the underparts below the
throat are tipped with orange-crimson^ but the new feathers

Ibis. 1887. Pl.YlI

&.][eiilemaiis litk .

HanKarb imp.

PICUS l^O&UCHIT

Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. 1 79

appear to be a rich maroon-colour. Length of wing 5' 7
inches^ tail 3'8, culmen 1'25, tarsus 1*2, hind toes (without
claw) 0-9 and 0-4, fore toes 075 and 0-6.

In the shape and pale colour of its hill, and in the smallness
of its nasal bristles, this species resembles Venilia, Xylolepes,
and some other of the pseudo-genera of Woodpeckers, and
will j)robably be included in the genus which will absorb them
when the genera of Woodpeckers are intelligently studied.

27. Carpophaga ianthina.

Mr. Pryer remarks that one of the specimens has a large
white patch between the shoulders.

28. Treron sieboldi.

29. turtur ortentalis.

An example sent by Mr. Pryer from the Loo-choo Islands
agrees with others from China and Japan. This species is a
summer visitor to South-eastern Siberia and the North Island
of Japan, wintering in South China and Formosa. In the
other Japanese islands it is a resident; and as the skin sent
from the Loo-choo Islands is dated 31st May, the species
probably remains the whole year in that locality. It has not
occurred on the Philippine Islands, but its range extends to
Burma and Cochin China.

30. TURNIX OCELLATA.

A skin of a " Bustard Quail,^' as Indian sportsmen call
it, is undoubtedly the Indo-Malayan Hemipode. This is
another instance of the Malayan affinities of the fauna of the
Loo-choo Islands. None of the mainland Chinese Hemi-
podes have black throats, and no Hemipode is found in
Japan. Compared with T. plumbipes in the Hume collec-
tion from Salangore, in the Malay peninsula, the Loo-choo
bird is a shade redder in the upper parts, and a trifle less so
on the underparts.

The specimen sent is not sexed, but, having a black throat,
it is presumably a female. Swinhoe states (P. Z.S. 1871,
p. 401) that the female of his T. rostrata has a black throat
in summer ; but there are no skins dating between March

N 2

180 Mr. H. Seebohm on the

and December in his collection. Unfortunately the Tweed-
dale collection is at present inaccessible, but it seems probable
that when the necessary material falls into the hands of a
competent ornithologist, a great slaughter of species must
take place. So far as I have been able to ascertain from
the limited material at my disposal, it appears that the Indo-
Malayan Hemipode was originally described by Scopoli in
1786, from an example figured by Sonnerat, obtained in the
island of Luzon, where it was afterwards found by Mr.
Everett, Lord Tweeddale's collector in the Philippine Islands.
Scopoli, with the fatal genius for blundering so often found
in compilers, assumed that Sonnerat did not know a Quail
from an Oriole, and named the species Oriolus ocellatus. In
1823 Temminck rediscovered the species in a collection from
Java, and named it Hemipodius puynax. In India and Burma
it has been described over and over again : in 1832 by Sykes
as Hemipodius taigoor ; in 1837 by Hodgson as Hemipodius
plumbipes ; and afterwards by Blyth, Eyton, and others under
various names. In 1865 Swinhoe described it from Formosa
as Turnix rostrata, and a further search will doubtless swell
the list of synonyms considerably more — though it is possible
that one or two of the names may be retained in a trinomial
capacity, to indicate climatic races.

31. fulica atba.

32. Gallinula chloeopus.

33. Charadrius fulvus.

The Eastern Golden Plover is probably only seen in spring
and autumn on migration.

34. TOTANUS BREVIPES.

The example sent belongs to the Asiatic, and not to the
American form of this species. The tarsus is scutellated at
the back ; the nasal groove extends for only half the length
of the bill, and the belly is unspotted white. It is, of course,
only seen on the Loo-choo Islands on migration.

35. Ardea sacra.

An example of a Reef Hei'on sent by Mr. Pryer does

Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. 181

not differ from two skins from the Straits of Corea (Ibis,
1884, p. 176), and agrees with the description of the two
Reef Herons from Japan in the Leyden Museum (Mus. Pays-
Bas, Ardea, p. 28).. except that in the dried skins the legs
are slate-grey. It is remarkable that this bird is not recorded,
from any part of the Chinese coast, and only once from the
Philippines (Lord Tweeddale, P. Z. S. 1877, p. 551). The
white form of this species is not known to have occurred
north of the Molucca Islands.

36. Nycticorax nycticorax.

37. Sterna melanauchen.

The Black-naped Tern was found breeding on the coast of
China near Amoy by Swinhoe, but an example sent by Pryer
from the Loo-choo Islands extends its known range further
north.

38. Sterna sinensis.

The White-shafted Ternlet, of which Mr. Pryer has sent
home a skin, is said by him to be common on the Loo-choo
Islands, arriving in spring and leaving in autumn, Swinhoe
found it breeding on Formosa; but the Abbe David says that
he observed it as far north as Mongolia, and it was probably
this species which Radde found on the Amoor and mistook
for Sterna minuta. I have already recorded it from Japan
(Ibis, 1884, p. 32).

39. Sterna dougalli.

Mr. Pryer has sent an adult example in breeding-plumage
of the Roseate Tern, a species which has not previously been
recorded from the North Pacific. As this bird is not known
to have occurred in China or the Philippine Islands, it may
be regarded as, to a certain extent, a Malay element in the
Loo-choo fauna. Mr. Saunders identified the specimen.

40. Dendrocygna javanica.

Mr. Pryer has sent two examples of the Lesser Whistling
Teal, which his collector shot in a paddy-field, and said that
the birds were abundant. This common Indian species is
found throughout the Malay peninsula, and is also recorded

182 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

from Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, but is not known in China.
Mr. Pryer remarks that the insect fauna of the Loo-choo
Islands is " almost entirely Malayan,^" so that we need
scarcely try to account for the existence of this Duck by
suggesting that it may have been introduced.

Now that the Loo-choo Islands have been proved to possess
so many points of ornithological interest, it is to be hoped
that they will be speedily explored. Dr. Guillemard, in his
cruise of the ' Marchesa,^ has drawn attention to the extreme
good nature of the inhabitants, but he was not very suc-
cessful in his ornithological researches on the islands. In
the 'Proceedings of the Academy of Philadelphia,^ 1862,
p. 312, there is a list of twelve species of birds collected on
the Loo-choo Islands in 1854 by the exploring expedition
under Capt. Rodgers. Six of these have been obtained by
Mr. Pryer. Four others are evidently migrants, namely : —

41. Ardea alba.

42. numenius arquatus,

43. totanus hypoleucus.

44. fuligula marila.

Of the two remaining species obtained by Capt. Rogers,

45. Ardea grayi

may possibly be a resident, and

46. CoLUMBA intermedia

a more or less domesticated Pigeon, introduced in prehistoric
times.

XIX. — A List of the Birds of Portugal.
By William C. Tait, Oporto.

[Continued from p. 96.]

46- AcREDULA iRBii. '^ Rabilougo,"' '' Megcugro,^^ " Fra-
dinho," Coimbra.

This species was diflferentiatedby Messrs. Sharpe andDresser

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 183

from skins obtained by Col. Irby in the soutli of Spain.
Drs. Bocage and Carvalho had remarked that this bird did
not agree with the description of A. caudata given by Lin-
naeus. It has bred in a " coral ^' tree in my garden, and its
habits seem to be the same as those of the northern form,
A. rosea, found in the British Islands.

47. Parus major, Linn. " Cedovem,'^ " Pinta caldeira,"
" rradisco," " Ferreiro,'"'' Oporto ; " Megengro,^' Melres and
Caldas d'Aregos ; " Patachim,^'' " Parachim,^^ Douro ; " Papa-
abelhas,^' " Chincharavelha,'"' Peuafiel ; *^ Passaro do linho,"*
" Semeia linho,^'' Estarreja ; '' Cachapim,^^ Beja ; " Chinchi-
nim,^' Sta. Clara a Velha; " Caldeirinha/^ Quarteira, Algarve;
" Ferreirinho,''^ Redondella, Galicia, Spain.

Resident and abundant. This species begins to sing its
peculiar note in February, and, according to the country
people, seems to say " Semeia linho, semeia linho " (i. e.,
'^ Sow flax, sow flax,'^ indicating that the time has come for
that seed) . They believe that when the bird sings much it
is a sign of an abundant harvest, and that it also says *' Tudo-
bem, tudo-bem'^ {i. e., '' KW's, well, all^s welP').

I have seen this bird tearing open with its bill the nests of
the procession-caterpillar {Cnethocampa pityocampa) in the
pine-ti^ees and eating the larvoe. It is the only species Avhich
I have observed eating these caterpillars ; other birds only
take the web to build their nests with. The hairs of Cnetho-
campa are well known to be highly irritant to the human
skin, and P. major must therefore have a strong throat, giz-
zard, and stomach.

48. Parus ater, Linn.

Kesident and common in the pine- woods at the mouth of
the Douro. Dr. Carvalho informs me that this species is
rare in the neighbourhood of Coimbra, and Col. Irby did not
meet with it near Gibraltar. I have known it to nest in a
hole in a wall in my garden ; but we are probably not far
from the southern limit of its distribution.

49. Parus CiERULEUs, Linn. ''Cedovempequeno,'^ Oporto;

18-i Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

" Furabogalhos/' Penafiel ; '' Chincharavelha/' Caldas do
Gerez.

Common and resident ; a pair nested in my garden-wall.

50. Parus cristatus, Linn.

Resident and common in the north of Portugal, chiefly in
the pine-woods on the mountain-sides. A pair nested near
Oporto in the hollow branch of an oak tree, from which I had
previously taken the eggs of Gecinus sharpii. According to
Dr. Carvalho it is not rare in the neighbourhood of Coimbra.

51. SiTTA c^siA. " Trepadeira azul," Penafiel; '^ Cara-
pito/' Traz os Montes ; " Alhorca/' Melres ; " Batoco/'
Abrantes.

Resident and common in some places, but very local ; few
are seen in the immediate neighbourhood of Oporto.

52. Certhia FAMiLiARis, Liuu. " Trepadeira/' Oporto;
" Subideira/^ Cerva and Celorico de Balto ; " Serigaita,'^
Penafiel.

Resident and very common. Sings its few notes in January,
February, and March. Having had no opportunity of com-
paring specimens, I do not know whether the variety of this
country be C. hrachydactyla, as is probable.

53. TicHODROMA MURARiA (Linn.).

Resident, but only twice observed. The first specimen ob-
tained in Portugal was from the Serra do Zorro, near Coimbra,
in the autumn of 1880, according to Dr. Manoel Paulino
d'Oliveira ; and Mr. Adolph Moller saw another in the Serra
d'Estrella.

54. Troglodytes parvulus, Koch. " Carriya,'^ all over
Portugal.

Resident and abundant. I have heard this bird's song in
every month of the year, but seldom during the cold months
of November, December, and January, and less than usual
during July and August. In spring it sings so vigorously
that it seems as though it would crack its throat, and it is
surprising what a volume of sound can come from so small a

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 185

pipe. It is one of the earliest nesters, and the country people
say that it is its duty to " have meat at Easter/' i. e., to have
young by that time.

55. MoTACiLLA ALBA (Linn.). " Lavandeira/' ''Lavan-
disca," Vianna do Castello, Lamego and Oporto ; '' Boieira/'
Penafiel; " Gon9alinho," Yillar Cha da Maia ; ''Arvella/'
" Arvellicha/' Angeja, Aveiro, Caldas d'Aregos^ Estoi, Al-
garve ; '' Alveloa/' Coimbra Museum ; " Alvelroa/^ Abrantes.

Abundant : some remain here all the year round^ and in
October the number is increased by the arrival of migrants
on their way south. There are two moults, one in August
and one about the 10th February. The names " Lavandeira "
and " Lavandisca " are a corruption of " Lavadeira " (washer-
woman) . In this country the washerwomen wade into the
stream, and there they soap and beat the clothes on a broad
stone slab, singing and gossiping while at their work. The
bird also wades into the shallow parts and hops about on
the stones, ducking its head about like the washerwomen.
The name " Boieira " is derived from its habit of following
about the oxen for the sake of the flies which swarm round
them. '^ Alveloa^' may be from the Latin alveus, the bed of
a river ; and " Arvella '' is perhaps a corruption of the above,
or from arvum, a ploughed field, as the bird is very fond of
following the plough.

56. MoTAciLLA LUGUBRis, Temm. " Lavandisca/'' Oporto.
Arrives in the neighbourhood of Oporto about the 20th of

October, winters here, moults to summer plumage at the end
of February or beginning of March, and departs. I saw a
straggler iu 1883 as late as the 18th March. It is abun-
dant along the sea-coast in winter, feeding on flies and other
insects which it finds among the seaweed at high-water mark.
Noticing one day a large number of these birds hovering
over the sea and occasionally dipping their bills in the water
to pick up something, I discovered that they were eating
the floating ova of a small crab which swarms at the bottom
of the sea in the late autumn off" the coast of Portugal.

186 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

I have seen Pied Wagtails lately arrived attacked and
pursued by the resident White Wagtails^ which looked upon
them as intruders. It would be interesting to tabulate the
distribution of the Pied and White Wagtails. Here, in
winter, one sees so many intermediate forms that, allowing
for young and females, it is in come cases impossible to
determine with confidence to which species the bird may
belong. The Pied Wagtail is fond of frequenting roads and
following cattle.

57. MoTACiLLAMELANOPE (Pall.). ^' Lavaudisca amarclla/'
" Lavandisca da India/' Oporto ; " Boieira d'agoa," Penafiel.

Common and resident, but migratory to some extent. It
is commoner in winter in the gardens near Oporto than in
summer from October forward. Sings and courts in October,
November, and December, continuing to sing in February
and March ; changes to summer plumage at the end of
February ; nests in walls at the sides of streams, and goes
about in pairs.

58. MoTACiLLA FLAVA (Liuu.) . " Lavaudisca amarella,''
Oporto ; " Boieira amarella,^' " Arvella,^' Aveiro.

Abundant. Arrives from the south at the end of March, or
more frequently in the middle of April ; breeds in the dry
rush-beds or on the ground near marshy fields, and departs
at the end of August. Dr. Carvalho informs me that at
Coimbra it generally moves at that time to fields on higher
ground. I once found quite a colony breeding in a field
near a marsh ; nearly every clump of rushes contained a nest.
The birds are bold, and so long as one takes little notice of
them they will come pretty close, but if approached they will
soon fly off and keep at a distance. Their note is shrill and
piercing.

59. MoTACiLL4. RAii (Bp.). '' Boicira.^'

Arrives in Portugal on passage in the middle of September,
and is met with till the end of October; during its journey
it is common in the fields near the sea-coast in the neigh-
bourhood of Oporto. It follows the bullocks while grazing,

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 187

catching the flies close to their nostrils and feet. The young
are commoner than the adult forms.

Between the departure of M. flava and the arrival of
M. rail there is an interval. Mr. Howard Saunders remarks^
in his List, that this species is abundant on passage in Spain,
and jiarticularly so in the spring at Valencia and Malaga.
This would seem to confirm my supposition that this and
some other species follow a south-west course in autumn
by the coast of Portugal, returning northwards in sjaring
along the east coast of Spain. On only one occasion have I
seen M. rail on the coast of Portugal in spring, and that was
on May 6th, 1879.

The names " Boieira,^' " Lavandisca," and " Alveloa " are
applied to all the Wagtails.

60. Anthus pratensis (Linn.). " Sombria," '^ Cia,^'
Oporto; " Petinha,^^ Coimbra Museum.

The first arrivals from the north generally appear near
Oporto about the lOtli of October, but I have seen them as
early as the 4th of that month, by the end of wliich they are
already very abundant, continuing so during the winter. In
March they take their departure, a straggler or two remain-
ing till April. While on migration they travel in small
flocks, or two or three together, a favourite time being
when the east wind is blowing on a raw October morning,
no which occasion flocks of Sky Larks are also so abundant
that these migrants form an almost continuous stream along
the coast.

61. Anthus trivialis (Linn.). " Sombria,'^ '' Cia ■"
Oporto.

The Tree Pipit arrives in the neighbourhood of Oporto
earlier than the former, viz. about the 21st of August,
and by the beginning of September it is very abundant.
Small flocks pass during the prevalence of east wind, at the
same time as the Turtle Doves, piping their sibilant note and
frequently settling in the pine-trees. In the beginning of
October they begin to get scarcer, and by the middle of the

188 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

month the last have taken their departure. I have not seen
them on their migration northwards.

62. Anthus campestris (Linn.).

The Tawny Pipit arrives in the spring and remains till the
end of summer on the scrras and high ground. I have seen
it on the serra behind Melres and also near Abrantes ; and
Dr. Carvalho tells rae that it nests on a serra near Coimbra.

63. Anthus spipoletta (Linn.).

The first Water Pipits appear in the neighbourhood of
Oporto about the beginning of October in the marshy meadows
on the banks of streams near the sea. They remain till
March, in which month the breast-feathers assume the slight
rosy tint of the nuptial plumage, when they take their
departure for their honey-moon to the Pyrenees. On one
occasion I saw a bird of this species on 11th July, 1880,
at Mattosinhos, near Oporto ; perhaps this was a bachelor.

64. Anthus obscurus (Lath.).

There is a specimen in the Lisbon Museum thus named,
and some Pipits which I have seen on the sandbank at the
mouth of the Douro seemed to me to be dark enough to be
this species ; but as I was not able to obtain a specimen
I cannot be sure.

65. Oriolus galbula. " Papa-figo/^ general name ;
" Figo louro/' Melres ; " Maranteu," Villa Real ; " Marel-
lante," Bragan5a; " Bartolomeu/' Coimbra Museum.

The Golden Oriole is rarely seen near Oporto, and mostly
on passage ; but I am told that one pair nested at Villar, a
suburb of Oporto, in 1883. One was observed by me on the
7th September, 1879, at the mouth of the Douro, and some
have been seen at Entrc Quintas. About twelve miles up the
Douro, in the neighbourliood of Melres, it is common during
the summer months, and in many other localities in Portugal,
as for instance, on the banks of the Minho, near Monsao, in
the Alto Douro, Riba-tejo, Alemtejo, and Algarve. It is
rather a local bird.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 189

66. Lanius meridionalis, Temm. " Picanso real/' Alpi-
ar9a and Santarem ; " Picanso baccoreiro/' Abrantes.

Resident, but very local, and nowhere abundant. Nests
in the Serra d'Estrella and at Abrantes on small trees, and I
have met with it in the Alemtejo. During winter some
appear near the sea-coast, as is the case with several other
birds which frequent the serras in summer.

Q7. Lanius collurio (Linn.).

The only specimeu of the Red-backed Shrike which has
been obtained in this country is one which I shot on the 9th
June, 1882, on the island of Conguedo, in the river Minho.
The nest Avas also found in a bramble-thicket, from which I
had disturbed the bird when building.

68. Lanius POMERANUS, Sparrman. ''Pardalreal,'' Arcos;
" Pintaloporco," Villar Cha da Maia ; " Picaporco,'' Oporto,
Penafiel; " Tanjasno,'' Penafiel ; '' Tanjarro,'" Melres ; ''Pi-
canso barreteiro,'"* Traz os Montes ; " Carapucjo/' " Picanso/'
Abrantes,

The Woodchat arrives in April, nests in pine and other
trees, and generally departs about the end of August, but
specimens have been obtained in September and as late as the
5th of October. Very abundant in summer in and near
woods all over Portugal, and is decidedly the dominant
Shrike of the country.

69. MuscicAPA grisola. "Trallnio/' Traz os Montes,
Caldas d'Aregos, Penafiel ; " Papa moscas,'' Oporto.

In May I have seen this species at Melres, near Oporto,
and on the 3rd of June, 1884, I found a nest with four
eggs in Quarteira pine-wood, near Faro, Algarve, where I
saw many of these birds. It is local and by no means com-
mon in this country during summer ; but in autumn large
numbers arrive on passage through the woods along the sea-
coast near Oporto, and may be seen flitting silently from
one tree to another catching insects. They usually arrive
at the end of August or beginning of September, and have
departed by the third or fourth week in October.

190 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

70. MuscicAPA ATRicAPiLLA (Liuii.) . " Papa moscas/'
Oporto.

Abundant in autumn on passage, arriving and departing
at the same time as M, grisola. This is a somewhat livelier
bird, and occasionally utters a monosyllabic note.

The European lists mention M. coUains as found in Portugal,
without naming the authority, but no specimen of M. coUaris
exists in the Coimbra or Lisbon Museums ; and although I
have been on the watch for it for some years, so far as I can
learn it has not yet been obtained in this country.

71. HiRUNDO RUSTiCA, Linn. " Andorinha,^^ Portugal and
Galicia.

Usually arrives at Oporto between the 8th and 15th of
March, but sometimes a stray individual or two may be seen
at the end of February, and I once saw some as early as the
13th of January, 1878. In the south of Portugal they
arrive in February. The departure southwards from the
neighbourhood of Oporto generally takes place from the
middle of September to the middle of October, but some
remain for a few days, or even weeks, longer. I saw one as
late as November 20th (1883) ; in fact, December is the only
imonth of the year in which I have not seen them in this
country. In the province of the Douro this Swallow nests
in the subterranean galleries which are cut into the hill-side
to obtain water — a rather unexpected situation for Swallows
to choose. Dr. Carvalho has furnished me with a table of
observations respecting the Swallow, as observed by him at
Coimbra during the last fifteen years, showing that the
average date for arrival is the 10th February, and for de-
parture the 13tli October.

73. CoTiLE RUPESTRis. " Audoriuha brava," Melres.

Resident in this country all the year round, but partially
migratory within it. The Crag Swallow makes its nest in
the precipitous cliffs of the inland serras, and I found one on a
cliff of the Abitureira, above Melres, on the right bank of
the Douro. In shape it resembles that of the House Swallow ;
it was built of mud and had a few feathers in it. At the

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 191

end of October or beginning of November flocks of about
eight to twenty birds appear at the sea-side in the neighbour-
hood of Oporto^ and remain till about the end of February
or the beginning of March.

The flight of this species is extremely graceful — so smooth,
silent, and apparently effortless — and I have often watched
it with pleasure. Occasionally a bird would seem to turn a
somersault, like a Tumbler Pigeon, but with a wider radius
and without disturbing its flight. I could never, however,
feel quite sure that it was not an optical delusion on my
part,

73. CoTiLE RiPARiA (Limi.). ^'Pedreiro das Barreiras,^'
" Pedreiriuho.^^

This species is not so commou as the House Martin and
Swallow, and is oftener found in tbe north than in the south
of Portugal. I have met with it in various places in the
province of the Minho, and on the river of that name it is
very abundant, burrowing in the sandy banks of the islands
worn away by the current. A colony is established at the
road-side near the favourite shrine of Bom Jesus do Monte,
near Braga, and I have seen another at Magdalena, near
Oporto. Some were seen by me April 5tb, 1884, between
Beja and Mertola, in the Alemtejo, on the banks of the river
Torges, and I saw the holes in the bank where they nest.

74. CHELiDONURBicA(Linn.). " Andorinhadasjanellas,"
'* Andorinha dos beiraes.'^

The House Martin generally arrives at Oporto about the
6th April, remaining till tlie middle of September; I saw
one this year at Abrantes, on the Tagus, on 2nd February.
Dr. Carvalho's observations, extending over twenty-three
years, give an average date for arrival at Coimbra of 19tli
February, and for departure 7th October. The birds
usually go at once to their nests of the previous year and
commence repairing them, the male and female Avorking
alternately.

75. Carduelis elegans, Steph. ^' Pinta silgo,^^ general
name ; " Milheira galante," Beira ; " Pinta cardeira,'" Coimbra ;
" Silgaro," Galicia.

192 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

The Goldfinch is common all over Portugal, especially in
the localities where there are plenty of thistles, as about
Peniche. In the beginning of October, and up to the end of
the first week of December, the birds move southwards in
small flocks, flying in the morning up till about 11 o'clock,
especially with an easterly wind. The chief migration is in
November, and near the sea-coast. The bird-catchers obtain
large numbers during their passage by the aid of limed twigs
and a good call-bird. The return north in the spring takes
place from the middle of JNIareh and lasts about a fortnight ;
a far shorter time than the autumn migration. On the
spring migration Goldfinches prefer a mild south, or better
still, an east wind. Their flight on spring migration is said
to last from 7 to 10 a.m., and their line of flight is then not
so near the coast as in the autumn. Many of the Gold-
finches taken by the Oporto bird-catchers are afterwards
sold to the sailors of English vessels.

76. Chrysomitris spinus (Linn.) . '' Canario da Fran9a,''
Foz do Douro; '^^ Freirinha,'" Oporto.

The Siskins arrive on the autumn migration with the Gold-
finches in November and December, but they are not seen
every winter, although during others they are almost com-
mon. They are well known to the bird-catchers, as they are
occasionally caught on the limed twigs set for Goldfinches.
Dr. CarvalliO has seen them at Coimbra.

77. Serinus hortulAxVUs. " Serzino," general name ;
" Cerezino,'' Melres ; '' Riscada," Villar Cha da Maia ; " Mil-
heira," Caldas d'Aregos ; " Milheiio galante,'^ Recarei ;
" Chamariz,^^ Coimbra Museum ; '' Serin,^' Galicia.

Serin Finches are more abundant in spring and summer,
many of them migrating southwards in the autumn at the
same time as the Goldfinches, and northw^ards in the spring,
but a few remain through the winter, at all events near the
sea-coast. They begin to sing in the middle of February,
stop for a short time in August and the beginning of Sep-
tember, recommence in this last month, and continue till the
beginning of November.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 193

78. LiGURiNus CHLORis (Linii.). " Verdilhao/^ Portugal
generally; " Verderol/' Gralicia.

Very abundant and resident, but some pass southwards in
the autumn and north in the spring. Greenfinches are very
fond of the seeds of Datura stramonium, the thorn-apple
datura. Their song begins in the first week in March, and
continues till the middle of July, when it ceases.

79. CoccoTHRAUsTES VULGARIS. " Pardal do nortc,^^ ^' Cliiu-
calhao do norte,'^ Penafiel; " Bico gordo,'^ Caldas d'Aregos ;
" Bico grossudo,^^ Coimbra.

The Hawfinch is resident. In spring and summer it is
found in the Alto-Douro and Beira, chiefly in the higher
ground ; but in winter it descends to the lower districts and
the sea-side, at which season it is sometimes seen near Oporto.
The farmers complain bitterly that this bird does great
damage to the seed-beds, especially those of turnips, to which
it is very partial. I was disappointed at not finding this
species in the Serra do Gerez.

80. Passer domesticus. " Pardal," general name; " Par-
dal " and " Gorrion," Galicia.

The House Sparrow is very abundant and generally dis-
tributed, the only locality in which I have not met with it being
the Caldas do Gercz, a favourite watering-place in the Gerez
mountains, famous for its hot mineral springs. The country
round this beautifully situated little village is very interesting
to the botanist, and is rich in reptiles. Eagles are plentiful on
the crags, but there is a wonderful scarcity of other birds.

It has been much discussed whether the Sparrow is bene-
ficial or prejudicial ; but Portuguese farmers lean towards the
latter, and if powder and shot were cheaper, the Sparrows
would lead a precarious existence ; and observations lead me
to take the farmers^ view. No doubt they eat many insects,
for I have seen them pick caterpillers out of cabbages, catch
flies, and eat berries ; but, for all that, their general and
favourite food is seed of all kinds. It is sufficient to examine
the shape of the bill to see that this species is essentially
graminivorous, and only exceptionally insectivorous. Dr.

SER. v. VOL. V. o

194- Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

Carvalho is of opinion that they should be exterminated.
The cork-tree is a favourite one for their nests.

I have not observed the Tree Sparrow, Passer montanus, in
Portugal.

81. Petronia STULTA. " Pardal franccz/' Oporto ; '^' Par-
dal da India/' " Pardal Girio/' Melres ; " Piriz," Bragan9a
and Ribatejo ; " Pardaloca franceza/'' Abrantes.

The Rock Sparrow is resident and, on the Avhole, com-
mon, but local, being almost rare iu the neighbourhood of
Oporto. I have seen it at S. Joao da Foz, Villarinho, and
some other localities in spring and summer. At Melres,
Ovar, Abrantes, &c. it is common. Dr. Carvalho informs
me that it is not rare at Coimbra. Its peculiar note, Avhence
its local name " Piriz,'' attracts attention when otherwise it
might escape notice, as it has a habit of sitting quietly on a
branch for a considerable time.

82. Feingillac(elebs, Linn. ^^Pintalhao," Vieira, Arcos,
Valen9a, Recarei ; " Pimpalhao," Sto. Thyrso, Fafe, and Alto
Minho; " Chincalhao,'' Penafiel, Melres, and Caldas do Gerez;
" Chopim,'' Foz do Douro ; " Pimpim,'' Caudal, Foz do Douro
and Esmoriz; '^ Tentilhao,-" Abrantes, Lamego, Villar cha
da Maia, Coimbra, Caldas d'Aregos.

The Chaffinch is an abundant resident, and in October and
November flocks arrive near the sea-coast on the passage
south. Early in February it begins to sing, continuing till
about the middle of July, recommencing in September and
lasting throughout October if the weather be fine ; I have
heard it as late as November 27th. On a summer visit to
England, I remarked that the song of the Chaffinch in
Derbyshire is very different from that of the Oporto bird —
quite a distinct dialect, as it were. The dialectic differences
in the songs of some birds have already been noticed by
Prof. Alfred Newton.

83. Fringilla MONTiFRiNGiLLA, Linn. "Tentilhao mon-
tez,'' Coimbra Museum.

The Brambliug sometimes appears in winter amongst the
flocks of Chaffinches.

Mr. \V. C. Tait on the Birds of Portuyal. 195

84. LiNOTA CANNABINA (Linn.). ^' Linhaga vermelhal/'
Vianna; " Milheiro/' Oporto; " Cachera/' Melres; '' Mil-
heirinba/' Esmoriz ; " Pinta roixo/^ Agueda, Abrantes,
Coimbra.

The Linnet is a common resident ; large flocks migrating
southward in October and November, and northward as-ain
in spring, being taken by bird-catchers at the same time as
the Goldfinches. The Linnet sings from February to July,
recommencing in September, and once I heard it sing as
late as 7th December.

85. Pyrrhula europ^a, Vieill. "^ Cardeal/^ Penafiel;
"Tentilhao da India," Melres; "Dom Fafe'' and "Pisco
chilreiro,^' Coimbra Museum.

I am told that the Bullfinch is common in the neighbour-
hood of Penafiel, and I have seen specimens said to have been
obtained near Braga. Although I have never met with this
bird wild in Portugal, it must be far from rare iu the
northern provinces, as it has so many popular names there,
and occasionally bird-catchers from Traz os Montes bring
large numbers in cages for sale to Oporto.

86. LoxiA curvirostra. "^ Cruzabico."

Ajjpears occasionally in small flocks in winter. I have
seen specimens obtained in this country, and have heard of
two well-authenticated cases of Crossbills being seen in
gardens near Oporto.

87. Loxia pityopsittacus, Bechst.

Dr. Carvalho informs me that there are two or three speci-
mens of the Parrot Crossbill obtained in Portugal in the
Coimbra Museum.

88. Emberiza miliaria, Linn, "Passarinho trigueiro,"
Esmoriz ; " Tem-ti-na-raiz,^^ Province of Beira; '' Trigueirao,^*
Peniche ; " Chichorrio," Quarteira, Algarve.

The Corn Bunting is very abundant in suitable places
from the extreme north to the extreme south of Portugal.
Near Oporto it is scarce, and I have only met with it in

o3

196 Mr. W. C. Tait ow the Birds of Portugal.

summer between Boa Nova eliapel and Lc9a de Palmeira. I
suspect it is partly migratory in this country, as are many
other graminivorous birds.

89. Emberiza cirlus, Linn. " Escrevef^eira," Oporto,
Penafiel ; " Sentieiro/' Castello de Paiva ; " Arojado/' Caldas
d'Aregos; " Sia/' " Siocho," " Sicia," Coimbra Museum.

Kesident, and by far the commonest of the Buntings in the
north of Portugal. It is one of the most constant songsters
in the country. I have heard it utter its poor monotonous
note in every month of the year except February, during which
month it moults from winter to summer plumage. The
second moult is in August. Cirl Buntings generally go
about in pairs, frequenting the edges of pine-woods, hedge-
rows, and sunken lanes.

90. Emberiza hortulana, Linn. ''Nil," Melres.

I have met with the Ortolan Bunting sparingly on the
top of the Serra de Melres, near Oporto, and also on the hills
near Palhal. Dr. M. P. d'Oliveira tells me it is found near
Bragan^a. It seems to prefer high ground, and has a short
and musical song. I have not met with it in winter.

91. Emberiza CIA, Linn. "Trigueiro," Coimbra Museum.
The Meadow Bunting is local, but common in some places,

for instance, on the sides of the Serra do Gerez. I have met
with it near Melres, Sobrado de Paiva, Caldas d'Aregos,
Bom Jesus do Monte, and Olhalvo ; but I have not seen it
near the sea-coast. Dr. Cai'valho informs me that this
species is resident near Coimbra, nesting on the high ground
in summer, and frequenting valleys near the serras in winter,
going about in small flocks.

92. Emberiza sch(eniclus, Linn.

The Reed Bunting passes the winter in this country, arriv-
ing in the beginning of November.

93. Plectrophanes nivalis (Linn.).

A few Snow Buntings sometimes appear in this country
during severe winters. My brother has shot them near

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 197

Oporto, and also at Ovar ; and I kept one which had been
wounded for some time in a cage.

94). Alauda cRisTATA. " Cotovia," general name j " Pou-
pinha/^ " Gagalhosa/' Rezende ; " Patorra/* Traz os Montes ;
" Calandra/' Caldas d^Aregos.

The Crested Lark is resident and abundant in Portugal,
frequenting the hilly country more than cultivated land,
but it is common in fields of rye. I have received from
Ali3iar9a, near Santarem, two specimens much lighter in
colour than those from the north of Portugal ; they had
also longer and more curved beaks. I have seen a specimen
of this same variety obtained in the plains of the Algarve.
The lighter colour is probably a protective adaptation to the
light-coloured earth of the plains of the south, the mountain
form of the north of Portugal being darker on the back.

95. Alauda ARVENsis. " Laverca," Oporto ; "Calaudra/'
Monchique.

Immense numbers of migratory Sky Larks arrive in the
neighbourhood of Oporto from the middle of October on-
wards, and a few in the beginning of that month, many
remaining through the winter, departing in March. They are
very abundant in the cultivated fields near the sea-coast, and
go about in large and small flocks, the chief line of migra-
tion being a few hundred yards from the sea. They prefer an
easterly land-breeze for their travelling, and on favourable
mornings an almost continuous stream may be seen near the
mouth of the Douro.

A darker variety of the Sky Lark is found on the summits
of some of the serras. I have met with it in April on the
top of the Foja peak, Serra de Monchique, and specimens
have been obtained in summer from the Serra do E-oxo, near
Coimbra.

No Sky Larks are found in summer near Oporto. It will
be interesting to learn whence come the large numbers which
arrive here in the autumn. The matter of the varieties
found in this country requires further inquiry and the com^
parison of a large number of specimens.

198 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

96. Alauda arborea, Linn. " Cotovia pequena," gene-
rally ; '^ Calandria/^ Galicia.

The Wood Lark nests on the high ground of the provinces
of Minho and of Beira ; also, as Dr. Carvalho informs me,
in the serras to the east of Coimbra. I met with it in
June on the top of the Serra do Gerez and at Abrantes,
where I have also seen it in January; in April also at St.
Domingos copper-mine, in the Alemtejo.

Immediately round Oporto it is very scarce in summer.
In September and October numbers arrive at the pine-woods
near the mouth of the Douro, and spend the winter months
there, going away on the approach of spring. Some linger
on till March, and a pair or two even into the summer.
This is one of the latest singers, being heard into the months
of September, October, and November.

97. Calandrella brachydactyla (Leisl.) . " Carreirola,"
" Calandra gallega," Estoi, Algarve.

The Short-toed Lark is a summer visitor, abundant in
some localities, and chiefly so near the sea-coast on sandy
hills or plains. It is common between the Castello do Queijo
and Mattosinhos, near Oporto. I am not certain at what
date birds usually arrive from the south, but I have seen
them from April 22nd till the 21st August.

98. Melanocorypha calandra (Linn.). " Cochicho,"
Traz OS Montes; ^^ Calandra,^^ Villa Real de Sto. Antonio.

Very local. Found in Traz os Montes, from which pro-
vince many are brought to Oporto, where they may be seen
in cages hvmg up at the doors of small shops in the bye-
streets, uttering their shrill ear-piercing song, and mimicking,
as well as they can, the songs of other birds. On one occa-
sion I heard one imitate the Canary. An indefatigable
singer with a loud voice fetches a high price, sometimes
as much as two or three pounds sterling.

One of the bird-dealers informed me that this bird has
sometimes a parasite, like a tick, on its ears, and unless this
is removed, it eventually causes the death of the Lark.

The nearest place to Oporto at which I have heard that
it is found is Loureiro, near Caldas d^Aregos ; it is said to

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal 199

occur at Alpiar9a, near Santarem ; I have seen it at Beja,
and also at Villa Real de Sto. Antonio, and these are the
only localities at which I have noticed it.

[99. Certhilauda nuPONTi, var. lusitanica.

We add this to the list on the authority of Dr. J, V. B.
du Bocage, whose account of the discovery has just reached
us. Particulars will be found under ' Notices ' below. — Edd.J

100. Sturnus vulgaris, Linn. ^' Estorninho/^ Portugal
generally.

The Starling is a winter visitant, arriving early in October,
and in some years even by the end of September. Flocks
continue to pass southward near the sea-side till about the
middle of December.

101. Sturnus unicolor, De la Marm. " Estorninho preto."
Besident, and very common inland, especially during the

spring and summer, but in the immediate neighbourhood of
Oporto it is not abundant. A few pairs nest in the Quinta
do Fojo Caudal, near Oporto, and some in Bomalde. They
are very restless birds, and fly about in small flocks.

102. Pyrrhocorax graculus (Linn.).

The Chough is said to nest in the clifi's of the Rio Homem,
Serra do Gerez. I saw a flock of these birds in a field near
Ovar in winter, the only occasion on which I have met with
them. Specimens from Penamacor are in the Coimbra Mu-
seum, and in the Lisbon Museum there are two specimens
from Collares, where this species is said to nest.

103. NuciFRAGA caryocatactes (Linn.).

The only Nutcracker obtained in this country vras shot in
winter by a Mr. Correia in the pine-woods to the east of
Estarreja, about fifteen years ago, and was exhibited at the
Crystal Palace of Oporto.

104. Garrulus glandarius. " Gaio.^^

Abundant in the north of Portugal, less so in the centre,
and rather scarce in the south. More frequently heard in
summer than in winter. On the 6th of October, 1883, when
an easterly wind was blowing, a flock of twelve Jays, flying

200 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

high, apparently on migration, arrived over the trees in my
garden, circled round several times, uttering their cry, and
finally disappeared towards the south-east.

105. Cyanopica cooKi, Bp. "Rabilongo/' Lisbon; ^'Char-
neco/^ South Alemtejo and Algarve.

The Azure-winged Magpie is said to appear in winter at
Montijo and other parts of Alemtejo. At Coimbra there are
three specimens from Penamacor, and in the Lisbon Museum
there are some from Alfeite. It is essentially a bird of the
south of Portugal, not found in the north. I met with it
abundantly in the province of Algarve during spring, summer,
and winter visits; also at Sta. Clara a Velha (Alemtejo)
in April. The inhabitants say it nests in fig, olive, and carob
trees. When not nesting they go about in flocks, and are
sometimes put up by the dogs when seeking for Woodcock.

106. Pica rustica. '' Pega,^'

The Magpie is abundant and resident, especially in the
north. The nests are usually domed and in pine trees; but
at Ovar I found one on a low bush about 3 feet from the
ground, in the middle of a large marshy treeless plain.

107. CoRvus MONEDULA, Liuu. " Choia,'^ Cie Islands,
Vigo.

Rare in Portugal, but may yet turn out to be common
in some localities, if it be found to nest anywhere in this
country. In March 1878 I saw some near Oporto. There
are three specimens in the Lisbon Museum, one of which is
from Penamacor.

I found Jackdaws plentiful on the Southern Cie Islands,
at the entrance to Vigo Bay, Gaiicia. They breed in holes
under the stones on the south-east side of the island, and
follow the droves of pigs in order to eat the insects which
these animals turn up when grubbing in the soil with their
snouts. They may often be seen perched on their backs
waiting while the friendly pig ploughs up the ground.

108. CoRvus coRONE. " Corvo."

The Crow is common and res«ident, some nesting in this

On Birds observed in the Wester' n Pacific. 201

country ; I have received eggs from Anchoraj near Vianna,
where they are specially abundant. At the end of October and
November some arrive on passage.

109. CoRvus FRUGiLEGUSj Liuu. " Gralha.^^

The Rook arrives in the autumn^ and remains during
winter, going about in large flocks, and leaving in February
and March.

110. CoRVUs coHAX, Linn. '' Corvo.'^

Rather common and generally distributed. I have at the
present moment a tame Raven, which was sent to me from
the province of Algarve.

[To be continued.]

XX. — Notes on Birds in the Western Pacific, made in H.M.S.
' Constance,' 1883-5. By J. R. H. MacFarlane, Navi-
gating-Lieut., R.N.

Few parts of the world can be more fraught with disappoint-
ment to the ornithologist or entomologist than the inshore
passage, known as Smythe's Channel, from the Straits of
Magellan to the Gulf of Penas. Rain, hail, and snow
succeed each other, the normal state of this region being one
of dampness ; but sometimes between the showers a vision
of lofty mountains ajjpears in a break of the clouds, or a
huge white glacier stands suddenly out in bold relief for a
few moments, only to vanish in the mist and raia as quickly
as it came. In the brief intervals of fine weather, the snug
little harbours look fresh and green, and the heart of the
collector is gladdened by the prospect of exploring almost
untrodden ground ; but this hope is soon dispelled, for so
sparsely populated by animal life is this district, that even
one having no special interests in that direction would in-
stinctively feel sensible of this great want of animation in the
scene. The botanist would probably find a larger field for his
researches in the primeval surroundings ; but let him tread
with caution the mossy banks which look so attractive, for
what seems to be solid ground is frequently only a thin green

202 Lieut. J. R. H. MacFarlane on Birds

film spread over the rotten, rain-soddeu vegetation of ages,
which may be several feet in depth.

The Steamer Duck {Tachyeres cinereus), ubiquitous in
the Magellan Straits, here shows a great decrease in
numbers, and only a few Kelp Geese [Bernicla antarctica)
are to be seen. At Port Grappler, on the 27th February,
three rich ruddy-brown Geese were observed, probably
Bernicla magellanica, also one or two Shags and Belted
Kingfishers, and we shot a few Snipes. Throughout the
whole of this channel no traces of human beings were met
with. At Grey's Harbour, near English Narrows, a Huanaco
was seen and fired at, and in the broad Messier Channel,
leading into the Gulf of Penas, there were a few Larus
dominiccmus.

The change from this damp and verdant country to the
dry sandy bay of Coquimbo (30° S.) is very great. Scarcely
any green here meets the eye save a few trees round La
Serena, seven miles further up the coast, and a small forest
of Eucalyptus globulus planted round the copper-works be-
longing to Mr. Charles Lambert, at La Compauia, about a
mile from La Serena. In the bay there were a good many
Lanes dominicanus in different stages of plumage, but no
other Gulls or Terns, also a few Pelicans ; and between the
30th March and 2nd April there Avas a heavy migration,
principally at night, of Herons, Egrets, &c.

In the long strip of marsh extending nearly from Coquimbo
to La Serena and running parallel to the sea-beach, a few
Snipe, Teal, and Curlew may be picked up, and by taking
the railway inland fair " partridge '^-shooting obtained. These
birds look and fly more like a Quail, whistling loudly on
getting up ; they are really Tinamous [Nothoprocta perdi-
caria), and average about a pound in weight. In March they
are somewhat scarce, the rains not having commenced, so that
the birds are not down from the hills. In the quebradas
or ravines there is some pretty shooting in July, August,
and September ; August being the best month, as the
"Tortolas^' [Zenaida aurita and Z. boliviana) are numerous
and fly strongly up these gullies in the evenings, giving by

observed in the ll'estern Pacific. 203

no means easy shots. A migratory fish, called " corbiaa •"
(often compared to the salmon, but in reality more like a
bass), comes to the bay in November and yields good trolling,
a friend of mine having killed one on the rod which turned
the scale at 25 lb.

In order of latitude, Arica was the next port visited
(October 1883). It lies on another sandy bay somewhat
similar to that of Coquimbo, but with a heavy rolling swell
at most times, whei*eas Coquimbo is comparatively smooth.
From the bay there is probably one of the finest panoramic
views of the Cordilleras to be seen; and close to the south-
ward of the port is the memorable bluff, or " Morro," where
during the late war between Chili and Peru, the Peruvians,
men and horses, were driven over the cliff, which is several
hundred feet high, on to the sea-washed rocks below. A small
marsh lies about five miles from the town, the road to it passing
the U. S. steamer ' Wateree,^ which was thrown up inland
by a great tidal wave in about 1876; and there we shot two
kinds of Ducks — FuVigula nationi, the only Pochard found in
the country, and Dafila bahamensis of wide distribution —
and on the beach Curlew, Golden Plover, Sandpipers, and
Skimmers. On the 4th October an immature Arctic Tern,
Sterna macrura, was found in an exhausted condition in one
of the boats on the davits, the most southern locality on
record in America for this northern species.

A little more than a hundred miles further up the coast
is the miserable village of Mollendo, the sea-port of Are-
quipa, with which it is connected by rail — being about as
ill-suited for the purpose as possible, for the anchorage
is bad, and the collected swell of the Pacific seems to hurl
itself in upon the ugly black rocks. Landing is difficult
and uncertain, being generally effected by a large basket,
which is lowered by a crane into the boat. About thirteen
miles by rail there is a marsh, probably the largest on the
coast, crowded with Coots and Ducks^ amongst the latter
Fuligula natloni and Dafila bahamensis , but the last was not
in great numbers here.

The bays of St. Juan and San Nicholas, in about 15° S.,

20J. Lieut. J. li. H. MacFarlaue on Birds

are separated only by a tongue of land. In the former, on
the 9th November^ Godwits {Limosa hudsonica) were exceed-
ingly numerous, eleven being killed with one barrel out of a
flock flying past the boat ; and in the latter bay, on 23rd
September, White-bellied Oyster- catchers {Ha>matopus pal-
liatus) were plentiful. Both these bays are uninhabited,
except by a few nomadic fishermen during certain seasons of
the year. Independencia Bay (about 1^° S.) being only a
few miles to the southward of Paracas, where Commodore
Markham obtained the celebrated Fork-tailed Gull {Xema
furcatum), a sharp look out was kept for anything answer-
ing to its description, but without success.

Callao Bay and the adjacent island of San Lorenzo (12° S.)
would doubtless give very interesting results as regards
Laridffi, if observations were extended over a whole year, so
as to enable the arrival and departure of birds to be noted.
I visited Callao during seven different months, and have
tabulated my observations, commencing from my first arrival
in April 1883. At that date there were numbers of the North-
American breeder Larus franklini, the Andean Larus ser-
ranus, and, especially, the beautiful slate-black Inca Tern
[Ncenia inca) with its curling white moustaches and cherry-
red bill and feet. I remained only a couple of davs, and on
my return in August only L. serramis still remained and was
in considerable numbers. This is the largest of the Hooded
Gulls found on the coast. As we anchored at San Lorenzo
towards the end of the month and remained till the middle
of September, I had ample opportunities of exploring nearly
every part of the island. During my rambles I visited a
sandy plateau in the centre, elevated perhaps about 500 feet
above the sea, and there found a colony of about a dozen
Sterna exilis, a species rather larger and greyer than our
Little Tern. They were continually flying over one particu-
lar part, uttering their short sharp cries, and at one time it
looked hopeful as a bi'ceding-place, especially as I picked up
one small fragment of egg-shell ; but beyond this I could
find no traces of nesting. They were exceedingly incensed,
either at my general appearance or an old white felt lawn-

observed in the Western Pacific. 205

tennis hat I was wearing, which, from washing, had assumed
the pointed style of a jelly-bag, and they made a combined
attack on me, flying straight at my eyes or the apex of the
hat, and passing so close that I could almost knock them
down with my hand. On the same day (August 28th)
I shot a young Larus belcheri, a confiding and conspicuous
species, which generally sits upon the buoys amongst the
shipping. Its breeding-place, like that of the Sterna exilis,
is, I believe, still unknown. The White-l;ellied Oyster-
catcher [Htematopus palliatus) and the Black Oyster-catcher
[Hamatopus ater) were both exceedingly common on the
sandy beaches of San Lorenzo; their native name is'^Boquilla,"
and they are capital eating. I also shot an immature speci-
men of Larus dominicanus.

At this time my ambition was to slay the Condor of the
Andes ; they were then in fair numbers about the higher
parts of the island, and I could generally count from a dozen
to twenty at a time soaring over the hills. I soon discovered
that at any ordinary distance a 12-bore, although loaded with
buck-shot, was harmless, and after firing several times at
ranges of 30 or 40 yards with the result of a shake of the
tail or an extra flap of the wings, I concluded to resort to
stratagem. Taking my spaniel and a short cover-gun loaded
with heavy buck-shot, I ensconced myself in a hole at the
top of a sandy c\\W facing the sea, and tied up my dog ; his
nature is a restless one, and he shows his disapprobation of
any restraint by constant whining, which, as a general rule,
is annoying, especially if waiting for ducks, but it suited the
circumstances of this case admirably. I had provided myself
with a novel, and basking in the sun made myself very com-
fortable. Soon I perceived that the plaintive noises made by
my dog had produced an effect; gradually the Condors
passed and repassed in their majestic flight, curiosity bring-
ing them each time nearer and nearer, till at last I saw the
most inquisitive bird passing Avithin five yards of my retreat,
when to drop the book and deliver the contents of both
barrels was the work of a second. To see a heavy bird
such as a Mallard suddenly drop with a thud is generally

206 Lieut. J. R. H. MacFarlane on Birds

satisfactory, so my feelings may be understood when my
raptorial friend plumped down about two hundred feet below,
sliding and rolling down the deep sand of the precipice, at
the foot of which I found him lying as dead as a stone.
The next question was, what to do with the carcase, being
about four miles from the ship with a hill of about 600 feet
high to cross, through sand up to the ankles and under a
blazing sun. I decided on cutting off the wings at the
shoulder for a fire-screen, with his neck, head, and claws as
trophies, and with these articles tied round my neck I com-
menced my homeward tramp. Although triced by the bones
close up to ray neck the tips of the wings trailed on the sand
and, being extended, hung like an immense cloak over my
back. Whether for this reason, or owing to the strong smell
emitted from the bird, I am unable to say, but I had no need
now for my dog's whinings, as all the way in my ascent the
Condors wheeled round my head in uncomfortable proximity,
and I had to fire at them several times with small shot when
they came, as it seemed, almost dangerously near.

In August and September, 1883, the South- American Great
Skuas {Stercorarius chilensis) were abundant in Callao Bay,
and they lead the Gulls a hard life during the time their
presence lasts ; but I am told that during part of the year
they are not seen in the harbour, being probably away at
their breeding-places. On the 17th and 18th November,
1883, I shot two specimens of Stercorarius pomatorhinus ,
which Commodore Markham had been the first to obtain in
this locality, the most southern on record for America.

Close to the anchorage at San Lorenzo and much in the
way, was an old sunken dock ; and, partially with a view of
seeing if the wreck could be removed, as well as for practice,
two large cylinders of gun-cotton were exploded. The
number of fish stunned was truly wonderful, the water being
literally covered. Scarcely any under a pound weight were
thought worth collecting, but the pile on our deck alone
must have been about ten feet square and three feet high in
the centre. Besides which a heavily laden boat was sent to
the foreign men-of-war at Callao, and every fishing-craft off

observed in the Western Pacific. 207

San Lorenzo was filled. Some private communication
seemed to exist between San Lorenzo and the Pelicans
{Pelecanus niolina) at Old Callao Point, a distance of about
three miles ; as immediately after the explosion a small
number were seen advancing from there in Indian file, and
in less than a quarter of an hour there was an unbroken line
of these birds right across. 1 have never seen so many
before or since on the coast, but I fancy none went empty
away.

From the 22nd January to the 21st February, when lying
at San Lorenzo, the place was singularly free of Gulls and
Terns, no Incas were to be seen there nor at Callao, and
although I went over the hills to look for Sterna exilis, it was
in vain. In February small fry, called here " sardinas,^'
appeared in such numbers that I have seen a bucket dipped
over the side of a boat into a shoal and lifted out filled with
them. We found them an excellent substitute for white-
bait; and numbers of Larus serranus and L. franklini came
also at this time. In April the " sardinas " appeared
again, and were lying on the surface of the water in great
patches of dead and dying, being probably killed by the
evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen from the bottom, well-
known on the coast as " the painter.^^ With them came
myriads of Gulls — L. franklini, some in fully adult plumage,
and Xema sabinii, adults in winter plumage ; the latter
hitherto a great rarity so far south, but here, again. Com-
modore Markham had anticipated me in the discovery.

On the 10th of April no Inca Terns had appeared in the
harbour, the local men assuring me that they would be back
from their breeding-place very shortly ; and it is worthy of
notice that on the 21st April, 1883, they were in crowds in
the bay. The Peruvian vessel ' La Union,' wrecked here,
seemed to be altogether given up to Cormorants [Phalacro-
corax gaimardi and P. brasiliensis). I have often passed it
when it has been so closely packed with them that neither on
masts nor rigging did there seem standing room for another
bird.

My observations lead me to believe that there is no

208 Lieut. J. R. H. MacFarlanc on Birds

breeding-ground of any importance on San Lorenzo; but as
both Gulls and Terns appear in the harbour at certain
periods of the year, and in large numbers^ it looks as if there
is some large breeding-place adjacent. Of course this does
not refer to birds that are known to breed in North America.
My theory is, that since the birds have been driven away from
their breeding-places, such as the Chinchas, Lobos de tierra,
Lobos de afuera, and other guano-islands, they have gone to
the small island of Hormigas de afuera, about 30 miles to the
west of Callao, seldom, if ever, visited, except by a few
nomadic fishermen, as it lies out of the track of vessels.
The local fishermen told me that at certain seasons the islands
were crowded with birds breeding, and that Ncsnia inca was
certainly amongst the number.

At Chimbote (about 9° S.), 2nd to 5th August, there
were numbers of Sterna hirundinacea, the South-American
representative of our Common Tern, on the beach ; this is
the only part of the coast where I have seen them. We also
shot several Curlews (Numenius hudsonicus) .

The bay of Payta (5° S.) claims some notice for its remark-
ably pleasant climate; for although the surroundings are
sandy, it is probably one of the most cheerful-looking places
on the coast, — almost continual sunshine without great heat,
cool sea-breezes, and a dry atmosphere : rain having fallen
about once in the last ten years, on which occasion it flooded
the dry bed of a former small stream and did considerable
damage to the adobe-hmM houses, which were never intended
for such a contingency. There is no fresh water in the
place, it being all brought in tanks, by train, from the Chira
river, and sold by the gallon. Daption capensis was plentiful
outside and in the harbour in July, and I sent home a
specimen for identification, taken in 6° S., as well as a white
Procellaria gigantea, the only one seen on the coast. The
Grey-capped Gull, Larus cirrhocephalus, was also obtained
here, making the fifth example obtained on the west coast
of America, and the most northern locality on record.

Payta, like many other places on this coast, is devoid of
verdure. It is said that some years ago a tree was painted

observed in the Western Pacific. 209

on the gable of one of the houses on the beach, so that the
passengers by the steamers might have some green object
to look at ; but the donkeys were so deceived by the resem-
blance that they considered it should have umbrageous
qualities, and in endeavouring to crowd under the fancied
shade, they eventually rubbed all traces of the tree away !
The Chira river farther up the coast, from which the water
is brought to Payta, is, however, well wooded on the banks.
A party of officers from the ship, principally midshipmen,
camped out on its banks for four or five days, their bag
consisting of 83 Pigeons, 77 Parrots, and 44 Squirrels,
the latter the chinchilla-coloured animal ; but five of the
party were afterwards laid up with fever from sleeping on
the ground and not off it !

During the months of May and June 1883 we were
moored off the town of Guayaquil, about seventy miles up
the river of that name, probably one of the hottest and most
unhealthy places on the coast ; but fortunately we were there
in the dry season. The town being nearly always in a state
of siege from civil war, it was impossible to make many
excursions. Crocodiles abound in the river, and there is no
difficulty in shooting numbers ; but as they generally manage
to glide off the muddy banks into the river unless shot dead,
it is poor sport, for they are of no use, unless a skeleton or
head be wanted, and the strong smell of musk emitted from
the skin is unpleasant. In the early morning, and again
in the evening, there were numbers of Stertia magnirostris,
but I never saw one in the daytime. The pretty spur- winged
Parrajacana was also obtained ; and having noticed a flight-
line of Parrots coming home from their feeding-grounds in
the evening, I had some capital shooting, until they became
too wary and raised their line of flight ; they are very good
in a pie. In October 1885 I crossed the large bay of La
Union in a boat and visited several of the islands, without
seeing anything but Pelicans, which were in great numbers.

Leaving Coquimbo in February 1884, for a cruise in the
Pacific, the first island visited, if it may be so called, was Sala
y Gomez (26° S.), on the 5th March. It much resembles

SER. v. VOL. V. p

210 Lieut. J, R. H. MacFarlane on Birds

St. PauFs Rocks, in the Atlantic, and is almost as inacces-
sible, being a small cluster of low black rocks, over which
the sea is generally breaking. As on this occasion the swell
was comparatively slight, a boat was sent and a landing
effected, but not without difficulty. Anous stolidus, Gygis
Candida, and Fregata aquila were found breeding, and from
an egg of the first I extracted a young bird of such a size,
that it seemed a wonder how the shell ever contained it ; so,
as it could not possibly have been put back again, I preserved
it in spirit, and I believe it is now in the possession of Mr.
Beddard, Prosector to the Zoological Society of London. To
find these birds breeding in this latitude, at this time of the
year, upsets one's ideas of seasons.

Innumerable sharks were round the ship, and some curious
bright-coloured fishes were killed by exploding a small charge
of gun-cotton. The sailor seems always to be imbued with a
deadly hatred against the shark, and, as a rule, directly one
is reported in the vicinity of the ship, the shark -hook and
piece of pork soon make their appearance ; but the officer
responsible for the cleanliness of the ship seldom sees the
force of the quarter-deck being turned into a shambles. So
at this island we instituted a plan which satisfied the hatred
on the one side without interfering with the purity of the
decks. The hooked fish being run up under the countei', was
secured with a running bowline, and disembowelled by a
sailor sent down over the side, then lowered until about one
half in the water, when the blood and offal soon brought
scores of his old friends round, but not in a very friendly
spirit. Tearing and worrying at their defunct chum, they
threw prudence to the winds, and necessarily exposing them-
selves to get at the parts out of water, became easy shots for
the rifle ; and as shark after shark floated astern, a cannibal
festival, hitherto unrecorded in the archives of Sala y Gomez,
was celebrated.

Passing to the southward of Easter Island (27° S.), and
using a strong glass, the massive carved stone figures, which
have been a puzzle to everybody, could be seen standing on
the slope of the hill. How these huge blocks of stone came

observed in the Western Pacific. 211

there, and who were the sculptors, can be only a subject
of conjecture. The inhabitants of the island were occu-
pied in stock-raising, both cattle and sheep. The common
domestic fowl is found over most parts in a perfectly-
wild state, and a few were shot, but their freedom had not
improved them as an article of food. Close to the anchorage
is the extinct volcano of Rano Kao, which is about 1200 feet
in height, and has a most regularly formed crater nearly a
mile across. Up to about seven or eight hundred feet from
the top it contains water, with a thick covering of green
vegetation so strongly interlaced that any one acquainted
with the paths can cross ; but as there are open spaces of
water and some very weak spots in the covering, nearly every
year some one is lost, and cattle are frequently drowned.
One of these water-spaces was sounded with 300 feet of line,
but no bottom was obtained. The only birds I saw in the
crater were three ruddy-coloured Geese, but I was unable to
get anywhere near them. I also saw a tame Anous stolidus
in one of the houses, so it is probable that this species fre-
quents the island.

Ducie Island, in about 26° S., which was visited on the
16th March, is a very dangerous atoll, havnig a sandy beach
with some clumps of bushes, not more than 40 feet high, on
its northern side ; and a barrier-reef, over which a very heavy
surf was breaking, fringes the remainder. The lagoon is
very shallow, and has a few passages suitable for boats in
calmer weather. Landing was effected on the northern side,
where the British barque ' Arcadia ' was laying a total wreck,
having most likely gone on shore during night or thick
weather. The Red-tailed Tropic-bird, Phaethon rubricauda,
was breeding in great numbers, and our blue-jackets enjoyed
themselves greatly in collecting eggs and bundles of the red
tail-feathers. The latter operation was rendered easy ; the
birds being without guile, allowed themselves to be lifted up
by the feathers, and their own weight did the rest. Anous
stolidus and Gygis Candida were also obtained, and there
was also a large Petrel, only the eggs of which I secured.

Pitcairn Island, the happy home of the descendants of the

p2

212 I;ieut. J. R. H. MacFarlane on Birds

mutineers of the 'Bounty/ in about 25° S., is a thing of
beauty to look on after a long sea- voyage, and does not^ as is
often the case^ lose its charms on closer inspection. In its warm
moist climate vegetation runs riot, which is perhaps rather
providential, as, whether from climatic enervation or from
finding that food comes without toiling, the inhabitants are
a lazy, good-natured, happy people. Landing is generally
unpleasant, as, with any swell, there is no sheltered place ;
they have, however, two large whale-boats, in which they
manage to land the visitor, safe, if not dry. Here, on the
18th March, I found Anous stolidus and Gygis Candida, but
not breeding. The natives, however, say that both species
breed on the island — the latter, which is appropriately named
the '' White-bird,^^ in September — and that when the young
are strong enough, they all go away till next year.

Sandwich Islands, September 1884. The Golden Plover,
Charadrius fulvus arrives in great numbers about the latter end
of August in this group. In the island of Hawaii, on the
hills above the renowned volcano of Kilauea, there are still
fair numbers of Hawaiian Geese, Bernicla sandvicensis, and
I have seen several in a tame state in Honolulu. It is to be
regretted that many of the bright-plumaged birds of the
Hawaiian group have become nearly, if not quite, extinct,
their feathers being not only used as decorations, but some
of the rarer kinds forming a part of the regalia. Some very
handsome mantles made of orange-yellow feathers of a small
bird {Moho) are worn on state occasions, and leis, or garlands,
composed of feathers are worn round the neck or as a hat-
band. Choice flowers are also used for this purpose, and at
entertainments in Hawaiian fashion the guests are always
decorated with these wreaths, which are made by stitching
the flowers on cloth. It is a very pretty custom ; but as leis
made out of valuable feathers, although only about two inches
in width, command such high prices as $50, or about £\Q,
it is easy to imagine how soon the handsome-plumaged birds
have become exterminated. Mr. Bishop, a banker in Hono-
lulu, has a case of these birds, some of them now very rare.

During the months of October and "November 1885, the

observed in the Western Pacijic. 213

Fanning group of islands^ lying between 150° and 160° W.
long.j were visited. Proceeding south from Honolulu, we
anchored at Washington Island, but only remained three
hours, as, although we were in 50 feet of water, the natives
said that, with any wind and swell, it would be breaking
at our anchorage. Anous stoUdus was the only bird shot
here. The population consists of one white man and thirty
natives ; and copra, or the dried kernel of the cocoa-nut, is
exported.

Fanning Island is a pretty atoll, being fringed with a
sandy beach, on which are numbers of cocoa-nut trees. A
portion of the lagoon is quite shallow, but there is a deep
entrance and sufficient mooring-ground to accommodate a
few very large ships; the tides are, however, exceedingly
strong. The inhabitants consisted of four whites and
twenty-one natives, occupied with the exportation of guano.
Anous stolidus and Gyyis Candida breed here, and the lagoon
is filled with numerous brilliantly-coloured fishes, amongst
which the peculiarly-marked Acanthurus achilles and Julis
lunaris may be mentioned.

Christmas Island, reached on Oct. 6th, is a very large atoll,
shaped like a horse-shoe, with the toe to the eastward. The
N.W. heel of the shoe, if it may be so described, is a sandy
spit on which the few inhabitants, consisting of one white
man and five natives, live, and export black-edged pearl-
shells. Quite close to their houses I shot two of the little
Grey Noddy, Anous ceeruleus, and I picked up an egg, which
from its small size and a})pearance, must have belonged to
that species. Being told of a breeding-place about five miles
on the north side of the lagoon, I pulled over there in a
heavy shower of tropical rain, and found it to be a large
"wideawake fair.'" Sterna fuUginosa was breeding there in
great numbers, and we collected buckets-full of eggs, ofi" which
we had in most cases to push the birds. A few pairs of
Pha'etho?i rubricauda, Fregata aquila, and Sulafusca were also
breeding ; but there was not a sign of the little Grey Noddy,
whose large breeding-place I was so anxious to discover.
One of the natives, however, volunteered to pilot me next

214 On Birds observed in the Western Pacific

day to a small island about teu miles, he said_, in the lagoon,
and where, according to his account, the Grey Noddy was
breeding in great numbers, but unfortunately we sailed next
morning. It was here that F. D. Bennett "^ first found and
described this little-known species.

Jarvis Island has been worked for guano ; but the works
have been abandoned on account of its inferior quality. We
found a cat in possession of the house, and signs of the
inhabitants not having long evacuated the premises. Maiden
Island is the most extensively worked for guano, eight white
men and one hundred and sixty natives being employed.
No birds were seen at either of these islands. In passing
Starbuck Island on the 15tli October, I could see a ''wide-
awake fair " from the ship, and landing was attempted in a
life-gig ; but the risk was too great, especially as the sharks
were in strong force and, actuated either by rage or hunger,
snapped at the blades of the oars as the boat neared the reef.
One Sterna fidiginosa was shot from the boat for identifi-
cation. At Caroline and Flint Islands no birds were
obtained, the former having five human inhabitants and the
latter, apparently, none.

At Vostok, which was also uninhabited (22nd Oct.), I
obtained two specimens of the small Black-cheeked Noddy,
Anous nielanogenys, and some of their eggs. At Penrhyn
Island (25th Oct.) no birds were observed. This island
principally supplies the others with natives for labour, having
a population of three whites and 370 natives exporting black-
edged pearl-shells and copra. A tour of the Hervey or Cook
group completed this trip, so far as these islands were con-
cerned ; and as no anchorage was found at any of the six
visited, our stay was short, and no information could be
obtained.

Christmas day 1884 was spent at Juan Fernandez, an
island wliicli might be to South America what Madeira is to
England. At present it is only used for stock-raising, but
enterprise may some day utilize it as winter- quarters ; and
apart from its associations, it might become a charming
* Narr. Whaliiip-Voy. louud the Globe, ii. App. p. 248 (1840).

On a Collection of Birds from Foochow. 2J5

resort. Humming-birds are numerous, there being two
kinds on the island, viz. Eustejihanus fernandensis and
E. galeritus. Fish are very plentiful ; any number of cray-
fish may be caught ; and there is splendid covert for game
if introduced.

In concluding these notes, I regret exceedingly that they
are so meagre, and that they principally refer to sea-birds,
which is not surprising, considering that my life leads me
mostly amongst them. It is true that in the necessarily
short visits to many places I have been unable to collect or
make observations except in a cursory manner ; but I still
reproach myself with many opportunities lost, and I would
especially warn any one collecting against procrastination in
shooting specimens. Nothing in this case is so fatal as to
put oflF to to-morrow what can be done to-day.

I have to tender my sincere thanks to JNIr. Howard
Saunders for kindly revising and assisting me in these
notes *.

XXI. — On a Collection of Birds from Foochow.
By F. W. Styan, F.Z.S.

The following notes refer to part of a collection made by
Mr. J. D. de la Touche, between December 1883 and
September 1886, in the neighbourhood of Foochow, south
China. The portion sent home consists entirely of land-
birds, and contains no game-birds. Pigeons, Crows, Jays,
Starlings, or Finches except Buntings — families which,
together with the water-birds, will perhaps be examined
and described at a later date. The cases already received
contain 828 skins, belonging to 143 species, and comjjrising
five which have not hitherto been recorded from the mainland
of China. Of these, Nisa'etus fasciatus and Haliaetus leuco-
gaster are entirely new to the Chinese avifauna ; Graucalus
rex-pineti and Alcippe morrisonia have only been found in
Formosa ; and Hemixus castanonotus was supposed to be

* [The indebtedness is on the other side, for an interesting collection of
specimens of most of the species mentioned in this paper. — H. S.]

216 Mr. F. W. Styan on a

confined to the island of Hainan. The rare Microhierax
sinensis and Lanius fascatus are also represented.

Mr. de la Touche has kindly sent me his notes, \^hich
have been compiled with great care^ largely enhancing the
value of the collection, and from these I have quoted
freely. The following are the principal localities men-
tioned ; —

Ching Feng Lung, a village situated high up among the
hills, some 100 miles N.W. of Foochow.

Laokee, the wildfowl shooting-ground south of Wofou
Island, at the mouth of the river.

Lien Chiang hsien, a city on the banks of a river which
flows into the sea a few miles north of the river Min.

Peling, the hill-country about 8 miles north of Foochow,
the elevation being from 1000-2000 feet.

Shinkow, a village on the Min, about 60 miles W. of
Foochow.

1. Merula mandarina (Bp.).

'^ Abundant in the district.''— J. D. T.

2. Merula chrysolaus (Temm.).

'' I found it abundant last April, in small flocks in wooded
places."— J. D. T.

3. Merula hortulorum (Scl,).

" Seems rather uncommon here ; I shot two in the winter
1884-85, and bought a third from a native, February 1886/'
—J. D. T.

4. Merula obscura (Gm.).

"Very common in November 1884. I have specimens
shot at Peling early in May, but have not seen it in the
plains during spring." — J. D. T.

5. Merula pallida (Gm.).

" Winters here, and is extremely common during March
and April."— J. D. T.

6. Merula ::aumanni (Temm.).

"Abundant in March; have shot one 30th November." —
J. D. T.

Collection of Birds from Foochow. '217

7. Merula fuscata (Pall.).

'^ Extremely abundant at the end of February and through-
out March/'— J. D. T.

8. Merula cardis (Temm.).

Three males, showing well the changes in the plumage,
and a female.

a. (16th November.) An adult male, but with a touch
of white on the chin and a good deal of chestnut remaining
on the under wing-coverts, though the axillaries are grey.
Under tail-coverts washed on the sides with dusky grey, as
also the flanks. Spots on breast and sides lai'ge but
faint.

|3. (4th November.) Not so fully adult. General colour
blacker; traces of white on chin and throat; under wing-
coverts chestnut, axillaries partially so ; no grey wash on
flanks and under tail-coverts, which are pure white ; spots on
breast numerous, very large and black, and extending down
over the flanks.

7. (3rd April.) Younger male. General colour browner ;
neck, breast, and flanks spotted with dusky brown ; faint
touch of rufous on sides of body ; under wing-coverts and
axillaries chestnut, the latter with grey centres.

" Not common in the neighbourhood." — J. D, T.

9. Geocichla varia (Pall.). February.

10. Myiophoneus c^ruleus (Scop.).

" A common resident among the hills.'' — J. D. T.

Three males and three females. In two of the former the
tail, as is usually the case, is considerably longer than that
of the females ; in the other male it is about equal to
theirs.

11. Monticola solitaria (Briss.).

12. Monticola cyanus (Linn.),

A series of 22 skins belonging to these two species, which
undoubtedly interbreed in South China. Of these, 9 are males
of M. solitaria in various stages of plumage ; 2 are females.

218 Mr. F. W. Sty an on a

probably of the same species; 4 are adult males of M. cy-
anus ; 1 is an intermediate form, the M. affinis of Blyth ;
the last is a male killed in February, and has a blue belly
with only slight traces of chestnut, but bright chestnut
under tail-coverts with only slight traces of blue. The
remaining six specimens are young birds in spotted brown
plumage and may belong to either species.

13. CopsYCHUs sAULARis (Linn.).

14. Dryonastes perspicillatus (Gm,).

"I found a nest on 11th July last, in a wood on the hills.
It was placed on the extreme tip of the branch of a small
tree about ten feet above the ground, and was so situated
that even a cat would have had great difficulty in getting at
it. The eggs, four in number^ were quite fresh, of a white
colour with rough shell ; when blown they turned bluish
white. The nest, made of flexible twigs and fine long roots,
was very securely fastened to a number of small adjoining
twigs.^^— J. D. T.

15. Dryonastes sannio (Swinh.).
September, November, December, March.

16. Trochalopteron canorum (Linn.).

17. POMATORHINUS STRIDULUS, Swiuh.

Five specimens, of which three are typical adults. The
other two are apparently immature; both were shot in
February : one has the breast-streaks of the same russet-
brown colour as the underparts ; the second has some of the
breast-streaks of this colour.

" Very abundant in Peling, near To Feng Sen. I have
also met with it near Lieu Chiang hsien. Some eggs of this
species were obtained at Peling early in May; they were
pure white and very glossy.^^ — J. D. T.

18. Paradoxornis guttaticollis, David.
Peling, May ; and Ching Feng Lung, November.

19. Suthora suFFUSA, Swiuli.

A single specimen only, from Puching.

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 219

20. CiNCLUS PALLASi, Temm. December.

21. Henicurus sinensis, Gould.

22. Henicurus schistaceus, Hodgs.

23. MlCROCICHLA SCOULERI (VigOFs).

24. Pratincola maura (Pall.).

All in winter plumage, the males with very rufous rumps
and uuderparts.

" Common from October to May, especially abundant in
the former month. ^^ — J. D. T.

25. Oreicola ferrea (Hodgs.).

" Common on the hills throughout the winter.''^ — J. D. T.

26. RUTICILLA AUROREA (Pall.).

"Arrives towards the end o£ October, and remains till
March. In the winter the females seem scarcer than the
males and leave, I believe, some time after them.'^ — J. D. T.

27. Erithacus c^ruleculus (Pall.).
'' Winters in the district.''— J. D. T.

28. Erithacus calliope (Pall.).
A fine adult male shot 27th April.

29. Phylloscopus tenellipes, Swinh. May, October.

30. Phylloscopus coRONATUs (Temm.). 12th April.

31. Phylloscopus borealis (Bias.). May, September,
October.

32. Phylloscopus superciliosus (Gm.).

Ten specimens, dated from October to March.

33. Phylloscopus proregulus (Pall.).
Eight specimens, dated November to March.

34. Acrocephalus orientalis (T. & S.).
Dated May to October.

35. Acrocephalus bistrigiceps, Swinh.
Dated April to November.

220 Mr. F. W. Sty an uu a

36. LUSCINIOLA FUSCATA (Blytli).

February^ April, May.

37. LusciNioLA scHWARZi (Radde) .
Herbivocula flemingi (S winh.) ,

One specimen^ dated the 13tli December.

38. LOCUSTELLA CERTHIOLA (Pall.).

" Abundant in the paddy-fields, among the rice, from the
beginning of September till, I believe, the end of October,
or at least till all the rice is cut/' — J. D, T.

39. LoCUSTELLA OCHOTENSIS (Midd.).

May, June, September.

40. Cettia canturiens (Swinh.) . February.

41. Cettia fortipes (Hodgs.).

"I found it common at Foochow in February and March,
at Peling in January and February, and near Lien Chiang
hsien in December.'^ — J. D. T.

42. Cisticola cisticola (Temm.).

A series of nine skins of the large eastern form of this
species.

" Abundant in December on the banks of the Lien Chiang
river, several shot at Laokee on 24th March and 10th April,
and several noticed in autumn near Foochow. '^ — J. D. T.

43. SUYA CRINIGERA (HodgS.).

Suya striata, Swinh. June.

44. Prinia inornata, Sykes.
Drymoepus extensicauda, Swinh.

" One of the commonest residents in the neighbourhood.
It is found in autumn in the paddy-fields when the rice is
getting ripe, and in winter in all sorts of situations. In
the spring it returns to the neighbourhood of creeks and
ponds, and nests there among the reeds. On the 21st June
I found a nest in some reeds overhanging a small pond.
It was bean-shaped, made of fine grass beautifully woven
together, and was fastened to the reeds by blades of grass.
The opening, situated in the side near the top, was made in

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 221

the shape of an arch, the upper part of the nest somewhat
overhanging it so as to form a sort of awning ; it was with-
out lining of any kind. There were six young birds, quite
naked/^— J. D. T.

45. BuRNEsiA soNiTANs (Swiuh.). November, February.

46. SuTORiA suTORiA (Forster).
Orthotomus longicauda, StrickL

Two adult males J dated jNIay, have fully developed central

rectrices ; one^ dated April, is just developing them, and

another, dated 17th November, has them very slightly in
excess of the rest of the tail.

47. ACREDULA CONCINNA (Gould).

Among the series are six young birds dated 4th May ; they
have the crown of the head pale buff, the black sides of the
head as in adult, chin, throat, and neck white, and a thin
broken black band across the upper part of the breast,
below which the underparts are pale buff. Some of them
are commencing their first moult and assuming the chestnut
crown of the adult, but show no signs of change on the
underparts.

48. PaRUS MINOR, T. & S.

49. Parus cinereus, Bonnat. & Vieill.

Seven specimens, of which only two have an absolutely
pure grey back. The others are the P. commixtus of Swinhoe,
a form intermediate between this species and P. minor, and
doubtless the result of interbreeding. In four of them only
the very faintest tinge of olive can be detected; on the
remaining one the mantle is so green that the bird might
with equal justice be attributed to P. minor.

50. SiTTA SINENSIS, Vcrr.

Four specimens were collected by Mr. Baun, of the Imperial
Chinese Telegraph Company, near Puching, in the north of
Fokien, some 300 miles from Foochow. I have not been
able to compare them with other specimens, but judging from
description I have no doubt that they belong to this species.
The British Museum posesses no example of it, but Dr.

2.22 Mr. F. W. Styan on a

Gadow (Cat. Birds B. M. viii. p. 348) gives S. sinensis as a
synonym of S. caesia, perhaps without having examined
Chinese examples.

The four specimens — two males and two females — I have
compared with a long series of S. casta, and find them much
smaller in all their measurements^ especially in the much
shorter and weaker bill, which equals that of S. himalayana.
They have less white on the throat than S. coesia and are more
rufous on the underparts, especially the sides of the neck.

51. Leiothrix luteus (Scop.).
One bought alive.

52. Alcippe brunnea, Gould.

53. Alcippe morrisonia, Swinhoe.

Ten specimens, dated January, May, November, and
December. This species appears to have been previously
found only in Formosa, where Swinhoe met with and
described it.

" Common at Peling, in country just below Shinkovv, and
in the valley of the Yung Fu river." — J. D. T.

54. Stachyridopsis ruficeps (Blyth).
Stachyris precognitus, Swinli.

Shinkow and the valley of the Yung Fu river.

55. MOTACILLA LUGENS, Pall.

An adult male in full breeding-plumage, dated 27th March.

56. MoTAciLLA LEUCopsis, Gould.

An interestiug series of twenty skins in various stages.
The colour of the back in the winter plumage of adult birds
seems to be very uncertain. Of nine adults killed in autumn
and winter, one September and two October birds have little
or no black on the back, two other October and one Decem-
ber birds have partially black backs, another December bird
has a pure black back, and two February ones are no blacker
than the darker October birds. From this it would seem
that after the breeding-season the black back is lost, and re-
assumed at an uncertain period during the winter or following
spring. This does not agree with the ojiinion expressed by

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 223

Mr. Sharpe (Cat. Birds B. M. x. p. 485) that the old birds
having once obtained their black back, never lose it again in
the winter. One specimen killed in October has only a
slight trace of the pectoral black band — apparently an indi-
vidual peculiarity.

57. MoTAciLLA OCULARIS, Swiuhoe.
April, October, November, December.

58. MOTACILLA MELANOPE, Pall.

Five specimens, all of which have the short tail peculiar
to the eastern race. April, November, December.

59. MoTACiLLA FLAVA, Limi. May, September.

60. MoTAciLLA TAiVANA (Swiuli.) . April, December.

61. Anthus maculatus, Hodgs.
A. agilis, Swinhoe (nee Sykes).
February, April, November.

62. Anthus japonicus, T. & S. December, March.

63. Anthus cervinus (Pall.).

March, April, May, October, December.

64. Anthus gustavi, Swinh.
A pair dated May.

65. Anthus richardi, Vieill.

A series of twenty skins ; six of them killed in October,
one being in very fine plumage, having just completed its
moult ; three others killed in the above month, with one in
March and another in April, are all in process of moult.

66. Hypsipetes leucocephalus (Gm.).

Three males killed 28th February and 7th March. Two
are not quite adult; the feathers of the lower parts are
slightly edged with white, especially on the abdomen and
under tail-coverts ; the black of the lower parts extends up
over the breast, and in one of them partially on to the throat.
The third specimen is more immature, the lower parts being
dusky brown.

67. Pycnonotus sinensis (Gm.).

221 Mr. F. W. Styan o« a

68. Hemixus castanonotus, Swinh.

This species was discovered by Swinhoe on the island of
Hainan, and has not hitherto been met with on the mainland.

" I met with these Bulbuls in Peling on 15th and 16th
February 1885, in a belt of bamboos and trees some twelve
miles from Foochow. They seemed to me to have much
the same habits as the common species (//. sinensis) ; but
their voice is different, and their larger size and the absence
of the white on the head easily distinguish them at a dis-
tance.^'—J. D. T.

69. Spizixus semitorques, Swinh.

70. Oriolus diffusus, Sharpe.

" Arrives here towards the middle of April and remains
till October.''— J. D. T.

71. BucHANGA ATRA (Herm.).
Dicrurus cathoecus, Swinh.

Five specimens, killed in September and October, are all
immature, with white edging to feathers of lower parts and
under wing-coverts.

72. BuCHANGA LEUCOGENYS, WaldcU.

Eight specimens, of which the females are duskier than
the males, with a distinct greenish " shot " ou the upper
parts, which is hardly distinguishable in the latter.

^' One of the commonest birds of the district during
summer. Arrives about the middle of April, and begins to
mate soon after its arrival ; leaves towards the end of Sep-
tember. The old birds begin to moult at the beginning of
August and the young are then quite full-grown.'" — J. D. T.

73. Chibia hottentota (Linn.).
C. brevirostris , Swinh.

" Shot on the bank of the Yung Fu river among the
orange-groves, on 16th and 19th September; others were
about; noticed also in Peling in May." — J. D. T.

74. Pericrocotus cantonensis, Swinh,

" These Minivets arrive in large numbers towards the end
of March or beginning of April. Soon after arrival they

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 225

begin to mate^ and establish themselves on the large trees on
Nantai and the mainland; they remain till the end of Sep-
tember.''—J. D. T.

75. Graucalus rex-pineti, Swinh.

A single unsexed specimen, either female or immature
male, shot on 11th January^ on some low hillocks under the
Kushan range. This is another species described by Swinhoe
from Formosa, but not hitherto met with on the mainland.

'' The cry of this bird was a loud metallic ' Courlik,'
'Courlik\''— J. D. T.

76. Lanius schach, Linn.

''Very common during autumn, winter, and early part of
spring ; from the end of March it is but seldom met with,
and begins to get common again towards the beginning of
August. I shot a young bird on 11th July last. The moult
takes place in October.^' — J. D. T.

This partial migration is very noticeable at Shanghai, the
birds being scarce in summer, but arriving in large numbers
in August and September. How far north they go in the
summer is doubtful ; Pere David says that they never reach
Pekin.

77. Lanius fuscatus. Less.

"Father Li, one of the native priests of the Catholic
Mission, shot a specimen of this rare Shrike on the 3rd
March 1886, ou the bank of the creek leading into the city,
and very kindly sent it to me. Iris dark brown ; bill and feet
black.''— J. D. T.

78. Lanius lucionensis, Linn.

A series of nine adult and nineteen immature specimens,
killed in August, September, and October.

''Arrives towards the end of August and is common
throughout September. It occasionally occurs during the
winter; for I shot one on the 21st January.'' — J. D. T.

79. AlSEONAX LATIROSTRIS (Raffl.).

" The commonest of all the Flycatchers in this district ; it
is seen in spring and autumn, and I have shot one on 24tli

SEE. V. VOL. V. Q

226 Mr. F. W. Styau on a

January. The spring passage lasts about two months^ from
the end of March to the beginning of May; the birds at
that season are generally in bad plumage. The autumn
passage occurs during September, October, and November,
and all the birds are then in fresh and bright plumage.^' —
J. D. T.

80. Hemichelidon ferruginea, Hodgs.
One specimen, killed on 3rd April.

81. MusciCAFA GRiSEisTicTA (Swinh.).

" Common during its autumn passage in October and
November. I have not seen it in spring.'^ — J. D. T.

82. POLIOMYIAS LUTEOLA (Pall.).

"Abundant in November." — J. D. T.

83. Tarsiger cyanurus (Pall.).

"^'Amves towards the middle of November and remains
till about the end of March."— J. D. T.

84. Xanthopygia fuliginosa (Vig.).

"A common bird in winter on some of our mountain
torrents."'— J. D. T.

Although included among the Flycatchers by Mr Sharpe,
on account of its structure, this bird is in its habits and mode
of life a Rock Chat.

85. Xanthopygia cyanomel^na (Temm.).

" The spring passage takes place in April, and towards the
middle of the month these birds are common enough in
certain places. In autumn I have shot it in November." —
J. D. T.

86. Xanthopygia narcissina (Temm.).

Three males and a female, killed in April ; only one of
the males has nearly assumed full plumage.

" Not rare during its spring passage, which lasts from
about the middle of April to the beginning of May. A
young male was shot on 22nd August." — J. D. T.

Colhction of Birds from Foochow. 227

87. Xanthopygia tricolor^ Blyth.

One, labelled " male, 22nd August/' is in the plumage of
an adult female.

88. Terpsiphone inch (Gould).

"Not uncommon during the spring passage. I saw it in
the spring of 1885 from the 26th April to the 17th May,
and also in the following September." — J. D. T.

89. HiRUNDO GUTTURALIS, Scop.

" Arrives here towards the beginning of March. I have
seen small parties evidently travelling in September and
October."— J. D. T.

90. HiRUNDO JAPONICA, T. & S.

" Not at all abundant ; is seen in April in company with
the House Swallow.''— J. D. T.

91. HiRUNDO SUBSTRIOLATA, llume.

Two immature specimens shot out of a large flight on.
31st November appear to belong to this larger race. They
are moulting and have pale buff tips to the new inner
secondaries, but not on the wing-coverts ; the external
rectrices, which have not yet been moulted, are full-sized.

92. CoTiLE RiPARiA (Linu.).

Five specimens shot in November ; seen also in spring.

93. DiCiEUM iGNiPECTUs (Hodgs.).

" To be found all through the winter, usually only one or
two together, but occasionally in some numbers.'" — J. D. T.

94. ZosTEROPs SIMPLEX, Swiuh.

In the Cat. Birds B. M. ix. p. 166, Swinhoe's name is
given as a synonym of Z. palpebrosa of India. In this,
however, I am unable to follow Mr. Sharpe, for among the
Indian skins in the British Museum I can find none that
cannot at once be distinguished from the Chinese bird by its
golden-yellow instead of greenish upper parts. Mr. Oates's
specimens from Lower Pegu belong to this and not to the
Indian species, and one specimen from Yunnan belongs to the

q2

228 Mr. F. W. Styan on a

Indian species, so that it seems that the eastern and western
limits of the rcspeetive species cross one another.

Among the Foochow series are six specimens shot in March
and Aprilj which differ considerably from the rest in having
the whole plumage much more dusky. The green of the
upper parts is much less bright ; the yellow on the throat
and under tail-coverts is pale and dull ; and the breast and
lower parts are entirely dusky-brownish grey, with only faint
traces of the pale buff on the flanks and the yellow wash on
the centre of the belly. The specimens are not in very
good condition, and the plumage appears worn ; I therefore
hesitate to separate them specifically without further evidence.
Mr. De la Touche, however, writes as follows : — " My shoot-
ing-boy shot these six on the 29th and 30th March • a female
which I shot last year on the 14th April is, I think, of the
same species. All these birds were breeding, and apparently
fully adult.^^

One specimen similar to the above, and from the same
locality, but without date, is in the British Museum,

95. Emberiza spodocephala. Pall.
November, December, February.

96. Emberiza sulphurata, T. & S. April.

97. Emberiza fucata, Pall. May, December,

98. Emberiza pusilla. Pall. January.

99. Emberiza ciopsis, Bp. February, March, August.

100. Emberiza aureola. Pall. October.

101. Melophus melanicterus (Gm,).
A handsome pair killed in February .

A specimen of Melanocorypha monyolica (Pall.), shot on
31st March, is in the collection, but had undoubtedly escaped
from confinement, this being a favourite cage-bird with the
Chinese.

102. Caprimulgus jotaka, T. & S. September.

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 229

103. Picus CABANisij Malh.

Ten specimens with dark-brown underparts, agreeing with
birds from the Yangtse valley. One is remarkable in having
large spots of white on the ends of the scapulars, which are
slightly tipped with black, and in having the rump irregu-
larly barred with white. Mr, Hargitt agrees with me in
considering this only an individual peculiarity. He also
tells me he considers P. cubanisi, P. luciani, P. goulcli, and
P. mandarinus to be one and the same species ; and having
been unable to examine the various types myself, I follow his
suggestion and adopt the old name.

104. Iyngipicus scintilliceps (Swinh.).

Four specimens identical with one from Hankow, Central
China. Mr. Hargitt, Avho has kindly examined them, finds
that they differ somewhat from the North-China specimens,
principally in the more distinctly barred external rectrices,
in which they show an affinity to /. kaleensis (Swinh.).

105. Gecinus guerini (Malh.).

A series of six, agreeing perfectly with my specimens from
the Yangtse valley, which have the black occiput and mous-
tache quite as strongly marked. Mr. Hargitt considers that
the southern form, G. tancola, Gould, cannot be specifically
separated.

106. MiCROPTERNUS FOKIENSIS, Swiuh.

Two males and three females.

" This species is not common here, but I have obtained
several from natives, who said they had shot them on the
hills, and I killed one myself on 1st March, 1885.^'— J. D. T.

107. Iynx torquilla, Linn.

" Is rather uncommon, but seems to pass regularly in spring
and autumn."— J. D. T.

108. Upupa epops, Linn.

109. EuRYSTOMUs ORiENTALis (Linn.).

" Arrives towards the end of April and leaves towards the
end of September or beginning of October. Young birds
about two -thirds grown were brought nic on 2nd July, and

230 Mr. F. W. Styau oyi a

I saw others about the same size on 6th August. They had
the upper mandible of the bill black, rimmed with yellow,
and the lower mandible reddish ; the feet were dark red
above, and the blue patch on the throat was wanting, while
the general colouring was not so bright as that of the adult/'
—J. D. T.

110. Alcedo bengalensis (Briss.).

111. Ceryle rudis (Linn.).

112. Ceryle guttata, Vig.

Two specimens, in which the wing measures 7| inches.
" A rare bird in this district, but probably less uncommon
in the interior." — J. D. T.

113. Halcyon smyrnensis (Linn.).

114. Halcyon pileatus (Bodd.).

115. CucuLUS CANORUs, Linn.

Two immature specimens, killed in September, of the small
pale form J with very narrow bands on the lower parts.

116. CucuLus MicROPTERUs, Gould.

Two immature birds, killed in October, with a great deal of
black on the head aud throat, which is gradually being re-
placed by grey, are, I believe, the young of this species.

117. Centropus sinensis (Steph.).
" Resident and common.^' — J. D. T.

118. Centropus bengalensis (Gm.).

" I have bought two of these birds ; it is probably rare here,
as 1 have never come across it myself." — J. D. T.

119. Megal/ema virens (Bodd.).

" Resident in the Peling country, and three were shot for
me on the hills bordering the river Min, between Foochow
and Shinkow."— J. D. T.

120. Scops elegans (Cass.).

" I do not tliink these Owls are particularly common here.
I heard one at Ching Feng Lung in the middle of November
aud on the 18th April. A native shot a young male on

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 231

Kushan, and an inhabitant of a village near by told us
there was a pair of them breeding tbere. I bought a young
one on the 3rd June, which I successfully reared.'' — J. D. T,

121. NiNOX SCUTULATA (Raffl.). N. japomca,'S>v!\nh.,
Two specimens, obtained in May.

122. Glaucidium whitelyi (Blyth).

" A very common resident." — J. D. T.

123. Asio AcciPiTRiNus (Pall.).

" Common from autumn to spring." — J. D. T.

124. Pandion haliaetus (Linn.).

" Often seen on the river and about the coast during the
winter; some remain throughout the summer." — J. D. T.

125. Circus cyaneus (Linn.).

" Females and young males are very common from the end
of October till the spring ; adult males are rare, and I have
not yet even seen one." — J. D. T.

126. Circus melanoleucus (Forster).

A single female only, dated 15th November.

127. Circus spilonotus, Kaiip.

A fine series of ten skins, including two brown females
with sharply defined bars on the tail, assigned by Mr. J. H.
Gurney to this species.

'' Passes here during March and April, and again during
October and November." — J. D. T.

128. Circus iERUGiNosus (Linn.).

*'A common bird during winter; arrives in October." —
J. D. T.

129. Buteo plumipes (Hodgs.).

Ten specimens, of which eight were killed in December and
January, one in March, and one in winter (no date). An
example dated 11th January is in normal adult plumage,
the others are all pale immature birds.

" Verv common in the plains during; winter." — J. I). T.

232 Mr. F. W. Styan on a

130. Aquila heliaca, Saviguy.

Three immature birds; one of the two larger ones is
labelled male^ but in size it equals a female.

" I am told by the native sportsmen that these Eagles are
not uncommon in winter on the marshes and paddy-fields
adjoining the river, that two or three are sometimes seen
together, and that they prey largely on the domestic Ducks,
which feed in large flocks on the river and sea-shore. During
the winter of 1885-86 I procured three specimens from the
natives, and saw the feet of a fourth which had been shot at
Laokee and eaten ! One was killed in November and the
other two in January." — J. D. T.

131. NisAETUs FAsciATUs (Vieill).

Though not previously recorded in the Chinese list, Bonelli^s
Eagle is perhaps not uncommon. One was shot near
Shanghai last winter, and is now in the Shanghai Museum ;
and there are two specimens in the collection before me, both,
judging by their size, females — one, with broad shaft-stripes
on the breast, killed on the 28th November, and the other,
apparently a younger bird, with distinct but very narrow
shaft-stripes, killed on the 24.th December. Mr. De la
Touche has since obtained another one on 14th October,
almost exactly similar to the latter specimen.

132. Haliaetus leucogaster (Gm.) .

This is another addition to the Chinese avifauna; it is
strange that it has not been noticed before on the southern
coasts of China. The specimen is an adult male in moult.

" On the 27th July last the native Tsung Yang, who was
out with me on a short trip to the sea-coast, shot, on a rocky
islet near Wofou Island, this very handsome Sea Eagle. We
had to scramble up the rock to get at the bird, which, before
we picked it up, we had taken for a large sea-bird on account
of its peculiar colouring. We had seen this bird in the
morning at daybreak ; it flew rather slowly and passed us
within shot, alighting half a mile on the sands among a flock
of Pelicans, which we had been trying to stalk. As we were
preparing to follow it, it rose and went off towards the

Collection of Birds from Foochow. 233

island, where we afterwards found it perched high up on a
rocky ledge."— J. D. T.

133. Spilornis cheela (Lath.).

Two specimens, one dated 13th October and the other,
a fine dark-plumaged female, the 14tli March.
'' A rarity in this district.''— J. D. T.

134. BUTASTUR INDICUS (Gm.).

A fine adult male, dated 26th- March.

135. AcciPiTER Nisus (Linn.).

"^ Common from October to the end of April." — J. D. T.

136. AcciPiTER viRGATUs (Tcmm.) .

Two females — a young one, dated 30th October, and an
adult, with a few slight traces of immature plumage, dated
27th April. Mr. J. H. Gurney tells me these are identical
with the Japanese birds, the A. gularis (T. & S.) of Messrs.
Blakiston and Pryer's list.

137. Falco communis (Gm.).

" Common and generally distributed from the beginning
of October to the spring."— J. D. T.

Among this series of Peregrines is an immature bird
which may perhaps be the young of the Australian F. mela-
nogenys, a species which has been found in South China,
breeding as far north as the Yangtse.

138. Falco subbuteo, Linn.

'' Arrives towards the end of April and remains till the end
of October; very common, nests on the high pine trees." —
J. D. T.

139. Falco regulus. Pall.

"Common during the winter; specimens procured in
winter are all females and young males, but I have several
adult males procured in March and April." — J. D. T.

140. Falco TiNNUNCULUs (Linn.).

Several specimens of the large and dark race described as
F. japonicus ; the females and young all show traces of blue
on the rump.

234 Cauon Tristram on an apparently

141. MicKOHiERAX SINENSIS^ Sharpc.

A single adult female of this rare little Falcon.

" On the 2nd November, 1886, this specimen, a female in
monltj was shot on the banks of the river Isl'in, about 25
miles beyond Foochow by my shooting-boy, who told me
that it was perched on a telegraph-pole, and that he also
saw another one. He examined the stomach and found it
contained insects." — J. D. T.

142. MlLVUS MELANOTIS, T. & S.

Three immature birds.

"Extremely abundant all over the cultivated country.
They begin to breed about February, and nest in clumps of
pines near villages."'' — J. D. T.

143. Haliastur INDUS (Bodd.).

A single specimen, killed on 22nd August.
''The only one I have ever seen here."'' — J. D. T.

XXII. — On an apparently new Species o/ Zosterops /ro??i
Madagascar. By H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.R.S.

The distribution of the great Meliphagine genus Zosterops
is one of the most interesting studies in ornithological
geography. Occurring throughout the whole of the Indian,
Ethiopian, Australian, and Pacific regions, there are no cha-
racters which in the least mark off the " White-eyes " of one
region from those of another. Some African, Indian, and
Australian species are so closely allied as to be only with diffi-
culty discriminated, e.g. Z. siamensis, Z. sener/alensis, Z. lutea,
from the three regions widest apart. But there is one pecu-
liarity common to all the regions. While the genus may,
for convenience, be divided into two groups, the green-and-
vellow and the grey-and-white, I am not aware of any of the
latter group being found on continental or quasi-continental
areas. In the insular areas, on the contrary, we generally
find two species, one of each group, and this in the Indian
and Pacific Oceans alike. Some of the grey Zosteropinse from
the Pacific have representatives all Init identical in the Mas-

neio Species of Zosterops f7'om Madagascar. 235

carene Islands : e. g. the species of Reunion and of the Pelew
Islands^ of Mauritius and Ualau Island, are respectively hard
to discriminate. Seeing that a grey Zosterops specifically
distinct from all others is found in each of the Mascarenes,
in Mauritius, Bourbon, and Seychelles, and an intermediate
form in Comoro, it is curious that none has hitherto been
observed in Madagascar.

Some little time ago I purchased a small parcel of bird-
skins from Madagascar. Among them was a grey Zosterops.
A friend who was with me observed that the parcel must
have come by way of Mauritius, since Z. mauritiana was
among them. As we had no specimens for comparison in
our pockets, I accepted, the criticism, though every other
bird was undoubtedly from Madagascar ; but on comparing
this specimen with birds from all the other islands, I find it
undoubtedly distinct. It has two very marked points of dif-
ference. It has no white upper tail-coverts like Z. mauri-
tiana and Z. horhonica, agreeing in this with Z, modesta from
Seychelles ; but it has not the strong bill of Z. modesta.
The second peculiarity is, that it has the bright ring of silvery
feathers round the eye very strongly developed, while in all
the other grey species, except that of Anjuan, the ring is
either grey, instead of Avhite, or is nearly obsolete. The
coloration of the head and back is pale grey, intermediate
between the hue of the birds of Mauritius and Bourbon
and exactly agreeing with Z. cinereus, Kittl., from Kushai,
from which, however, it differs in its silver ring round the
eye and in its short and feeble bill, which is stouter than
in the Mauritius and Bourbon species, but more feeble than
in the Seychelles bird. I propose to name it

Zosterops hovarum, sp. nov.
Z. mauritian(B simillima, sed sine uropygio albo, capite et
dorso concoloribus, corpore superub cinei*eo, pauilulura
intensiore quam in Z. mauritiana, annulo conspicuo
plumarum albarum oculos cingente; rostro fortiore et
longiore quam in Z. mauritiana. Long. tot. 4 poll.,
alse 2*2, caudse \7, tars. '7.

Hab. Madagascar.

236 Canon Tristram on the Polar Origin of Life

XXIII. — The Polar Origin of Life considered in its bearing on
the Distribution and Migration of Birds. — Part I. By
H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.R.S.
The solution of tlie A^arious perplexing problems connected
with the classification, distribution, and migration of birds
may, as it appears to me, be assisted in no slight degree if
we view these problems in the light thrown on them by the
theory of the Polar origin of all life. In fact, I can find no
problem connected with bird-life which is not more easily
explained by this theory than by any other. I hope, therefore,
that the readers of ' The Ibis ' will pardon me if I occupy a
few pages with a summary of the general question by way of
preface.

However successfully we may classify the distribution of
life and sketch the limits of the various regions and areas,
yet we cannot find in the most accurate and careful geogra-
phical arrangements any clue to the origin or the distribution
of bird-life. How is it that while in some families, such as the
Thrushes, we find generic identity through the whole v/orld,
wliole families, and even orders, are confined to one area
and absent from others under identical climatic conditions ?
There is certainly nothing in the present distribution of bird-
life to explain these phenomena. With so many similarities
among so many differences, we cannot assume many original
centres of life. We must go back to the original locality of
life. It will be granted that life can only have commenced
in those parts of the world which were first prepared to main-
tain it, and that the earth has been a gradually cooling mass,
of which those parts wldch cooled first would be the fittest
to maintain life. Now those parts which received the least
heat from the sun, and which radiated heat most rapidly
into space, must have been the first to cool. These are the
Arctic and Antarctic zones. These zones were at one time
too hot, and are now too cold for the life which now inhabits
the warmer zones, and they must have passed slowly through
all the degrees of temj)erature fitted for every form of life
which exists or has existed on the earth. I confine myself
to the North Polar zone exclusively ; for while, as I shall

in its beating on the Distribution 8^c. of Birds. 237

presently endeavour to sliow, the stream of bird-life has been
continuous from the North Pole to the most southern regions
there is no evidence of life having been diffused from the
South Pole. There are only two forms of bird-life exclu-
sively circumpolar in the southern regions which have not
clearly a noi'thern origin^ viz. the Sheath-bills and the Pen-
guins. The former are too closely allied in structure to the
Oyster-catchers to enable us to found any argument on them ;
the latter may be the solitary survivors of a South-Polar
avifauna.

But the physical conditions of the opposite zones are very
different. Sir J. Hooker has remarked that he can find no
plants in the Antarctic regions which do not bear indis-
putable traces of a northern origin^ except, possibly, a few
lichens and seaweeds. The results of the soundings of our
scientific expeditions show that almost the deepest sea-
bottoms on the face of the earth girdle the Antarctic conti-
nent, and Mr. Murray has pointed out that we have every
reason to believe that the deep ocean-depressions have existed
since the earliest solidification of the earth's crust. The
dredging of this ocean has produced no trace of sedimentary
rocks, but only the detritus of primitive or azoic rocks. Now
no spaces present greater obstacles to the transit of life than
deep oceans. We may infer, then, that, if bird- life did exist
on that primitive continent (and it very probably was created
there, as w'cll as at the north), when the temperature gra-
dually sank, mammals and birds could have had no escape
from the increasing cold, and, having no near lands in which
to take refuge, they, with the exception of the Penguin
family, ultimately perished.

On one, and only one, hypothesis can the origin of life at
the Poles be controverted, and that is that the axis of the
earth may have changed, so that the Poles may formerly
have been at very different points of the earth's surface. But
our greatest mathematicians have examined this theory — first
started to explain the existence of the Miocene flora in the
Arctic zone — and Sir W.Thompson, Dr. Haughton, Prof. G.
Darwin, and others agree that there is no evidence of such

238 Canou Tristram on the Polar Origin of Life

change^ certainly not during geological history ; while at the
same time they admit the possibility of stupendous land-
changes having taken place. in the earlier age of the planet,
of which we can find no existing evidence.

It is unnecessary to enter on the geologic record of the
sequence of the Arctic flora from the Silurian corals to the
later Miocene; this has been admirably summarized by
Lt.-Col. Feilden in his Presidential Address to the Norfolk
Naturalists' Society in 1886. Ornithology cannot afford the
like geological evidence with botany, for we know how com-
paratively rare are ornithic relics. We are therefore in tliis
branch of biology more exclusively dependent on the evidence
afforded by the distribution of existing forms.

If we can trace a gradual development from the generalized
to the more specialized forms only in passing from north to
south, from the North Pole by the great circles of longitude —
while if we pass by the circles of latitude round the world
we find, until we come to the confines of the arctic zone,
that the former are specifically unlike while the climatic con-
ditions are the same — we have the locality of origin clearly
indicated. The moment we reach the Arctic zone we are
everywhere surrounded by the same species. But if we follow
the continental masses of the New World to the South Pole,
thence returning up a meridian which crosses Africa and
Europe, or Australia and Asia, we shall find in the descent
abundant fossil evidence that we are moving onwards by the
path along which the prehistoric migrations of the animal-
world proceeded, and on our return we shall find that we are
movino- counter to their obvious movement.

Round the shores of the Arctic Sea the same fauna and
flora are found in every meridian. As we pass southward
alou"- the three principal lines of land towards the Capo,
Tasmania, and Tierra del Fuego, specific identity gives place
to mere identity of genera; these are replaced by family
resemblances, and at last even the families become in a great
measure distinct, not only on the great continents, but also
on the islands, till every little rock in the Southern Ocean has
its peculiar inhabitants. Thus the living faunas of Patagonia,

in its beari?ig on the Distribution &;c. of Birds. 239

New Zealand, and South Africa are separated by infinitely-
wider divergences than those of any more northern regions;
therefore these southern continents must have been more or
less completely isolated during long periods, both from the
northern continent and from each other. It would appear
that, north of the equator at least, animals slowly migrated
southward, keeping pace, as it were, with the growth and
southward extension of the grand land- masses which appeared
above the sea as the globe cooled. I have alluded to the
identity of forms round the Polar area. We have, for in-
stance, two peculiar forms of the Laridcs — Pagophila and
Rhodostethia — girdling the Arctic circle ; so, too, the Turn-
stone, perhaps the most widely distributed of birds, and
many species of Tringce.

But when we come further south we find, along with a
steadily increasing divergence, cases of closely allied species
recurring at intervals widely apart. Both these facts seem
in perfect harmony with the hypothesis of three grand prin-
cipal lines of migration — Western Europe, Eastern Asia, and
Eastern America.

Take as an example the Woodpecker tribe. Here we
have the genus Picoides confined almost exclusively to the
most northern habitats of forest trees. We find one species,
with varieties barely, if at all, separable, from Norway east-
ward to the Rocky Mountains, and others, very closely allied,
across the northern belt of America. The next most
northerly form of Woodpecker is represented by our Picus
major. Of this group, the typical Picus, there may be from
fifty to eighty species, according to the differing views taken
by systematists. But whether we look to the European,
Asiatic, or American forms, we find a close similarity in the
most northerly species ; while as we proceed southward the
species become more and more distinct, until, before entering
the tropics, we have lost the genus altogether. Picus major
is identical in Britain and Japan ; the North -American
P. pubescens and P. harrisi of the west of the Rocky Moun-
tains are not far separate. From each we find further and
further divergences till we come to Formosa, Algeria, and

240 Canon Tristram on the Polar Origin of Life

Texas. When on the verge of the tropics we seem to lose the
genus.

The next most northerly groups of Woodpeckers are the
genus Gecinus on the European and East-Asiatic lines of
migration, and the genus Colaptes on the American line.
These grojips seem to have left the north before the Picinse,
and to have pushed further southwards. They vary still
more from the original type in their southerly migration,
especially when they penetrate into the Indian region, as in
such species as Gecinus mentalis and G.jmniceus. In the case
of Colaptes we have the instance of C. chilensis, the most diver-
gent and the least differentiated of the group, as if the direct
descendant of progenitors who, at a very early period, pushed
southward till they reached a climate similar to that of their
original home, and thus never became differentiated like those
which remained in warmer latitudes. Both Picus and
Gecinus reached the southern shores of the Mediterranean,
but never crossed the Saharan Ocean.

All the other families of Woodpeckers, driven southward
long before the above-named had left the north, have become
more and more segregated, and can at once be classified into
the three great groups which have peopled the Indian, Ethi-
opian, and Neotropical regions. Why not one of them ever
crossed the mysterious dividing-line between Bali and Lom-
bock is a problem only to be solved when research shall have
revealed to us more accurate knowledge of the conformation of
the Indian and Australian areas during the Miocene epoch.

The similarity of the fauna of Japan with that of Western
Europe has often been noted, and also the remarkable fact
of forms occurring in Japan which do not recur till we
reach the west of Europe, while there is no affinity with the
avifauna of America. Take as an instance Oijanopica. If
the Azure-winged Magpie had been wholly or partially circum-
polar, we could easily understand one party going down
Western Europe and halting in Spain, the other resting in
Japan. Of Pica, colonies seem to have started down the
routes of Europe and East Asia, and a third down the west
side of the Rocky Mountains, Avhile some selected the Nortli-

in its bearing on the Distribution ^c. of Birds. 241

American route. Being a genus unfitted for great heat, it
penetrated no further than Algeria, California, and North
China, retaining an identity all but specific everywhere,
except in the southern limits of its migration to Algeria and
California, where the species are markedly distinct.

Of the Jays, Perisoreus remains in the Arctic regions, with
very slight variations. Garrulus, which left earlier, has
varied more rapidly as it worked southwards and, like many
other families, has never even crossed the Sahara.

I assume that the progenitors of the tropical forms naturally
left the north long before those better adapted to endure
change of temperature, and thus had an infinitely longer
period in which to become more and more differentiated.

I do not jjretend to explain how it happens that great families
are now restricted to particular regions, while other regions
not less fitted, so far as we can judge, for their maintenance
are without them : how, for instance, the Humming-birds,
the Toucans, the Tanagers, are solely Neotropical ; the
Plantain-eaters and the Guinea Fowls solely Ethiopian ; the
Pheasants solely Indian ; the Honey- suckers only Indian and
Australian; the Sun-birds only Indian and Ethiopian. But
the Polar theory seems to give the only possible solution, viz.
that their respective ancestors left by one or two routes only,
or that the other parties perished early in the struggle for
existence. Now the only marked exception to the close simi-
larity— I had almost said identity — of the North-American
land-bird fauna with that of the Old World is in one peculiar
family, the American Warblers, or Mniotiltidce. Structurally
these differ very widely from our Warblers ; but they are all
migrants, visiting North America only in summer, and we
cannot look on them as northern forms at all. They are
simply Neotropicals, which have no representatives in other
regions, and which have preserved their old traditions of
hugging the north as closely as they could, though greatly
modified in structure. The hereditary instinct in them has
been more permanent than the form. There is also another
possible cause, viz. that the North-American continent has
been in various parts repeopled from the south after its

SER. v. — VOL. v. R

242 Canon Tristram on the Polar Origin of Life ^c.

central mass^ — which during the Miocene period was a vast
shallow sea-basin, thus quite interrupting any retrocession of
the great previous immigration into South America in the
Triassic age, — had been upraised and become a vast table-
land drained by the feeders of the Mississippi.

I propose to defer to another paper a more detailed conside-
ration of the mode of distribution of many other families, such
as the Thrushes, and of the insular avifauna, and especially
of the limits and operation of the glacial epoch, premising
that I am not prepared to invent glacial epochs as an easy
solution of difficulties. I will now only add — what I hope to
work out more fully hereafter — that in the Polar origin of life
we seem to have a key to that perplexing riddle, the migra-
tion of birds.

All ornithologists are aware of the instincts, strong in all
species of birds, without exception, which attract them to
the place of their nativity. When increasing cold drove the
mammals southward, they could not retrace their steps,
because the increasing Polar sea, as the Arctic continent
sank, barred their way. The birds reluctantly left their
homes as winter came on, and followed the supply of food.
But as the season in their new residences became hotter in
summer, they instinctively returned to their birthj)laces and
there reared their young, retiring with them when the
recurring winter impelled them to seek a milder climate.
Those species which, unfitted for a greater amount of heat
by their more protracted sojourn in the northern regions,
persisted in revisiting their ancestral homes, or getting as
near to them as they could, retained a capacity for enjoying
a temperate climate, which would gradually be lost by the
species which settled down more permanently in their new
quarters ; and thus a law of migration became established on
the one side, and sedentary habits on the other.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 243

XXIV. — Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications.

[Contiaued from p. 119.]

32. ' The Auk/

['The Auk,' a Quarterly Journal of Ornithology. Vol. III. No. 4,
October 1886; Vol. IV. Xo. 1, January 1887.]

In the October Part there are, as might be expected,
several interesting articles on American ornithology; Mr.
Henshaw describes a new Jay, Aphelocoma insularis, from
Santa Cruz, one of the Santa Barbara Islands, off California;
and Mr. Cory continues his list of Birds of the West Indies.
His supplementary paper, descriptive of 13 new species from
Grand Cayman, has already received special notice in our
last issue, [antea, p. 124). Dr. R. W. Shufeldt's reproduction
of the photograph of an old portrait of Audubon by himself,
with remarks upon some of his earlier drawings, will excite
interest among those to whom that explorer's works rank as
classics. Mr. Lucas has a paper on the affinities of Chcetura,
which has elicited a reply in the January number from
Dr. Shufeldt, who has also his hands full with a discussion
respecting the classification of the Macrochires with Dr.
Stejneger. The observations of Mr. Lucas on the Procel-
lariidse observed on a voyage round Cape Horn and up the
west coast of South America may be compared with the
remarks on sea-birds by Mr. S. Swinburne, noticed in our
present issue {infra, p. 255). Mr. Cory describes (p. 6)
Vireo caymanensis, sp. n., from Grand Cayman, and suggests
the name of Zenaida richardsoni for a Dove from Little
Cayman, in case it should prove distinct from Z. spadicea ;
he also continues (p. 37) his list of the Birds of the West
Indies. Mr. G. B. Sennett describes (p. 28), as new, Parus
atricristatus castaneifrons and Parus bicolor texensis, both
from Southern Texas. Dr. Stejneger^s farther remarks on
the genus Acanthis will be read with interest by students of
the Palsearctic avifauna, and in their hands we must leave this
group of Linnets. It is satisfactory to learn that, on the
whole, the Reports of the Committee were favourable,
especially that on the Migration of Birds, on the occa-

r2

244 Recently published Ornithological Works.

sion of the fourth meeting of the American Ornitholo-
gists^ Union; and we note with pleasure the amount of
energy in collecting displayed on the other side of the water.
Mr. M. A. Frazar is on his way to explore the peninsula of
Lower California and the adjacent islands for Mr. Brewster;
Mr. Charles H. Townsend has sailed for Yucatan under the
auspices of the U.S. Fish Commission; and Mr. Herbert H.
Smith has returned from Brazil with about 7000 specimens
of 450 species, principally from the little-known Brazilian
Province of Matto Grosso, on the head waters of the Para-
guay River.

33. Barboza da Bocage on Diipont's Lark in Portugal.
[Note siir la decouverte en Portugal cl'une variety de la Certhilauda

duponti. Par J. V. Barboza du Bocage. Jorn. Soc. Lisboa, no. xliv.
p. 3 (1887).]

The discovery of a supposed variety of Dupont^s Lark,
apparently resident on the south side of the Tagus, opposite
Lisbon, is very interesting. Hitherto the occurrence of this
African form in the Iberian Peninsula rested upon three
specimens, all young birds obtained in the month of No-
vember of various years, near Malaga, and sent to Saunders
by his excellent collector the late Don Fco. de los Bios.
As Dr. Barboza du Bocage has already obtained three speci-
mens, we shall probably hear more about this species or
variety ere long. It is distinguished as Certhilauda duponti^
var. lusitanica.

34. Belgian Ornithological Report.

[Compte Rendu des Observations Ornithologiques faites en Belgique
pendant I'annee 1885. Bull. Mus. Roy. d'llist. Nat. de Belgique, iv.
pp. 177-210.]

Dr. Alphonse Dubois, who signs this Report, has received
assistance from brother ornithologists at Brussels, Hasselt,
Carlsbourg,the Blankenberghe, Knocke,Ostend, and Nieuport
lighthouses, and some minor localities. The observations,
princi])ally but not entirely on migrations, are, so far, of
considerable interest, and refer to 171 species; but Dr.
Dubois hopes to have more extended aid in following years.

Kecenthj published Ortutholoyical IVurks. 245

and to increase the list. The systematic arrangement is
certainly peculiar, commencing with the Picarise, followed
by the Passeres, after which come the Columbse, then
Striges and Accipitres, Gallinse, and so on.

35. Bianchi on a new Shrike.

[Ueber eiuen neiien Wiirger aus cler Untergattung Otomela {Otomela
bogdanoioi) . Von V. Bianchi. Bull. Acad. Imp. d. Sci. St. Petersb. xxx.
p. 514 (1886).]

Otomela bogdanowi was discovered by Herr Nikolski in
the province of Astrabad, in Northern Persia. It is allied
to O. romanowi [O. phcenicuroides, subsp. r-omanoivi, Bogd.),
described in parallel columns with it, which is also found
in the same district.

36. Bianchi on the Birds of the Western Pamir.

[Zur Ornis des westlicben Auslaufer des Pamir und des Alai. Von V.
Bianchi. Bull. Acad. Imp. d. Sci. St. P(5tersb. xxxi. p. 337 (1886).]

M. Bianchi describes a collection of birds made by M.
Grum-Grzimailo, in 1885, in the eastern districts of the
Khanate of Bokhara, and placed in his hands by Dr.
Strauch. The series consists of 388 specimens (including 10
from the same country obtained by Dr. Rigel), which are
referred to 136 species. The greater part of the collection
was formed in the western outliers of the Pamir and Alai
ranges, only 54 specimens being from the low-lying steppes
of Eastern Bokhara. The collection adds 8 species to
Severtzoff^s previous list of this avifauna (J. f. O. 1875,
pp. 168-188). Exact localities, and many interesting notes,
are added.

37. Bogdanow on a new Pheasant.

[Kurze Bemerkung iiber Phasianus homaroioi, n. sp. Von Prof. M.
Bogdanow. BuU. Acad. Imp. d. Sci. St. Petersb. xxx. p. 356 (1886).]

The new species, Phasianus komarowi, is from the vicinity
of Aschabad, where it is brought to the market in winter.
It is probably the same as P. principalis Sclater; but c/-
Seebohm, supra, p. 172.

246 Recently published Ornithological Works.

38. The Bombay Natural History Society.

[Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Edited by E. H.
Aitken and R. A. Sterndale. Vol. I. No. 3, July, No. 4, October, 1886.]

We are glad to see that this new Indian journal, which
we noticed in our issue for last October (p. 514), is not only-
continued with commendable regularity, but distinctly im-
proving upon its already satisfactory commencement. In
the July number Capt. E. F. Becher's paper " A Sind Lake,^'
with many allusions to birds, is followed by a still more in-
teresting contribution on ^' The Waters of Western India,
British Deccan, and Kandesh," by a Member who retains his
incognito, but who is evidently an excellent field-ornitholo-
gist as Avell as sportsman. His second paper in the October
number, on the "Waters of the Kondan and Coast," is equally
good and will please all classes of readers : we hope he will
sign his name to his next article. Mr. J. Davidson, C.S.,
has a paper on " Birds'-nesting in the Ghats," and Mr. H.
Littledale has a contribution on the " Birds of South
Gujerat."

39. Booth on British Birds,

[Rough Notes on the Birds observed duringTwenty Years' Shooting and
Collecting in the British Islands. By E. T. Booth. With Plates from
Drawings by E. Neale, taken from specimens in the Author's possession.
Parts X.-Xill. Folio. London: 1886.]

In Part X. the species figured are the House Sparrow,
Black Grouse, Red Grouse, Spoonbill, Grey-lag Goose,
Scoter (immature), and Smew (immature). In Part XI., the
Rock Dove, Snipe, Curlew Sandpiper, Knot, Pufl&n (Mr.
Booth makes no allusion to the shedding of the outer shell
of the bill), Roseate Tern, and Little Gull (immature).
In an article on the Arctic Tern and on the species which
breed on the Fame Islands, Mr. Booth omits the Common
Tern from the catalogue, for the very good reason that he
was unable to identify that species ; but we can assure him
that not only was it breeding there in considerable numbers
in 1881, but also tliat Saunders can show him one of a colony

Recently published Ornithological Works. ' 247

snared on its eggs in 1865 (long before tlie passing of the
Sea-birds Preservation Bill, be it remarked, for even in the
interests of science ornithologists do not infringe the la"w !).
Part XII. contains plates of Siskins and nest. Common Sand-
piper, Little and Temminck's Stints, and Sandwich Tern. In
Part XIII. we have the young Cuckoo and the Titlark as foster-
parent (an unusually pretty plate), Hoopoe, Golden Oriole,
Capercaillie, Stone Curlew (heads only, to show the protube-
rances on the base of the upper mandible in the adult male,
but absent in the female). Heron and young in nest, immature
male Gadwall, and Red-necked Grebe in both young and
adult winter plumages. As before, Mr. Booth's letterpress is
excellent reading, and the articles on the species which are
not figured, and which are too numerous for mention, are
quite as interesting as the others.

40. Buttikofer on the Birds of Liberia.

[Zoological Researclies in Liberia. A list of Birds collected by Mr. F.
X. Stampfli near Monrovia, on the Messm-ado River, and on the Junk
River with its tributaries. By J. Biittikofer. Notes Leyden Mus.
viii. p. 243.]

The efforts of Mr. Biittikofer to collect in Liberia have
already had important results, which would have been larger
had not the unhealthiness of the climate compelled his return
to Europe. His work has been continued by Mr. Stampfli,
and the present essay gives an account of the collections sent
home by the latter traveller. The locality is one of special
interest, as it seems to be the meeting-place of the Sene-
gambian and Gold Coast faunse, such forms as Parisoma
2ilumbeum, Hirundo lucida^ &c. representing the former,
while the predominating element is the Gaboon and Gold
Coast type, as is e\-idenced by such species as Dryotrior-
chis spectahilis, Scotopelia bouvieri (not S. ussheri, curiously
enough), Campophaga quiscalina, Nigrita canicapilla (not N.
emilice) . The new species of "Warbler, Sylvietta stampflii, has
been submitted to Mr. Sharpe, and is pronounced by him to
be undescribed.

248 Recently jmblished Ornithological Works.

41. BUttikofer on Sumatran Birds.

[On a Collection of Birds made by Dr. C. Klaesi in the Highlands of
Padang (W. Sumatra) during the winter 1884-85. By J. Biittikofer.
Notes Leyden Mus. ix. p. 1.]

Mr. Biittikofer gives a resume oi the labours of naturalists
in Sumatra, including those of English and Italian as well as
Dutch travellers. The number of species supposed to be
peculiar to the island is diminishing as the identity of the
avifauna with that of the mountains of Malacca becomes
apparent ; and Dr. Klaesi seems to have confirmed this fact
by the very extensive collections he has made, amongst which
are such rarities as Chloropsis venusta, Myiophoneus melanurus,
and other species as yet peculiar to the island. Mr. Biittikofer
describes two new species, Hirimdinajms klaesi and Cissa
nigricoro7iata, both of which seem to us to rest on somewhat
slender foundations. The author's critical notes appear to
be excellent ; and our colleague, Mr. Hargitt, will doubt-
less be glad to find that Mr. Biittikofer amply confirms
his careful researches into the Woodpeckers of the genus
Hemicercus, published in this Journal for 1884 (pp. 244-259),
a monographic essay which the author appears to have
overlooked.

42. Guillemard's Cruise of the ' Marchesa.'

[The Cruise of the ' Marchesa ' to Kamschatia and New Guinea, Avith
notices of Formosa, Liu-kiu, and various islands of the Malay Archipelago.
By F. H. H. Guillemard, M.A., M.D. With maps and numerous wood-
cuts. 2 vols. 8vo. London : Murray, 1886.]

Dr. Guillemard^s narrative of the Cruise of the ' Marchesa '
will, we are sure, be read with pleasure and instruction by
every naturalist. We have seldom seen a book of travel so
well got up and so capitally illustrated. Instead of having
to turn to an atlas at every chapter, a series of excellent
maps introduced into the text enables us to understand per-
fectly the exact route of the 'Marchesa' in all the strange
places she visited, and the accompanying woodcuts by Keule-
mans and Whymper are veritable works of art.

The ' Marchesa ' is an auxiliary screw-steamer yacht of

Recently published Ornithological Works. 249

420 tons, belonging to Mr. C. T. Kettlewell. She left
England in January 1882, and visited Kamschatka, Colurabo,
Singapore, Formosa, the Liu-kiu Islands, Japan, the Sulu
Islands, Northern Borneo, Sumbawa, Celebes, the Moluccas,
and New Guinea, returning home in April 1884, Large
collections of natural history were made in the Malay and
Papuan regions, and the birds, Avhich numbered about 3000
specimens, have already been described by Dr. Guillemard in
an excellent series of papers read before the Zoological
Society of London. Many additional interesting notices of
birds and bird-life will be found in the present volume,
which we heartily commend to the notice of all ornithologists.

43. Harvie-Broivn on No7'th Rona.

[Furtlier Notes on North Roua, being an Appendix to John Swinburne's
Paper on that Island in the Proc. R. Physical Soc. Ediab. 1833-84. By
J. A. Harvie-Brown. Ojy. cit. ix. pp. 284-299.]

Mr. John Swinburne's paper was noticed in 'The Ibis,'
1884, p. 347 ; and in June 1885, North Rona was again
visited by Mr. Harvie-BroAvn and Mr. Hugh G. Barclay of
Norwich. In 1886 Mr. R. M. Barrington stayed three days
there, and the collected results of these visits appear in the
present aj^pendix, the number of species observed being now
increased to 29, against 18 in the former list.

44. Lilf or d' s ' British Birds.'

[Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands. Issued by Lord
Lilford, F.Z.S. &c., President of the British Ornithologists' Union.
Part II., May, Part III., August I88G ; Part IV., January 1887. 8vo.
London.]

In the three Parts which have appeared since our last
notice, more than a year ago, coloured plates are given of the
Black-throated Thrush, Desert Wheatear, Whiuchat, Stone-
chat, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Great Reed
Warbler, Savi's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Hobby (2 plates),
Arctic and White-spotted Bluethroats, White's Thrush,
Icterine Warbler, Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Wood
Warbler, Swallow, Martin, Sand Martin, White-bellied

250 Recently pitblished Ornithological Works.

Swift, Scops and Little Owls_, Dartford Warbler, Goldcrest,
Long-tailed Titmouse, Coal Titmouse, Wren, Tree Creeper,
Nutcracker, Wood Lark, and Sparrow Hawk (3 plates).
The standard of excellence is fully maintained, although, of
course, some of the illustrations are more effective than
others. We cannot help suspecting that the artist has not
had a genuine specimen of the jNIarsh Warbler to colour
from ; for certainly the bird figured has all the rufous tint of
the Reed Warbler.

45. Macpherson on the Birds of Skye.

[The Birds of Skye, with sjDecial reference to the Parish of Duiriuish.
Part I. 1886. By the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, M.A. Proc. R. Phys.
See. Edinburgh, 1886, p. 118.]

This pleasantly written paper consists of field-notes on
about 153 species, of which Sylvia nisoria, Sitta ccesia, and
Puffinus major are new to the Hebrides, and the first is,
indeed, new to Scotland. As this contribution is called
Part L, we may expect to receive an account of the birds of
other parts of Skye at some future time.

46. Menzbier on the Migration Routes of Russian Birds.

[Die Zugstrassen der Vogel ini europaischen Russland. Von Dr.
Michael v. Menzbier. Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, 1886; no. 2.]

Dr. Menzbier discusses the lately much -vexed question of
the routes adopted by northern birds on migration at some
length (80 pp.), and offers an improved scheme of arrange-
ment of Palmen's six " Vise," which, as regards the Palsearctic
Region, he would prefer to place under two principal heads,
(\) Vice marince litorales and (2) Vies continentales et subma-
rincB litorales, and several sub-heads. At the conclusion of
his article Dr. Menzbier puts his results into ten separate
conclusions, for an account of which we must refer our
readers to the original. An interesting map of European
Russia shows the 'Wia norvegica,-"^ "^via baltica,'' ""via
pontica," and " via caspica," which appear to be the four
principal routes adopted.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 251

47. Menzbier on a new Green Woodpecker.

[Notiz iiber eiueu ueuen Griinspecht, Oecinus jlavirostris, n. sp. Von
Dr. M. Menzbier. Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, 1886, no. 2.]

The new species is allied to G. viridis, but is distinguished
by its yellow bill and other particulars. Two specimens
( (J and ? ) were obtained by M. Zaroudno'i in Trauscaspia, on
the middle course of the Murghab.

48. ' Ornis/ Vol. I. No. 4, Vol. II. Nos. 1-3.

[Oi'nis: Internationale Zeitschrift fiir die ^esaromte Ornitbologie.
Herausgegeben von Dr. R. Blasius und Dr. G. v. Hayek. I. Jabrg. 4
Heft., II. Jabrg. 1, 2, und 3 Heft. Wien.]

In the numbers of our contemporary which have reached
us since our last notice C^Ibis^ 1886^ p. 519), the first con-
tains the conclusion of Messrs. K. v. Dalla Torre and V. v.
Tschusi's long report on ornithological observations in
Austria and Hungary for 1883^ the total number of species
amounting to 314. Short papers from various corre-
spondents are followed by some interesting notes on the
ornithology of Friesland and the portion of Holland adjacent
to the Zuider Zee^ by M. Herman Albarda of Leeuwarden,
comprising remarks on 202 species. A painfully suggestive
feature is the total omission of the Spoon bill^ a bird which
only a very few years ago bred in colonies near Amsterdam^
but for which the Editors of ' The Ibis ' sought in vain last
May^ its old haunts having been drained.

To judge from the report of the permanent Committee in
the opening Part for 1886^ plenty of energy is shown in
inviting cooperation^ and responses have been received from
almost all the regions of the earth. Prof. Liitken sends his
second report (1885) on 157 species of Danish Birds, and
our valued coadjutor Herr Gatke does the same for Heligo-
land ; but the latter we have already noticed in its English
version {' Ibis/ 1886^ p. 516). A very important paper is the
translation from the Swedish original (Stockholm Akad. CEf-
versigt, 1871) of Herr Meves''s narrative of his expedition to
North-western Russia in the summer of 1869, with notes by

252 Recently published Ornithological Works.

HeiT E. F. von Homeyer. It has been repeated by one orni-
thologist after another, not excepting the most omniscient, that
the Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, has no ear-tufts ; but Herr
Meves asserts that it has, and that, although short, they are
distinctly visible (p. 284). With regard to Laniiis excubitor
and the disputed specific validity of L. major, he maintains
that he has found every gradation between them, as Professor
CoUett has substantially done. A list of Swedish birds by
Dr. Sundstrom is followed by a translation into German,
with notes, by Herr Meves, of the Introduction to Sunde-
vall's 'Tentamen,' published in Swedish and French. Then
comes a valuable paper on the birds observed in Iceland, by
H. Benedict Grondal, who, amongst other things, has settled
the somewhat doubted occurrence of Tardus pilaris in Ice-
land; for he saw and examined one, alive but exhausted,
taken on the 6th December, 1885. He makes a slip of the
pen with regard to the Snow Bunting, PlectropJianes nivalis,
by calling it Montifringilla nivalis ; but it is almost needless
to say that the true Snow Finch has never been found in
Iceland. There is also a short paper by Herr P. Nielsen on
the breeding of the Black-tailed Godwit and Water Rail in
that country. A report on the birds of Livonia, comprising
only 171 species, is succeeded by some valuable remarks upon
261 birds observed in the Dobrudcha and Bulgaria, by Count
A. Alleon, already well known for his articles upon the
avifauna of the vicinity of Constantinople.

49. Oustalet on two new Species of Birds from the Cape
Verd Ishmds.

[Description d'especes nouvelles d'Oiseaux provenant des lies du Oap-
Vert. Par M. E. Oustalet. Ann. d. Sci. Nat. svi. (1883).]

The 'Talisman' brought home from one of the islands of
this group, the Ilha branca (the home of the rare Lizard
Macroscincus coctai) , an adult Shearwater which is described
as new by the name of Puffinus edwardsii ; also a Sparrow, dis-
tinguished from Pasfier jagoensis as Passer brancoensis, sp. n.
These two new species appear to have escaped the eye of the

Recently published Ornithological Works. 253

Eecorder of '^ Aves " in the ' Zoological Record ' for 1883, for
which reason we think it well to mention them, even so long
after date.

50-52. Oustalet on new Birds from the Congo.

[oO. Description cVun Oiseau nouveau de I'Afrique Occidentale. Par
M. E. Oustalet. Le Naturaliste, 1884.

51. Description d'especes nouvelles d'Oiseaux proveuant du Congo.
Id. Ann. d. Sci. Nat. xvii. Art. 8 (1884).

52. Notice sur quelques Oiseaux nouveaux du Congo rapport^s par
les Naturalistes attaches a la Mission de M. le Comte de Brazza. Id.
Le Naturaliste, 1886.]

No. 50. M. Petit brought home from Landana, Congo, the
female of a Rail, for which M. Oustalet has constituted a new
genus Psammocrex, the type of which is Psammocrex petiti,
sp. n. This fact has also escaped the Recorder of ^'' Aves "
in the 'Zoological Record,^ and is noticed for the reason
stated above.

No. 51. This paper treats of two other new species
obtained by the same collector — Campophaga ccerulea from
Landana, and Ixonotus landance from Cayambe.

No. 52. Among the results of Count de Brazza's mission
are the following new species : — Centropus savor gnani from
Franceville, Cocctjstes brazzce and Dendropicus pecilei from
Diele, Saxicola thoUoni from Leketi, Cossypha jiccilei and
Phedina brazzce from Nganciou.

53-54. Oustalet on new or rare Species in the Paris
Museum.

[53. Description de deux especes nouvelles faisant partie de la collection
ornitliologique du Museum d'llistoire NatureUe de Paris. Par M. E.
Oustalet. Le Naturaliste, 1885.

54. Notices sur quelques especes nouvelles ou peu connues de la collec-
tion ornithologique du Museum. Id. Nouv. Archiv. d. Mus. ser. 2 viii.
p. 255.]

In the former of these papers M. Oustalet describes as new
a Hornbill, Anthracoceros marchei, found in the islands of
Palawan, Busuanga, and Balabac; and a Humming-bird,
Chrysolampis gigliolii, from Colombia. In the second paper

254 Recently published Ornithological Works.

he gives a full description, with a coloured plate, of the rare
Argus Pheasant, Rheinartius ocellatus, followed by a list of
thirty-two species from Annam, of which jEffithina philipi,
I'rom Hue, is cousidered to be new. Full particulars and
coloured plates are also given of Cyclopsittacus salvadorii
and Ptilopus {Rhamphiculus) marchii, originally described by
M. Oustalet in 1880, and of Numida marchii, described by
him in 188.2.

55. Pelzeln and Lorenz on the Types in the Vienna Museum.

[Typen der ornitliologisclien Sammlimg des k. k. naturhistorisclien
Hofmuseums. Von August von Pelzeln und Dr. Ludwig von Lorenz.
Ann. d, k. k. Naturh. Hofmuseums, Bd. i. p. 249.]

This is the first portion of a very useful paper — an account
of the types in the great and renowned ornithological collec-
tion of the Imperial Museum of Natural History at Vienna.
Besides the types, those specimens are mentioned which are
actually equivalents of types, as having been compared with
types by, and received from, the describer of the species.
These are called authentic examples. The arrangement
followed is nearly that of Gray's ' Hand-list,' and the
present instalment contains the Rapaces, Fissirostres, and
Tenuirostres.

56. Schperck on the Birds of the Amur.

[' Rossi'ya dailnayo vostoka.' By Franz Scliperck. Being vol. xiv. of
the Zapiski of the Imp. Russian Geogr. Soc. St. Petersburg, 1885.]

The author of this complete work on the Amur province
has resided there for ten years. A list is given (pp. 358-362)
of the birds observed, consisting of Rapaces 27, Scansores 14,
Oscines 121, Gallinse 13, Grallse 43, Natatores 44. A number
of new, or supposed new, species belonging to various genera
are named amurensis, the exception being Anas chinganensis,
but w^e can find no descriptions of them in this work.

57. Shufeldt on Injuries to the Beak in Birds.

[On Injuries of the Beak in Birds, and the Method of Repair. By R.
W. Shufeldt. Joum. Comp. Med. and Surg., Oct. 1886.]

Recently jmblished Ornithological Works. 255

Dr. Slmfeldt describes the curious mode of healing shown
in the case of a Raven that had had the front portion of its
upper mandible shot away, and was subsequently found to
be well nourished and in good plumage. The " cut edges of
the osseous bill met each other in the middle line and united
completely by bony union/'

58-59. Sousa on African Birds.

[58. Additameuto a lista das aves collegidas em Africa de 1884 a 1886
pelos Srs. Capello e Ivens. Por Jos^ Augusto de Souza. Jorn. d. Sci.
Math., Phys. e Natur. Lisboa, 1886, no. xliii. pp. 151-153.

59. A-ves de Angola, Id. Tom. cit. pp. 154-170.]

The first paper contains eleven additions to the former list
of species collected by the above explorers (see Ibis, 1886,
p. 522), the only novelty for the Angolan avifauna being
Neophron pileatus. The second paper treats of three collec-
tions made by Sr. Jose de Anchieta, containing 92 species,
of which Barbatula bocagei and Bradyornis benguellensis are
said to be new to science, while Syrnium nuchale, which
Mr. R. B. Sharpe described from the Quanza, is a novelty
for the Lisbon Museum. A species of Drymoica and one
of Hyphantornis are, as yet, undetermined.

60. *S'. Sivinburne on Oceanic Birds.

[Notes on Birds observed on various Voyages between England and the
Cape of Good Hope. By Spearman Swinburne. (Communicated by
J. J. Dalgleish.) Proc. E. Physical Soc. Edinb. ix. pp. 193-201.]

This interesting paper contains an account of the different
birds observed on a series of voyages between Southampton
and Cape Town, from July 1884 to September 1886. Of
the 66 species enumerated, 16 are " land " birds and 6 are
migratory waders, and we detect nothing very remark-
able as regards the distribution of the latter within the
latitudes and at the dates mentioned, all these occur-
rences being in the northern hemisphere. On future
voyages Mr. Swinburne will probably be more fortunate in
this respect. It is, however, with regard to the pelagic

256 Recently jmblished Ornithological Works.

species, especially the Petrels, that his observations have the
greater value, and, good as they are, they would be improved
by the insertion of dates. For instance, the very point that
we want to know Avith regard to the widely distributed Great
Shearwater, Puffinus major, is the time of year during which
it frequents the southern hemisphere; for we suspect it is
there that its breeding-places will eventually be discovered,
and we have great doubts with regard to its recorded breed-
ing off the southern coast of Greenland. At present the
evidence obtained all tends to show that this species merely
frequents the waters of the North Atlantic from June to the
end of October, after which date it is seldom found to the
north of the tropic of Cancer ; and these remarks apply
to some extent to the Sooty Shearwater, P. griseus. If a
specimen of the large Shearwater from the Azores could be
obtained it might prove to be P. borealis, and not, as is
generally supposed, P. kuhli of the Mediterranean. Further
information respecting the distribution of the Skuas is much
to be desired, especially as regards dates. Meanwhile we
are very thankful to Mr. Swinburne for what he has done,
in spite of the difficulties which necessarily attend upon
voyages by mail-steamers, and we trust that our remarks
may stimulate his zeal.

61. Vian on the Young in Down of the Ptilopsedes.

[Monograpliie des Poussins des Oiseaux d'Europe qui naissent vetus de
duvet (Ftilopesdes, Sundevall). Par J. Vian. Bull. Soc. Zool, de France,
1886, pp. 340-419.]

M. Viands paper treats of the downy young of the Euro-
pean species of Gallinae and Grallse ; the latter Order com-
prising the Bustards, Plovers, Scolopacidse, Rails, Cranes,
Herodiones, and Flamingo. As regards the Herons, &c., he
somewhat naively remarks that " one would hesitate to admit
them among the birds which are hatched covered with down,
if it were not that they incontestably belong to an Order in
which all the nestlings are clothed on emerging from the egg.^^
This is one way of settling the question, with a vengeance !

Recently published Ornithological Works. 257

62. Vian on Asiatic Warblers in Heligoland.

[Notice sur les especes asiatiques du genre Pouillot {Phyllopseuste)
capturees dans Tile d'Helgoland. Par J. Vian. Tom. cit. pp. 652-670.]

In this paper M. Vian discusses the eight rare species of
Phylloscopi which have been captured in Heligoland ; but
however useful this review may be to those who do not read
English, it will be of less service to our readers, who are
already familiar with the writings of Mr. Seebohm and
others upon the genus which M. Vian misnames.

63. Vorderman on the Birds of Borneo.

[Liste des Oiseaux de Borneo. Par A. G. Vorderman. Natuurk. Tijda.
voor Nederl. Indie, Deel xlvi. Afl. 3.]

In this useful compilation the author commences with a
list of the publications relating to the ornithology of this huge
island, merely the outer shell of which has yet been pecked
at by naturalists. The list itself contains the names of 472
species, of which Porphyrio indicus, Hy drophasianus chirurgus,
Dendrocygna vagans, and Podiceps tricolor have been added
to the Boruean catalogue by M. Vorderman.

64. Zaroudndi and Menzbier on the Birds of the Trans-
Caspian Regions.

[Oiseaux de la contree Trans-Caspienne. Par M. Zaroudnoi, avec
preface de M. Menzbier. Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, 1885, no. 2.]

This interesting paper gives an account of the avifauna of
the long oasis, Ahal-Teke, which extends from Kizil-Arvad
on the west to Gjaouarse on the east, and may be de-
scribed as lying between the Kopepete-Dagh range and
the desert of Kara-Koum. M. Zaroudnoi's explorations
lasted from June to September 1884, during which time he
collected 600 specimens, assigned by Dr. Menzbier, with a
few reservations, to 184 species. In May 1885 M. Zaroudnoi
started on his second voyage, this time for Horosan and
Northern Afghanistan ; and it is not improbable that when
the results of this expedition are known, they may prove
similar to those obtained by Dr. Aitchison, the naturalist of
the Afghan Delimitation Commission.

SER. V. VOL. V. s

258 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c.

XXV. — Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c

e received the
Editors of ^ The Ibis:'—

We have received the following letters addressed to the

Northrepps, ] 1th December, 1886.

Sirs, — The following extracts from a letter just received
from my friend Mr. Samuel Bligh^ of Catton, near Koslande,
Ceylon, will, I think, be of interest to ornithologists : —

" An Eagle a friend shot about six miles from this place
and sent to me is a very interesting specimen, being the first
dark-plumaged bird of Limnaetus ceylonensis that I have
seen, which is very strange, considering the number I have
had in the flesh and the many that I have watched with my
telescope.

" On skinning this specimen I noticed that the bones and
muscles were very mature and firm, the bones had even a
yellowish or old ivory look ; the eye was bright orange-
yellow ; the bill black, with plumbeous and olivaceous tinges
at the gape ; the cere blackish brown, tinged with olive ; the
toes dull ochreous yellow, with a tinge of olive. On the
whole, I think the bird comes under Col. Legge's description
of a bird three or four years old.

^' In the stomach were the remains of a chicken, freshly
swallowed, and of another bird too much digested to identify.
The Eagle was in capital condition.

" A very fine adult female of Huhua nipalensis, shot about
ten miles from hence, was lately sent me; its eyes were
brown, bill uniform horny yellow, with the slightest tinge
of green ; in the stomach were the remains of frogs and
crickets .'■'

Yours &c.,

J. H. GURNEY.

22nd February, 1887.
Sirs, — I am obliged by your suggestion of a reference to
Baird, Brewer, and Ilidgway, with respect to my note on the
breeding-plumage of Podiceps occidentalis. The reference

Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c. 259

had not escaped me, but as it added nothing to our previous
knowledge of the subject, I did not allude to it. The
description as given on page 422 of the ' Water-birds of
North America ' is : —

"Adult, full breeding-plumage. Pileum and nape slaty
black, &c.

"Adult (and young) in winter. Similar, but pileum and
nape brownish slate, like the back.''^

This is the only distinction given. It is therefore perfectly
evident that the writer had not seen a breeding bird, but pos-
sibly an adult just about to assume the nuptial dress. There
is no mention of the glossy green- black crest, the silvery-
white throat and ear-coverts, with the rich chestnut border,
by which, as Prof. Baird anticipated, it makes " a grand dis-
play,^' and not a mere deepening of the winter grey colour
of the head. It would have been strange, indeed, were the
largest and finest of the Grebe-kind content with merely
darkening its head-dress at the nuptial season.

Yours &c.,

H. B. Tristram.

Birds of the Afghan Boundary. — In his memoir on the
'^ Fauna and Flora of the Afghan Boundary,^^ read before the
Linnean Society on February 3rd last. Dr. Aitchison gives
the following account of his ornithological work : — " As
regards birds, 123 species, belonging to some 84 genera, were
collected, while 14 other species were identified, though not
preserved. Two new species only were procured, viz. a
Pheasant, Phasianus princijjalis, and a Woodpecker, Gecinus
gorii. The birds in Afghanistan are chiefly migratory, with
the exception of the above new Pheasant, Raven, Rook,
Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Sparrow, Starling, Sky Lark, Crested
Lark, Bokhara Lark {Melanocorypha biniaculata). Wall Creeper
{Tichodroma wiwraria). Bittern {Botaurus 5/e//am), several Rap-
tores, Sand Grouse {Pterocles arenarius), and Red-legged Par-
tridge {Caccabis chukar). As spring advances, birds are seen
to arrive, following each other rapidly, such as Aedonfami-

260 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c.

liaris and various species of Sylvia, Saxicola,Lanius, Motacilla,
Pastor, Merops, and Coracias. Various Ducks then leave
the country, but the Brahminy Duck or Ruddy Sheldrake,
Casarca rutila, remains throughout the year and breeds
there. The greater number of the species met with belong
to the genera Saxicola (8), Lanius (6), Sylvia (5), Motacilla
(5), and Emberiza (4)."

Dr. Radde's Trans-Caspian Expedition. — Dr. Radde writes
to us from Tiflis that he brought back with him from his
Trans-Caspian Expedition 12 specimens of Ovis arkal, 850
l)ird-skins, and a large series of reptiles, besides other spoils.
The collections are now being worked out by various experts,
and the results will, it is estimated, require a work of four
volumes to contain them. He has obtained examples of
most of Mr. Blanford's Persian species.

Obituary. Mr. Robert Gray, F.R.S.E. — It is with much
regret that we record the death of Mr. Robert Gray, of
Edinburgh, on the 18th of February. To southern ornitho-
logists he is best known by his most important work, ' The
Birds of the West of Scotland,^ published in 1871, and which
continues to be the standard authority for that portion of
the country ; but he also wrote ' The Birds of Ayrshire and
Wigtownshire,'' and contributed many papers to the ' Pro-
ceedings ' of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (of which he
was a Vice-president), the Royal Physical Society (of which
he was Secretary), the Glasgow Natural History Society,
and other periodicals. The genial presence of this veteran
naturalist will be much missed at the scientific and other
gatherings which he frequented in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

THE IBIS,

FIFTH SEEIES.

No. XIX. JULY 1887.

XXVI. — Notes on Mediterranean Ornithologyi
By Lord Lilford.

(Plate VIII.)

We joined the yacht ' Glowworm ' at Cadiz on February 8th,
1882, and after some ten days spent in our favourite haunts
on the Guadalquivir, in pursuit of Bustards and Wildfowl of
all sorts, proceeded to Gibraltar and Malaga. Our party
consisted of Lieut. -Col. Irby, my eldest son, Mr. E. G. Peck,
and myself. Before making eastward from Cadiz I was
caught by my enemy and incapacitated even from boating for
a long time ; but during our stay at Malaga, which extended
from March 1st to 16th, my companions were constantly out
on the bay, and met with a good many birds — Gulls, a few
Terns, some Skuas, great numbers of both the Mediterranean
species of Shearwater, Scoters, one Diver, a Grebe or two,
Razorbills, an occasional passing Heron, and an Osprey.
The Gulls in the harbour of Malaga seemed to be exclusively
Larusfuscus and Larus ridibundus. I find no note of having
on this occasion met with Larus cachinnans, and, in spite of
eager and constant look-out, we failed to identify a single
specimen of Larus melanocephalus — a species, indeed, which I

SER. V. VOL. V, T

262 Lord Lilford — Notes on

have never had the good fortune to meet with on any part of
the coasts of Spain. The efficient members of our party
obtained a good series of Shearwaters_, Piiffinus kuhli, and a
smaller species which appears to be now generally accepted
as Piijffinus anglorum, but is, in my opinion, a very distinct
bird, intermediate in size between the two above named.
Colonel Irby had the luck to wing a Skua with a bullet, the
only bird of this family obtained out of some few seen, and
brought it on board alive; it proved to be an immature
specimen of Richardson^s Skua [Stercorarius crepidatus) , in
the almost uniform deep brown stage of plumage. No Grebe
was obtained by our party and but few seen : those few, from
the description given to me, were, I think, without doubt.
Eared Grebes {Podiceps nigricolUs) . Colonel Irby made an
expedition by railway in company with Rafael Mena, a keen
professional ornithologist (with whom I had had much cor-
respondence and many dealings), into the Sierra in search of
a nest of Bearded Vulture ; but although they saw one of
these grand birds, they could not discover this yearns breed-
ing-site, and returned with no prey but a Red-billed Chough
[Pyrrhocorax graculus), of which species they saw a great
number. I may here mention that I have at various times
received from Mena four young Bearded Vultures alive, two
of which, taken from the Sierras near Malaga in 1878, are
now living and flourishing at Lilford ; one of these birds has
acquired a certain amount of the tawny-red colouring on
throat and breast, which is so characteristic a distinction of
adult birds of this species in a wild state. Mena assured me
most positively that although the young Bearded Vulture is
generally hatched in February, it remains in the nest till late
in June, though fully feathered and capable of flight long
before that time. He is well acquainted with the Sierras of
the neighbourhood and their human and feathered inhabi-
tants, and in most years could command the produce of two
or three eyries of the Bearded Vulture. It is remarkable
that although almost every bird killed in the neighbourhood
of Malaga, and intended for preservation, passes through
Mena's hands, he had not, before this visit of ours, ever

Mediterranean Ornithology. 263

handled a specimen of the larger Shearwater, though our
gunners assured me that it was by far the most common of
the two species above mentioned. The only species of Tern
obtained was the Sandwich Tern {Sterna cantiaca), which
was met with in considerable numbers.

We left Malaga on the morning of March 16th, in a heavy
easterly swell with a light breeze from that quarter, and
making but little way, brought up under the lee of a point
of low land near Adra, in hopes of a quiet night, which, how-
ever, we failed to obtain. A Hoopoe boarded us early on
the 17th, and we observed a flight of Cranes {Grus cinerea)
making the Spanish land from the southward. We got our
anchor about 6 a.m., and with light easterly breezes and
very fine weather steamed into the harbour of Valencia
on the afternoon of March 18th. I was still unable to do
more than get up on deck and bask in the sun, and Colonel
Irby was obliged to leave us for England, vm Barcelona and
Perpignan, but my Valencian friends made our visit very
pleasant ; and I made the acquaintance of Don J. Arevalo,
Professor of Zoology in the University, a hard-working orni-
thologist and student of ' The Ibis,' with whom I had much
pleasant bird-talk. This gentleman gave me a good deal of
interesting information, especially concerning the habits of
Lusciniola melanopogon, which is not uncommon in the
marshes of the Valencian Albufera ; he also assured me of
the truth of a report which had reached me of the occurrence
on that lagoon of Pelecanus onocrotalus. But this may have
been one of two individuals of this species which escaped
from the Royal Aviaries at Madrid many years ago, and which
appear to have worked their way, with frequent rests, to the
eastern coasts, as during my rides in Spain, in the spring of
1864, I heard, at various inns and ventas at which I halted,
marvellous tales of two white birds, " larger than Vultures,'^
and with "heads like horses,^' which had caused great excite-
ment and consternation in the minds of the country folk of
La Mancha, and along the southern side of the Sierra Mo-
rena. My son accepted an invitation to assist at the last
" tirada " of the season at the Wildfowl on the Albufera on

t2

264 Lord Lilford— A'o^e^ on

the 24th_, and, in spite of an accident to liis gun, brought back
thirty-four " fowl '' as his share of the day's bag, consisting
of Anas chjpeata, A. acuta, A. querquedula, A. crecca,
Mareca penelope, FuVujula ferina, and a fine adult specimen
of the Common Heron {Ardea cinerea) alive, slightly wounded
in the pinion-joint, Avhich we added to our floating mena-
gerie.

We left Valencia on the morning of ]\Iarch 25th, and
steamed into Port Mahon, against a very heavy head sea, the
next day about noon ; there we were detained by a very
heavy north-easterly gale which blew without cessation till
the evening of 30th. The only birds noticed about the har-
bour were Kites {Milvus ictinus), an Osprey, one Buzzard
[Buteo vulgaris), many Gulls, all of which were the iSIedi-
terranean Herring Gull {Lams cachinnans) , and some Shags
{Phalacrocoi'ax gracidus) . We steamed out of the harbour
on the evening of the 30th, with no wind, but a long rolling
sea, passed through flocks of certainly some thousands of
both species of Shearwater, at the entrance of the harbour,
and noticed, some miles off the land, a solitary Puffin [Frater-
cula arctica), to the best of my recollection the first of this
species ever seen by ns in the ]\Iediterranean. Our destination
was Spezia, and at noon of the 31st we made the high land
of Asinai'a, at the N.W. extremity of Sardinia ; the sea had
entirely gone down, and the weather was bright and balmy.
Several Kedbreasts, apparently tired out, boarded us during
the day, and on this day we met with the first Black-headed
Gull {Larus melanocephalus) seen by us during this cruise.
I am by no means inclined to enter into the never-ending
question of scientific ornithological nomenclature, but I must
make a protest against the obvious but almost universal mis-
application of the English words '"'Black-headed^' to Larus
ridibundus, a species which at no period of its existence has
any black about the head, and for which I venture to suggest
" Laughing Gull '^ as a much more appropriate designation.
'' Adriatic '' is, though not quite so inappropriate, a vague
and unsatisfactory term as applied to L. melanocephalus,
which is a common species in all but the extreme w^estern

Mediterranean Ornithology. 265

portion of the Mediterranean -with ^rliich I have any
acquaiutance. To resume om' story, we ran through the
Straits of Bonifacio with a bright moon and perfectly calm
sea, and at 1 a.m. on April 1st left off steaming, to give our
stokers and engineer a spell of sleep, off the entrance to the
bay of Porto Yecchio in Corsica. We got up steam again about
8.30 A.M., and had a delightful run along the very beautiful
eastern coast of Corsica, our only incident being the pur-
chase of two fine Dentici [Spams denteoe) from some Leghorn
fishermen, whose becalmed vessel we overhauled and towed
for several hours till off Bastia, and the weather holding
calm, we anchored off the town of Spezia early on the
morning of April 2nd. "We remained at this most beautiful
but ornithologically unproductive spot for some days, making
a few excursions by land and water. The only Gulls seen by
us in the harbour during this visit were Larus melanocephalus
in small numbers ; many of them had already acquired the
full black head. We observed our first Swallow and House-
Martin of the year on April 4th, but, with the exception of
the Gulls above mentioned and two or three Cirl Buntings,
not nearly so much as might be seen in almost any part of
our own country by an observer of bird-life. We left our
harbour under sail with a light head wind on April 13th, and
beat into Leghorn the next morning against a very strong
S.E. breeze ; hence we made a visit to the ^luseum at Pisa,
which I had missed seeing on a former occasion ; some
of the groups of stuffed birds are most admirably mounted,
but as Mr. H. Saunders has given some account of this
Museum in a former volume of * The Ibis,' I refrain from
further remarks thereon. The weather during our stay at
Leghorn was extremely unpleasant, a strong wind blowing
from all quarters of the compass, with cold driving showers.
This state of things, and the fact that two of our party
were invalids, detained us in this commodious but unattrac-
tive port till the morning of April 19th, when, with a smart
breeze from N.N.E. and fine weather, we got away about
9 A.M. under steam and sail, and ran into Porto Longone in
Elba; but as it looked unproductive did not remain there,

266 Lord Lilford — Notes on

but ran round the south-eastern point of the island, and
anchored in a fine bay with a few scattered cottages and small
chapel near the beach at its head. The name of this place
is given as Acona on our Admiralty charts, but is entirely
ignored by the natives, who, so far as we could make out, are
quite content that their habitation should remain unnamed and
unknown to the outside world. This south coast of Elba is
very bold and high, with finely and variously coloured cliff's,
steep to the water's edge in many places, and deep bays with
good anchorage and shelter from all but southerly winds.
The hills are scantily cultivated, and, according to the very
few inhabitants with whom we had any chance of parley,
produce little but iron in abuadance, a thin wine, and a few
Partridges {Caccabis riifa). Our own explorations were
almost exclusively confined to boat-cruises along the foot of
the cliffs. Birds were remarkably scarce ; a comparatively
small number of Rock Doves frequent the coast, which is most
admirably adapted to their habits ; the ubiquitous Mediter-
ranean Blue Rock Thrush {Monticola cyanus) here and there
greeted us with his characteristic notes and actions of surprise
and curiosity; a Neophron, two or three Falcons, probably Fa/co
punicus (of which much more anon) , Kestrels, Crag Martins
{Cotyle riqjestris), a pair of Ravens, a very few Herring
Gulls, and two Shags were about all the birds observed by
us during our first day^s examination of these shores. The
absence of Gulls and other sea-haunting and rock-breeding
species was most remarkable, and only to be accounted for
presumably by an equally remarkable absence of fishes — a
fact of which the natives assured us, and of which we were con-
vinced, not only by the absence of fish-eating birds, but by the
entire absence of Seals, for which animals these cavernous
rocks seemed in other respects most admirably suited. We
discovered the nest of the above-mentioned Ravens, but the
rock in which it was built was so friable that I did not like
to risk the life or limbs of any of the volunteer cragsmen of
my crew by attempting a formal siege. On shooting a Rock
Dove in one of the crannies of the cliff's to the westward of
our anchorage, I noticed that three or four of tlie Crag

Mediterranean Ornithology . 267

Martins, which were numerous and quite fearless of man,
seized and carried off several small feathers of the dead bird,
which were whirling in an eddy of air. On April 21st we
saw our first Common Tern [Sterna JluviatUis) of the year,
and discovered an eyrie of a Falcon high up in a rugged pin-
nacle of apparently ironstone crag to the eastward of the bay of
Stella. The female bird only appeared once on our shouting
and rattling our oars, and we marked her into her breeding-
hole, but the Tiercel dashed about the summit of the cliffs,
screaming loudly. I was sorely tempted to attack this nest,
especially as I was becoming more and more convinced every
day that these Mediterranean breeding Falcons belong to a
race very distinct from wliat, for want of a better name, I
must call the typical form of Falco peregrinus. To any one
accustomed, as we are, to see our favourite birds on wing, the
size is quite sufficient to satisfy us that here we have to do
with a very different bird from the type just named. How-
ever, in this instance, the evening was creeping on, and it would
have been impossible to land anywhere within at least a mile
of the nest, so that the necessity of carrying a heavy coil of
rope through matted scrub to a height of some four or five
hundred feet, and the fact that we were running short of
provisions, combined to compel us to abandon the idea of
attempting a siege, so we ran round to Porto Longone and
laid in meat, bread, vegetables, and various fishes, of which
the best for the table was a Pelamid {Scomber pelamitus) of
some three pounds weight. Porto Longone is an excellent
harbour, well sheltered and with good and ample anchorage;
but it seems that yachts seldom enter it, as our appearance
created great excitement amongst the natives of the little
town, whose inhabitants seemed to be chiefly miners and
fishermen.

We steamed out soon after daylight on April 22nd, a
beautiful calm sunny day, and steered for Monte Christo, a
most picturesque, somewhat pyramidal mass of variously
coloured rocks, of perhaps some four or five miles in circum-
ference. The eastern face of the island is a sloping mass of
grey slabs of rock with scanty patches of scrubby vegetation.

268 Lord Lilford — Notes on

seamed with two or three water-courses ; the northern side
is more steep, but cleft by a small cove, with a landing-place
and a pathway to a large building at some little distance up
the glen, which is cultivated and planted with vines, fig, and
other trees. We lowered away our cutter, and rowed round
the western side of the island, which is more or less precipi-
tous. A small colony of Herring Gulls were apparently
breeding on the flat top of a little rocky promontory, and
circled over our heads with great clamour, two or three Shags
dived before us, and two pairs of the small Peregrines showed
by their angry screams that their eyries were in the crags
above us ; a Blue Rock Thrush whistled from a crevice, and
these few birds constituted, as far as we were concerned,
the entire visible avifauna of the island. We went on board
the yacht again ofl" the south-western point, and stood away
for the southern end of the island of Giglio, a high nar^
row mass of rock, apparently terraced with vines in every
available spot, and dotted on the western side with white
cabins. The southern side slopes gently, and terminates in a
low range of cliff, at the western extremity of which stands a
lighthouse. On rounding this point we lowered our cutter
and explored a mile or more of the fretted and waterworn
rocks. In a barren creek just below the lighthouse we found
and shot a Green Sandpiper {Totanus ochropus),(i mud-larker
which seemed entirely out of its element upon the rocks, where
a Purple Sandpiper would have been completely at home. In
a pinnacle of jagged rock to the eastward of tbe lighthouse
was a nest of the small Peregrine ; both the parent birds
dashed about over us, screaming angrily, and the male flew off*
and circled round the yacht for several minutes. This eyrie
would have been accessible to a good cragsman from above,
but the shades of evening were falling, so we pulled on to
the eastward, and shot a few Rock Doves from some small
caves. The only other birds seen upon Giglio were a pair of
Kestrels, the ubiquitous Blue Rock Thrush, a pair of Alpine
Swifts {Ctjpselus melba) , and a solitary Common Sandpiper
[Totanus hypoleucus) . We went aboard of the yacht about
nightfall, ran over to the mainland, and anchored for the

Mediterranean Ornithology. 269

night off Porto Ercole on the south side of Mount Argentaro.
We remained at anchor during the next day ; our steward, on
going ashore at the little town in the morning for provisions,
was accosted by a lady who spoke fluent English, and assisted
him greatly in his market operations. The only description
that I could obtain from him of this most obliging signora
was that she was " a real lady," with rings on her fingers, a
crinoline, and silk stockings. Two of our party who went
ashore for a walk in the afternoon described a pretty English-
looking country, with a good road, fences of whitethorn,
bramble, &c., and a profusion of wild flowers. This is a
good anchorage in northerly winds, and we were assured
that the southerly winds never came " right home," though
our vessel rolled unpleasantly in a south-easterly swell
through the night. A good specimen of the Subalpiue
Warbler [Sylvia subalpina, ^ ) was picked up dead on our
deck at daybreak of April 24th. At about 7.30 a.m. we got
our anchor, and steamed away for Gianutri, about eleven
miles from Porto Ercole, where we found a perfectly snug
land-locked harbour in the little gulf of Palmatoja, on the
eastern side of the island, which consists of low undulating
country, thickly overgrown with scrub, and abounding in
rabbits. We found a party of Neapolitan fishermen estab-
lished in a creek of our little gulf, and purchased from them
various fishes. Amongst these were a fine specimen of the
Greater Forkbeard [Phycis blennoides) , also some small fry,
amongst which, with our infinitesimal acquaintance with
ichthyology, we identified Pagellus erythrinus, Murcena helena,
a very curious fish of the genus Cottus, and great abundance of
small brilliantly coloured Wrasses, Blennies, and others. We
found it very difficult to understand these Neapolitans, who
seemed to have a great deal to tell; but as the swell outside
was too heavy to allow of a boating expedition round the
island, we obtained most of our zoological information from
one of the lighthouse keepers, who told us that as the greater
part of the island was rented by some gentlemen of Leghorn
for shooting, he was reluctantly obliged to prevent our sport-
ing ashore. He also declared most positively and repeatedly

270 Lord Lilford— iVo^es on

that the island was visited in the winter months by both
E-ed-legged and Grey Partridges, neither of which species
remained to breed thereon, that the scrub was infested by
Wild Cats, that there was no spring of water, that he and his
family were entirely dependent upon the clouds for their
supply, and that the lessees of the shooting had turned down
some Pheasants.

The only birds seen by our party on Gianutri, and not
previously mentioned in this paper, were the Hoopoe, Common
Redstart, Black-headed Warbler, Cuckoo, and Turtle Dove ;
the men of our crew found a few nests and eggs of Larus
cachinnans ; my son shot a very fine female of the small
Peregrine, of which birds we observed a pair haunting the
lower cliffs of the northern side of the island, where no doubt
they had a nest. The lighthouse-keeper talked of some fine
sea-caves on the western side of the island, but declared that
no Rock Doves frequented them, and as the heavy swell
which rolled in from the southward would have entirely pre-
vented any exploration in a boat, we did not attempt to
verify these reports, and on the evening of April 25th ran
off and anchored off the little port of Giglio, on the eastern
side of the island of that name. This port is only accessible
for very light craft, and we rolled horribly all through the
night, and at daybreak ran across to Porto San Stefauo, an
excellent anchorage on the northern side of Mount Argen-
taro, with a town well supplied with all necessaries. It
rained in torrents all the morning, but cleared in the after-
noon, and we went off in our steam-launch to see if we could
find any passage into Lake Orbitello, a large sheet of water
lying between the town of that name and the promontory of
Argentaro. A passage exists, but we found it barred with
mullet-traps, so after coasting for a short distance along tlie
sandy flat which separates the lake from the sea, we went
about and ran as far as the heavy sea Avould permit past our
anchorage and under the cliffs of Mount Argentaro. We saw
no birds with the exception of a Falcon, a few Sandwich Terns,
and many Shearwaters of the two species. We remained
at our anchorage the following day, as the weather was very

Mediterranean Ornithology. 271

stormy, with a heavy sea running from the south-west. My
son shot three of the larger Shearwaters from our deck. The
weather moderated during the night, and about 11 a.m. on
the morning of April 28th we started under steam and
steered for the Straits of Bonifacio. A slight N.W. breeze
induced us to make sail on rounding the northern end of
GigliOj but this soon failed us, and about 4 p.m. we ran into
the^heaviest dead swell that we had ever encountered in the
Mediterranean ; this rolled in from the south-west, with a
slight cross-sea from the north, and being unable to make
any way against this combination, we bore up under the lee
of Monte Christo ; but soon after midnight a gale came down
upon us from the N.W., and the island affording us no shelter,
we ran back through a fierce cross-sea to Port Ercole
and anchored. Making another start about 8 a.m. on the
morning of April 30th under sail, with a slight southerly
breeze, we saw a large flight of Cranes going eastward. A
tired Swallow came aboard of us during the day, and several
more of these birds and a Quail visited us during the night.
The breeze failed us at about 8 a.m. of May 1st, at some ten
miles from the entrance to the straits, so we got up steam
again, and passing the islands of Razzoli, Santa Maria, Budella,
and Spargi, anchored in the roads of Maddalena close to the
town of that name, about midday. A strong easterly wind
sprang up as soon as we were amongst these islets, and a
Harrier, which we took to be Circus cineraceus, was all but
blown foul of our funnel. The town of Maddalena is in-
habited by a colony of Genoese and Corsican descent, who
decline to be considered Sardinians, and call themselves
''islanders," as they undoubtedly are. We rowed off to
the landing-place, and were immediately surrounded by
a civil but inquisitive crowd, who were much amused by
our leaving the matter of supply to our steward, and
cross-questioning every likely-looking lad as to their ac-
quaintance with a Gull with coral beak and black legs.
We could extract nothing positive on this subject or any
other of zoological interest, the fixed idea in the minds
of these islanders beinff that we had come to visit General

272 Lord Liliord— Notes on

Garibaldi^ who lay dying at his house on Caprera, which was
in sight from our anchorage. The strong easterly wind
which swept in strong gusts about the intricate channels
amongst the islands made things unpleasant and prevented
our doing any boating exploration during the afternoon. A
few Herring GuUs^ a Kestrel, two Common Terns, and some
Shags were the only birds seen. We kept a loaded gun
ready on deck in case of a visit from Audouin's Gull^ of
which we had impressed a description upon the minds of all
our officers.

Early on the morning of May 2nd, having discovered an
old shipwright who said that he knew everything, we engaged
him to pilot us about the rocky channels and creeks of the
straits in search of birds and nests, and started with him in
our steam-launch to explore some little rocky islets in the
channel that separates the island of Maddalena from Caprera.
We found two or three nests of the Herring Gull on sandy
spots among the rugged granite boulders of which these little
islands are formed, each nest containing three hard-set eggs.
Our old guide scrambled to one or two empty nests of the
Rock Dove on the western shore of Caprera : a pair of
Ospreys were constantly in sight, a Bonelli^'s Eagle hung
in the breeze over the centre ridge of Caprera, Shags in all
stages of plumage were fishing in every direction and drying
their plumage with outspread wings on the numerous blocks
and ridges of rock that crop up in many places a few feet
above the water ; and a pair or two of Common Terns hovered
over the few sandy beaches of this rocky wilderness. The
old native told us that many Shearwaters bred upon a small
island off the southern end of Caprera, between it and the
mainland of Sardinia, but did not hold out much hope of
finding eggs, as the said island, '^ Porco " by name^ is a
favourite resort of the Neapolitan fishermen who frequent
these waters, and is also, as our informant averred, infested
by rats of such huge dimensions and ferocity as to make it
dangerous to sleep ashore ! This story naturally excited our
curiosity, and we coasted along the shores of Caprera for
two miles, startling some Barbary Partridges, Caccabis

Mediterranean Ornithology . 273

petrosa, on our passage, and seeing a few Black-headed
Warblers amongst the evergreen scrub which clothes the
greater part of this wild abode of the old Italian hero. I
may here mention that our old pilot, whose name has escaped
me, but whom we named, I know not why, " the Trojan,''
told us that Garibaldi, who was in his younger days a keen
sportsman, had turned out on Caprera goats. Pheasants,
and several species of Partridges not indigenous to the islands,
but could give us no information as to any results with
regard to the birds, though he said that the goats had multi-
plied exceedingly, and were very wild and difficult of approach.
He added that the General and his sons did all in their power
to preserve the game for themselves and keep the island free
from poachers, though they would readily give any English
visitors free leave to shoot and explore. But I did not like to
intrude in any Avay upon what proved to be the last weeks of
the existence of the old soldier, and we did not set foot upon
his domain. Porco proved to be a mass of jumbled boulders,
attaining to a height of perhaps 70 or 80 feet at the highest
point, with a little sheltered creek on the western side, of
just sufficient size and depth to admit our launch. We
searched every likely accessible hole and cranny, but found
nothing except bones, feathers, and fragments of the egg-
shells of the Shearwaters ; nor did we obtain a sight of one
of the terrible rats above mentioned, though numerous foot-
marks on the small sandy patches bore evidence to their
presence, and to some extent also to their unusual size,
though it is difficult to imagine how they support themselves
when the Shearwaters are away from home. I imagine that
the four-footed vermin must cross the sea either to Caprera
or the mainland, and only visit Porco during the nesting-
season, though the Trojan swore by alibis gods that no such
rats were to be found in any spot in the straits but this. I
may add that he distinguished these beasts by the name of
'' Pontici,"" and I much regret that we were unable to obtain a
specimen. We returned to our anchorage by the channel
between the mainland and the island of San Stefano, a high
barren ridge of rock that lies between Sardinia and Mad-

274 Lord Lilford — Notes on

dalena. On arriving on board the yacht, we found that the
mate had killed a beautiful Audouiu's Gull from the deck
with a rifle-ball, at a distance, as he declared, of 300 yards.
Be that as it may, the bird was quite undamaged as a speci-
men, in perfect adult plumage, but considerably smaller than
any of this species that I had previously met with, and dif-
fered from them also in the colour of legs and feet, which in
this bird were of a dusky olive-green, those of the former
being almost black, with a trace of lead-colour. The Trojan
recognized the bird at once as " Cirulia ■" (the common Sardi-
nian name of Totanus hypoleucus) , and said that, although a
few of them frequented the neighbourhood of Maddalena
during the summer, he could not be certain about ever having
found their nests.

On the following morning, about 8 a.m., I was summoned
on deck by the news that a " red-billed Gull " was hovering
around our ship ; and sure enough there was another " Au-
douiu,"" with some dozen Herring Gulls, picking up the refuse
of the crowds breakfast close to our stern. I sent for a gun,
but though I had a very easy shot, somehow managed to miss
my bird altogether. The morning was rough and wet, and
as something had gone wrong with the propeller of our launch,
we remained on board till about 2.30 p.m., and then went
off in the cutter to examine the western side of Maddalena.
This consists for the most part of cliff's of considerable
height, with masses of huge rocks in the wildest confusion
at their base; in one of these cliff's we discovered a little
cavity, at perhaps a hundred feet above the sea, from which
proceeded a loud and continuous screaming of young Hawks.
On our firing a shot or two at the few liock Doves that
dashed out of the detritus at the foot of the cliff", a male
Falcon flew out from a ledge above the cavity just mentioned,
but we did not see the female bird. After surveying the spot
as far as was possible from our boat, with a view to attempt-
ing an attack on the nest on a future occasion, we coasted the
western side of Maddalena in a northerly direction for some
distance. We shot another beautiful specimen of Audouin's
Gull, but made no fresh discoveries, except that of a Raven^s

Mediterranean Ornithology. 275

nestj from which the young birds had apparently flown very
recently. The Blue Rock Thrush is the characteristic species
of these barren rocky islands, and during our boat-cruises in
tlie straits, between the 2nd and 15th of May, we seldom
passed an hour without having one or two Ospreys in sight,
though we could not succeed in discovering their nesting-
place. My son shot a third specimen of Audouin's Gull
over the stern of the yacht shortly after our return on board
about sunset. Some Neapolitan fishermen brought us an
enormous skate, a shark (which I made out by the aid of
' Couch ^ to be Squalus squatina), and some very fine
lobsters. On the morning of May 4th we went off early
to the Falcon's cliff; three or four of our crew landed and
managed to climb to a broad ledge apparently some 30 feet
above the nest, and thence lowered a rope by which the old
Trojan, after a rough scramble over the huge rocks at the
cliff's foot, was easily hauled up to the hole. This from the
sea had very much the appearance of having been made by a
cannon-ball or shell, but was large enough to admit the head
and shoulders of our cragsman, who came rapidly down the
rope with two young Falcons, male and female, fairly fea-
thered, but with a good deal of down still on them — in fact,
in a state that a falconer would call just " fit to take." These
young birds were, without question, of the race which Mr. J.
H. Gurney has, in 'The Ibis' for 1882, p. 310, identified
as the Falco punicus of Le Vaillant — a very distinct bird
from the F. barbarus of 0, Salvin, ' Ibis,' 1859, and the true
F, minor, Bp. [peregrinoides, Smith), as quoted by Mr. Dres-
ser in his 'Birds of Europe;' but in my opinion identical
with F. brookii of Mr. R. B. Sharpe, and without doubt the
Barbary Falcon of most, if not all, of our old English authors
on falconry. My reasons for coming to this conclusion are
the extreme rarity on the Mediterranean shores of the Falcon
to which the designation of "Barbary" is now given, the
comparative abundance of F. punicus in Morocco and the
islands of the western basin of that sea, and the fact that
most of the old authors who give any description of the
" Barbary Falcon " pretty accurately point out the differences

276 Lord hiUord— Notes on

which distinguish F. punicus from the Peregrinoid form with
which they were best acquainted — that isj from what, for
want of a better definition, I must call the typical F. pere-
yrinus of Europe. Mr. Gurney, loc. supra cit., has gone
into such elaborate details on the measurements and plumages
of the three races or subspecies, F. barbarus, F. punicus, and
F. minor, that any remarks of mine on these points would be
superfluous ; and I feel that the best that I can do is to pre-
sent to the readers of 'The Ibis' the accompanying figure
(Plate VIII.) of the female bird from the nest on Maddalena
above described. The original drawing was taken from life by
Mr. E. Neale in the late autumn of 1884, and the Falcon, still
alive (March 1887), has not materially altered in plumage
from the state in which she is therein depicted. I may here
mention that I believe that this form of Peregrine is the bird
described by Alonzo Martinez de Espinar ('Arte de Balles-
teria,' etc., Madrid, 1871) at p. 335 of his work, under the
name of " Alcon montano,'' and possibly also under those of
" Alcon Bahari " and " A. Borni.^' Of the first he writes : —
" The Mountain Ealcons were so called because they breed in
the mountains : their colour is grey, variegated, dark spots :
they are nearly of the size of the Neblies (F.peregrimis), shorter
in body and feather, but very powerful ; their temperament
is savage and passionate ; they are so full of spirit, that they
attack any bird, however strong or large it may be ; they
should not be flown at what they cannot kill, for they become
disgusted, and are lost ; and if by chance they return to the
falconer, they attack him or the Falcon that assists them, for
they are of a very evil disposition.^' The author just quoted
gives, at p. 330, a concise, but very clear and intelligible,
description of the Lanner, Falco feldeggi, under the name of
" Alcon Alfaneque,'' and of the Barbary Falcon, F. barbarus
of O. Salvin, loc, supra cit. (Linn. ?, nee Briss.), under that of
" Alcon Tagarote.'' Of the former of these two Falcons he
writes that " they breed in Barbary, and many are sold in
Oran ;" and of the latter, that " they also breed in Africa ; are
of the colour of Peregrines, though the white of their plumage
is somewhat encendido (warmed up), like the colour of brasil

itis,i887 PI vni

£,Kea]e'lith

FALCO PUl^IICUS

Hanharb imp .

t ^' CE^'f^AL PARK,

'^

Mediterrajiean Ornithology. 277

(rouge) ;" he goes on to relate that, though small of body,
they are of such courage that one has been known to seize a
Swan, and not quit her hold till the said Swau dived under
water. I will only add that I look upon this little Falcon as
closely allied to, or a subspecies of, Falco babylonicus, whilst
F. punicus stands in exactly the same relationship to F. pere-
grinus. The subject of the figure was by far the most savage
of the many young Falcons that I have ever had to do with ;
and although her brother became perfectly tame in two or
three days, she would always attack my hand in preference
to the food that I offered her, and for many months showed
an amount of ill-temper very unusual in the " generous "
Falcons : her temper has improved with age, and she will
now fiy fairly well to the lure, but she will not mount high
enough to enable her to take Partridges. This is pro-
bably the result of a severe attack of the terrible malady
known to falconers as " frounce," from which she, and her
brother in a less degree, suffered on their passage from Nice
to Southampton in the yacht. The male bird was flown " at
hack," and trained by the falconer of the Old Hawking Club,
who reported him to me as exceedingly docile and very fast
on wing, but he was unfortunately killed by a Peregrine
before he had moulted. I have purchased a great many of
this race of Falcon in Leadenhall Market, all of which were
said to have been shipped from Mogador ; but although I
have freqnently met with the typical Peregrine during the
winter months in the Mediterranean, the present is the only
Peregrinoid form that I have personally found breeding
there, and, from my experience, I am inclined to look upon
it as the most strictly marine (if I may be allowed the
expression) of any Falcon, except perhaps F. eleonora. I
have found this race of Peregrine in Iviza and Menorca, and
I obtained a fine adult male in the province of Santander in
May 1876, this last being the only specimen that I ever
met with away from the shores of the Mediterranean. Of
many Peregrines obtained by us during the winter and early
months of spring on the Guadalquivir all were of the typical
European form, and of rather unusually large dimensions.
SER. V. VOL. v. u

278 Lord Lilford — Notes on

After this long digression I must return to the " Straits."
After shooting a Rock Dove or two from tlie rocks near the
Falcon's nest, we bore away to the south-west, coasting a
promontory of the mainland on the eastern side of the Gulf
of Trana ; but finding .nothing there but two Audouin's Gull,
which kept out of shot, we returned and landed on the eastern
side of the promontory in Agincourt Roads, at the spot where
the telegraph cable from Maddalenae merges on the mainland.
Here we found nothing but a profusion of a very beautiful
and sweetly-scented white lily, quite new to our inexperienced
eyes, but probably well known to botanists. We then went
off to a sandy beach on the mainland at the head of the road-
stead, and explored a little marshy stream which there runs
into the sea. The tamarisks Avere swarming with Turtle
Doves, and we noticed many Water-hens, one Mallard, one
Marsh Harrier, many Common Brown Linnets, a few Song
Thrushes, Corn Buntings, and a fine adult Purple Heron,
which fell to my son^s gun. On our return we were caught
in one of the fierce wind-squalls so frequent in these localities,
and fovmd that the yacht had dragged her anchor, and drifted
into a somewhat precarious position ; however, by getting up
steam and with a hawser ashore and two anchors out, we
made her snug for the night, and rode out a very violent
north-westerly gale. The next day was too stormy for boat-
work ; two of our party, having borrowed an animal that its
owner called " a most famous dog of chase/^ went ashore on
Maddalena to search for Quails, but returned for luncheon
without having found one of that species, the bag containing
only a few specimens of a yellow Wagtail {Motacilla flava),
Common Whitethroat, and a Stonechat. I observed several
Alpine Swifts hawking high over the town, and in the after-
noon we found two empty nests of Blue Rock Thrush amongst
the rocks on the northern side of San Stefano, close to our
anchorage. Some goatherds on that island, however, were
more fortunate, and brought to us a very perfect nest, con-
taining five fresh eggs of '' Solitario,^^ as they call the last-
named species ; this nest consists entirely of fine roots and
fibres. On the morning of May 6th the same boys brought

Mediterranean Ornithology. 279

to me two nestlings of the Blue Rock Thrush, but they were
much too young to keep, and the finders promised, for a
small consideration, to put them back into their nest. We
shot another Audouin^s Gull from the deck of the yacht, and
added the Common Buzzard, Cirl Bunting, Goldfinch, and
Sandwich Tern to our list of birds identified in this locality.
On May 7th some Neapolitan fishermen brought us a very
large Turtle {Thalassochehjs caouana) alive, which I bought,
and, after various experiments in the way of feeding, at
length persuaded to take fresh sardines and anchovies very
readily. This animal was eventually domiciled in the Rep-
tile House in the Regent's Park, and lived there in apparently
good health for a considerable time. Fi'omMay 6th to 11th
the weather was so rough that we could do next to nothing
in the way of boating ; two or three more Audouin's Gulls
were shot from the yacht's deck, but only appeared in
couples or singly. We obtained specimens of the Black-headed
Warbler [Sylvia melanocephala) , Dartford Warbler {Melizo-
philus undatus), Sardinian Warbler {M. sardus), and Pied
Flycatcher on San Stefano ; also a nest containing four
young Blue Rock Thrushes, of which the sole survivor is at
my elbow as I write, and has for nearly five years been my
almost constant and very amusing companion. Amongst
other peculiarities, this bird, though it has moulted every
year in August and September, and is in perfect health, has
never assumed the uniform dark blue plumage of maturity,
and is now (March 1887), slowly completing an abnormal
moult into a still greyer stage of dress than that which it
assumed in September 1886.

The morning of the 11th May was fine and calm, so we
started early in the steam-launch to explore the Barretini
islets, which lie a few miles to the north-west of Maddalena.
On our way we stopped to examine a few heaps of isolated
rocks, hardly worthy of the name of islands, lying a short
distance from the western and north-western coast of Madda-
lena, and found several nests of Rock Doves containing eggs,
several empty but fresh nests of Common Swift, and many
young and a few eggs of Herring Gull, but did not even see

u2

280 Lord Lilford — Notes on

an Audouin. We found that some Neapolitan fishermen
had harried the nearest of the Barretini isles^ and we made
out their boat oflF the outlying one ; so we had to content
ourselves wdth our luncheon and pipes, and the sight of many-
Herring Gulls screaming over their pillaged nests, whilst a
Raven scolded at ns from a crag, and the never-failing Blue
Rock Thrushes piped their low sweet song. The next day we
went off in a south-easterly direction to Capo di Ferro, on
the mainland of Sardinia, but, with the exception of bagging
one of four Audouin's Gulls, adding Grey Crow and Common
Bee-eater to our Straits' list of birds observed, and the cap-
ture of a small but very brilliantly coloured specimen of
Zamenis atroviretis, we did nothing. A small colony of Bee-
eaters were at work on a sandy bank near the head of the
Bay of Arraquena, but had not, so far as we could ascertain,
begun to lay. The lovely weather and the fine wild scenery
of the Sardinian coast amply made up for our want of success ;
but the main object of our visit to these wilds — i. e., the
finding of a breeding-place of Audouin''s Gull — was still un-
attained, and as our time was drawing short and the eggs in
the ovaries of the female birds shot by us were very minute,
I began to lose hope on this subject. However, on the next
morning we set off to explore the islands of Spargi and Spar-
giotto — the former, a high ridge of rock opposite to the
western side of Maddalena, sloping gently to the sea on its
eastern side, whilst its west front consists of high precipitous
and jagged cliffs, the eastern slopes being thickly overgrown
with scrub almost to the water's edge, with here and there a
little sandy creek and small patches of coarse grass. On
approaching one of these spots from the eastward, we became
aware of a group of some twenty- five or thirty Audouin's
Gulls clustered on the point of a little promontory ; the birds
rose and circled over our boat with loud outcries, somewhat
resembling those of the Mediterranean Herring Gull, but
more plaintive. I believe that we might have shot the whole
colony, but I only wanted three to make up a dozen speci-
mens, and these three were secured in as many minutes.
Four or five of our party landed and explored the slopes of

Mediterranean Ornithology . 281

Spargi in every direction to a considerable distance, but
although they found some six or seven nests, nothing but
broken fragments of egg-shells rewarded their search; we
were not only baffled, but completely puzzled, as it was obvi-
ous that the eggs had not been hatched. None of the Gulls
exhibited any traces of having incubated, and it was natural
to suppose that had the nests been visited by the Neapolitans,
or the two swineherds who were established on the island,
they would have carried off the eggs without breaking them ;
besides this, we could discover no tracks of any sort about
the nests but those of the Gulls, so that, literally speaking,
the circumstantial evidence was favourable to the innocence
of fishermen, swineherds, swine, and goats. Our old guide
could not say whether there were any rats on this island,
but declared positively that there were none of the dreaded
'pontici,' thereon; and e/ rats were the robbers in this instance,
they must have been endowed with a marvellovis power of
leaving no footmarks on the sand, so we came to the con-
clusion that the guilt lay with the Ravens, although my own
experience of these birds is that they usually drive their
beaks into the thick end of an egg and suck out the contents
without further breakage, as they fly. Our only plan, then,
was to try and forestall these black thieves; and as the Gulls
could hardly have finished laying, I despatched my captain
with a boat's crew before daylight the next morning with
orders to land and visit the nests as soon as they could see ;
but all in vain ! he found the Gulls roosting on the same
spot, but nothing more in the way of their productions, and
a third visit to the spot proved equally fruitless ; though the
Gulls remained, and seemed very unwilling to leave the
special locality. After our first search, as above recorded,
we cruised round the northern end of Spargi, discovering a
copious spring of fresh water in a little creek, and a Falcon's
eyrie in a high crag, about which both of the old birds were
circling and screaming.

Spargiotto consists of a pile of huge rocks which look as
if they had been pitched one above the other by Titans at
play ; amongst these we found many Rock Doves, Blue

282 Notes on Mediterranean Ornithology.

Thrushes, a pair of Ravens, and a Common Buzzard, but
nothing new to our list. Coasting the western side of Spargi
on our return to the yacht we discovered two young Shags
which were unable to fly, but which beat us fairly in a long
chase by diving under the launch when we imagined that we
had cornered them in a shallow creek. These were the only
two birds of this species we met with on this voyage that
were not strong fliers. On May 15th I despatched our old
native with a small collecting-gun, to obtain small birds and
eggs ; he brought back several cleanly-shot specimens of
MelizophUus sardus with two nests containing hard-set eggs,
and a Wood Lark {Alauda arhorea), new to our local list.
A boy brought off" a cock Sparrow of the representative
Sardinian species, Passer saliceti, alive. I only mention this
because the bird in question has for nearly five years thriven
in the classical gloom of No. 6 Tenterden Street, and, singu-
larly enough, is the only individual of his race that I have
ever seen or heard of alive in this country. A very fine
specimen of Dusky Perch {Serranus gigas), weighing 22 lbs.,
was brought on board by some Neapolitans, who said
that they had taken it on a long line ofl" Tavolara. I
bought this fish for 10 francs, and found its flesh infinitely
superior to that of any Mediterranean fish, except Red Mullet,
of which I ever partook. We spent the greater part of the
17th May in examining the skeleton and carrying oflf the jaw-
bones of a huge whale which had been stranded some two
years previously on the northern end of Maddalena, and had
been towed to a sandy beach at the western extremity of San
Stefano, where it was flensed by the people of Maddalena,
and its bones picked clean by the Black and Griff'on Vultures
from the mainland of Sardinia. We saw several of the former
and one or two of the latter species circling high in air, and
a Raven or two, apparently unwilling to leave the spot that
had, no doubt, savoury memories for them, and was, indeed,
still redolent of putrid blubber. We left our anchorage soon
after daybreak on May 18th, bound for Genoa, but on
clearing Maddalena found such a heavy sea from the north-
east, that I decided to run up the western coast of Corsica,

Mr. H. Seebolim on Horsfield's Woodcock. 283

which I had never seen. Shortly after passing Bonifacio
we ran into a dead calm ; but in a very short time a fresh
westerly breeze came up_, we ceased steaming and made sail,
but before we had run twenty miles the wind flew to the
north-west, and soon hardened into a gale with heavy sea, so
we ran in and anchored for the night in 8 fathoms, at the
head of the Gulf of Sagona. The next morning, about 10,
we left our anchorage under steam, and on clearing the bay
found a light north-easterly breeze, which soon increased
to a strong wind dead ahead, so that, having nothing par-
ticular to call us to Genoa, we shaped our course for Villa-
franca, thus making a fair wind of it. A weary Turtle Dove
vainly attempted to alight on board of us, but must, I fear,
have eventually fallen into the sea, as it would not trust itself
down the wind. We got into Villafranca harbour about the
middle of the night, and moved round to Nice on the follow-
ing morning, I had not set foot ashore there since 1862,
and should not have known the town again, so much had it
increased in every direction ; but I was glad to find my old
friend Louis Galle, naturalist and barber, still alive and
flourishing in his little shop on the Cours ; he had a few
locally rare skins of birds, e. g. Falco vespertinus, Lanius
minor, &c., and assured me of a recent occurrence of Sterna
caspia at the mouth of the Var. He also had several inter-
esting reptiles alive, amongst them a beautiful specimen of
Coronella girondlca, which I bought and deposited safely in the
Regent^s Park Keptile-house on our arrival in London on
May 25th. I may add that all the specimens of Audouin's
Gull obtained by us in the Straits exhibited the peculiar
coloration of legs and feet that I have mentioned above.

XXVII. — On Horsfield's Woodcock, Scolopax saturata.
By Henry Seebohm.

Since I wrote my paper on the genus Scolopax (Ibis, 1886,
p. 127), I have had an opportunity of comparing the type of
S. rosenbergi in the Leyden Museum with two examples of
S. saturata in the same collection, and I find them to be

284 Mr. H. Seebohra on HorsfiehVs Woodcock.

identical. Tlie type of S. saturata was, twelve years ago, in
the India Museum. The species was described in 1821 from
an example collected by Horsfield in Java; but it may have
disappeared before the birds in the India Museum were
handed over to the national collection, as it cannot now be
found.

It is unfortunate that the type of so interesting a species
should have been lost, as no examples are known to exist in
any other collection than the Leyden Museum, which pos-
sesses two collected by Boie on the mountains of Java. One
of these two examples is moulting its quills, and the first
primary is not full-grown, being half an inch shorter than
the second. In the other example the two first primaries are
of about the same length.

In 1869, when Schlegel was describing the type of Sco-
lopax 7'osenbergi, he unfortunately compared it with the
example of S. saturata in which the first primary was not
fully grown. This circumstance — combined, no doubt, with
the fact that the Javan example, having been exposed on the
shelves of the Leyden Museum to the combined action of
more or less dust and sunshine for nearly forty years, had
acquired a " museum colour,^' which contrasted considerably
with the fresh-killed example from New Guinea — induced
Schlegel to designate the latter as distinct. Horsfield de-
scribed S. saturata as one of the rarest of Javan birds,
inhabiting a mountain 7000 feet above the sea-level. Schlegel
recorded his supposed new species from the mountains in the
interior of the north-western peninsula of New Guinea. The
fact that Wallace's Line dividing his Oriental Region from
his Australian Hegion passes between tlie two localities, and
the further fact that in the Moluccas, which lie, if not
exactly, at least to some extent between the two localities, a
perfectly distinct species of Woodcock, S. rochusseni, is found,
suggest the probability that the two birds are distinct. This
does not, however, seem to be the case. Limicoline birds
appear to have originated in the Polar area and to have been
dispersed — certainly once, and probably twice — by climatic
changes which, by depriving them of food, compelled them to
emigrate. Their present distribution is the result of past
emigration ; but, as might be expected from their great

Mr. H. Seebohm on Horsfield's Woodcock. 285

powers of flighty it bears no relation to the zoological
regions which control the geographical distribution of Pas-
serine birds.

The Javan Woodcock has been found by two collectors,
Horsfield and Boie ; and the New-Guinea Woodcock has
also been obtained by two collectors, Rosenberg and Bruijn.
Salvadori (Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, iii. p. 235) records
the presence of a second example of the latter species from
Mount Arfak, in the same peninsula of New Guinea, in the
iiiuseum o£ Count Turati in Milan. It seems therefore
impossible to come to the conclusion that Horsfield^s Wood-
cock can be a resident in only one of the two localities where
it has been found, and an accidental visitor to the other.
Our knowledge of the birds residing in the mountains of the
various islands of the Malay archipelago is unfortunately
very imperfect, and we can only assume that Horsfield^s
Woodcock is a resident in the chain of islands from Java to
Western New Guinea. It is, however, possible that it may
be a migratory bird, breeding in the mountains of South-
eastern Thibet and wintering on the islands of the Malay
archipelago. That it should be confined to two localities so
isolated as Java and Western New Guinea, would be an
instance of a discontinuous area of distribution, too unusual
to be accepted without much stronger proofs of its correct-
ness than we now possess.

The number of typical Woodcocks is thus reduced to four.
No other species of the large genus Scolopax have silvery
tips to the under surface of the tail-feathers, or transverse
instead of longitudinal markings on the crown. These four
Woodcocks may be diagnosed from each other with the
greatest ease.

Pale bars on outer webs
of prhnaries

saturata. . .
rusticula .
rochusseni . .

Tibife feathered to the
joint.

Pale bars on inner webs
of primaries.

None of these three characters, however, are peculiar to
the Woodcocks, but are all found in one or other of the
Snipes.

286 Mr. H, Seebohm on Sundevall's Account

XXVIII. — Some Remarks on Sundevall's Account in the
number of Secondaries of Birds. By Henry Seebohm.

The readers of ' The Ibis ' are very much indebted to the
Editors of that periodical for giving them a translation of so
suggestive a paper as that bySundevall on the Wings of Birds
(Ibis, 1886, pp. 389-457). I use the word "suggestive/'
because in the portion which I have studied the facts are
only approximately accurate, and the reader is left to draw
his own conclusions from them. In the first place, we may
dismiss the word arm-remiges to the limbo of useless syno-
nyms and adopt the commonly used term of secondary quills :
usually called, for the sake of brevity, secondaries.

I propose to confine my remarks to three groups of birds : —
Gallince, or Game Birds ; Grallce, or Cranes and Bails ; Limi-
colcB, or Plovers and Snipes.

All these birds have 10 primaries ; the question to be con-
sidered is : — Are there any characters to be found in the
secondaries by which these three families may be distinguished
from each other ?

To begin with the Common Lapwing, Vanellus cristatus,
the wing consists of —
10 primaries ;

12 nearly black secondaries ;

3 long green secondaries; beyond which are several
abbreviated secondaries, each shorter than the one
preceding it.
Sundevall says that it has —

14 secondaries nearly alike in structure and size ;

2 secondaries, which, without being abbreviated, pos-

sess a decidedly different form ;

3 secondaries, decidedly shorter.

What Sundevall means, I am sure I do not know ; but
suffice it to note that it is only after the 15th secondary that
abbreviations begin.

Let us now examine the wing of a Curlew, Numenius
arquatus, which consists of —
10 primaries ;

of the number of Secondaries in Birds. 287

] 7 secondaries, the last four of which are each decidedly
■wider and longer than the one preceding it.
Sundevall says that it has —

15 secondaries, nearly alike in structure and size;

2 which, without being abbreviated, possess a decidedly

different form ;

3 decidedly shorter.

In this case we agree as to the number of unabbreviated
secondaries, though we differ as to the point where the change
of shape begins.

The Woodcock, Scolopax rusticula, possesses —
10 primaries ;

13 secondaries, the last of which is the longest, and is
followed by several abbreviated secondaries.
Sundevall says that it has —

12 secondaries, nearly alike in structure and size ;

4 decidedly shorter feathers.

The Turnstone, Sti^epsilas inter pres, has —
10 primaries ;
9 secondaries with white bases ;

3 elongated and coloured like the coverts, followed by
several abbreviated ones.
Sundevall agrees that there are 12 secondaries unabbre-
viated, though he divides them differently.

So far we find some difficulty in explaining the figures
given by the Swedish naturalist, but we have arrived at the
conclusion that the number of unabbreviated secondaries in
Limicolse varies from 12 to 17. I have examined a con-
siderable number of species, and have not yet met with an
exception to this rule.

Passing on to the Grallse, I find the Water Rail, Rallus
aquaticus, to have a vring constructed as follows : —
10 primaries.
9 unabbreviated secondaries, of which the last is
coloured like the succeeding abbreviated ones, the
last but one (the 8th) being slightly intermediate.
The wing of the Corn Crake, Crex pratensis, is formed on
precisely the same model; nevertheless Sundevall, though he

288 Mr. H. Seebolim on the number of Secondaries in Birds.

agrees that the total number of unabbreviated secondaries
is alike in the two species, makes it 10 ; and^ for some inscru-
table reason^ divides those of the Corn Crake into 9 typical and
1 aberrant, but those of the Water Rail into 7 typical and
3 aberrant.

The wing of the Coot, Fulica atra, exactly resembles those
of the Corn Crake and Water Rail, but Sundevall makes it
consist of 9 typical and 3 aberrant unabbreviated primaries.

If further investigation should prove that in the family
Rallidae there are never more than 9 unabbreviated secon-
daries, and in the family Charadriidee never less than 12, we
have a most valuable external character by which a Rail may
be distinguished from a Sandpiper, and which we may at
once apply to the remarkable bird Tringa leucoptera, which
many ornithologists regard as a Rail. So far as it is possible
to ascertain without relaxing the specimen in the Leyden
Museum, which is in a very fragile condition, it has at least
10 unabbreviated secondaries, so that the imperfect evidence
at our command confirms the original determination of the
bird as a Sandpiper.

Turning now to Sundevall's synopsis, we find that a remark-
able character presents itself in all the Gallinse which he ap-
pears to have examined. These birds differ from all the others
contained in his list in having an abbreviated 1st secondary.
Bastard primaries are common enough, especially amongst
the family Turdidae, but bastard secondaries are probably
confined to Game Birds.

The wing of the Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, is con-
structed as follows : —
10 primaries ;
1 abbreviated secondary, an inch and a half or more
shorter than the rest.
10 unabbreviated secondaries, followed by several abbre-
viated ones, of which the first is not abbreviated
more than an eighth of an inch.

In the Red-legged Partridge, Caccabis rufa, the bastard
secondary is Ij inches shorter than the second secondary, but
there appear to be only 9 unabbreviated secondaries.

Hans von Berlepsch on new Trochilidse. 289

How far the existence of an abbreviated secondary (or, in
other words, to what extent the abbreviation of the 1st
secondary) extends to the various famiHes in the Order
Gallinae is a question of great interest. SundevalFs attention
was probably first directed to the abbreviation of the 1st
secondary or 11th quill by Nitzsch, who enumerates the fol-
lowing genera as exceptional in this respect : — Numida, Poly-
plectron, Lophopliorus, Crax, Ptnelope, and Crypturus.

In Numida the abnormally abbreviated 1st secondary
appears to be only about half the length of the rest, but in
Polyplectron and Lojjhophorus the abbreviation is very slight.
It is, however, by no means absent : in both these genera
the difference in length between the 11th and 12th wing-
feathers is twice as great as that between the 12th and 13th.

Crax, Penelope, and Crypturus, on the other hand, have
the lltli quill scarcely shorter than the 12th. It is very
satisfactory to find that the Hemipodes and the Sand Grouse,
which differ from the Grouse and Pheasants in having two
layers of spots on their eggs, also differ from them in not
having the 1st secondary abbreviated. The importance of
the character is also increased by the fact that it confirms
Huxley's divisions of the true Gallinoe into Peristeropodes
and Alectoropodes. The latter have the first secondary
abbreviated, but the former have not.

It is very difficult to examine the quills of a bird in the
skin, and a series of expanded wings of typical birds of all
the various genera would be very interesting, and might
lead to important results.

XXIX. — Descriptions of new Species and Subspecies of
Trochilidse. By Hans von Berlepsch.

1. Phaethornis nattereri, sp. nov.

Phaetornis longuemareus, Pelzeln (nee Less.), Orn. Brasil.
p. 27 (Matogrosso).

Ph. nattereri, sp. nov.. Ph. longuemarei affinis, differt rectri-
cibus omnibus imprimis externis multo angustioribus,
intermediis inter apicem album et basin pallidius bronzi-

290 Hans von Berlepsch on new Trocliilidse.

num griseo-brunneis (nee nigreseeutibus), submediis
ante apicem album Isete rufisj externis apice et extus
latissime rufis : corpore subtus pallidiore, nigredine guise
vel nulla vel inconspicua : tectricibus subcaudalibus
fulvis nee albis^ supraeaudalibus fere unicoloribus
badio-rufis. Long. tot. eirc. 100, al. 48-45|, rectr.
intermed. 47-44, submed. 34i-34, extern. 204-18|,
rostr. 24|-22| mm.
Habitat. Prov. Matogrosso, Brasil. centr. ; Cai9ara (Oc-
tober) and Engenho do Cap. Gama (September) (coll. Job.
Natterer, 6 specimens).
Mus. Vindob. et H. v. B.

Having always siispected that the Humming-bird from
Matogrosso named " Phaetornis longuemarei, Less./' by
Pelzeln must really belong to an undescribed species, I lately
asked Herr von Pelzeln to send me some of Natterer's skins
for inspection. My distinguished friend most obligingly sent
me four specimens (out of six collected by Natterer) for
comparison, one of which I was allowed to retain for my
own collection.

As I had anticipated, the Matogrosso bird proves to be
quite different from Ph. longuemarei, Less., with which
Herr von Pelzeln, for want of authentic specimens, had
identified it ; and I have now very much pleasure in
describing it as a new species, and in naming it after its illus-
trious discoverer, the late Johann Natterer; Herr von Pelzeln
having kindly allowed me to do so.

The four specimens sent for my inspection all agree among
themselves in the characters distinguishing them from Ph.
longuemarei, of which I have before me several specimens
from Cayenne and Trinidad.

The most important point of distinction seems to consist
in the form of the tail-feathers, which in Ph. natter eri are
rather narrow, while they are unusually broad in true Ph. lon-
guemarei. The coloration of the tail in Ph, nattereri is
altogether different, the two middle tail-feathers being pale
brownish grey in their middle portion, not black or blackish
as in true Ph. longuemarei, and presenting a paler bronze tint
to their bases. The next following pair of rectrices possess

Hans von Berlepsch on new Trochilidse. 291

a great amount of rufous on the outer webs, and a slight
rufous suffusion on the inner web before the white tips. In
true Fh. longuemarei there is no, or but little, rufous tint
on the submedian tail-feathers.

The outer tail-feathers in Ph. nattereri possess very long
rufous tips ; in Ph. longuemarei there is a narrow white
or rufous border to the tip. The middle portion of these
rectrices in Ph. 7iattereri is onlyslightly tinged with violaceous
on the inner web, while they are altogether blacker for a
long distance on both webs in Ph. longuemm'ei.

Besides these differences in the colour of the tail, I observe
that in Ph. nattereri the underparts of the body are a paler
fulvous, the jugulum only being slightly suffused with rufous.
The throat does not show the large black spots so conspicuous
in true Ph. longuemarei ; these in Ph. nattereri are either
completely wanting or invisible except at the extreme bases
when the feathers are raised. The top of the head is a
paler sandy rufous-brown. The upper tail-coverts are
nearly uniform dark rufous, with no trace of the green spots
to be seen there in the other species. The black tip to the
under mandible is reduced to a minimum, being much shorter
than in Ph. longuemarei.

I may add that, by the courtesy of Oberamtmann F. Heine,
I have been able to examine at St. Burchard, near Halber-
stadt, the type specimen of Ph. apheles, Heine, described in
Journ. f. Orn. 1884, p. 235, said to have been collected by
Warscewicz in Northern Peru. The type is a very bad and
imperfect specimen, but appears to me to belong to another
distinct species of this group, differing from Ph. nattereri by
the pure black and broad subapical band to the outer tail-
feathers and in its much shorter wings. In other respects it
agrees well with Ph. nattereri both in having no traces of black
spots on the throat, as well as in the narrowness of the tail-
feathers and the large amount of rufous to the tips of the
outer tail-feathers, which characters suffice to distinguish it
at a glance from the allied Ph. longuemarei.

292 Hans von Berlepsch on new Trochilidae.

2. Iache lawrencei^ sp. n.

Circe latirostris, Lawr. (nee Swains.) Proc. Boston Soc,
N. H. 1871 (Tres Marias) .

I. laivrencei, sp. n., /. latirostri (Sw.) affinis, differt giila

circumseripte splendide glauco-viridi (nee chalybeo-

eyaneo), tectricibus snhcaudalibus obscure griseis disco

late chalybeo-nigris, tectricibus supracaudalibus item

obscurius viridibus. Long. tot. 90-93, al. 53^, caud. 34^,

rostr. 19-17^j caudse furca 8^-8 mm.

Habitat in insulis Tres Marias (coll. Grayson et Forrer).

Mus. U. S. National Mus. et Mus. H. v. B. (two c? ad.,

Tres Marias, obtained by Alplionse Forrer, 23rd February

and 4th May).

The lache inhabiting the Tres Marias Islands, hitherto
believed to be identical with the mainland species, viz. the
well-known /. latii'ostris (Sw.), on closer examination proves
to be perfectly distinct from it. The chief point of difference
is to be found in the colour of the throat, which in the Tres
Marias bird is of a brilliant deep golden green with a slight
shade of bluish green, while it appears splendid steel-blue or
violet water-blue in /. latirostris. As a rule, in /. latirostris
the breast and abdomen show a bluish-green tint, while in the
Tres Marias bird a rather golden or bronzy hue is prevalent
on these parts of the body.

Another important character by which the new species
might well be distinguished lies in the pattern o£ the under
tail-coverts, which, in this bird, are conspicuously spotted
with steel-black and broadly margined with greyish white,
producing a rather sombre colouring. In /. latirostris, on
the contrary, they appear nearly uniform white, presenting
only indefinite spots of pale smoky brown, which are darker
and larger on the smaller coverts, but nearly absent on the
longer ones.

As a rule, the upper parts in the Tres Marias bird are
more indued with coppery bronze, but I have specimens of
/. latirostris which in this respect are hardly different from
it. The upper tail-coverts in the former are certainly of a
darker or a more sombre green. It appears that the new
species generally possesses a shorter bill, but I have speci-

Hans von Berlepsch on new Trochilidse. 293

mens of /. latirostris before me which, in this character, do
not differ from a long-billed specimen from the Tres Marias.
I have long possessed a Humming-bird obtained by Forrer
in the Tres Marias Islands (received from the collector in
October 1882), and always remarked its difference from
true /. latirostris. For some time I was inclined to believe
this bird to be the same as /, magica (Muls. & Verr.) de-
scribed from Mazatlan ; nevertheless, entertaining some doubt
about its correct determination, I sent it over last year to
my esteemed friend Mr. Geo. N. Lawrence, of New York,
asking him to compare it with the type specimen of /. magica
in the famous collection of Mr. D. G. Elliot. Mr. Law-
rence showed my bird to Mr. ElHot himself, who replied
that he could not make the desired comparison, his collec-
tion being at that time inaccessible, but that he strongly
believed my bird to be quite different from /. magica, the
latter being of rather inferior size &c. At the same time
Mr. Lawrence confirmed my belief that the Tres Marias bird
was quite different from true /. latirostris, as did also Mr. Ridg-
way, who told me that my specimen exactly agreed with a
skin belonging to the U.S. National Museum collected in Tres
Marias by the late Col. A. F. Grayson. As regards the skins
of lache collected near Mazatlan by Grayson, Mr. Ridgway
informed me that they were in no way different from speci-
mens of true /. latirostris from different parts of Mexico and
Arizona. Concerning /. magica, Bourc. & Muls., Mr. Ridg-
way suggests the probability of its being founded on an im-
mature specimen of /. latirostris.

Finding the material for comparison at my own command
still incomplete, I wrote to Mr. A. Forrer, of Santa Cruz,
Ca., asking him to send me all the specimens of lache col-
lected by him. He immediately forwarded five of the desired
birds to me, viz. one collected in the Tres Marias, agreeing
perfectly with my former specimen ; further, three skins col-
lected near Mazatlan, which generally agree well with speci-
mens of true /. latirostris from Central Mexico, but are of
somewhat inferior size ; and a fifth skin exactly identical with
the Mazatlan specimens, but said to have been obtained in

SER. V. — VOL. V. X

294 Hans von Berlepscli ow neiv Trocliilidse.

Tres Marias ! I have some doubt whether the locality given
to the last specimen may not be erroneous. It is quite likely
that the label affixed to this bird may have properly belonged
to another, Mr. Forrer not being in the habit of fastening
the labels to the legs of his Humming-birds. In an accom-
panying letter Mr. Forrer kindly informed me that he strongly
believed there were two species of lache inhabiting the
countries visited by him, and that from his recollection he
believed both to occur in the Tres Marias, while on the main-
land he observed but one species, viz. the blue-throated
/. latirosti'is.

Having thus far satisfied myself of the distinctness of the
green-throated lache from the Tres Marias, I take the liberty
of naming it after Mr. Geo. N. Lawrence, to whom the orni-
thology of those islands owes so many interesting additions,
and who is now one of the best authorities on Humming-
birds. Nevertheless, in my mind, a further examination of
the type specimen o£ /. magica in Mr. Elliotts collection is
highly desirable.

3. EULAMPIS JUGULARIS EXIMIUS, Subsp. UOV.

Simillimus E.jugulari, sed rostro multo longiore fortiore et
magis arcuato, alls paullo brevioribus, necnon capite
supra et dorso sordidius nigris magis viridi mixtis,
distinguendus.

E.jugularis eximius. Long. tot. 121-124, al. 73-72^, caud.
43-40, rostr. (culm.) 28| mm.

E.jugularis ex Martinique (three specimens measured).
Long. tot. 107-110, al. 771-7Q, caud. 43|-42, rostr. (culm.)
23-191 mm.

Habitat in ins. Nevis {fide Whitely).

Mus. H. V. B. (two specimens received from Whitely).

The difiference of the new subspecies from true E.jugularis
(Linn.) chiefly consists in its much longer, stronger, and
more curved bill ; at the same time tbe wings are a little
shorter. Regarding coloration the two are very similar;
nevertheless I observe that in my new subspecies the black
of the upper part of the head and back is much duller
and much mixed with green, all these parts appearing deep

Hans von Berlepscli on new Trocliilidse. 295

velvet-black in the true E. jugularis, with rather a bluish
than a greenish suffusion. The green of the upper wing-
coverts in the new bird is less indued with golden bronze
than in E. jugularis proper.

The two skins of my collection pretty well agree in the
characters distinguishing them from true E. jugularis. I got
these birds in February last year th'rough the well-known
dealer in natural objects, Mr. Henry Wliitely, o£ Woolwich,
who labelled them as coming from the island of Nevis. I
have no reason to doubt the correctness of this statement,
although it requires further confirmation, I may add,
however, that in the same consignment Mr. Whitely also
forwarded to me a specimen of E. holosericeus longirostris,
Gould, a subspecies differing from the true E. holosericeus in
the same way that my new E. jugularis eximius does from
E. jugularis, and that this skin again bears a label on which,
in Mr. Whitely's handwriting, "Nevis^^ is noted. Therefore
I think it very likely that both these long-billed forms of the
two species of Eulampis are to be found on one and the same
island, and this may be the little-known island of Nevis.

4. DlPHLOG^NA IRIS BUCKLEYI, Subsp. UOV.

(^ ad. nitore pilei in fronte et ad latera minus rubro potius
aureo-viridi, guise gemma pallidius amethystina viridi
adumbrata, necnon abdomine, uropygio rectricibusque
obscurius cinnamomeo-brunneis a mare DiphlogcEna iris
distinguendus. (^ ad. Long. tot. 135, al. 82, caud. 57,
rostr. 27|, caudse furca 17 mm. ? ad. Long. tot. 130|,
al. 76, caud. 50, rostr. 29, caudse furca 11 mm.
Habitat. Ecuador (eastern side of the Andes?), coll. C.
Buckley.

Mus. H. V. B. ((J and $ received from H. Whitely).
This is but a slight subspecies of D. iris, Gould (the latter
having been originally described from Northern Peru), repre-
senting it in Ecuador, probably on the eastern side of the
chief range of the Andes, where it was collected by the late
Mr. Clarence Buckley, to whom science is indebted for so
many interesting discoveries. I have accordingly named it
in memory of him.

x2

296 Hans von Berlepsch on new Trocliilidse.

I must remark that my friend Dr. Taczanowski, of War-
saw, first pointed out to me in what way the Ecuadorian bird
differed, in his opinion, from a series of skins of true D. iris
collected near Chachapoyas, N. Peru, by Jean Stolzmann ; at
the same time suggesting to me to describe the Ecuadorian
form as a new species. The chief distinction, as expressed in
the above diagnosis, will be found in the different shade of the
front part and the sides of the pileum, w^here, in the adult male
of true D. iris, the lustre is decidedly more crimson, while a
more golden, or even a greenish-golden, hue is observable
on D. iris buckleyi, especially on the front. The amethys-
tine gem-spot in the middle of the throat is of a lighter shade,
and somewhat mixed with a greenish tint, which is not to be
seen in true D. iris. The throat and breast are of a lighter
and more golden green, while they show a deeper bluish-
green lustre in D. iris. It appears also that the green of
the breast comes further down in the Ecuadorian bird, being
more restricted in the Peruvian form. The hind neck and
upper part of the back are of a rather lighter shade, more of
a greenish than of a blackish-bronze colour. The castaneous
parts of the body, especially the abdomen, are of a darker
shade, and the tertiaries are not margined exteriorly with a
black border, which seems to be characteristic of true D. iris.

5. Chlorostilbon comptus, sp. nov.

<^ ad. pileo omnino squamoso splendidissime aureo-
cupreo, gula pectoreque splendide aureo-viridibus, abdo-
mine purius aureo micante : corpore superiore reliquo
semilucente aureo-viridi cupreo perfuso, tectricibus
caudse superioribus et inferioribus purius viridibus :
caudse profunde furcatte rectricibus chalybeo-nigris
nitore viindescente : rostro penitus nigro. Long. tot.
83, al. 48|, caud. 29^, rostr. 13f , caudse furca 7^ mm.
Obs. Ch. melanorhyncho, Gould, ex Quito, mandibula peni-
tus nigra affinis, diflfert pileo splendidissime aureo-cupreo nee
aureo-viridi, dorso magis cupreo perfuso, abdomine magis
aurato, rectricibus paullo angustioribus et viridescentioribus,
necnon rostro paullo breviore et graciliore, alis paullo brevi-
oribus, rectricibus tamen longioribus.

Hans von Berlepscli on new Trochilidte. 297

Habitat in Antioquia ; Terico or Carauianto {fide Schmey) .
Specimen typ. unic. in Mus. H. v. B. asservatuni (no. 6688).

The type of this description was forwarded to me in Oc-
tober 1879 by a dealer^ Mr. Schmey, of Coburg,. together
with other skins received directly from the districts of Terico
and Caramanto, in Antioquia.

Chi. comptus, Berl., evidently comes nearest to Chi. mela-
norhynchus, Gould (=^angustipennis, Elliot, nee Fras.), of
Quito; but having examined a large number of skins of the
latter species, I have satisfied myself that the characters by
which the Antioquian bird differs from them, although small,
are well founded. They consist chiefly in the different lustre
of the upper parts of the head, which is of an exceedingly
beautiful coppery-golden hue (being greenish golden in Chi.
melanorhynchus) . The back is also more indued with coppery
bronze ; the throat and breast appear more golden, instead of
bluish green. The abdomen is much moi'e golden. The tail-
feathers are somewhat narrower and of a more greenish steel-
blue. The bill is somewhat shorter and slendei'er ; the wings
also shorter ; the tail, on the contrary, is rather longer than
in true Chi. melanorhynchus .

6. Chlorostilbon subfurcatus, sp. nov.

Chlorostilbon prasinus, Salvin (nee Leas.), Ibis, 1885,
p. 436 (Roraima).

^ pileo squaraoso, regione mystacali, mento genisque
splendidissime aureis; gula, jugulo pectoreque superiore
splendidissime aureo-viridibus Ccerulescente lavatis :
abdomine splendide seneo-viridi, aureo perfuso, corpore
superiore reliquo obscurius aureo-viridi semilucenle :
caudse subfurcatse rectricibus chalybeo-nigris : rostro
nigro.
(J foeminse Chi. atala (Less.) simillima.
Obs. Chi. a Chi. prasino (Less.), ex Cayenna, cui affinis,
jugulo cserulescente et cauda subfurcata nee rotundata, necnon
alls caudaque multo longioribus, a Chi. daphne, '' Boarc.,^'
Gould, rostro multo breviore, jugulo minus Igete cserulescente
et Cauda distinctius furcata, distinguendus.

298 Hans von Berlepscli on new Trocliilidse.

8 ad. {^). Long. tot. 77-72, al. 47^-451, caud. 26-241,
rostr. 14-12J, caudse furcai 3f-2|.

2 ad. ( ? ). Long. tot. 76-75, al. 46, caud. 26-25^, rostr.
14|-14^, caudae furcae 2 mm.

Habitat. Roraima, Brit. Guiana, 3500-4500 feet (H.
Whitely, jr., coll.).

Mus. Salv. & Godm. and H. v. B. (In my collection there
are eight adult males from Roraima, 8th and 21th August,
4th October, 1st, 2nd, 6th, 8th November, and two females,
29th January and 28th September, collected by H. Whitely,

jr.)

The large series of skins of this apparently new species now
before me enables me to speak more confidently about its
distinctness from the allied forms of this difficult group. It
is evidently nearly allied to Chi. prasimis (Less.) of Cayenne,
with which my friend Mr. O. Salvin has united it; but in
my opinion the bluish tinge of the fore neck (which is present
in all my Horaima birds, whilst it is altogether absent in an
undoubted Cayenne skin of my collection), the distinct and
deep emargination of the tail, showing an approach to
Chi. atala (while in true Chi. prasimis the tail is rounded,
the outer rectrices being shorter than the middle ones), and
the much longer wing- and tail-feathers are characters by
which my new species will be recognized primo visu. Perhaps
there exists a still closer relationship between the new species
and a bird inhabiting Upper Amazonia, which I believe is
entitled to bear the name Chi. daphne, " Bourc.,^'' Gould.
Nevertheless two skins in my museum from 01iveu9a (Upper
Amazons) and Yquitos ? [Whitely) are different from Chi.
subfurcatus in possessing much longer and stronger bills, and
in presenting a much more decided blue shade on the throat
and fore neck. Further, the emargination of the tail is
much less than in Chi. subfurcatus.

Muenden, March 1887.

Ibis, 1887. PI. IX

KanKarl imp.

TKAHRHALEU5 PALLIDUS

Dr. AI. Meuzbier on PalcearcHc Birds. .299

XXX. — On some new or rare Paleearctic Birds. By Dr. M.
Menzbier, Professor in the University of Moscow.

(Plate IX.)

1 GIVE herewith the descriptions of some new and a few
notes on some little-known Palaearctic birds^ based upon the
specimens preserved in the late Mr. Severtzow's and my own
ornithological collections.

Tharrhaleus pallidus, sp. nov. (Plate IX.)
Th. pallidas : supra brunnescens, subtus flavescens, gula et
pectore brunneo variegatis.

Dimensions. ? : wing 75 millim.^ tail 68, bill 12, tarsus 19.

Description. Legs aud feet flesh-coloured; bill brown,
paler on the lower mandible and at the base. Plumage
above earth-brown, under surface of the body whitish yellow.
The head, back, and scapulars pale earth- brown, each feather
earth-brown broadly margined with ochreous ; wing-coverts
brown, margined with whitish, the greater broadly margined
with ochreous on the outer webs and with whitish on the
tips ; upper tail-coverts more uniformly pale brown. Lores
and ear-coverts brownish ; chin brownish, each feather brown
margined with whitish ; throat, breast, abdomen, and under
tail-coverts whitish yellow, with brown on the throat and
breast, each feather of the last mentioned parts being brown
on the basal half; flanks brownish, each feather with a
browner shaft-stripe. Wing and tail-feathers brown mar-
gined with ochreous.

There can be no doubt that in the more worn plumage
this species would have more dusky and uniformly coloured
chin, throat, and breast.

The young bird (in the first plumage) is similar to the
adult in the shades of its colour, but has the brown on both
the upper and under surfaces of the body more intense.

Two specimens of this new Tharrhaleus were obtained by
Mr. Severtzow's collector in North-western Mongolia, near
Khobdo. The bird probably breeds in the branches of the
Altai Mountains, and winters in the plains of Mongolia.

300 Dr. M. Meuzbier on new or

Trochalopteron prjevalskii, sp. nov.

Trochalopteron ellioti, Prjev. " Mongolia and the Tangut
Country'' (in Russ.), p. 66 (1876).

Troch. ellioti similis, seel major, rostro validiore, colore toto
brunneo-grisescente, capite pallidiore, alarum colore
cinerascente nee ferrugineo praedominante, rectricibus
duabus mediauis cinereis, albo terminatis.

Dimensions. ^ : wing 103 millim., tail 130, bill 9, tarsus
35 ; ? : wing 98, tail 125, bill 9, tarsus 33.

Description. Legs and feet flesh-coloured ; bill black.
Plumage above greyish brown, under surface of the body
clear brown. The top and back of the head and back of the
neck whitish brown ; upper back, scapulars, and wing-coverts
greyish brown, each feather of the back and scapulars tipped
on a brown ground with whitish ; lower back and upper tail-
coverts brownish grey. Lores dark brown ; ear-coverts
brown. Sides of the neck, chin, and throat clear brown
each feather margined on the top with greyish white ; breast
reddish brown, flanks greyish brown, abdomen rufous, under
tail- coverts ferruginous. Quills brownish black, with a fer-
ruginous patch on the basal half of the outer webs ; primaries
conspicuously margined on the outer webs with bluish
grey, secondaries and tertiaries gradually passing into slaty
grey. Tail slaty brown, each feather broadly tipped with
white ; two middle tail-feathers slaty grey throughout their
length, the other washed with ferruginous on the basal half
of the outer webs, two exterior excepted.

Female similar to the male (specimens in our collections in
rather worn plumage) .

This species was discovered by General Prjevalsky ia the
mountains of Kan-sou, and I am pleased to propose its
specific name in honour of the famous traveller. My
description is based upon the two specimens from Gen.
Prjevalsky's collection ( J ? ) obtained in May in Kan-
sou, and now preserved in Mr. Severtzow's ornithological
collection. Two typical specimens of Trochalopteron ellioti,
obtained by Pere David, are before us for a comparison with
its nearest allv.

7'are Palcearctic Birds. 301

Gecinds zARUDNoi, sp. nov.

In the Bull, des Nat. de Moscou, 1886, No. 2, T published
a description of a new species of Woodpecker, Gecinus flavi-
rostris, received from my friend Mr. Zarudnoi. Since that
notice was issued I have received the typical specimens of
this interesting bird and find that it is a near ally of
G. sqimmatus of the Himalayas, of which a specimen is
before me for comparison. Now, after receiving ' The Ibis '
for January 1887, I find that our bird has been also described
by Mr. Hargitt under the name G. gorii. Without doubt
the last name must be considered a synonym, the specific name
proposed for this bird by Mr. Zarudnoi having a priority of
some months. But unfortunately the specific name G.
flavirostris cannot stand for Zarudnoi^s Woodpecker, this
name having been previously given to another Woodpecker
(G. flavirostris, Verr., from Khukhu-nor). I therefore
propose that Zarudnoi's Woodpecker should be known as
G. zarudnoi, that gentleman having been the first to publish
this Afghan sj)ecies as new to science*.

It is seldom that the history of a bird is so brilliant as in
the case of this Afghan species, which is so fortunate as to
have received three names in the course of four months.

Phasianus principalis, Sclater.

Two species of true Pheasants have been lately established
as new to science — Ph. principalis, Sclater, from the Bala
Murghab, Northern Afghanistan^ and Ph. komarowi, Bgdn.,
from Aschabad. Since I received both the descrip-
tions, I have had an opportunity of comparing the typical
specimen of Ph. komarowi with birds from Bala Murghab,
and after a careful comparison I find that they are the
same. Ph. principalis having been established a month
before Ph. komarowi, the latter name must become a syno-
nym. The geographical range of this Pheasant is as follows.
It is very common throughout the country about the rivers
Murghab, Tedshent, and Dushak, also in the district of
Kaakuk, and along the rivers running from the mountains

* [Under these circumstances, in our opinion, Mr. Hargitt's name
G. gorii should stand. — Edd.]

302 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

of Deregez and Keliat to the N. and N.E., while more to
the west^ iu the country about the rivers Atrek^ Chandyr,
and Sumbar^ the beautiful Ph. persicus takes its place.

Tetrao urogallus^ var. uralensis^ subsp. nov.

T. rogallo similis^ sed ventriculo albo.

This pretty race of the Capercailzie inhabits only tbe pine-
and birch-woods in the country of the southern branches
of the Ural. Its breeding-range is limited probably, on the
west and north, by the river Belaja, and on the north by the
river Ui. In its habits the Bashkirian Capercailzie resembles
the Black Grouse more than the typical Capercailzie.

XXXI. — A List of the Birds of Portugal.
By William C. Tait, Oporto.

[Continued from p. 201.]

111. Cypselus APus (Linn.). '' Pedreiro," Oporto, Pena-
fiel, Vianna, and Redondella, Galicia; " Chiao," Oporto;
" Papalvo/' " Guincho,'' " Gaviao,'' Penafiel ; " Arviao,"
'' Andorinhao,^^ Peniche ; " Zirro,^^ Val de Meudiz ; " Corta-
vento,'^ Sta. Clara a Velha and Algarve ; " Ferreiro,'^ Coim-
bra Museum.

The Swifts arrive at Oporto from the 6tli to 15th of April,
and the last take their departure about the 15 th to 21st of
September, the greater number having already gone by the
end of August. At the seaside they remain later ; at Leya
de Palmeira, in 1883, I saw them almost daily until the 4th,
and one as late as the 7th October.

On the yth September, 1881, I saw a Swift enter its nest
under a tile of the roof of a shed of the Oporto custom-
house,, and on the 12th and 21st I saw one of these birds
flying over my garden, probably one of the same pair. Its
companions had been gone many days previously. On the
16th of September, 1883, I saw a Swift visit its nest at Lc9a
de Palmeira. It has been said that the migratory instinct is
so strong that birds will leave their young when the usual
time for migrating arrives, but in the above instances such
was not the case. The maternal instinct is in fact so strong

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 303

through nature that in many instances it overcomes every
other. It has surprised me to meet with the Swift circling
about in flocks over the summit of our higher mountains.
One woukl think that the high winds usually prevalent
there would have blown away any few insects which might
rise so higli.

It is possible that Cypselus pallidus may also be found in
this country.

112. Cypselus melba (Linn.).

On April IGth^ 1884^ I saw two Alpine Swifts flying about
near the old Moorish castle at Silves^ and on the 22nd two
more near Monchique, Algarve ; and on the 28th I received
a specimen from Alpiar9a, near Santarem, obtained at Alco-
ba^a. In the Lisbon Museum there are a few specimens
from the bathing- village of Nazareth. From Alpiar9a I am
informed that when the brushwood on the commons is fired
in August, a large Swift ^dth a white belly appears and snaps
up the grasshoppers and other insects which fly from the
flames and smoke. It is not seen there at other times. In
the north of Portugal I have never observed this species.

113. Caprimulgus EUROPiEUSj Linn. ^' Noitibo," in many
provinces ; " Boas noites/^ Oporto and Alto Douro ; " Ca
vai," Abrantes ; " Piuta cega," Mogadouro, Alto Douro.

The Nightjar is a summer visitant to Portugal. Common
on the banks of the river Douro^ and may be seen hawking
for insects over the surface of the water near Melres ; scarcer
near Oporto.

It is pretty common on passage in autumn about the
woods at the mouth of the Douro. On the evening of Sep-
tember 28th^ 1883, I saw one of these birds pass over the
sand of the seashore from north to south in a pretty straight
course, with the usual flitting from side to side. I have met
with it in the Alto Douro and at Abrantes. No doubt it is
generally distributed in such an insect-abounding country
as this.

114. Caprimulgus ruficollis, Temm.

There is a single specimen of the Red-necked Nightjar in
the Lisbon INIuseum, obtained in the neighbourhood.

304 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

115. Dendrocopus major^ Liun. " Peto malhado,"
Oporto, Melres, &c. ; " Cavallo rinchante/' Abrantes.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker occurs in the neighbour-
hood of Oporto, especially about Eutre Rios and Melres. I
saw one once at Candal on the opposite side of the river to
Oporto, and also near Braga and Entre os Rios. It is re-
ported to me from Villar cha da Maia, the river Caima,
Penafiel, Alpiar(ja, Abrantes, and various other localities ;
but it is nowhere so abundant as the Green Woodpecker.

116. Dendrocopus medius (Linn.).

There were, in 1880, four specimens of the Middle Spotted
Woodpecker in the Lisbon Museum, of which two were from
Coimbra, one from Oueluz, and one from Cintra.

117. Dendrocopus minor (Linn.). " Peto gallego,''
Penafiel.

I have a specimen of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
obtained at Penafiel, where it is said to be rather common
and has a local name. A head and wings were brought to
me from the wine-district up the Douro ; and the Coimbra
Museum possesses specimens from the neighbouring Cegon-
heira. Although I have looked frequently for this species, I
have never been able to meet with it in the woods.

118. Gecinus sharpii, Saund. " Peto real,^' " Peto
verde,'^ Oporto ; " Picapau," Anchora ; " Peto amarello,""
" Marellrio/' Melres ; " Peto verdeai," " Peto rinchao,"
Caldas d' Aregos ; " Picapau verde,'^ " Cavallo riuchao,''
Coimbra ; " Cavallo rinchante/' Abrantes ; " Cavallinho,^^
Algarve.

Sharpe's Green Woodpecker is very abundant all over
Portugal, its loud laughing alarm-note being heard in every
large pine-wood. The country people say tbat it attacks
ants^ nests, and in consequence its flesh acquires a nasty
taste : perhaps from formic acid.

119. Iynx torquilla, Linn. "Peto da chuva,^^ Oporto;
"Retorta," Penafiel; " Torcicollo," " Piadeira,'' " Papa-
formigas," Coimbra Museum.

The Wryneck^s note is first heard at Oporto from the 22nd

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 305

of Marcli to the 5tli of Aprils and my brother Alfred saw one
on the 10th of March of this year near Povoa de Lanhoso,
neighbourhood of Braga. This species is abundant in gar-
dens, orchards, and on the pollard-oaks on which the vines
are trained in the province of the Minho ; and its piping note
is heard wherever one goes in the spring. Most of them
leave in September, but some remain till the middle of
October, and I saw one on November 3rd near Abrantes.
Dr. Carvalho reports that the Wryneck arrives at Coimbra
from the 20th of March (1884) to the 5th April (1879), and
leaves between the 10th and 19th October.

120. Alcedo ispida, Linn, " Rei do Mar,^^ Valen9a,
Anchora, Vianna do Castello; '^ Marisqueiro,^^ " Passaro
ribeiro,^' Vianna do Castello ; " Marinheiro,"" Caldas do
Gerez; " Chasco do rego," Villar Cha da Maia ; "Pisco
ribeiro,^^ " Pica peixe,^' " Passa rios," Oporto ; " Guarda
rios," Estarreja ; *' Pi9orelho/^ Aveiro ; " Juiz de rio,^^
Peniche ; " Rei senor de la Mar,^^ Galicia.

The Kingfisher has more popular names and attracts the
attention of the peasants more than any other bird. They
look upon it as the type of all that is beautiful. Abundant
on all the streams, it appears to be more numerous near the
coast on estuaries and lagoons during the winter months.

The peasants on the river Minho tell me that the skin of
the Kingfisher is efficacious in keeping moth away from
woollen clothes ^. If so, it is probably the oily smell which
is efiectual.

121. CORACIAS GARRULA, Liuu.

So far as my experience goes, the Roller is uncommon in
Portugal. Dr. P. d^Oliveira, of oiCmbVa, showed me a speci-
men in his collection, and the wing was given to me of one
which had been shot near Palhal copper-mines, Albergaria
Velha. Under date of July 20th, 1883, Dr. Carvalho, of
Coimbra, wrote me that a specimen had just arrived from the
Coimbra Museum. I was disappointed at not meeting with

* [This belief is of unknown antiquity, and has been recorded by
Albertus Magnus. — Ebd.]

306 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

this species on the banks of the Guadiana and in the Algarve,
in April.

122. Merops apiasteRj Liun. " Melharuco/'' " Abel-
haruco/' " Abelhuco," Alto Douro ; " Gralha/' Caldas
d'Aregos ; " Melheiros/^ Abrantes and Santarem.

The Bee-eater is seldom seen so near the sea as Oporto,
but on Sept. 10th, 1878, I shot one at the mouth of the
Douro on passage, and another was shot a short distance off
on the same occasion. It is abundant about Caldas d'Aregos
and in the wine district of the Alto Douro, and still more so
in the south of Portugal. At Abrantes they can be heard
any day chattering at a considerable height, flying in flocks
with a strong elegant flight. Arrives at the beginning of
April and leaves in August and beginning of September. As
they make so much havoc among the bees, the country people
wage war on them whenever they can.

123. Upupa epops, Linn. ^' Poupa,'^ " Poupa-pao," La-
mego ; " Bubella,^' Galicia.

The Hoopoe is a summer visitant and one of the first of
the insectivorous birds to arrive in Portugal. The Lamego
people say that it is the herald of the Cuckoo, and that when
its note is much heard it is a sign of a good harvest ; but I
have seen the Hoopoe much earlier than the Cuckoo — near
Oporto as early as the beginning of March, and in the Algarve
on the 18th of February. The departure takes place in
September. Hoopoes swarm in some parts of the Minho,
and their soft musical note lends an extra charm to the
green woods. They do not seem to be so abundant in the
Algarve.

124. CucuLus cANORUs, Liuu. " Cuco.^^

About Oporto the arrival of the Cuckoo is said to be ex-
pected after St. Joseph's day (March 19th), and I have
generally heard it in the first week in April. Dr. Carvalho
informs me that the Cuckoo arrives at Coimbra from the 11th
of March (1875) to the 12th of April (1877). My observa-
tions do not enable me to fix the date of departure. I shot
a young bird of the year on September 3rd, 1878, at the

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 307

mouth of the Douro, at the time of the passage of the Turtle
Doves. It has surprised me to find the Cuckoo on the top
of some of the serras ; for instance^ one on the north side
of the Caklas do Gerez. I have noticed that when the
Cuckoo utters its note flying, it expands its breast after the
manner of a Pouter Pigeon, and it is comical to see the
curious antics and gesticulations employed by the male
Cuckoo to court the female, with much bowing and tui'ning
from side to side, and spreading of the tail like a fan.

At Caldas do Gerez I was told that a young Cuckoo met
its death in a curious manner. So voracious was it that it
seized the head of its foster-mother^ a Stonechat, and tried
to swallow it : with the result that both the young Cuckoo
and the Stonechat were choked.

125. CoccYSTEs GLAND ARius (Liuu.). '^ Cuco rabilougo,"
Coimbra Museum.

The Great Spotted Cuckoo is scarce in the neighbourhood
of Oporto. On May 23rd, 1880, two of these bii'ds flew close
over my head near Le9a de Palmeira creek, and specimens
have been obtained at Ovar and near Oporto. It appears to
prefer the neighbourhood of marshy ground.

126. Strix flammea, Linn. " Coruja," Portugal and
Galicia.

The Barn Owl is resident and generally distributed. It
nests in the ruins of the Serra do Pilar convent and the old
powder magazine of the Afurada, both near Oporto, and
frequents the belfry towers of the country churches.

127. Asio OTUS (Linn.). '^Mocho.''

The Long-eared Owl, obtained by myself and others near
Oporto, were all found in the winter, and I cannot say whether
this species remains here for the summer.

128. Asio accipitrinus (Pall.). " Mocho,'' '' Coruja do
nabal.^'

The Short-eared Owl is common on the drier flat srround
of the extensive marshes near Ovar, Estarreja, Aveiro, &c.
I have often put them up while snipe-shooting and do not let

308 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

them off, as I believe tliey feed on the Snipe and other birds
at night, a collection of feathers showing where they have
had a meal. During the day they sleep on a dry patch of
rice-stubble, in long grass or rushes. A friend was out
shooting, and on his dog coming to a point he saw one of
these Owls on the ground with a Quail in its claws. The
Owl rose and on firing he brought it down, when the Quail,
which was little hurt, flew away.

I have noticed the Short-eared Owl fi'om the 18th October
to the 6th January, and have not met with it on the same
ground in the spring, summer, or autumn, nor in any other
part of Portugal, On November 1st, 1879, I put one up in
the daytime on the large spit of sand at the entrance to the
river Douro ; it was seated on a log of wood and Avas pro-
bably on passage.

129. Syrxium aluco (Linn.).

I have seen only one specimen of the Tawny Owl in this
country and that had been shot at the mouth of the Douro.
It is said to be common on the upper district of the Tagus
(Ribatejo), and I think it frequents the wide moors of the
Alemtejo.

130. Scops giu (Scop.).

The Scops Owl is common and migratory. I have re-
ceived eggs from Melres. Dr. Carvalho heard its note as
early as March 3rd in 1879, but in 1884 not till April 7th.

131. Bubo ignavus, Forst. '' Bufo/' " Ujo," Melres;
" Corujao,^^ Coimbra Museum.

The Eagle Owl is common on the precipices of the serras
and rivers. It is to be seen at the fine gorge of Na. Senhora
do Salto Aguiar de Sousa, about 12 miles from Oporto, where
the river Sousa breaks through the Serra de Santa Justa.
It breeds also on the Abitureira cliffs, on the north bank of
the Douro, a short distance above Melres, and other suitable
precipitous places. It nests very early in the year, and
makes great havoc with partridges, hares, and rabbits.

132. Athene noctua (Scop.). '^Mocho.^^

The Little Owl is resident and the most abundant of the

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 309

family in Portugal. On April 29tli^ ]86.2_, I took a nest near
Oporto with four eggs^ catchiug the bird on the nest, and on
the 21st of May, returning to look at the nest, which was in a
hollow tree, there were three more eggs in it. The nest con-
sisted of small dry twigs of heather, &c. This Owl frequents
the mountains among the boulders, pine-woods, old oaks, and
chestnut trees, and is also found on the olive-trees. I have
seen them in winter, but it does not follow that they all
remain. On the island of Cies, at the entrance to Vigo Bay,
I saw one of these birds.

133. Gyps fulvus (Gmel.). '^ Abutre.''

The Griffon "S'ulture is found in various parts of the
country, but it is rather scarce, except perhaps on the Serra
do Suajo, where it breeds on the cliflPs near the chapel of Na.
Senhora do Penedo. In a private collection at Ovar I saw a
fine specimen which had been shot in that neighbourhood — a
straggler, no doubt, as marshy ground is not that on which
one would expect to find Vultures. In the Museum at Lisbon
there are specimens from the Ribatejo and Villa Vijosa,
and several in the Coimbra Museum from the Alemtejo.
Between Guardia and Bayona, just over the frontier in
Galicia, many Vultures may be seen sailing about the stony
mountains overlooking the coast.

134. VuLTCR MONACHUS, Liuu. ^^ Pica osso," Coimbra
Museum.

The Lisbon Museum possesses specimens of the Black
Vulture from Collares and Benavente, and there are two in
the Coimbra Museum.

135. Neophron percxopterus (Linn.). "Abutre.^^

In July 1869, I saw a live specimen which I was told had
come from the Serra do INIarao. The Egyptian Vulture is
said to be common in the neighbourhood of Barca d^Alva,
breeding on the precipitous banks of the river Douro near
the Spanish frontier. I have seen flocks of what appeared to
be this bii'd near the Guadiana, and Dr. Hans Gadow tells
me that he saw two of its nests in the fine gorge of the Pulo
do Lobo, near Serpa, on that river.

SER. v. — VOL. V. Y

310 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal

136. Circus ^ruginosus (Linn.) . " Milhafre/' Estarreja ;
"Minhoto/' Aveiro; '' Sapeiro/' Alemtejo.

Abundant and resident on the marshes from Ovar to
Aveiro and similar localities. The Marsh Harriers in this
country show the usual variations in plumage, the white-
shouldered form being very conspicuous while beating
over the rush-beds on the flat grounds near Estarreja. I
found a nest at Ovar and another near Aveiro, both built
in clumps of tall reeds on the marshes and resting on the
ground. The birds hunt very close to the ground, sometimes,
in fact, they appear to beat the rushes with the tips of their
long wings. As they are so sluggish in flight, I doubt their
being able to catch the active Snipe, and they probably pick up
sick and wounded birds, water-rats, frogs, and reptiles. In the
Alemtejo this Harrier is called " Sapeiro " or " toad-eater."

137. Circus cyaneus (Linn.).

The only place where I have seen the Hen Harrier on
several occasions is on the northern end of the lagoon near
Ovar, where one was shot by a friend on the 2nd February,
1874. Dr. Carvalho tells me that this species nests on the
marshes of Arzila and Foja, and that the Coimbra Museum
received specimens from Montargil, Ribatejo. So far as I
know, the Pallid Harrier, C. swainsoni, has not been found in
this country.

138. Circus cineraceus (Mont.). ''Aguia ca9adeira,"
Lisbon Museum.

Of Montagu's Harrier there are in the Lisbon Museum
specimens from Cintra, Evora, and another locality in the
Alemtejo. Dr. Carvalho informs me that this species breeds
on the marshes of Arzila and Foja near Monte Mor o Velho
and that two young ones taken from the nest and other spe-
cimens were sent to the Coimbra Museum from Montargil,
Ribatejo. I saw in the Coimbra Museum one of the nearly
black specimens which are sometimes met with.

139. BuTEo VULGARIS, Lcach. '' Milhafre/' " Minhoto,''
Oporto ; " Milhafre d'aza redonda,'' Coimbra.

The Buzzard is resident and is the commonest of the

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 311

larger Hawks in the neiglibourliood of Oporto, as for
instance in the pine-woods of Lavados, Sto. Andr^ do Cani-
dello, and Mattosinhos. I have seen it circling over the city
of Oporto.

140. Aquila pennata (Gmel.). '^Aguia pequena/' Lis-
bon Museum.

There are specimens of the Booted Eagle in the Lisbon
Museum from Evora and Redonho ; the Coimbra Museum
also possesses a specimen.

141. Aquila n^evia.

Under this name the Coimbra Museum has a specimen of
the Spotted Eagle^ but whether it belongs to the larger
or lesser form I do not know.

142. Aquila adalberti, L. Brehm.

In the grounds of the Crystal Palace, Oporto, there were
formerly two specimens of the White-shouldered Eagle, the
youngest of which I was informed came from the Serra de
Estrella. In the Lisbon Museum there are specimens from
Evora and Villa Vigosa, and there are several in various
stages of plumage in the Coimbra Museum.

143. Aquila CHRYSAETUS (Linn.). " Aguia real," Coimbra
Museum.

The Golden Eagle is found in the wildest serras. In 1873
a live specimen was sent to my brother Alfred from the
Serra do Marao, and he presented it to the Zoological Society
of London. I have seen specimens from the Serra do Gerez,
Serra d-'Estrella, Cintra, and Mafra^ and most of the numerous
Eagles in the Serra do Gerez are probably of this species.

144. CiRCAETus GALLicus (Gmel.). '' Guincho da tainha,"
Coimbra Museum.

In the Crystal Palace of Oporto a specimen of the Short-
toed Eagle was exhibited which had been obtained near Ponte
do Lima ; the Coimbra Museum possesses specimens from
the Quinta da Foja and the Alemtejo ; and I have a pair
obtained at Abrantes, Ribatejo.

y2

312 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

145. NisAETus FASciATUs (Vieill.).

In tlie gardens of the Crystal Palace^ Oporto, there are two
fine live Bonelli's Eagles from the Serra do Marao, presented
by the Visconde de Villar Allen. In the Coimbra Museum
there are four specimens^ and the same number in the Lisbon
Museum.

146. AsTUR PALUMBARius (Linn.).

A solitary specimen of the Goshawk was sent to the Lisbon
Museum from Evora.

147. AccipiTER Nisus (Linn.). " Gafanhoto/' " Gaviao/'
Oporto.

Common and resident in the north of Portugal. I have
received eggs of the Sparrow Hawk from Caudal, near Oporto,
and from Castello de Paiva,

148. MiLvus icTiNUs (Savigny). "Papa pintos/' An-
chora; "Minhoto/' Valen9a ; '' Milhano," " Milhafre de
rabo de bacalhau/^ Abrantes.

The Red Kite is common all over the country, especially
in the south. It is abundant on the banks of the Tagus, but
it is rarely seen in the immediate neighbourhood of Oporto,
where its place is taken by the Buzzard.

149. MiLvus MIGRANS (Bodd.).

The Black Kite, which can be distinguished on the wing
from the Bed Kite, was seen by me on the 5tb April, 1884,
at Beja (Alemtejo), and again on the 7tli of the same month
on the Guadiana. There is a specimen from the Tagus
in the Lisbon Museum ; and it is probably not uncommon in
the southern part of Portugal.

150. Elanus C.ERULEUS (Dcsf.).

There are two specimens of the Black-winged Kite in the
Lisbon Museum, sent from Salvaterra. Dr. Carvalho writes
me that in January one was sent from Montargil (Alemtejo)
to the Coimbra Museum, and another from the same locality
on the 12th July. I saw a pair of what I believe were these
birds near Tuy, a frontier town in Galicia, Spain.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 313

151. Pernis apivorus (Linn.).

Dr. Carvalho informs me that the Honey Buzzard was
formerly represented in the Coimbra Museum, which no
longer possesses a specimen.

152. Falco peregrinus, Tunstall.

My brother Alfred shot a Peregrine at Estarreja in the
winter of 1870, when it was pursuing a Blackbird, which took
refuge in a thicket of brambles. In the Lisbon Museum
there are four specimens, and in the Coimbra Museum there
are two from the Alemtejo.

153. Falco subbuteo, Linn. " Falcao tagarote,'' Coimbra
Museum.

Of the Hobby I have seen examples shot at Le^a de Pal-
meira near Oporto, and at Alpiar9a near Santarera. The
Coimbra Museum possesses many obtained in that neigh-
bourhood, where, according to Dr. Carvalho, it is common
during the summer.

154. Falco jEsalon, Tunstall.

I saw a Merlin in Oporto, which had been obtained in this
country ; and there are specimens in the Coimbra and Lisbon
Museums.

155. Falco tinnunculus, Linn. " Gavijio,'' Melres and
Arcos de Val de Vez ; " Milhafre," " Gaf anhoto,'' Oporto ;
" Pilhafre,'^ Aveiro ; " Peneireiro,^^ Penafiel and Berlengas
Islands ; " Francelho,''^ Alemtejo and Algarve.

The Kestrel is the commonest of the birds of prey, and is
abundant all over Portugal, the old castles, quarries, and
cliflFs being its favourite nesting-places.

The Lesser Kestrel, Falco cenchris, is no doubt found in
this country. I saw a flock of small Hawks at Beja in the
month of April, which I very strongly suspect were of this
species ; they were flying about for a long time near the castle.

156. Pandion haliae'.tus (Linn.). " Mujeiro," Melres ;
'' Aguia pesqueira," '^ Aurifrisio,^' Coimbra Museum.

The boatmen near Melres tell me that a large bird of prey,
which I think must be the Osprey, occasionally frequents the
river Douro and catches grey mullet, whence its name of

314 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

" Mujeiro/^ A friend of mine tells me that when travelling
on one occasion by train about the 20th February, 1883, on
passing between Estarreja and Aveiro lagoon, an Eagle rose
carrying in its claws a large fish, and settled on the edge of
the water. When the train approached the bird tried to rise
again, but the fish was so heavy that it could only drag it
along. From his description I should judge that it was an
Osprey. In the Lisbon Museum there is a specimen from
the lake of Albufeira, in Portugal (not to be confounded
with the large Spanish lagoon of that name near Valencia) .

157. Phalacrocorax carbo (Linn.). " Corvo marinho,"
Portugal.

The Cormorant is very common in winter on the sea-coast.
It is often to be seen on the river Douro, near its mouth.
The Leixoes rocks near Oporto are sometimes crowded with
them. I have not seen this bird in the summer months ;
they generally appear from the middle of October. It was
not nesting on Berlengas Island at the end of May, nor on
Cies Island, Vigo Bay, in June; while, on the contrary, its
near relative, Phalacrocorax graculus, was very common on
these occasions, and I consider the Cormorant to be merely
a winter visitant.

158. Phalacrocorax graculus (Linn.). "Corvo mar-
inho,'' " Galheta," Peniche.

I found numbers of the Shag nesting on Berlengas Island
at the end of May, and also a few pairs on Cies Island, Vigo
Bay, in June. In one of the nests there were two young
birds greatly differing in age and size, a convenient arrange-
ment where the parents have to provide fish for such vora-
cious children.

159. SuLA BASSANA (Linn.) . " Alcatraz/^ Aveiro ; "Mas-
cato,^^ Anchora, Vianna, Oporto, and Galicia; '' Facao,"
Valbom fishermen, Oporto ; " Ganso patola," Coimbra
Museum.

The Gannet is an autumn and winter visitant, arriving in
August in small numbers, but the larger detachments do not
come until October. Some remain till March.
[To be continued.]

ISlotes on British Guiana and its Birds. 315

XXXII. — Afeiv Notes on British Guiana and its Birds.
By W. L. ScLATER, B.A., F.Z.S.
My timCj during the recent visit which I made to Demerara,
was very short, and my attention was by no means specially
devoted to its birds. Nevertheless, as I am tokl that some
few notes on my journey may not be unacceptable to
readers of ' The Ibis/ I have great pleasure in offering them
herewith.

In the first place, I Avish to point out how easy it is now-a-
days, to any one who can spare three or four months for the
purpose, to visit the tropics, and how much there is to be
done in Natural History, even in what is supposed to be
one of the best known of the English colonies.

The whole time of my absence from England last autumn
and winter was under four months, during which I was only
engaged in serious collecting for a period of about six Aveeks.
Yet it will be seen on referring to the papers Avhich some of
my kind friends have prepared for the ' Proceedings of the
Zoological Society/ upon the small collections of Mammals,
Reptiles, and Worms which I was enabled to make, that, in
each of these classes of animal life, forms new to science
were obtained. I have also great hopes that among the
Insects and Arachnids, which have not yet been examined,
some objects of interest will be found.

With reg-ard to the Birds, I must confess I did not exert
myself seriously. Knowing the enormous series which that
energetic collector, Mr. Henry Whitely, has of late years
forwarded from British Guiana, and of which Mr. Salvin
has given such an excellent account in this Journal, I thought
it better to devote my scanty time to other objects.

I have therefore only a few general remarks to make
upon this subject, and one or two notes to ofier upon special
points.

The colony of British Guiana forms, roughly speaking, an
oblong slice cut out of the north-eastern sea-board of South
America, about 200 miles in breadth, and extending some 400
miles into the interior. Of this area the sea-border, for an

316 Mr. W. L. Sclater on

average breadth of some thirty miles, is perfectly flat, and iu
many cases below the level of the spring-tides, from the
inroads of which the land is protected by artificial dams.
Upon the immediate sea-frontage of this flat area all the
cultivated land of British Guiana (consisting almost entirely
of sugar-estates) is situated ; behind the estates is either
forest or marshy treeless ground, generally known in the
colony as '^wet savannah/' Behind the flat sea-board, the
land gradually rises until it culminates in Boraima and the
other mountains which fringe the water-parting between the
rivers of British Guiana and the tributaries of the Amazons
and Orinoco. Here the country, at lower elevations and in
the valleys adjoining the rivers, is covered with forest ; but on
the higher parts it consists of large tracts of open grassy
plains, commonly known as " dry savannah.^'

My short travels in British Guiana were entirely confined
to the sea-board region, except on one occasion when I
penetrated into the interior as far as Bartica Grove, at the
point of union of the Mazaruni and Essequibo Rivers, well
known as one of Mr. Whitely's collecting-stations.

All the bird- collecting which I did in British Guiana took
place at Maccasseema, the hospitable home of my friend
Mr. E. F. im Thurn, whose kind invitation induced me to
visit the colony.

Maccasseema is situated on the right bank of the Pomeroon
Biver, about 30 miles from its mouth, and is about 60 miles
from Georgetown. The house is built on the top of a sand-
hill, which rises about 30 feet above the river. The forest
which once covered the hill has been j)artially cleared, so as
to leave space for the garden, which contains a large number
of tropical plants and trees, and examples of upwards of sixty
species of the order Palmacefe, to which Mr. im Thurn has
devoted special attention.

The garden, from which, however, it is needless to say,
the collector's gun is rigorously excluded, is much resorted
to by birds. Amongst those most commonly to be seen
from the gallery which surrounds the house are perhaps the
Blue Saki {Tanagra episcopus) and the Warroo [Rhampho-

British Guiana and its Birds. 317

ccpIus jacapa), feeding on the fruits of some of the palm-
trees j the " Qu'est-que-dit " {Pitangus sulphur atus) , perched
on the top of one of the trees, and looking out for insects ;
and occasional Humming-birds, of which the commonest
species is Topaza pella. Other birds common in the garden
are Tanagra jjalmarum, the " Calisi ^' of the Indians [Certhiola
chloropyga), and the Sebi-sebi {Chelidoptera te?iebrosa).
Macaws and other small Parrots are often seen flying across
the grounds, but rarely ahght near the house. Mr. im
Thurn has a large aviary full of captives, and a number of
tame birds free round the house. Amongst the latter the
most prominent are the Sun-bird {Eurypyga helias), the
Warra-caba or Trumpeter {Psophia crepitans), and the
Curri-curri or Scarlet Ibis {Eudocimus ruber). The cages
are usually occupied by birds of various species, such as the
Kessi-kessi {Conurus solstitialis) , which are very noisy,
especially early in the morning. Toucans {Rhamphastos vitel-
linus), the Maroudi {Penelope greeyi), and another species
of the same genus (P. cristata), which is said to be confined
to the Corentyne River and Orinoco country, and not to be
found in the intervening districts. Besides these there
were examples of Urochroma purpurata, Caica melanocephala,
and other Parrots. The Caica is remarkable for its excessive
friendliness and sociability. I brought a specimen of it home
with me, which is certainly the tamest bird I have ever
come across. In addition to the above mentioned, there
was a Maam [Tinamus subcristatus) and a Hannaquoi
{Ortalis motmot) ; this latter bird may be regarded as the
Chanticleer of Demarara, for it rouses the sleepy wanderer
most effectively by its far-resounding cry of " hannaquoi ! "
from which, of course, it derives its name.

It may be interesting to readers of ' The Ibis ' to know
that, there being no butcher within a reasonable distance of
Maccasseema, the dinner-table is dependent for its supplies
upon tinned meats and upon game brought in by the
Indians, who pass most of their time in hunting, when they
are not asleep in their hammocks. The principal birds
obtained for food in this way were the Maam ( Tinamus subcris-

318 Mr. W. L. Sclater on

tatus), which is remarkable for its large and savoury pectoral
muscles, the Maroudi, a species of the genus Penelope
{P.greeyi), the Powis [Crax alector), and the Hannaquoi
{Orialis niotmot), besides occasional Pigeons, not to mention
domestic fowls and Muscovy Ducks, of which the supplies
were abundant, but not always of superior quality.

Amongst the birds met with during my numerous ex-
cursions into the bush in the vicinity of Maccasseema.may
be mentioned the following species, of all of which I brought
home specimens : —

Cypborinus musicus. Thamnophilua murinus.

Euphonia cayana. Pitliys rufigula.

Myiarchus ferox. Panyptila cayennensis.

Tyranuus inelancliolicus. Ceryle superciliosa.

Myiozetetes cayennensis. Galbula albirostris.

Pipra leucocilla. Urogalba paradisea.

Pipra gutturalis. Leucopternis albicoUis.

Thamuomanes glaucus. Asturina magnirostris.

I conclude with notes upon a few species.

1. PiTHYS RUFIGULA.

This Ant Thrush, I was told, was commonly known as the
Yackman-bird. It is said to be seen only in pursuit of the
moving troops of Yackman-ants {Eciton, sp, inc.), which,
as is stated, have no nest, but move in enormous masses
through the forest.

The specimen of this bird which 1 procured was shot by
one of the Indians in my presence, while I was engaged in
watching a troop of these ants which were passing through
the forest.

2. Chrysotis bodini.

I found a specimen of this Parrot alive in the aviary at
Maccasseema, and on its death brought its skin home to my
father for determination. It turned out to be rather a rare
species, originally described from, a living specimen in the
Zoological Gardens at Berlin, and of which the exact locality
was not certamly known.

British Guiana and its Birds. 319

Mr. im Thurn's bird was obtained by hiin from the
Indians on the Barima River^ which divides the colony of
British Guiana from Venezuela, and is said to have been
brought from the upper reaches of the same river. This
Parrot is commonly known as the Toua-Toua, and is much
prized by the Indians as being a rare bird and as being
capable of becoming a very good talker.

3. Leucopternis albicollis.

I shot a specimen of this fine Buzzard at Seceeka, on the
Ari-pia-caru, a tributary of the Pomeroon ; it was sitting on
a naked branch of a tree not far from the settlement, and
allowed me to approach within a short distance of it.

4. Opisthocomus cristatus.

So far as I could make out, the Hoatziu is only found in
one district of British Guiana. This is in the eastern part
of the colony, in the county of Berbice, where the bird is said
to be very abundant on the Canje Creek, on which account
it is locally known by the name of the '' Canje Pheasant.^'
The Canje Creek is a large tributary of the Berbice River,
and its mouth is within a mile or two of New Amsterdam,
the second town in the Colony, whence it would be readily
accessible. The bird has also spread a little way up and
down the Berbice River from the mouth of the Canje Creek.
As is well known, the aroid shrub upon which the Canje
Pheasant feeds {Caladium esculentum) gives its flesh a strong
and disagreeable odour, whence comes the saying in the
colony, "to stink as bad as a Canje Pheasant.'^ The
breeding-season of this bird would probably be after the
.rainy season in February or March ; and had I been able to
remain longer in Demerara, it was my intention to make
a special expedition to the Canje River to get specimens
of the eggs and young, in order to verify the American story
of the " Quadrupedal Bird "^. As, however, I was not able
to accomplish this desirable object, my father has asked Mr.
Quelch, the Curator of the Georgetown Museum, to under-
take the job, which he has kindly consented to do.

* Cf. 'Ibis,' 1885, p. 118.

320

Mr. P. L. Sclater on the

In conclusion^ I must not omit to mention that the
scientific names of the birds mentioned above have been
supplied to me by my father, who has also been most kind in
helping me to put together these few notes.

XXXIII. — Remarks on the Species of the Genus Cyclorhis.
By P. L. Sclater.

(Plate X.)

Having been obliged during the preparation of the first
volume of 'Argentine Ornithology* to come to some con-
clusions as to the correct names of the two Argentine species
of Cyclorhis, I have been led to examine carefully the series
of specimens of this genus in the National Collection, which,
since they were catalogued by Dr. Gadow (Cat. B. viii. pp. 316
et seqq.) in 1883, have received considerable additions from
the collection of Messrs. Salvin and Godman and my own.
As, with the aid of this increased number of specimens, I
have come to rather different conclusions as to the best mode
of arranging the species of the genus in natural order, I
venture to put forward my views on this subject, and at the
same time to point out the characters of what I believe to be
a new and interesting member of the group.

1. Head of C. (/uianensis. 2. Do. C. alfi'i-osfris. 3. Do. C. 7u'(/n'rosfnt<.

Species of the Genus Cyclorhis. 321

In different genera of birds, as is notorious^ we find it con-
venient to seize upon various points o£ structure as tlie best
guide to their arrangement. In Cyclorhis the form and
colour of tlie short, compressed. Shrike-like bill appeared to
me to be the most salient point. In the typical species
allied to C. guianensis (fig. 1), and in six other nearly allied
forms, the bill presents a nearly uniform appearance, and
is further remarkable in carrying a large dark plumbeous
spot at the base of the lower mandible. In a seventh species
the bill is similar in structure, but there is no dark mark at
the base of the mandible. In Cyclorhis altirostris (fig. 2)
the structural features are carried to a greater extreme, the
bill being still shorter and the upper mandible still more
elevated. In C. nigrirostris, on the other hand (fig. 3),
we find a less typical kind of beak, this organ being much
less elevated, not so much compressed, and longer in propor-
tion to its size.

I would therefore propose to arrange the ten species of
Cyclorhis known to me as follows : —

A. Bill moderately thickened ; upper mandible

about one third thicker in vertical dimen-
sions than the lower.

a. Plumbeous spot at the base of the lower

mandible.

a'. Belly yeUow (I) flaviventi'is, p. 322.

b\ Belly white or pale cinereous.
a". Breast clear yellow.

a'". Crown greyish (2)Jlavipectus, p. 322.

b'". Crown green, like the back :

occiput green (3) virenticejjs, p. 322.

occiput reddish (4) conirerasi, p. 322.

b". Breast greenish yellow :

I belly greyish (5) guianensis, p. 323.

I belly white . (6) albiventris, p. 323.

b. No plumbeous spot on mandible ; bill

uniform reddish (7) ochrocephala, p. 323.

B. Bill much thickened ; upper mandible

nearly twice as thick as lower; plum-
beous spot on lower mandible (8) altirostris, p. 323.

322 Mr. P. L. Sclater on the

C. Bill thinner, more subulate ; upper man-
dible not nearly so much elevated :

[bill black, spot at base of lower

mandible rufoua (9) nigrirostris, p. 324.

whole bill black (10) atrirostris, p. 324.

I Avill now offer a few remarks on these ten species.

1. Cyclorhis flaviventris^ La£r.

On this species consult Salv. et Godm. Biol. C.-Am., Aves,
i. p. 211. The plumbeous bill-spot is, in some specimens,
almost obsolete. This form extends over South Mexico,
Yucatan, Guatemala, and Honduras. How far the recently
described C. insularis (Ridgw. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. iii.
p. 22), from the island of Cozumel, is different, it is impos-
sible to say in the absence of specimens. I should also be
disposed to question the necessity of separating C. flaviventris
yucatanensis, Ridgw. (Pr. U.S. N. M. 1886, p. 519).

2. Cyclorhis flavipectus, Scl.

Descending the Central-American peninsula southwards,
we find in Costa Rica and Veragua a second form of Cyclo-
rhis with the belly more or less of an ochraceous white. This
has been designated C. subflavescens ; but we agree with the
authors of the Biol. Centr.-Am. in considering that it cannot
be kept apart from C. flavipectus of Colombia, Venezuela,
and Trinidad. It may, perhaps, be treated as a subspecies
[C. flavipectus subflavescens) by those who adopt trinomials.
This seems also to have been Baird's view (Rev. Am. B.
p. 388).

3. Cyclorhis virenticeps, Scl.

The green crown and well-marked dark chestnut super-
ciliaries at once distinguish this species of Western Ecuador.

4. Cyclorhis contrerasi, Tacz. P. Z. S. 1879, p. 224,
pi. xxi.

This form of Western Peru, of which there is now a single
specimen in the National Collection, comes very near the
last, but has the dark chestnut superciliaries widened and
extended over nearly the whole summit of the head.

Species of the Genus Cyclorhis. 323

5. Cyclorhis GuiANENsis (Gm.).

All the specimens of Cyclorhis I have seen from Guiana,
Cayenne, and Upper and Lower Amazonia may be referred
to C guianensis, which has a grey belly, a greenish-yellow
throat, and narrow red superciliaries.

6. Cyclorhis albiventris, Scl.

This form, which is prevalent in S.E. Brazil from Pernam-
bueo to Bahia, comes in some cases, it must be admitted,
very near to C. guianensis, but is recognizable by its white
belly and the rufescent tinge of the crown, which in typical
C. guianensis is of a pure grey. C. cearensis, Baird, Rev.
A. B. p. 391, is stated to have a ''decided buff tinge ^' on
the belly, and cannot therefore, I think, be the same as C.
albiventris, as Graf v. Berlepsch seems to regard it.

7. Cyclorhis ochrocephala, Tsch.

Tschudi's types of this form, which is at once distinguish-
able from the six previously noticed by the uniform reddish
bill, without any trace of the dark plumbeous spot on the
lower mandible, were from South Brazil, where the species is
found in the provinces of Rio, San Paulo, and Rio Grande
do Sul [cf. v. Berlepsch, Zeitschr. £. d. g. Orn. 1885, p. 116).
After examining the series now in the British Museum, T
have come to the conclusion that the Argentine species
hitherto usually called (but erroneously, I believe) C viridis,
may be safely referred to it also. Some of the Argentine
specimens can barely be distinguished from skins from Rio,
though, as a general rule, the southern bird has a brighter
yellow on the breast and not so much rufous tinge on the
crown. C. wiedi of Velzeln (Orn. Bras. p. 74), of Parana,
is also barely separable.

8. Cyclorhis altirostris, Salv. Ibis, 1880, p. 382.

As has been pointed out by Graf v. Berlepsch (Zeitschr.
f. d. g. Orn. 1885, p. 116), this is probably the Habia verde of
Azores, and, if so, ought to have the name " viridis "
of Vieillot. But, as this is by no means certain, and a
quite different species has been hitherto usually recognized

32 i Mr. E. Symonds on Birds

under that name^ it is much better to retain for the present
bird the appropriate designation which Mr. Salvin has applied
to it,

Mr. Whitens specimens from the Argentine Eepublic (C. vi-
ridis, White, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 595) belong to this species.

9. Cyclorhis nigrirostris, Lafr.

Of this very distinct Colombian species there are examples
in the British Museum from Bogota and Antioquia [Salmon).

10. Cyclorhis atrirostris, sp. nov. (Plate X.)

Supra laete viridis, superciliis latis castaneo mixtis et pileo
reliquo hoc colore adumbrato : subtiis cinereus ; pectore
et lateribus viridi tinctis : subalaribus et remigum pagina
interiore sulplmreo-flavis : rostro toto nigro, pedibus
obscure carneis. Long, tota 6, alee 3'2, caudse 2"5.
Hab. ^Equatoria.

The single specimen of this bird in the British Museum,
formerly in the collection of Messrs. Salvin and Godman,
was obtained by Buckley in Ecuador. It is not quite mature,
but appears to belong to a species closely allied to C. ni-
ffrirostris, and with the same form of bill, but without the
light colour at the base of the lower mandible. The large
and lengthened superciliaries also at once distinguish it from
C. nigrirostris, in which they only extend just to the back
of the eye.

XXXIV. — Notes on a Collection of Birds from Kroonsfad, in
the Orange Free State. By Edmond Symonds. (Commu-
nicated by J. H. GuRNEY.)

[Mr. Symonds has sent me specimens of the birds to which
his notes refer (except where the reverse is mentioned), and
I have carefully identified them. — J. H. G.]

1. Helotarsusecaudatus (Daud.). Bufous-backed Bate-
leur Eagle.

There are always two or three pairs of these Eagles on a
farm about six miles from Kroonstad, where there is thick
bush ; they are very shy and difficult to get at ; the Boers
say they do no harm to poultry or lambs.

ftis,1887,Pl.X.

J . & KfeuleiridTislitK

Hanharc ir

anharc irap.

CYCLORHIS ATRlROSTr^lb

->

CENTRAL PA
NlWYORK.

fer(^RALm^lS

'^:

i<^

from Kroonstad, Orange Free State. 325

2. Circus macrukus (Gmel.). Pallid Harrier.

This Harrier is commou throughout this district during
our summer^ but disappears in winter ; they seem very par-
tial to locusts, and all the specimens I have had contained
locusts and grasshoppers in their crops.

3. Circus cineraceus (Mont.). Montagu's Harrier.
This species is rarer here than the preceding one.

4. NisAETUs BELLicosus (Daud.). Martial Hawk Eagle.
Male, immature; iris brown.

This specimen Avas found in the nest 20th September, 1885,
and was kept alive till 15th February, 1886. The nest was
in a mimosa tree about four miles from Kroonstad, and over-
hung the river ; it was easily accessible and was formed of
sticks, apparently from the mimosa trees ; it must have
measured from four to five feet in diameter. The young
bird which the nest contained was all covered with white
down. I watched the nest carefully for about six weeks to
try to get the old birds, but in spite of all my attempts to
hide myself within shot, and although there were many other
trees and bushes close by, they always saw me and turned oif
to some other tree, where they sat and watched until I left;
I even tried by moonlight, but never got a chance. On one
occasion one of the old birds came so near that I could see a
full-grown hare in its claws, but it swerved off just as I was
going to shoot.

On the edge of the nest and on the ground close to it were
skulls and bones of hares and meer-cats {Surlcata tetra-
dactyla) .

When the young bird was almost ready to fly I took him
home and my wife reared him ; he sulked for a few days,
and raw meat had to be pushed down his throat, but after
about a week he took his food well, and eventually he became
so far tame as to let my wife go into his cage (a good large
one) and scratch his head, which he seemed to enjoy. When
he was about to be fed he would erect his crest and half open
his wings, giving vent to a low whistle ; his eyes being large

SER. V. VOL. V. Z

326 Hr. E. Symonds on Birds

and most brilliant^ he looked very grand and handsome in
this position.

My wife left home for about a month, and when she re-
turned the Eagle had forgotten her, and it was no longer
safe to go into his cage ; for on entering it he would slightly
erect his crest, open his wings, throwing his weight upon
one leg, and on attempting to touch him he would strike out
with one foot Avith great rapidity.

Unfortunately the hot summer was too much for him, and
notwithstanding all my efforts in keeping his place cool and
in diminishing his supply of meat, he had a succession of
apoplectic fits, which increased in frequency till, much to my
regret, I had to put him out of his misery.

The old birds are still about here, but I had no time to
look for their nest this year, and they did not use the old
one : they are most destructive to young lambs, which they
kill by coming down upon them with tremendous rapidity,
and striking the formidable hind claw into the lamb, they rip
it completely open, and then either eat it or carry it away ;
they are very difficult birds to get at to shoot, but the farmers
sometimes manage to poison them, and say that strychnine
is very fatal to them in very small doses.

5. BuTEO DESERTORUM (Daud.). Dcscrt Buzzard.

This Buzzard is not uncommon about Kroonstad, but I
have never noticed it during our winter months ; it is said to
be very destructive to chickens.

6. TiNNUNcuLus RUPicoLA (Daud.). Lesser South- African
Kestrel.

These Kestrels are plentiful here ; a pair have built yearly
for the last four or five years in an inaccessible situation on
the Dutch church in Kroonstad.

7. TiNiXUNCULUs RUPicoLoiDEs (Smith). Greater South-
African Kestrel.

The specimen sent is the only one I have shot here, and I
have but very seldom noticed any others.

from Kroonstad, Orange Free State. 327

8. Elands C/ERUleus (Desf.). Black-shouldered Kite.

I have only seen one specimen here; it was shot in the
month of August.

9. Melierax gabar (Daud.). Gabar Hawk.
I have not seen many of this species hei'e.

10. Caprimulgus rufigena^ Smith. Rufous -cheeked
Nightjar.

This species is very common here^ and I think perhaps
remains through the winter, as I saw two in the latter part
of June 1885.

11. Caprimulgus mossambicus, Peters. Mozambique
Nightjar.

The specimen was shot in the willow trees near the river
at Kroonstad.

[This is the most southern example of the species that has
come under my notice. — J. H. G.]

12. CoRAciAs GARRULA, Liuu. European Roller.

This Roller is not uncommon in the bush by the river, but
is very shy and difficult to get a shot at.

13. CoRAciAs N^viA, Daud. White-naped Roller.

The specimen sent was shot in the bush by the river about
five miles from Kroonstad, and is the only one I have seen
here. When first killed it had a beautiful shining appearance,
like shot silk, somewhat of a green and blue colour, but this
subsequently faded ; the head is crested.

14. CoRYTHORNiscYANOSTiGMA(Rupp.). Malachite-crcstcd
Kingfisher.

These Kingfishers are very common in summer on the
banks of the Valsch River, but I have not seen them in
winter.

15. Ceryle rudis (Linn.). Pied Kingfisher.

This species is also very common on the same river ; the
white on the throat shines like satin.

16. Ceryle maxima (Pall.). Great African Kingfisher.
Female, shot 17th August.

z2

328 Mr. E. Symonds on Birds

There is nearly always a pair of these Kingfishers on the
river within the town of Kroonstad, and there is a large flat
stone just in the water at the bathing-place, where they may
be seen in the early morning killing crabs, or perhaps break-
ing their shells by beating them vigorously on the stone ;
the stomach of the specimen sent contained a whole crab
with the shell broken in pieces, and the oviduct contained
eggs that would have been laid in a few days.

17. IJpuPA AFRicANA, Bcchst. South- African Hoopoe.
This species builds here every year ; it is very common and

. very tame.

18. Rhinopomastes CYANOMELAs(Vieill.).' Scimitar-billed
Wood Hoopoe.

These birds are rather plentiful in the bush along the
river.

19. Chrysococcyx cupreus (Bodd.). Didric Cuckoo.
This Cuckoo is very common here, arriving in October and

departing in March.

In the summer of 1884-85 some Sparrows built a nest
and reared their young in a hole under the eaves of my
house ; they had laid for a second time, when one day my
wife told me our Sparrows had been very noisy and in a great
state over something, but we forgot it till on a subsequent
day my wife again called my attention to a queer looking
bird in the Sparrow^s nest which the Sparrows were feeding,
and which, on getting up to the nest, I found to be a young
Golden Cuckoo ready to fly.

[Mr. Symonds has sent this young Cuckoo, which was
taken from the nest in the month of January; the upper
portions of its plumage resemble those of the adult male,
except that it is without any tinge of copper-colour on the
back, and the white markings on the sides and centre of the
pileum are less developed ; the last-named white mark is,
however, a variable character in the adult birds. On the
imder surface the white plumage is profusely intermingled
with dark metallic-green spots, which on the flanks assume
the form of transverse bars, and on the cheeks of longitudinal

froiti Kroonstacl, Orange Free State. 329

lines ; all these markiugs, except those on the flanks, are
absent in the adults.

The bill is oi'auge-red in this nestling and in other very
young specimens that I have seen, whilst in the adult birds
it is black on the upper and dusky on the under mandible.

I have four young specimens but little older than that sent
by Mr. Symonds, of which one (a male) closely resembles
the Kroonstad specimen, but the other three, of which two
are males and one a female, are more or less hepatic on the
head, back, wings, and tail ; these four specimens were dis-
sected and sexed by Mr. Thomas Ayres. — J. H. G.]

20. CoccYSTEs GLANDARius (Linn.). Great Spotted Cuckoo.
These Cuckoos are very common in Kroonstad in our

summer, but are not seen in winter. In the early summer
months the males seem to chase each other about, making a
great chattering scolding sort of noise; this performance
becomes less as Christmas gets nearer, and I have never
heard it after the new year. They are very cunning birds,
hiding themselves in the thickest part of a tree, to which
they let you get close up and then slip away, taking good
care that the tree is between you and them till they are a
fair distance oft'.

[Of three specimens sent by Mr. Symonds, one was shot
the 28th November, the others, one in December and one in
January. — J. H. G.]

21. CoccYSTES JACOBiNus (Bodd.). Black-and-white
Cuckoo.

The specimen sent and one other are all that I have seen
of this species here.

22. PoGONORHYNCHus LEUCOMELAS (Dum.). Pied Barbct.
This species is fairly common here, but I do not send a

specimen. The Black-collared Barbct (P. torquatus) I have
never seen in the Free State ; but I met with quite a flock of
them on the Yokeskey River, Transvaal, about five hours
south of Pretoria ; they were particularly noisy.

330 Mr. E. Symonds on Birds

23. Geocolaptesolivaceus (Lath.). Ground Woodpecker.
I have only seen these birds on one farm in this district,

where the hush is extensive^ the banks being high and of
a kind of soil on which no grass grows. I observed quite a
number of these Woodpeckers sitting on the mimosa trees,
chattering and making a great noise.

24. Dendropicus cardinalis (Gmel.). Cardinal Wood-
pecker.

This species is common in the mimosa bush along the river.

25. Geocichla LiTsiTsiRUPA (Smith). Ground-scraper
Thrush.

This species is common here. I found its nest on a
mimosa tree, built very much as the Missel Thrush builds
at home.

26. TuRDUs OLIVACEUS, Liuu. Olivaceous Thrush.
These Thrushes are commonly seen hopping about under

the trees in the bush.

27. Prinia flavicans (Bonn. & V.). Black-chested
Grass Warbler.

These birds are very common in the gardens here ; one
pair builds yearly in a mulberry-tree a round oblong nest,
with a dome on the top and an entrance at one side, of fine
grass beautifully twisted and woven.

28. Nectarinia famosa (Linn.). Malachite Sun-bird.
These beautiful little birds are common in the town of

Bethlehem (Orange Free State) all through the summer, but
I have never seen them at Kroonstad. Bethlehem is much
colder than this district, and as it is nearer the mountains
(Wittebergen) it has perhaps a greater rainfall, and flowers
may be more plentiful, but there is no bush near it.

29. Lanius minor (Gmel.). Lesser Grey Shrike.

The specimen sent is the only one I have seen here, an
adult female, shot 21th March.

30. Lanius collaris, Linn. Fiskal Shrike.
This ShriKC is common here.

from Kroonstad, Orange Free State. 331

31. Urolestes melanoleucus (Jard. & Selby). South-
African Long-tailed Shrike.

This species is occasionally seen in pairs in the bush by
the river.

3.2. Laniarius GUTTURALis (MiilL). Bacbakiri Bush
Shrike.

A few pairs of these birds are always to be seen or heard
about here, except in winter, when they disappear ; in the
dry years 1883, 1884, aud 1885 they seemed to be very
scarce,

33. Bradyornis silens (Shaw). Pied Wood Shrike.
This species is common all about the town of Kroonstad and

the neighbouring bush.

34. Buchanga assimilis (Bechst.). African Drongo.
Isolated pairs of this species are seen here occasionally.

35. Lamprotornis australis, Smith. BurchelFs Grakle.
These birds are very shy and cunning. I have occasionally

seen a few pairs of them on a farm about nine miles from
Kroonstad, where there is plenty of unfrequented bush near
the river.

36. Lamprotornis phcenicopterus, Swains. Flame-
shouldered Grakle.

This species is common here in pairs.

37. Spreo bicolor (Gmel.). White-rumped Grakle.
These birds are very numerous here.

[Mr. Symonds did not forward specimens of this and the
preceding species. — J. H. G.]

38. Sporopipes squamifrons (Smith) . Scutellated Finch.
These Finches are plentiful here, and in winter go in

flocks with other Estreldce ; they become very tame in con-
finement.

39. Vidua principalis (Linn.) . Dominican Widow-bird.
This is a common species all about here.

332 Mr. E. Symoiids un Birds

40. CoLiusPAssER PROCNE (Bocld.). Loug-tailcd Widow-
bird.

These birds are common in all this district and are very
destructive on corn-lands.

41. Pyromelana oryx (Linn.). Southern Red Bishop-
bird.

This is also a very common species here.

42. QuELEA LATHAMf (Smith). Latham^s Weaver-bird.
These little birds seem to be particularly fond of the town

of Kroonstadj which they frequent in large numbers. I have
several in my aviary^ and observe that in summer, when the
males get their red colour about the head, the bills of the
females turn yellow.

43. Amadina erythrocephala (Linn.). Red-headed
Weaver-bird.

I saw these birds for the first time in May 1885, and had
two in confinement, but they unfortunately died. I have
never seen them in our summer months. I think a pair
built on a Eucalyptus tree in Kroonstad in July 1886, as I
saw them on several occasions going to a nest in the tree
with grass and feathers, and was quite close enough to see
them plainly. T did not disturb them, hoping to get the
young ones, but I left home for a few weeks, and on my
return the birds were gone ; the nest had droppings &c.
round it and the usual signs of having been occupied by
young birds.

44. Hyphantornis mariquensis (Smith). Capricorn
Weaver-bird.

The nests of these Weaver-birds are to be found on nearly
every tree overhanging the river ; their eggs vary greatly
from cream-colour not spotted to greenish thickly spotted
with reddish brown.

[The specimens sent by Mr. Symonds appear to me to
belong to the larger and duller-coloured race of H. velatus,
which should probably be referred to Ploceus ma7-iquensis of
Smith, as to which see Captain Shelley's remarks at p. 31 of
the present volume. — J. H. G.]

from Kroonstad, Orange Free State. 333

45. EsTRELDA ASTRiLD (Linn.). Common Waxbill.

This species is very common here ; the stripe over the eye
is a most brilliant vermilion during life.

46. IJRiEGiNTHUS GRANATiNus (Linn.). Granadine Waxbill.
These beautiful birds I have only seen in the winter, when

they occur in flocks with other Waxbills, feeding on seeds
&c. along the river-banks.

The violet on the cheeks is most brilliant and bright during
life^ flashing in the sun if seen in a proper light.

47. Crithagra ictera (Vieill.). Golden-rumped Seed-
eaters.

These birds are generally found in flocks in the winter
with the Waxbills.

48. Macronyx capensis (Linn.j. Sentinel Pipit.

These Pipits are very plentiful all over this district ; young
pointers will frequently ' stand ' them.

49. (Ena capensis (Linn.) , Long-tailed African Dove.
These Doves are very common all about the town of

Kroonstad and the river. I have frequently tried to catch
them alive, but although I am fairly successful with other
birds, these were too cunning; no sort of live-trap that I
know of wdll catch them, though they walk round and round
and investigate it closely. They nest here, if the few sticks
they put together can be called a nest.

50. Pterocles namaqua, Gmel. Namaqua Sand Grouse.
These birds appear in flocks in the autumn, when the

mealie-lands are cleared. The pair sent I shot together on
30th September : I think they had a nest, though I could
not find it. In November I saw a pair and a young bird
running with them.

51. CoTURNix COMMUNIS, Boun. European Quail.

These Quails are always to be found about the mealie-
lands in April, and occasionally one or two are found at
other times of the year, but they are then less numerous.

52. TuRNix lepurana (Smith). Kurrichane Hemipode.
These birds are also found in the mealie-lands in April,

334 Mr. E. Symonds on Birds

when the meahes are getting ripe, but I have never seen
them at any other season ; they are about as numerous as
the Quails, and both species afford very good sport, but
require a good dog to fiad them, as they lie very close.

53. CuRsoRius RUFUs, Gould. BurchelFs Courser.
This Courser is very common here.

[Mr. Symonds did not send a specimen of this species. —
J. H. G.]

54. CuRsoRius BiciNCTus, Tcmm. South-African Double-
banded Courser.

This species is also very common ; I have found the remains
of ants in the stomach.

55. tEgialitis TRicoLLARis (Vicill.) . Three-collared
Sand Plover.

These little birds are very numerous here, especially near
water. On 25th October, 1885, I found a nest just on the
side of the road, whilst driving, by noticing a Plover
twisting round and scratching with great rapidity. My boy
told me that it had a nest, but although I got out of the cart
at once and kept my eye on the spot, it was some time before
I really saw the nest, if a slight depression in the bare ground
can be so called, though I was staring hard at it all the time.
The two eggs which it contained were completely covered with
dried droppings, little stones, sand, &c., which I had to
remove beiore I could see them. I conclude the old bird
was concealing the eggs by covering them with .dry dung
&c., and that this was the reason of the vigorous scratching.

56. PoRPHYRio sMARAGDONOTUs, Tcmm. Grccn-backcd
Porphyrio.

I think these birds are more plentiful than is generally
supposed in the large grass-pans in the high veldt, but they
are not easily seen, and if seen are difficult to get unless
killed on the spot ; they lie close and seem to creep away,
never to be seen again.

57. BoTAURUS STELLARis. Common Bittern.

The specimen sent is the first I have seen in this district.

from Ki'oonstad, Orange Free State. 335

58. Ardea cinerea, Linn. Common Heron.
These Herons are very common all over the district.

59. Herodias alba (Linn.). Great White Egret.

60. Herodias intermedia (Wagl.). Short-billed White
Egret.

Both this and the preceding species are decidedly scarce
here ; they are only found about the pans in very wet
seasons.

61. Ibis jsthiopica, Lath. Sacred Ibis.

This species is always seen in certain pans and vleys, some-
times in small flocks, but nine is the largest number I have
seen here together.

62. Hydrochelidon hybrida (Pall.). Whiskered Tern.
Four of these Terns were seen in the month of December

1884 at a large reed-pan near Kroonstad, of which the speci-
men sent is one. On two other occasions I have seen the
same species on other pans, but think it must be scarce here.
I know nothing of its habits further than that it incessantly
flies round and skims over the water.

[The specimen sent is an adult bird in full breeding-dress. —
J. H. G.]

63. Hy^drochelidon LEUcoPTERA(Schinz). White-winged
Black Tern.

The specimen sent was shot at the same time as that of
the preceding species ; it is very much more plentiful than
the Whiskered Tern, which it resembles in its habits, thousfh
not so rapid in its flight.

[The specimen sent is in immature plumage. — J. H. G.]

64. Casarca cana. South-African Shell Duck.

These Ducks are not plentiful here ; they appear to nest
on the ground at some distance from the pans, and bring
their young down to the water ; the Boers catch them when
quite yoimg, in the veldt, and rear them, sometimes cutting
their wings and keeping them tame about the house, so that
they swim on the dams with the tame Ducks and Geese.

336 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal 6^c.

65. Thalassornis leuconotAj Smith. White-backed
Duck.

The specimen sent was shot on a pan in this district ; I
have only seen three or four s^iecimens of this species^ though
I have done a good deal of Duck-shooting here.

66. Plotus levaillanti, Licht. African Darter.
There are always one or two Darters about the river close

to Kroonstad, but I have only seen them singly^ never in
pairs ; they sit on old dead stumps of trees over the water
and dive with great ease^ coming up with their heads just
out of the water. For some reason or other they are very
difficult to kill. From the specimen sent I took a freshly-
killed yellow fish 9| inches in length.

[A few years since the Zoological Society of London pos-
sessed a living specimen of Plotus levaillanti, and also examples
of P. anhinga and of P. melanoy aster. Mr. Bartlett has been so
good as to inform me that all three species, whilst under his
observation, captured the living fishes on which they fed in the
same manner, and that a peculiar one : the Darter always
transfixed the fish on its sharp under mandible, from which
it was subsequently tossed off and swallowed ; a somewhat
strenuous jerk was required to throw the fish off from the
lower mandible which had transfixed it, owing to the tomise
of both mandibles being finely serrated. — J. H. G-.]

XXXV. — Notes on the Birds of Natal and adjoining
parts of South Africa. By Henry Seebohm.

Although Natal is a very small country it embraces a wide
range of climate, from the almost tropical coast, heated by
the warm current of the Indian Ocean (which flows steadily
from the equator) , up to the temperate regions of the moun-
tain valleys, five or six thousand feet above the level of the
sea, at the foot of the Drakenberg range, which attain an
elevation of eight to ten thousand feet. The character of
the country varies also in other ways. The sugar-canes of
Durban, the mealies (Indian corn) of Maritzberg, the bush

Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal ^'c. 337

of the Kartloof, the veldt of Hanover and York^ and the
thorn (mimosa) country of Colenso have each their peculiar
bird-life, so that the avifauna of Natal is a very varied one,
rich in sjjecies as well as in individuals. To attempt to
obtain more than the merest passing glimpse of so great a
number of species of birds in so short a time as one month
would be of course impossible. Moreover the month of
March, during which I was in Natal, is unquestionably the
least favourable one in the whole year for the study of
the resident birds. In Natal, March is the beginning of
autumn, most birds are in full moult, skulking in the bush,
and, for the most part, silent. My chief object in visiting
Natal was, not to study the resident birds, but to see some
of our British species in their Avinter home, and to try and
settle one or two vexed questions relating to the moulting
and migration of British birds.

The statement that most, if not all, our species of Waders
(Plovers, Sandpipers, and Snipes) moult their primaries in
spring as well as in autumn has been questioned by so many
practical as well as theoretical ornithologists, that I deter-
mined to visit some winter resort of these birds, and obtain
irrefutable evidence that Naumann knew what he was talking
about when he stated, as an unquestionable fact, that the
Limicolse moult their primaries in spring as well as in
autumn. I chose the Bay of Durban as the most convenient
locality where British birds abound in ai inter. The coast of
South Africa is very steep, the sea is often rough, and the
waves of the Indian Ocean dash against the barren sand-
hills which skirt the shore with so much violence that few
or no birds are to be seen from the deck of the coasters, except
Petrels and now and then a Gull or a Gannet. On the other
hand, the lagoons at the mouths of the rivers swarm with
birds. The sand-hills protect them from the violence of the
winds ; and the periodical floods (for one of the features of
South-African climate is that it never rains but it pours)
bring down abundance of animal and vegetable food, which
the birds can pick up at their leisure on the mud-flats left by
the falling tide. As I expected, I found the Bav of Durban

338 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal ^c.

swarming witli British birds^ — Curlew, Whimbrel, Green-
shankj Grey Plover, Ring Dotterel, Wood Sandpiper,
Common Sandpiper, and Sanderling. The only resident
Waders were the African Sand Plover {Charadrius margina-
^M*), which was very common, the Three-banded Sand Plover
{Charadrius tricoUaris), which was rare, and the Vermiculated
Stone-Curlew [QLdicnemus vermiculatus) , of which we met
with a small party on the mud-flats at the mouth of the
Umgeni river, north of Durban. The latter bird is interest-
ing as being an (Edicneinus with the habits of an Esacus ; I
ascertained from resident sportsmen that it does not frequent
the dry veldt, like its congener CE. capensis, but is always
found on the banks of rivers or lagoons.

None of these birds were very shy, and we had no difiiculty
in making very fair bags. Half the birds we shot had evi-
dently just finished moulting, every quill having a gloss
upon it like the bloom on a plum or the scales on the wing
of a newly-hatched moth. The other half consisted of birds
in every intermediate stage between a partial and a complete
moult. The new quills were splendidly rich in colour ; a
pair, one on each side, were half-grown, and the rest were
faded to a uniform rusty brown, and generally ragged and
torn to little more than shreds of their former perfection.
A day in March in the Bay of Durban must convince the
most sceptical that Plovers and Sandpipers moult their
primaries in spring as well as in autumn.

The other question which I was anxious to settle was the
truth of the statement that, as a general rule, amongst regular
migrants, the further north a bird goes to breed, the further
south it goes to winter. As regards species this is \evy easy
to prove ; but as regards individuals, the statement has often
been questioned. The Swallow {Hirundo rustica) is one
of those conspicuous birds which is easily identified, and
which is so numerous that its absence is quickly detected.
Unfortunately we have no reliable records of the depar-
ture of Swallows from Central Africa; but when I was in
Natal during the last week in March, Swallows were swarm-
ing in countless thousands on the coarse marine herbage on

Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal &^c. 339

the sand-hills between the sea and the lagoons at the mouth
of the Umgeni river. Most of the adults were in splendid
glossy blue plumage, having just completed tlieir moult, but
most of the birds of the year had only moulted about half
their quills, and would probably not be in a condition to
migrate for at least a fortnight.

Our Swallows arrive in North Africa very early, during
the last half of February, in Southern Europe during the first
half of March, but in Central Europe not until the last half
of March. It is perfectly certain that the Natal Swallows,
if they leave during the first half of April, even allowing
them only a few days in which to accomplish a journey of
five or six thousand miles, must go to some part of North
Europe or to North-west Asia, since the Swallows which
breed further south have arrived at their breeding-grounds
before the South African birds have left their winter-quarters.
So far as it goes, this evidence is conclusive that, in the case
of the Palsearctic Swallow, the individuals which go furthest
north to breed go furthest south to winter.

Our Swallow, as probably every other species of Hi-
rundinidse, only moults once in the year. After having
migrated six or seven thousand miles to their breeding-
grounds, spent nearly six months in the stormy summer of
Northern Europe, again migrated six or seven thousand miles
back to their winter- quarters, and spent another six months
during the rainy season of Natal, it is a wonder that the poor
birds have any feathers left. Some of the birds which I shot
had been in a lamentable condition; the old feathers that
still remained had faded to a rusty brown and were worn to
shreds. The plumage of the young birds though they had
only run the gauntlet of one journey and one summer, is so
much more tender than that of adults, that they were in the
worst condition ; the old feathers were no better than rusty
rags.

The most interesting fact in connection with this single
moult of the Swallows is, that it takes place in March instead
of September. The natural inference to be drawn from such
a circumstance is, that the Swallows belong to the southern

340 Mr. H. Seebolim on the Birds of Natal <SfC.

hemisphere; and have only comparatively recently (probably
in post-glacial times) emigrated to the Palsearctic and Ne-
arctic Regions. This theory is confirmed by a glance at their
geographical distribution. The genus Hirundo, as restricted
by Sharpe in the ' Catalogue of Birds/ contains 27 species,
of which 16 breed only in the Ethiopian Region, 2 in both
the Ethiopian and Oriental Regions, 2 only in the Oriental
Region, 1 in both the Oriental and Palsearctic Regions, 1
in both the Oriental and Australian Regions, 2 only in the
Australian Region, 2 only in the Neotropical Region, and
the remaining 1 in the Nearctic, Palaearctic, and Ethio-
pian Regions. Of the 11 genera recognized by the same
author, Hirundo is the only one which is cosmopolitan in its
range ; 2 are confined to the Ethiopian, and 1 to each of the
Australian and Neotropical Regions, whilst no genus is con-
fined to the Palsearctic or Nearctic Regions. The evidence
that the Swallows had an Antarctic origin seems to be con-
clusive.

By far the most interesting of the Swallows that came
under my notice in Natal was the Blue Swallow, Hirundo
atroccerulea. A few pairs of these charming little birds were
almost always to be seen, hawking diligently for flies over a
small field which led from the garden of my friend Mr.
Mark Hutchinson^s house down to a little stream that
flowed at the foot of the bush. Graham Hutchinson told me
that they were seldom seen in the open veldt, and always
chose sheltered nooks near bush and water. Early in the
morning they often used to perch on the wire fence that
enclosed the garden. He told me that they were never seen
in winter. They associated freely with the other species, but
were often alone.

Little or nothing has been written of the migrations of
birds in the southern hemisphere, but it is almost as im-
portant a fact in the history of the birds of Natal as in that
of British birds, although the dift'erence in the geographical
relations of the two countries modifies the details in many
ways. It is a remarkable fact that whilst there are very
many birds breeding in the northern hemisphere and winter-

Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal S^c. 341

ing in the southern, it is not known that any land-bird breeds
in the southern hemisphere and habitually winters in the
northern. It seems probable that most of the accidental
visits of southern species of land-birds to the northern hemi-
sphere which have been from time to time recorded are of
doubtful authenticity ; and amongst sea-birds it is confined
to one or two species of Petrel, of which it is not unlikely
that undiscovered breeding-grounds exist in the northern
hemisphere. One cause of this apparent anomaly may be
the difference in the distribution of the land. North of the
British Islands and a corresponding latitude on the continent
of Europe and Asia is an Arctic Region which is the breeding-
ground of great numbers of migratory birds. Many of these
winter in our islands, whilst others are regular spring and
autumn visitors, passing along our coasts on migration from
their Arctic breeding-grounds to their winter-quarters in
Southern Europe or Africa. In the southern hemisphere
there are no Antarctic breeding-grounds whence similar
migrants could visit Natal. No part of South Africa is cold
enough to be a breeding-ground of Arctic birds, and the land
at the Antarctic pole is too cold for them. The natural con-
sequence of this state of things is, that in South Africa there
are no migrants from the Antarctic region, either in winter,
or passing through in spring and autumn to winter further
north. To compensate for the absence of such an important
section of migratory birds. Natal and other parts of South
Africa are visited, every year by an equally important section
of migratory birds, a migration which has no parallel in the
northern hemisphere.

The fact that in the Antarctic region there is no land suit-
able for the breeding of birds, except a few species of Penguins
and Petrels, is the cause of the apparently anomalous circum-
stance that the northern hemisphere is only accidentally
visited^ by migratory birds whose breeding-grounds are in
the southern hemisphere. South Africa is, however, visited
by numerous regular migrants from the northern hemisphere,
birds which spend half the year, from September to March, in
the summer of the southern hemisphere, surrounded by other

SER. V. VOL. V. 2 A

342 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal ^c.

species, some of them congeneric, busily engaged in the
duties of incubation, but themselves looking on with ab-
solute indifference. In addition to the Plovers and Sand-
pipers already mentioned, and the Swallow, many other
species, such as the Swift [Cypselus apus), the Willow Wren
{Phylloscopus trochilus), the Sedge Warbler [Acrocephalus
phragniitis) , the Great Sedge Warbler [Acrocephalus tur-
doides), which breed in Northern Europe and North-western
Asia, cross the tropics to enjoy a second summer in the Trans-
vaal, Natal, and other parts of South Africa. The fact that
these birds which spend the summer in Europe are found in
South Africa during the South-African breeding-season, has
given rise to the legend that some birds breed twice in the year
— in June in Europe, and in December in South Africa. It
is very difficult to prove a negative, but when the evidence of
these alleged cases of double breeding is carefully examined,
it always proves to be unsatisfactory. Andersson, in his
' Birds of Damara-Land,' remarks of Hirundo rustica that
it breeds in that country ; but there can be little doubt
that the Swallow which he supposed to be our species was
the White-throated Swallow {Hirundo alhigularis) , which
he does not mention, and which he probably mistook for
the female of our bird. His further remark that in con-
sequence of the scarcity of houses it breeds in rocks and
trees, adds still more doubt to the accuracy of his observations.
I have seen the Swallow breeding under overhanging
cliffs in the Dobrudscha, but I never heard of its having
been found nesting in a tree. Nordmann^s Pratincole
{Glareola melanoptera) is also stated, on the authority of
Mrs. Barber, to breed in South Africa ; but as this bird and
the Wattled Starling [Dilophus carunculatus) are both
known in that country as the Small Locust-bird, it seems
very probable that the two species have been confused to-
gether either by Mrs. Barber or by Mr. Layard. It is a
significant fact that the Layard collection of eggs in the
Museum at Cape Town, which is a very good one, reflecting
great credit on the energy of the collector, does not profess
to contain an African egg of the Pratincole. The Quail

Mr. H. Seebohin on the Birds of Natal i^c. 343

( Coturnix communis) certainly does breed in South Africa ;
but this bird is a partial resident in Natal and the Cape
Colony, its numbers being probably increased by migratory
but non-breeding birds in spring. There is no reason to
suppose that the breeding-area of its distribution is discon-
tinuous, and, in the absence of any evidence to the con-
trary, it is fair to assume that it breeds throughout Africa,
as the Heron, several species of Egret, the Black-winged
Stilt, and the Avocet are known to do. It is possible that
there may be species of birds breeding both in Europe and
in South Africa, but wintering only in Central Africa ; in
which case we should find the curious anomaly of a species
of bird found all the year round in Tropical Africa, but not
breeding there, half the individuals being absent from
March to September, in order to breed in the northern
hemisphere, and the other half being absent from September
to March, in order to breed in the southern hemisphere ;
but before such a theory could be accepted it must be
supported by facts which are not open to suspicion.

The winters in South Africa are very much milder than
those of England, they approach much nearer in climate to
those of the Riviera ; snow is almost unknown, but in many
places the nights are cold, and as in South Europe, so in
Natal, many birds, for the most part insect-feeding species,
leave in autumn for warmer climes. Amongst these, several
species of Swallow {Hirundo albiyularis, H. semirufa, H.
cucullata), most of the Cuckoos, and some of the Warblers
are conspicuous examples.

It is rather remarkable that the delicate-looking Sun-
birds, which vie with the Humming-birds in the brilliancy
and metallic lustre of their plumage, are able to brave the
winters of Natal without migrating. Cotyle paludicola, the
representative of our Sand Martin, and Cotyle cincta, the
representative of the South-European Rock Martin, must
also be included amongst the residents.

There is in the British Islands a great deal of local wander-
ing amongst birds, and in Natal this internal migration is
even more conspicuous. The climate of South Africa varies

2a 2

344 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal S^c.

in different localities. The rainy season is^ as a rule, during
summer, but there is a strip of country near the coast, ex-
tending from Cape Town to Knysna, where the rain falls in
winter, and between the two districts is a belt of country of
uncertain rainfall, where in some years it rains every month,
and in others little or no rain falls for a whole year. These
changes of climate necessitate great changes of residence
amongst the bird-population. Some birds feed principally
on grasshoppers, and migrate far and wide in search of large
erratic flights of these insects, Man has been described as a
cooking auimal, but Nordmann's Pratincole also much pre-
fers to eat its locusts cooked, and may be said to spend its
time in migrating in enormous flocks in search of roasted
grasshoppers. The grass in Natal is of such rank growth,
that large patches of veldt are burnt off every year to clear
the ground ; and then the Pratincole, the Lapwing ( Va-
nellus melanopterus) , and the Courser [Cursorius rufus)
are always on the look-out for these grass-fires, feeding
eagerly upon the scorched insects left in their wake. For
days together flights of Pratincoles pass over the country,
perhaps not to be seen again for weeks, or even months.
The flights of ants are also a source of great attraction to
some birds. For about a week early in March, a flock of
perhaps three hundred Eastern Red-legged Falcons {Falco
amurensis) frequented the farm in Natal where I. was stop-
ping. They spent the day hawking like Swallows at a great
height in the air, and at night they roosted all together on
the naked branches of some tall trees in the bush. It is
very remarkable that these birds are not known to breed
west of Irkutsk, their summer-quarters being apparently
confined to the valley of the Amoor in South-eastern Siberia,
though their winter-range extends from the eastern provinces
of the Cape Colony through India to China.

The South-African Snipe {Scolopax cequatorialis) is only
known from South Africa, where it is a resident, breeding
all over the country in the vleys or marshes. In excep-
tionally dry seasons many of these vleys dry up, and the
ground becomes too hard to be probed by the soft bills of the

Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal ^c. 345

Snipe in search of food. The Snipe are consequently obliged
to migrate for a season to vleys where there is still abundance
of moisture, and thus it often happens that large bags are
obtained where a week before only a few scattered pairs
could be found.

One of the most conspicuous birds in Natal^ during the
month I spent in the country, was the White Stork [Ciconia
alba). In riding across the veldt it was seldom that one or
two pairs were not visible, and sometimes large flocks col-
lected together to roost on the bare branches of some vener-
able tree in the bush. No bird could be better known to the
colonists, amongst whom it is familiar as the Great Locust-
bird. But the only instance that I heard (and I made many
inquiries) of the breeding of this bird in Natal, was that of
a pair which once bred on the ground nearly twenty years
ago. Even supposing the identification of the species to
have been correct, the fact of the nest being on the ground
in a country where houses, rocks, and trees abound is pre-
sumptive evidence that the bird which made the nest was
unable to fly, and persuaded its mate to remain with it in
their winter-quarters.

Few points connected with the ornithology of South
Africa have given rise to greater difi'erence of opinion than
the various plumages which characterize the Mountain Chats
[Saxicola monticola and Saxicola leucomelana) . These
birds are by no means uncommon on the highlands of Natal,
wherever the ground is strewn with rocky boulders. So far
as I was able to ascertain, I think we may accept the state-
ment of Messrs. Butler, Feilden, and Reid {' Ibis,' 1883,
p. 332), that the females are, like the birds of the year of
both sexes, brown all over, except the rump, tail, and tail-
coverts, which vary very little either with age or sex. This,
of course, implies that some of the grey birds in the National
Collection, obtained by Andersson in Damara-Land, are
incorrectly sexed. One more statement will probably be
admitted by everyone who has watched these birds amongst
the rocks, namely, that whilst the females vary little or not
at all, the males difi'er from each other in a remarkable man-

346 Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal 6fc.

ner. The earlier writers on South-African birds regarded
each of these various forms as distinct species. When I
wrote the fifth volume of the ' Catalogue of Birds ' in the
British Museum, I ventured to hazard the hypothesis that
there were only two species, and that the intermediate
forms were merely crosses between the extremes. The con-
clusion that Messrs. Butler, Feilden, and Reid came to, was
that the variations are due to age, and that tbe brown birds
first grow black, and then (when they are six years old) grey.
On the underparts, below the breast, the change is still more
extraordinary. It is alleged that the brown changes first to
white, then to black, afterwards to grey, and finally to
whitish grey, when the bird is presumably seven or eight
years old. It is quite possible that this theory may be true,
but I am unable to discover a shred of evidence in its favour.
It appears to me to be a wild hypothesis, unsupported even
by analogy, and if true, is a unique fact in ornithology.
Now the theory that these variations are the result of the
interbreeding of two (or now that the grey birds are proved
to be males, of three or more) imperfectly segregated forms,
is supported by considerable evidence. The analogy of the
intermediate forms between Saxicola picata and S. capistrata,
between Monticola cyanusand M. so/itaria, to say nothing of
the distantly allied Crows ( Corvus cornix and C corone), is very
suggestive, and an examination of a series of each confirms
the theory of interbreeding. It is impossible, in either the
Crows or the Mountain Chats, to arrange the intermediate
forms in a satisfactory series. Sometimes the influence of
the male is apparently strongest on the upper parts, and
sometimes on the lower parts. It is difficult to imagine
that sometimes the upper parts age first, and sometimes the
lower parts. The facts that in the adult birds of S. leucopyga
the crown is white, but in birds of the year black, and that
in the adult birds of S. lugubris the belly is black, but in
birds of the year white, suggest that in the Mountain Chats
these parts may vary in colour with age.

It seems to me that this vexed question is as far as ever
from being solved. All we can say is that the males varv

Mr. H. Seebohm oh the Birds of Natal ^c. 3^7

very mucli. Messrs. Butler, Feildeu, aud Reid make the
variations nine in number, but it is just as logical to make
them nineteen. Some of these variations are unquestionably
due to age, but others appear to be so erratic that the only
hypothesis which will reconcile them is that of interbreeding.
How otherwise can you explain the fact that birds with a pure
white crown are apparently confined to the extreme west of
South Africa, and that the white crown is found associated
both with black aud grey backs ? Until a bird has been
seen to moult from one plumage to the other, I submit that
the theory that all the variations are due to age is pure
hypothesis.

The extraordinary influence of the Gulf-stream upon the
climate of the British Islands naturally prepares the English
traveller to find similar effects produced by oceanic currents
in other parts of the world. A notable example of this
climatic variation is within easy reach of the visitor to Cape
Town. A cold current comes down from the Antarctic ice,
and passes along the west coast of Africa, materially assisting
the progress of homeward-bound ships, but lowering the
temperature of the water in Table Bay so much as to make
bathing on the coast near Cape Town practically impossible.
A few hours drive across the isthmus, through a charming
country, full of vineyards and avenues of oak-trees, leads to
False Bay, where the water is so warm that many Cape
Town families migrate thither during the heat of summer
to enjoy the sea-bathing and the country air. A warm cur-
rent from the equatorial regions of the Indian Ocean flows
down the east coast of Africa, and its influence extends as
far as the Cape of Good Hope. The result is that the east
and south coasts enjoy an almost tropical climate and dis-
play a more or less tropical vegetation. For some miles
inland the country is well wooded. Near Knysna there are
extensive forests, where wild elephants still roam. But the
country rises rapidly from the coast, and for some hours the
railway from Port Elizabeth passes through an ostrich-farm-
ing district. Nothing could be less like an English land-
scape than this part of South Africa. The hills are rugged.

348 Mr. H. Seebolim on the Birds of Natal i^c.

rocky and bare ; the valleys are full of a rank tropical
vegetation, of which the cactus and a palm-like aloe are the
most conspicuous trees ; and when fenced ground is reached
the enclosure is often found to contain a herd of ostriches
instead of cattle. The landscape can only be described as
'^all that there is of most un-English.^' Inland from Cape
Town the scenery is diiferent. The cold current from the
south removes nearly all trace of tropical vegetation, vine-
yards soon give place to corn-fields, and you pass through
almost the only wheat district in the colony. North of these
limits lies the Karroo. From Cradock in the east, up to
Kimberley in the north, and then down to Worcester in the
west, the railway passes through a country, compared with
which a Siberian tundra is a paradise. I have never seen
anything so hopelessly dreary as the Karroo. Every square
yard is indelibly stamped with the two-fold signs of deluge and
drought. The country is walled in by naked hills, generally
table-topped, from which every trace of vegetation and soil
has been washed away by deluges of rain, leaving only a heap
of disintegrating stones, tied together by layers of hard rock.
The undulating valleys are bare mud or earth, thinly
sprinkled over with dwarf herbs and bushes, seamed here and
there with dry watercourses, and torn up in the valleys with
deep torrent beds which tell of floods carrying everything
before them. But sometimes months and months pass by
without a drop of rain, and what vegetation has been spared
by the torrents of rain is destroyed by the scorching rays of
a burning African sun. And yet this country produces a
great deal of wool and mohair, though farming has been
reduced to the conditions of a gambling transaction. There
are certain semi-saline plants or little bushes growing
upon the Karroo, which sheep and goats eat greedily, upon
which they fatten rapidly, and multiply prodigiously, and
which appear to be a panacea to all the ills that sheep are
heir to. The consequence is, that when there is plenty of
rain the farmers become rapidly rich, to be reduced to the
verge of ruin if a long period of drought sets in. In times
of prosperity the farmer has little or no inducement to do

Mr. H. Seebolim on the Birds of Natal ^c. 349

anything but enjoy his abundance; in times of adversity
there is little or nothing that he can do to ward off im-
pending ruin. Therefore he becomes a fatalist^ stolid indo-
lence being the prevailing feature in his character : his
motto is never to do anything to-day that can possibly
be done to-morrow. He grows a few vegetables round his
homestead, just as much as he can water from his well,
if need be. That life under such circumstances should be
deemed to be worth living is almost inconceivable. How
bitter must have been the hate of English misrule that in-
duced the stolid Boer to trek away to such a desolate
country !

But, dreary as it looks, the Karroo is by no means destitute
of bird-life. Larks and Pipits abound on the open plain,
and near the houses a large Sand Martin, Cotyle fuligula, is
common. Bustards and Coursers of various species are still
found, but the Karroo bird par excellence, the Ostrich, has
been practically exterminated, except as a domesticated
species.

Ostrich-farming has had many vicissitudes. The price of
a pair of birds, when the rage for Ostrich-farming reached
its culminating point, went up to £250, but has now fallen
as low as £10. Each bird produces a crop of feathers every
July or August. At the highest price the crop sold for about
£17, now it only averages about £2 10*. ; nevertheless, I was
informed that, with good management. Ostrich-farming still
pays well. The feathers are cut, and the stumps pulled out
a few weeks afterwards, when the operation can be performed
without pain or injury to the bird. There are several in-
teresting points in the domestic economy of the Ostrich. It
is doubtful whether these birds are polygamous in the wild
state ; and in their semi-domesticated condition on the South-
African farms, polygamy is said to be the exception, and not
the rule. Artificial incubators are now very rarely used.
Ostriches thrive best when they are allowed to do as they
like. The larger the run, the better for the birds. They
quarrel much less with each other, and they can the better
select the particular kind of grasses which they require to

350 Mr. H. Seebolim on the Birds of Natal ^c.

keep themselves in good health. A large farmer told me
that on his farm of twelve thousand acres he did not like
his Ostriches to exceed 150 in number. Of course he had
sheep, oxen, and goats on the same ground. The Ostriches
were allowed to select their own site for the nest, which was
merely a hollow scraped in the sand, sometimes under the
shelter of a bush. The hen laid an egg every other day,
until about 20 were laid, when tlie cock bird placed the eggs
in order, and the pair began to sit. The cock took the
greater share of the labour, sitting sixteen hours every day,
or rather every night from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. The hen only
sat eight hours daily, from 8 to 4. Incubation lasts forty-
two days ; the cock bird turns every e^^ over daily, and it is
not an uncommon thing for all the eggs to hatch. There is,
however, great mortality amongst the young, which are liable
to a variety of diseases, from tape-worms, wire-worms, &c.
They do not become fully adult until the second year, many not
until the third. The cock generally pairs with the same hen
for several years in succession. Ostrich-farming on the
Natal veldt has proved a disastrous failure, probably for
want of some of the saline plants which grow on the Karroo.

I am able to add one species to the list of Natal birds.
Vanellus inornatus is occasionally found near Durban.
Other birds which I hoped might prove new to the South-
African fauna turn out to be well-known species, but so
incorrectly described in both editions of Mr. Layard^s work
as to be unrecognizable.

Numida verreauxi was described in 1870 from Natal
(Elliot, Ibis, 1870, p. 300). The secondaries are described
as ''black, with their inner webs spotted ; outer webs of the
first four, with the exception of a narrow line along the shaft,
white ; outer web of the rest unspotted, black, with lines of
bluish-green running their entire length, as though the spots
had become confluent.^^ (The italics are mine.) In the
' Monograph of the Phasianidse,^ Mr. Elliot copies his original
descriptions of the birds in ' The Ibis,^ but by some unac-
countable blunder omits the words Avhich I have italicized.
This description, blunders and all, is copied in the

Mr. H. Seebohm on the Birds of Natal i^c. 351

" thoroughly revised " edition of Layard^s ' Birds of South
Africa.'

Otis melanogaster is a well-known and very handsome
Bustard, found in various parts of South Africa, including
Natal. Its ochraceous-buff upper parts, marked in various
ways with black, scarcely differ from the tail in colour.
When I found that the tail is described both by Mr. Layard
and Mr. Sharpe as black, I naturally concluded that I had
met with a new species ; but since my return home I have
discovered that the species described by the former, and
retained in the " thoroughly revised " edition by the latter,
is Otis hartlaubi, a perfectly distinct species, with a black
tail, found in Abyssinia.

Syrnium tvoodfordi is described both in the original and in
the thoroughly revised editions of the ' Birds of South Africa '
as having " collar white with brown bars;'^ but has no collar
of any kind ! It is extremely puzzling to South-African
students to meet with so many blunders, of which these are
examples, in books written especially for their instruction ;
and it seems to me that I was fully justified in complaining
(Catalogue of Birds, v. p. 123) of the accustomed carelessness
of the writers on African ornithology.

Both in going and returning I had many opportunities of
watching the large Gulls which frequent the Canary Islands
and Madeira. It was a very rare circumstance indeed to be
without half a dozen of them following in the wake of the
ship, and often coming within ten yards of the stern. All
the birds I saw were adult or nearly so, were large, with
yellow legs and palish mantles, and belonged unquestionably
to the Mediterranean form of the Herring Gull, Larus
argentatus cachinnans ; they certainly were neither the typical
L. argentatus nor L. fuscus.

352 Recently published Ornithological Works.

XXXVI. — Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications.

[Continued from p. 257.]

65. Barboza du Bocage on new West- African Birds.

[Oiseaux nouveaux de I'lle St. Thome, par J. V. Barboza du Bocage.
Jorn. d. Sci. Math. Phys. e Nat. Lishoa, no. xliv. 1887.]

M. J. V. Barboza du Bocage describes two new Passerine
birds from the island of St. Thomas, West Africa, as Cinnyris
newtoni and Prinia molleri, and gives remarks on Treron crassi-
rostris, which, contrary to the opinion of Captain Shelley,
he considers distinct from T. calva.

QQ. Blakiston on the Wuter-Birds of Japan.

[Water-Birds of Japan. By T. W. Blakiston. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus.
1886, p. 652.]

Capt. Blakiston has revised his list of the ^' Water-Birds "
[i. e. Natatores) of Japan, which he now makes, including
some doubtful species, to be 94 in number. Of these one
third are " freshwater species. ^^ The list is arranged in four
columns, to show the geographical range of the species.
Some general remarks are prefaced.

67. Dubois on two new Birds.

[Description de deux nouvelles especes d'oiseaux : par Alph. Dubois.
Bull. Mus. Roy. Belg. v. p. 1, 1887.]

The species described are Agelaus sclateri, from Ecuador,
and Cuculus stormsi, from Lake Tanganyika, East Africa.

- 68. Gould's ' Supplement to the Trochilidae.'

[Supplement to the Trochilidaj, or Humming-Birds. By [the late]
John Gould, F.R.S. &c. Part V. Folio. London : 1887.]

Another of the great series of works planned, and for the
most part carried out, by John Gould is now finished by
the issue of the fifth and final part of the ' Supplement to

Recently published Ornithological Works. 353

the Trocliilidae/ which has been prepared by Mr. R. B.
Sharpe. The species figured iu this part are : —

Petasophora gerraana. Thalnrania jelskii.
Lanipraster branickii. Lophornis pavoninus.
Heliodoxa xanthogonys. Metallura primolina.
Helianthea osculans. • Adelomyia cervina.
Bourcieria insectivora. Callipharus nigriventris.
traviesi. • Amazilia cupreicauda.

Besides these is also given the text relating to 29 other
species, together with the titlepage, preface^ and contents.
The plates for this work, Mr. Sharpe tells us, were nearly all
drawn during the lifetime of Mr. Gould ; to these some
others have been added from specimens lent for the purpose
by Mr. Salvin.

The total number of Humming-birds treated of in the
Supplement is 122, of which 60 are figured. In the original
work 360 species were illustrated. This would make the
total number of species about 482.

69. Hartert on the Birds of the Niger District.

[Ornithologische Ergebnisse einer Reise in den Niger-Benue-Gebieten.
Von Ernst Hartert. Journ. f. Orn. 1886, p. 570.]

Herr Ernst Hartert accompanied Herr Hegel on an expe-
dition to the Niger and Binue in 1885, and along with Herr
Staudinger undertook thence a journey into the far interior
to Kano, Sokoto, and Gansa, in order to convey letters and
presents from the German Emperor to the native potentates.
An interesting account of the journey is first given, with
general remarks on the fauna and flora. This is followed
by a systematic list of the 187 species of birds of
which examples were obtained during the expedition. Ex-
cellent field-notes and observations are added. Poliospiza
fiegeli, from Loko, on the Benue, is described as new.
Descriptions of the eggs of some of the birds are added by
Dr. Cutter.

354 Recently published Ornithological Works.

70. Hoffmann on the Woodcock.

[Die Waldschnepfe. Ein Monographischer Beitrag zur Jagdzoologie
von Dr. Julius Hoffmann. Zweite vermehrte Auflage. 8vo. Stuttgart :

1887.]

An enthusiastic essay of 196 pages upon Scolopax rusti-
culu, and its manners, habits, and ways of life, also upon
Woodcock-shooting as practised in Germany.

71. Kolombatovic on the Vertebrates of Dalmatia.

[Imenik Kraljeisjaka Dalmacije. ii Dio Dvozivci, Gmazovi, i Ribo.
Terze Aggiunte ai Vertebriti della Dalmazia. Prof. Juro Kolombatovic.
Svo. Spalato: 1886.]

This pamphlet, if we understand it rightly, contains, besides
an enumeration of the Reptilia, Amphibia, and Pisces of
Dalmatia, written in Sclavonic, a third supplementary list
of additions to the vertebrates of the same district in Italian.
Among them the occurrence of 7 species of birds is recorded
and remarks are added.

72. Lawrence on a new Thrush.

[Description of a new Species of Thrush from the Island of Grenada,
West Indies. By George N. Lawrence. Ann. New York Acad, of Sci.
vol. iv. p. 23.]

jMr. Lawrence describes a new JSIock-thrush of the genus
Margarops as M. albiventris. Two specimens, male and
female, were obtained by IVIr. J. G. Wells in Grenada. The
species is allied to M. montanus.

73. Leverkuhn's ' Ornithological Excursions.^

[Ornithologische Exkursionen im Friihling 1886. Von Paul Leverkiihn.
Monatschr. d. deutsch. Ver. z. Schiitze d. Vogelwelt, 1886, pp. 241, 256,
286, 322.]

Herr Leverkiihn kindly sends us an extra copy of his account
of his ornithological journey from Clausthal to Kiel^ and to
the island of Sylt, and of other minor excursions made in the
spring of 1886. In Holstein many nesting-places of Gulls

Recently published Ornithological Works. 355

and Terns were visited, and the Blue-throat [Cyanecula
leucocyanea) was found breeding, besides other interesting
species.

74. Marshall on Changes in the German Avifauna.

[Deutschlands Vogelwelt im Wechsel der Zeiten. Vortrag, gebalten in
der Jahresversammlung des deutsclien Vereias zum Scbiitze der Voo-elwelt
am 5 Juni 1886 zu Eisleben von Dr. William Marshall. 8vo. Hamburo- :

1887.]

This is an address of 48 pages on the changes wrought by
time in the avifauna of Germany, which was delivered last
year at the Anniversary Meeting of the German Union for
the Protection of Birds, held at Eisleben. Its leading idea
appears to be to sliow that, so far from the Ornis remaining
always the same, there is in this, as in other terrestrial
matters, a slow but constant change going on.

75. Meyer a?id Helm on the Saxon Ornithological Stations.
[Erste Jabresberichte (1885) der ornithologiscben Beobachtungstationen

im konigreich Sacbsen bearbeitet von Dr. A. B. Meyer und von Dr. F.
Helm. 8vo. Dresden: 1886.]

The Report on the work of the Ornithological Stations of
the Kingdom of Saxony for 1885 consists of a pamphlet of
82 pages, with an accompanying map. The stations at which
observations were made were 35 in number, and the observers
43. After a list of the stations and a short account of their
positions and other peculiarities, follows a general essay upon
the physical features of the whole Kingdom of Saxony and
its four divisions of Bautzen, Dresden, Leipsic, and Zwickau.
The special part which succeeds contains notes upon 180
species systematically arranged according to Homeyer^s List
(Ornis, i. p. 168) of German Birds.

76. Kidgway on a new Oyster catcher.

[Description of a recently new Oystercatcber (Hcematopus galapa-
gensis) from the Galapagos Islands. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. U.S.
Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 325.]

IVTr. Ridgway's Hamatopus galapagensis is closely related

356 Recently published Ornithological Works.

to H. palliatus, but has the back sooty black and the white
on the wing more restricted.

77. Rklgiimy on a new Subspecies o/Cyclorhis.

[Description of a new Subspecies of Ci/clorhis from Yucatan. By Robert
Ridgway. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 188G, p. 519.]

The new subspecies is called Cyclorhis flaviventris yucata-
nensis, from Yucatan, and resembles its species, but is much
paler yellow below, and has other slight differences.

78. Ridgivay on a new Myiarchus.

[Description of a new Species oi Myiarchus, presumably from the Orinoco
district of South America. By R. Ridgway. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886,
p. 529.]

This supposed new species is of the group of M. nigriceps.
It is named M. coalei.

79. Ridgway on a supposed Hybrid Woodpecker.

[On a probable Hybrid between Dnjohates nuttallii and D. pubescens
gaidnerii. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 421.]

IVIr. Ridgway describes a specimen in the U.S. National
Museum from California, which appears to be a hybrid be-
tween the two above-named species.

80. Ridgway on a new Picolaptes.

[Description of an apparently new Species of Picolaptes from the Lower
Amazons. By Robert Ridgway. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 523.]

The type of this supposed new species was obtained at
Diamantina, near Santarem, Lower Amazons, by ]\Ir. C. B.
Riker. It is named Picolaptes rikeri, after the collector,
and is of " striking appearance,'^ quite different in coloration
from any other Dendrocolaptine bird with which the de-
scriber is acquainted.

81. Ridgway on Colours.

[A Nomenclature of Colours for Naturalists, and Compendium of Useful
Knowledge for Ornithologists. By Robert Ridgway. Bvo. Boston :
1886.]

Recently published Ornithological Works. 357

The aim of the author of tliis useful work has been, in the
first place, to supply naturalists with a modern standard for
the nomenclature of colours, on the principle of Syme's
edition of Werner's well-known treatise. His judicious
remarks on the principles of colour, and on the really essential
pigments for producing an infinity of variations, are illus-
trated by ten hand-coloured plates, followed by a vocabulary
in seven languages. Obstacles will doubtless present them-
selves and hinder a complete or immediate conformity with
the standard, but the principle is undoubtedly a good one.
As regards the second part, with its glossary of technical
terms used in descriptive ornithology and its six outline
plates showing the proper names for the various parts of a
bird's body, the various shapes of feathers and and their
names, and a similar scheme for eggs, nothing so good has
hitherto been brought before us, and every ornithologist
should use it. There is also a table for the conversion of the
various metrical systems, and altogether the book is a mine
of information.

82. Salvadori's '^ List of Italian Birds'

[Elenco degii Uccelli Italian!, compilato da Tommaso Salvadori,
Genova: 1887. 8vo. 332 pp.]

Count Salvadori's list of Italian birds is prepared veiy
much after the fashion of our own list, which, as he tells
us, gave him the idea of compiling the present publica-
tion. After the name of each species in Latin and Italian^
the principal synonyms referring to the Italian avifauna are
given, the meaning of the scientific name is explained, and a
few short sentences are added concerning the time and place
of the bird^s occurrence within the boundaries of Italy. But
Count Salvadori does not extend these boundaries quite so
far as Prof. Giglioli, who, in his '^ Avifauna Italica/ included
Dalmatia, nor does he adopt some of that author's rather
doubtful species. Eleven of these are rejected from the list
of veritable Italian birds, and are included in the present
volume along with others, but in brackets, to show that they
have been at one time accredited to the Italian list.

SER. V. VOL. V. 2 b

358 Recently published Ornithological Works.

The avifauna of Italy is thus held by Salvadori to contain
428 species. But 74 others which have been falsely or on
insufficient evidence at one time included are also mentioned
in the present volume. Although many of the derivations of
names given by Salvadori coincide with those prepared by
Mr. H, T. Wharton for our British list, many are quite new
and contain valuable additions to etymology (see Strix flam-
mea, Cypselus melba, Acredula, and other names).

The nomenclature used for several species by Count Salva-
dori is different from that adopted in the British list, mainly
owing to the fact that the genera adopted are more numerous.
This is not, we venture to think, in most cases any improve-
ment. Some generic names appear to have been traced for
the first time to their original place of publication. Amongst
these is Otocorys, which appears to have been first propounded
in 1839 in the Nuov. Ann. d. Sc. Nat. (Bologna) ii. p. 407.
Finally we may remark that a new specific term, Saxicola occi-
dentalis, is proposed (p. 116) for the western form of S. sta-
pazina, and a new generic name, lonocicca, p. 236, is assigned
to Porphyrio alleni, under the plea that Hydrornia of Hart-
laub is too near Hydrornis. But Picus and Pica are both
employed without inconvenience !

83. Stejneyer on Pardalotus.

[Notes on Species of the Australian Genus Pardalotus. By Leonhard
Stejneger. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 294.]

Dr. Stejneger criticizes Mr. Sharpens arrangement of this
genus in the ' Catalogue of Birds/ vol. x., and propounds
a new '' Key to the Species."

84. Stejneger on a new Rail.

[Description of Rallns jouyi, with Remarks on Eallus striatus and
Rallus gularis. By Leonhard Stejneger. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886,
p. 362.]

Dr. Stejneger describes under the name Rallus jouyi a
Chinese Rail allied to R. striatus of the Philippines and R.
gularis of Java. Two specimens of this supposed new species

Recently published Ornithological Works. 359

were obtained by P. L. Jouy at Shanghai. We conclude
therefore that this is the species usually called R. striatus by
writers on Chinese ornithology.

85. Stejneger on a second European Ring -ouzel.

[On Tiirdus alpestris and Turdus torqnatus, two distinct Species of
European Thrushes. By Leonhard Stejneger. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886,
p. 365.]

Dr. Stejneger lately discovered a new British Tit (see Ibis,
1887, p. 118). He now invites our attention to what will
perhaps be a still greater surprise to the benighted ornitho-
logists of Europe — the existence in our midst of a second
species of Ring-ouzel, the Turdus alpestris of Brehm. This
form of Central Europe Dr. Stejnejer maintains to be per-
fectly distinct from T. torquatus. It is figured in Dresser's
' Birds of Europe ' t, 15, fig. Isev.) as a variety of the young
female in first winter plumage.

86. Stejneger' s ' Review of Japanese Birds.'

[Review of Japanese Birds. By Leonhard Stejneger. — II. Tits and
Nuthatches. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 374. III. Rails, Gallinules,
and Coots. Ibid. p. 395.]

Dr. Stejneger now attacks the Tits and Nuthatches of
Japan, in continuation of his review of the Japanese ornis,
treating these groups as different subfamilies of a common
family, Paridse. Of Par'us he allows 6 Japanese species, of
JEgithalus 2, and of Remiza (a new generic name for Parus
pendulinus) 1 ; total 9 Japanese Parinse. Of Sitta, besides
Sitta amurensis, Dr. Stejneger makes two other Japanese
subspecies, S. amurensis clara (subsp. yov.) from Yesso, and
S. amurensis albifrons from the Kuriles. The Rails, Coots,
and Gallinules of Japan, according to Dr. Stejneger, number
7 species, concerning which full details are given.

87. Stejneger on Synthliborhamphus wumizusume.

[On the Status of Synthliboramphus wumizuswiie as a North-American
Bird. By L. Stejneger. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 524.]

360 Recently published Ornithological Works.

Dr. Stejneger shows that there is no good evidence for
placing this Auk in the American list. The supposed
American specimens prove on examination to be S. ayitiquus.

88. Stejneger on Birds from the Liu Kin Islands.

[On a Collection of Birds made by Mr. jM. Namiye in the Lin Kiu
Islands, Japan, with Descriptions of new Species. By Leonhard Stejneger.
Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 634.]

Dr. Stejneger's paper is based on some specimens of birds
from the Loo Choo, or, as he prefers to call them, the Liu Kiu
Islands, contained in a collection received by the U.S. National
Museum from the Educational Museum of Tokio, Japan, and
on another collection from the same group sent to Dr. Stej-
neger for examination by Mr. M. Namiye of the same estab-
lishment. The specimens are referred to 14 species, whereof
5 are new — namely Treron permagna, Hypsipetes pryeri, Ico-
turus namiyei, Chelidon naniiyei, and Pericrocotns tegimce.
Icoturus, according to Dr. Stejneger, is a new genus of
Timeliidse which should include also Sylvia komadori of the
' Fauna Japonica.^ Dr. Stejneger also gives the new name
Pericrocotns japonicus to P. cinereus, ex Japonia, auctt.

89. Wells and Lawrence on the Birds of Grenada, W.I.

[A Catalogue of t]ie Birds of Grenada, West Indies, with Observations
thereon. By John Grant Wells, of Grenada (Edited by George N.
Lawrence.) Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1886, p. 609.]

Mr. Wells has on different occasions transmitted to Mr.
Lawrence, through the Smithsonian Listitution, specimens
of the birds of Grenada for identification, in order to prepare
a catalogue of the apecies found in that island. In the
present paper he enumerates 92 species thus determined^ and
appends full and interesting notes on their habits. Mr. Wells
has thus added 38 species to the avifauna of the island, as
previously ascertained by Mr. Ober. It now seems certain
that the only Certhiola found in Grenada is the black C.
atrata, C. saccharina being only met with in the small islands
on the north coast (Isle de llhonde and Carriacou) .

Letters, Extracts, Notices, <5fc. 361

XXXVII. — Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c.

ave received the
Editors of The Ibis :'—

We have received the following letters addressed to the

Sinitlisonian Institution,
21st April, 1887.

SiRs^ — The articles by Canon Tristram on the supposed
breeding-plnmage of Fodicejys occideritalis, Lawr., in the
January and April numbers of ' The Ibis,' interest me exceed-
ingly, inasmuch as it is a great mystery to me what tiie
species can be to which he refers. It certainly is not P. oc-
cidentaJis, whose breeding-plumage has long been well known
to American ornithologists, and is accurately described in
the 'Water-Birds of North America^ (vol. ii. p. 422), from
numerous specimens obtained on the breeding-grounds, together
with their eggs and young. In none of these is there the
slightest indication of any ornamental tufts or other dis-
tinctive features so characteristic of most (but not of all*)
Grebes during the nuptial season.

The numerous specimens of P. occidentalis in breeding-
plumage which I have been able to examine, and which are
chiefly in the collection of the United States National Museum,
are absolutely similar in all essential characters of plumage to
midwinter specimens [and young birds also) , the only apprecia-
ble difference consisting in the greater intensity of the blackish
colour of the pileum and hind neck. Even the downy young
is very different from that of other Grebes, being absolutely
destitute of markings of any kind, the upper surface being
entirely plain brownish grey (lighter on pileum and hind
neck), and the lower parts continuously pure white. It is
this '' immutability " of plumage which, scarcely less than
marked peculiarities of structure, separates P. occidentalis
(and also P. clarkii, Lawr., if this proves valid) from all other
known Grebes, not excepting even its supposed near relation
P. major (Bodd.), of South America. The latter, though
somewhat resembling P. occidentalis superficially, is in all

* E.g., the species oi Podilymbus, in which, however, there is a black
throat-patch, while the bill is coloured very diiTerentlj^ in summer and
winter.

362 Letters, Exti'acts, Notices, S^c.

respects a true Podiceps (or^ as I prefer to call the genus,
Colymbus), while P. occidentalis is the type of the genus
^cJimophorus, Coues_, which, in my opinion, is quite as much
entitled to full generic rank as Podilymbus, Lesson, or even
more so, since the downy young of the latter are marked
exactly like those of the species of true Podiceps.

If the Vancouver-Island bird which Canon Tristram sup-
poses to be the breeding-plumage of P. occidentalis be not
of an uudescribed species, may it not possibly be P. holboellii,
Reinh., with the throat unusually light-coloured ?

Youi's &c.,

Robert Ridgway.

Nortlirepps, May 1887,

Sirs, — Having been indebted to the kindness of Mr. F. W.
Styan for an opportunity of examining the Raptorial birds
that form a portion of the collection from Foochoo which
he has described in the last number of ' The Ibis,' I am de-
sirous of offering some remarks on two of the specimens
there referred to.

Mr. Styan, at p. 233, includes two Hawks in his list under
the name of " Accipiter virgatus," and adds, ''Mr, J. H.
Gurney tells me these are identical with the Japanese birds,
the A. gularis (T. & S,) ." As this would seem to imply that I
consider A. gularis to be merely a synonym of A. virgatus, I
wish to explain that it is, in my opinion, a good species, quite
distinct from A. virgatus, but identical with A. nisoides, Blytli,
which appears to me to be its oldest designation,

I therefore think that the two specimens mentioned in
Mr, Styan's list should not stand as A. virgatus but as A.
nisoides.

I may add that I have somewhat fully discussed the dis-
tinctness of these species, and also the synonymy of A. ni-
soides, in an appendix (at p. 165) to my ' List of Diurnal

Birds of Prey.'

Yours &c.,

J. H. Gurney.

Labuan, April 30, 1887.
Sirs, — I beg to be permitted to place on record the occur

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 363

reuce in Borneo of an lanthoenas, I tliiuk /. griseigularis, or
a Pigeon but slightly difltei'ing from it. Two were seen a
few days ago on Pulan Tiga, an island just north of Labuan,
and I obtained one of them. They are probably stragglers
from one of the Philippine Islands.

Yours &c.,

A. Everett.

Newton Lochmaddie, North Uist.
17tli Juue, 1687.

Sirs, — While standing on the pier at Lochmaddie yesterday
I observed a Common Swift [Cypselus apus) ; it passed from
west to east, and as I was obliged to leave to attend to
business, I cannot say whether it remained about or not.
Neither I nor my factor, Mr. John MacDonald, who is an
intelligent observer, have ever observed this bird in North
Uist; but the latter has seen them in the Minch, and as I
read in the last edition of ' Yarrell's Birds ' that the Outer
Hebrides are excepted from its British range, I think it well
to note the fact of its appearance here. I may add that in
the first days of May, when on a voyage from Bio de Janeiro
and approaching Madeira, but out of sight of land, I saw
a Swift which accompanied the steamer for some little time.
It was certainly not Cypselus melba, by its size, and I did not
make out or notice any white on the throat, though this might
well be owing to my eyesight, which is not as good as in my
younger days"^.

Yours &c.,

John W. P. Campbell-Orde.

P.S. — 'In a note to 'Yarrell," p. 371, vol. ii., I observe mention
of the Needle-tailed Swift. I have in my collection a specimen
killed in Bermuda about 1850, which I made out, as I thought,
to be the Australian CJuetara. If so, the range of this bird
is even wider than is mentioned in ' Yarrell ' f.

* [It was possibly the Madekan Swift, C. unicolor, vfhich has no white
on the throat. — Edd.]

t [This was, perhaps, the American Chimney S-ndf t, Chcetura pelagica^
a spine-tailed species which straggles to Bermuda. — Edd.]

364 Letters, Extracts, Notices, l^c.

8 Atboll Crescent, Ediubiirgh.
June 17th, 1887.

Sirs, — With reference to your mention at page 251 of the
current volume of ' The Ibis ' of the disappearance of the
Spoonbill from the neighbourhood of Amsterdam, you will
be glad to learn that a thriving colony still exists not far
from that city, I have just received the annexed letter from
an ornithological friend resident there, which will, no doubt,
be read with interest.

Yours &c.,

John J. Dalgleish.

" Amsterdam, loth June, 1887.
"Dear Sir, — It is a pity you did not come to see the
Spoonbills : the report that the Spoonbills have deserted
Holland is a mistake, the place where they build now is the
Naarder Meer. A year ago there was great danger of their
losing this place, as the lake in question was being drained.
Fortunately for the Spoonbills the soil proved bad and the
trouble to keep the place dry was too great, so it was aban-
doned as a bad job, and the water having come back in an incre-
dibly short time, the Spoonbills reign again in their old place.
A part of the lake never was laid dry, even whilst the drainage
was going on. The Spoonbills had not abandoned the place
altogether, but, of course, their rest and happiness were gone,
and probably their ultimate destruction would only have
been a question of a few years. At this time of the year I
go almost daily by the rail that passes the lake, and so have
occasion to admire the startling eiTect of a long row of these
splendid white birds standing knee-deep in the water and
contrasting wonderfully against the green background. The
Red (Purple) Heron and several other aquatic birds nest in
the same place.

'•' Yours &c.,

" F. E. Blaauw.''

Anniversary Meeting of the British Ornithologists' Union,
1887. — The Annual Meeting of the British Ornithologists'

Letters, Extracts, Notices, &fc. 365

Union was held at 6 Tenterden Street, on Wednesday, the
4th May, at 6 p.m., Mr. Sclatee in the Chair.

The Minutes of the last Meeting having been read and
confirmed, the Committee presented their Report, which,
after explaining the state of the Society's finances, announced
the deaths of two Members since the last Anniversary, viz.
Colonel A. E. Knox, one of the original Members, and
Mr. Robert Gray, F.R.S.E., who joined the Union in 1871.
The total number of Members was stated to be 198, viz. 168
Ordinary, 1 Extraordinary, 9 Honorary, and 20 Foreign
Members.

The following new Members were balloted for and declared
duly elected : —

Frederick Charles Aplin, Bodicote, Banbury.
W. W. Fowler, M.A., Lincoln College, Oxford.
John Pleydell Wilton Haines, The Lodge, Gloucester.
Charles T. Hebbert, 12 Hereford Gardens, W.
Lieut.-Col. George Morgan, Biddlesden Park, Brackley.
George Cameron Norman, Collingham House, Cromwell

Road, S.W.
Frederick William Styan, 23 Upper Bedford Place,

"W.C., and Shanghai, China.
John Swinburne, Shona Ranche, St. John's, Apache

County, Arizona, U.S.A.
JeflFery Whitehead, SouthAvood, Bickley, Kent.
Scott Barchard Wilson, Heatherbank, Weybridge Heath,
Surrey.

The President and Secretary having been re-elected,
Mr. Bidwell was elected on the Committee in the place of
Mr. Godman, who retired by rotation. The Officers for the
year 1887-88 will be therefore as follows : —

President.
The Right Hon. Lord Lilford.

Secretary.

H. E. Dresser, Esq.
SER. V. — vol. v. ^ c

366 Letters, Extracts, Notices, 6fc.

Editors.

P. L. ScLATEB, Esq.
Howard Saunders^ Esq.

Committee.

W. T. Blanford, Esq.

E. Cavendish Taylor^ Esq.

E. Bidwell, Esq.

The Secretary then, on behalf of Mr. T. H. Nelson, of
Redcar, Yorkshire^ called the attention of the Members pre-
sent to a petition against the extension of the close-time
for sea-birds in the North Riding of Yorkshire, which that
gentleman sent, requesting the Members present, i£ they
approved of it, to sign it. After a long discussion it was
proposed by Canon Tristram, and seconded by Mr. G. C.
Taylor, " That, in the opinion of the Members of the British
Ornithologists' Union here present, an extension of the
close-time for sea-birds on the east coast of England to the
1st September would be highly advisable." On being put
to the Meeting this Motion was carried by a large majority.
A vote of thanks to the Chairman, as also to Captain
Shelley for the use of his room, was proposed by Mr. W. T.
Blanford, seconded by Canon Tristram, and carried by
acclamation. The Meeting then adjourned, and the Annual
Dinner, held at the Cafe Royal, was attended by thirty-two
Members and guests.

/S^on^ 0/ Cyphorhinus. — In Mr. Simson^s lately published
* Travels in the Wilds of Ecuador ' (London, 1886) the song
of what is, we believe, a Wren of the genus Cyphorhinus, met
with between the Topo and the Pintuc, on the route from
Riobamba to the Napo, is described as follows : — " Here I
first heard the song of the ^Flautero' (flute-bird), among
birds the mellowest and most beautiful songster that I re-
member having heard. His song is not quite the same in
all individuals, but may be likened in tone to the most mel-
low sweet-sounding fluet ; and the musical correctness of all

Letters, Extracts, Notices, &^c. 367

his notes is astonishing, and makes one imagine the sound to
be produced by human agency. On one occasion, after
this, I was utterly deceived, being out in the woods. I felt
certain of being far from all my companions and other human
beings, when I suddenly stopped, hearing, as I thought, some-
one with a knowledge of music whistling charmingly and
clearly quite close to me. But I suddenly remembered the
Flautero, and espied my little friend singing his song, which
ended on the key-note. He is a very insignificant-looking
little greyish-coloured bird, and, I was informed, always
dies in captivity. He dances and performs strange antics
before the female during his song.^'

Structure of the Penguins. — We wish to call the special
attention of ornithologists to the beautiful specimen illus-
trative of the wing of the Penguins which has been recently
added to the series of bird-structures now being prepared,
under Prof. Flower^s superintendence, for the entrance-hall of
the British Museum of Natural History. It is quite evident
that while the Struthiones (at any rate the Ostrich and Rhea)
do not materially diverge from the great mass of birds in
the arrangement of their wing-feathers, and may, so far as
this point goes, be the degenerate descendants of forms that
once had wings more or less available for flight, the Penguins,
in their wing-structure, as in their foot-structure, must be
held to belong to quite a difl"erent category. It is impossible
to suppose that the ancestors of the Penguins ever had normal
wings, so totally diverse is the arrangement of their wing-
feathers. The Impennes, in fact, as has been already hinted
(Ibis, 1886, p. 212), must be regarded as one of the lowest,
if not absolutely the least developed, types of ornithic life,
and should be kept in any natural arrangement completely
separate from the normal series, — P. L. S.

Habits of the Oxpecker. — In a letter addressed to Lord Wal-
singham, dated River Lumi, between Tavuta and Rombo
(Kilimandjaro district of East Africa), Mr. Frederick J.

368 Letters, Extracts, Notices, l^-c.

Jackson gives an interesting account of the habits of the
Oxpecker, or Rhinoceros -bird {Buphaga erythrorhyncha)* : —
" I was rather amused at a Rhinoceros-bird this afternoon,
which was on the back of the cow Rhinoceros that I shot.
There were three others with it, which settled again on its
back after it was dead. On my going up and getting within
,50 yards of the body, they all flew off with their rather
Missel-thrush like call ; but as the Rhinoceros could take
no notice of them, this one, when I was within 15 yards,
suddenly darted down again on to its back, fluttered its
wings, screaming all the time, and then flew ofl" after the
others. If it were not for the Oxpeckers, Rhinoceroses would
be the easiest of all game to stalk; but as they are nearly always
accompanied by three or four of the birds, it really amounts
to stalking the birds more than the Rhinoceros. If they
would only sit still on the Rhinoceros, one might have a
better chance j but they have a provoking habit of occasionally
flying up into the tree the Rhinoceros may be lying or stand-
ing under at the time. On two or three occasions I have
been betrayed in this way."

Birds of Diego Garcia. — In a recently issued number of
' Deutsche geographische Blatter,' Dr. Finsch publishes an
interesting account of a short visit to Diego Garcia, when on
his way from Suez to Australia in the Orient s.s. ' Chim-
borazo,' in July 1884. A lively description is given of the
great breeding-place oi Sterna fuliginosa on the "East Island,"
which at that date was in full swing. The eggs were so
crowded together on the sand that it was difficult to pick
one's way amongst them. A few Noddies (Anous stolidus)
breed on the same spot, also on the ground. The Sooty
Terns are said to arrive in June to breed, and to leave the
island before November.

* Cf. Fischer, J. f. 0. 1885, p. 132.

THE IBIS

FIFTH SERIES.

No. XX. OCTOBER 1887.

XXXVIII. — On an apparently neio Species of Zostero^s fy^om
the Island of Anjuan, Comoro Group. By H. B. Tristram,
D.D., RR.S.

(Plate XL)

I WAS surprised, on looking through my series of Zosterops,
to find a specimen which had been obtained by Mr. C. E.
Bewsher in 1879, and had been labelled Z^. atijuanensis before
I purchased it, but which I had placed, without noticing its
label, among my series of grey-backed White-eyes, as the
representative of this section from the Comoros. In every
pointj except in coloration, it comes very close to Z. anjuan^
ensis, but the measurements are slightly larger. I have
compared it with eight specimens of its congener, and do not
find in any of them the slightest indications of a tendency to
vary or to lose the bright olive-green of the upper parts or
the rich yellow of the throat. This bird shows no trace of
green on the upper surface, which is of a lightish ashen grey ;
but the throat is very faintly washed with yellow, as is a very
narrow portion of the forehead.

I sent my specimens to Professor Newton and Sir Edward
Newton, and they coincide in my opinion that it must belong

SER. V. — VOL. V. 2d

370 Canon Tristram on an apparently

to a distinct species. But the Professor sent to me a specimen
which he has had several years in spirit^ and which Mr. Cul-
lingford, of Durham, has now very carefully prepared. This
bird is very near mine, but the grey on the back seems
slightly tinged with green, and the yellow wash on the throat
is more decided, while the tarsus is slightly shorter. Of
course, however, it is dangerous to draw any positive con-
clusion as to coloration from a specimen which has been
eight years in spirit. My bird has every appearance of
being fully adult, and has not been in spirit. I therefore
venture to describe it as new, and to call it

ZosTEROPs pRjEtermissa, sp. uov. (Plate XI. fig. 1.)
Z. capite et dorso albido-cinereis ; frontis margine usque ad
oculos obscure luteo ; loris nigris ; plumarum annulo
oculos cingente argenteo ; thorace flavido vix tincto ;
corpore subtus et lateribus albidis cinereo lavatis ; rostro
fortij paullulum longiorequaminZ. ma«<n/ia«a. Long,
tot. 4'3, alse 2*25, caudse 1*75, tarsi '72.
Hub. Anjuan, inss. Comorensium.

I take this opportunity, with the kind assent of the Editors
of 'The Ibis,^ of adding a figure (Plate XI. fig. 2) of my
Zosterops hnvarum, recently described in this Journal (Ibis,
1887, p. 234) .

The following is a short synopsis of the species oi Zosterops,
so far as at present known, from Madagascar and the
Mascarene Islands :—

Green-backed Species.

Z. semiflava, E. Newton. Uniform greenish yellow above,
brighter on the rump; lower parts rich yellow, with
chestnut flanks. — Hab. Seychelles.

Z. mayottensis, Schlegel. Not seen by me ; it seems from
the description and from Pollen and Van Dam^s figure
to be very close to Z. semiflava, but with a bright citron-
yellow forehead. — Hab. Ins. Mayotte.

Z. kirki, Shelley. Uniform greenish yellow above ; uni-
form lemon-yellow below. This species has recently been
described by M. Oustalet. — Hab. Grand Comoro Island.

Z. anjuanensis, E. Newton. Greenish yellow above, with
narrow orange forehead and black lores; chin, throat,

Ibis. 1887. PLU

■Mintern. Bros .

l.ZOSTEROPS PRyETERMlSSA.
2.Z0STER0PS HOVAPvUM.

'^v-.vvv^

neiv Species of Zosterops. 371

and lower tail-coverts orange-yellow; breast and abdo-
men pale ashy. — Hub. Ins. Anjuan.

Z. Madagascar lens'is (Gmel.). Like Z. anjuanensis, but Avith-
out the orange forehead ; lores only blackish^ and throat
and under tail-coverts a much paler yellow. — Hab. Ma-
dagascar.

Z. hcesitata, Hartl. Back dark green^ rump and upper tail-
coverts lighter ; head blackish ; chin lightish grey ;
throat and breast ashen grey ; abdomen whitish ; under
tail-coverts pale yellow ; bill decurved. — Hab. Ins.
Bourbon.

R. curvirostris , Swains. Head and upper back slaty grey ;
lower back green; chin, throat, and breast ashen; flanks
lighter ; abdomen whitish ; under tail-coverts yellow ;
bill decurved. — Hab. Mauritius.

Grey-backed Species.

Z. moc?e5/«,E. Newton. Larger; uniform olive-brown above ;
chin and lower tail-coverts whitish ; rest of lower parts
light olive-brown. — Hab. Seychelles.

Z. borbonica (Gmel.). Smaller; olive-brown above; upper
tail-coverts white ; no ring of white feathers round the
eye ; lower parts ashy grey, lighter on the chin and
under tail-coverts; flanks chestnut. — Hab, Ins. Bourbon.

Z. mauritiana (Gmel.) . Upper parts delicate bluish grey ;
rump and upper tail-coverts white ; no ring round the
eye ; lower parts white, tinged with grey on the breast ;
flanks rusty brown. — Hab. Mauritius.

Z. hovarum, Tristr. Like Z. mauritiana, but without the
white rump, and with a conspicuous white ring round
the eyes. — Hab. Madagascar.

Z. pratermissa, Tristr. Upper parts whitish ashen, with a
narrow faint yellowish forehead and white ring round
the eyes ; the whole lower parts ashy white, with a yel-
lowish tinge on the throat. — Hab. Ins. Anjuan.

2d 2

873 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

XXXIX.— ^ List of the Birds of Portugal.
By Willi A Ai C. Tait^ Oporto.

[Concluded from p. 314.]

IGO. Ardea ciNEREA^ Linn. '' Gar9a/'

The Common Heron sometimes arrives as early as the end
of August and stays till the middle of February. It is abun-
dant on the edge of the lagoon between Ovar and Aveiro,
and also at Esmoriz ; and it may occasionally be seen at the
mouth of the Douro^ but I am not aware that it breeds in this
country. Being considered good eating, it is much sought
after by tlie gunnerSj and its fat has a great reputation as a
cure for rheumatism.

161. Ardea PURPUREA, Linn. "Garcia."

There are specimens of the Purple Heron in the Lisbon
and Coimbra Museums, and Dr. Carvalho informs me that
it breeds in the Foja marsh.

162. Ardea garzetta, Linn. " Gar(^a ribeirinlia/^ Por-
timao ; " Garceta,'' Faro ; '' Chisco,'' Olhao.

The Lisbon Museum possesses specimens of the Little
Egret from the Ribatejo and others from the Algarve, on
the coast of which I found this bird plentiful. A colony
builds a short distance from Portimao on a small, round,
inaccessible islet, composed of marine fossils, covered at the
top with a short brushwood on which the Egrets make their
nests. It was very picturesque to see the Egrets rise in a
white cloud as we approached in a boat. I do not know of
any other nesting-place in Portugal.

163. Ardea bubulcus, Audouin, " Garciote," '' Garga
boieira,^^ Esmoriz ; " Garca da Barbaria,^^ Alpiar(;^a.

The Buff-backed Heron appears in Portugal in the spring,
and probably nests in this country, where it has acquired the
name of "Garca boieira'^ (Ox Heron), from its habit of
accompanying the cattle while pasturing on the marshes.
In the spring of 1880 I received from Alpiarga, near San-
tarem, on the banks of the Tagus, a specimen which had
actually been shot on the back of an ox, where these birds

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 373

sometimes perch to pick off parasites. There are examples
in the Coimbra and Lisbon Museums, and I expect the birds
are not uncommon on the banks of the Tagus. At Aljiiarca
they are said to go about in flocks and to be rather tame.

164. Ardearalloides. '^Papa-ratos/^ Coimbra Museum.
There are specimens of the Squacco Heron in the Coimbra

and Lisbon Museums from Corruche and Evora. On May
14th, 1882, 1 saw three of these birds on the side of the lake at
Esmoriz, as I passed close in a boat, having my binocular with
me at the time. Li all probability this is a summer visitant,
as I never met with it whilst shooting in the marshes in
autumn or winter.

165. Ardetta minuta (Linn.). " Gar96to,^^ Ovar, Estar-
reja and Augeja; ^^ Touro gallego," Vagos, Aveiro; "Gar-
cenho,^' Coimbra Museum,

The Little Bittern is abundant on the marshes about Ovar,
Estarreja, and other suitable localities, to which it is a sum-
mer visitant. It makes a nest in the tall reeds just raised
above the level of the water, of reed-stalks lined with leaves
or rushes, on which are deposited four to six white eggs.
When flushed, the buff colour of the body and the black of
the wings are very conspicuous. As winter approaches, the
bird disappears, though I have known one shot near Oporto
as late as the 20th November. On the 16th of May, 1882, a
Little Bittern was caught alive in a dark cellar of a house at
the mouth of the Douro. It is supposed that it was migra-
ting by night, and that, as daylight broke, it made for the
nearest dark place, which happened to be the cellar of this
house.

166. BoTAURUs STELLARis (Linn.) . " Ronca,^^ " Touro-
pauV Estarreja; '^^ Abetouro,'^ Coimbra Museum.

I believe the Common Bittern to be a resident in Portugal.
I have often met with it while out Snipe-shooting on the
sides of the lagoon near Ovar and Estarreja in the winter
months ; but although Dr. Carvalho tells me that it nests in
the Eoja marsh near Coimbra, and the country people agree
in saying that it breeds in the marshes among the tall reeds, I

374 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

have never been able to find its nest. It is probable that
many arrive from the north in the late autumn, as at Leca de
Palmeira I have at that season seen birds which I felt sure
were Bitterns which had settled in the fields at the side of
the creek while on passage. In the winter of 1873, while
out Snipe-shooting, a friend and myself came upon a flock
of Bitterns in a marsh, and putting them up one by one,
as they lay close, we counted eleven, shot eight, and bagged
seven of them. This was done in the heat of the chase,
and since then I have spared any Bitterns which I might
put up. They are very tender birds, and a slight wound
with small shot brings them down.

167. CicoNiA ALBA, Bcchst. " Cegonha."

The White Stork is found in Portugal nearly all through
the year, being absent for only a short time in winter, and it
is one of the first arrivals, for I have seen some as early as
January in the neighbourhood of Abrantes. It is common
in the valley of the Tagus, the Upper Douro, and in the
Alemtejo,, but I have never seen it near Oporto. It nests in
church-steeples and also in large trees ; a pair is said to
resort to a poplar tree near Coimbra every year.

168. CicoNiA NIGRA (Linn.). ^' Cegonha.^'

The Black Stork is scarcer than the preceding. There is
a specimen in the Lisbon Museum, obtained near Evora, and
in the Coimbra Museum there are many from the Alemtejo,
where the species breeds. Dr. Hans Gadow tells us that in
the summer of 1885 he saw one at the gorge of the Pulo do
Lobo, on the Guadiana.

169. Platalea leucorodia, Linn. " Colhereiro."

The Spoonbill is a winter visitant to Portugal. It has
occasionally been shot or seen at the mouth of the Douro,
the small lake at Esmoriz, and on the lagoon at Aveiro.

170. Plegadis falcinellus, Linn. " Macarico preto,"
Esraoriz.

The Glossy Ibis is well known at Esmoriz, where it is said
to arrive from the 25th of July onwards on passage.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 375

171. Phcenicopterus roseus. Pall.

The only Portuguese specimen of the Rosy Flamingo of
which I know is in the Coimbra Museum, obtained many
years ago from Estarreja.

172. Anser cinereus, Meyer. " Ganso bravo.^'

The Grey Lag Goose is a winter visitant in large flocks to
the wide plains on the banks of the Tagus and other suitable
localities. I have one shot at Esmoriz in the winter of
1881-82.

173. Anser segetum. " Ganso bravo."

The Bean Goose frequents the same situations as the above,
and is likewise a winter visitant.

174. Bernicla brenta (Pall.). '' Ganso bravo."

The Brent Goose is also a winter visitant, but it appears
to be rarer than the two preceding species. I have a speci-
men shot near Vianna, on the banks of the River Lima, and
there is one in the Coimbra Museum. One was shot on
December 28th, 1884, at the mouth of the Iliver Douro, and
two in the winter of 1870. On one occasion I saw a pair
flying over the east end of Oporto, high in the air, in the
neighbourhood of the river, and through my field-glass I could
distinctly make out the white neck-markings and the dark
plumage. We are probably on the southern limit of this
bird's wanderings.

175. Cygnus, sp. inc. " Cysne bravo."

Wild Swans rarely appear in this country, and I cannot
say with any certainty of what species they are : prohahly
the Whooper. They have been seen on the Douro, and one
which frequented the lake at Esmoriz for a considerable time
one winter became well known to all the gunners in the
neighbourhood and had no rest from their persecution ; but
it soon learnt to be wary and keep out of range of shot-guns,
so they then took to firing at it with bullets, when finding
matters getting serious, it moved on to some other station.

176. Tadorna cornuta (S. G. Gmel.).

The Common Sheldrake is a regular winter visitant to the

376 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal

lagoon between Ovar and Aveiro every winter. The Mnr-
toza '' punters " shoot a few, which are sent to the Oporto
market.

177. Anas boscas, Linn. '^Lavanco/' Esraoriz, Ovar,
Estarreja, Aveiro ; " Pato real/^ Valen^a, Angeja ; " Adem/'
Coimbra Museum.

I have met with the Mallard all the year round in Portugal
and found two nests with about a dozen eggs in each at Ovar,
among some rushes on the grouud, catching the female on
one of them for identification.

178. Anasangustirostris, Menetr. ''Pardilheira/' Lisbon
Museum.

In the Lisbon Museum there are two specimens of the
Marbled Duck, and it cannot be very rare where they came
from, as it has a local name ; but I have never seen it in the
north of Portugal, and most likely it is a summer visitant.

179. Chaulelasmus STREPERus (Linn,). "Frisao,^^ Coim-
bra Museum.

Specimens of the Gadwall have been obtained in winter
from the lagoon at Ovar and from the Ribatejo.

180. Spatula clypeata (Linn.). " Pintalhao,"" Murtoza;
" Pato trombeteiro," " Colhereira," Coimbra Museum.

The handsome Shoveller Duck is frequently to be seen for
sale in Oporto from the middle of October to the middle of
March, and is obtained on the Ovar lagoon in the neighbour-
hood of Murtoza.

181. Querquedula CRECCA (Linn,). " Marreca," general
name ; " Marneco,''^ Esmoriz.

The Teal is frequently obtained in winter in suitable loca-
lities such as near Murtoza. At Angeja I was told that it
nested there in the fields among the tall rye-grass, and at
Guilherey, near Tuey, in a small marsh ; but I have not been
able to ascertain whether the bird was really this species or
the Gai'ganey, or the Marbled Duck.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. S77

182. QuERQUEDULA ciRCiA (Liim.). " Cantadeira/^ Mur-
toza ; " Rangedeira," Coimbra Museum.

At Murtoza I was told that the Garganey Teal arrives there
in large numbers in the spring, but does not remain to breed.
I have seen them for sale at Oporto^ but only in February
and March.

183. Dafila ACUTA (Linn.). " Arrabio," Murtoza ; '^^ Ra-
bijunco/' Coimbra Museum.

The Pintail is rather commonly offered for sale in Oporto
in some years from October to February.

184. Mareca PENELOPE (Linn.). '^ Serafanada/^ Esmo-
riz ; " Alfanado/' Murtoza ; " Piadeira/^ " Assobiadeira,"
Coimbra Museum.

The Wigeon is very common in the Oporto market from
the beginning of October to March^ and I have seen it at the
mouth of the Douro.

185. FuLiGULA ferina (Linn.). "^ Catullo/^ Murtoza;
" Tarrantanaj" Coimbra Museum.

The Pochard is very common in winter on the lagoon near
Murtoza, but being much harried by the punt- gunners, it
remains during the day in the open water. I have shot it on
the lagoon at Esmoriz.

186. FuLiGULA cristata (Leach). " Negro/^ Murtoza;
" Pega do mar," Esmoriz ; '' Negrinha," " Negrella,''^ Coim-
bra Museum.

The Tufted Duck is the commonest of all the family on
the lagoons near the sea from October to March. Near
Murtoza large flocks remain in the open water and go to
feed on the rice-fields and streams.

187. Nyroca ferruginea (Gmel.). " Larro," Coimbra
Museum.

In the Lisbon Museum there are specimens of the White-
eyed Duck from the Ribatejo, and in the Coimbra Museum
there are some from the banks of the Mondego. Ou the 6th
January, 1883, my brother-in-law shot one and saw another
at Esmoriz.

378 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

188. Clangula glaucion (Linn.).

In the Lisbon Museum there is a specimen of the Golden-
eye from the Ribatejo.

189. CEdemia nigra (Linn.). "Negra/-" Povoa de Var-
zim^ Oporto, Esmoriz; "Negrolla,'^ Coimbra Museum.

The Scoter is very abundant in winter on the sea off the
coast, appearing at the end of August and remaining till
March or April. Immense flocks are to be seen near La-
vados, at the south side of the entrance to the Douro. The
tail-feathers are often much frayed, probably from striking
on the sand or stones at the bottom of the sea when tearing
off shell-fish or when turning to rise to the surface.

190. Mergus serrator, Linn. " Serzeta/^ Murtoza.
The Red-breasted Merganser is occasionally offered for

sale in the streets of Oporto in December, January, and
February.

191. CoLUMBA PALUMBUS, Linn. "^Pombo torquaz.'^
Some Ring Doves are resident, as, for instance, at Arcos

de Val de Vez, where they breed, but the majority are winter
visitors. Near the mouth of the Douro they pass south-
wards from the middle of October to the beginning or middle
of December, preferring an east wind for their journey. In
winter very large flocks frequent the evergreen oaks in the
Beira baixa and Alemtejo to feed on the acorns. At Castello
branco I was told that at Penamacor they were doing so
much damage in the oak-Avoods by eating the acorns which
should have fattened the droves of pigs, that men were sent
with guns and rockets to drive them away.

192. CoLUMBA CENAS, LiuU.

A few specimens of the Stock Dove offered for sale in the
Lisbon market have supplied the Lisbon and Coimbra
Museums.

193. CoLUMBA LiviA, Bonuat. " Pombo bravo."
Resident. I have found the Rock Dove nesting at the fine

gorge at Cachao da Baleira, River Douro, just below S. Joao
da Pesqueira, also at Cape Carvoeiro and Berlenga Island.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 379

On the coast of Algarve, near Va. Nova de Portimao^ I saw
many large caverns scooped out of the cHffs by the action of
the waves, and in these the Rock Doves nest in great num-
bers. In the neighbourhood of Mertola I was told that
these birds nest in the galleries of the deserted manganese
mines.

194. TuRTUR COMMUNIS, Sclby. '' Rola," Portugal ;
"Rola/^ Galicia, Spain.

The Turtle Dove is abundant in summer over the whole of
Portugal, and is the dominant Pigeon of the country. They
usually arrive at Oporto in the beginning of April, some-
times a little earlier, and leave from the latter part of August
till the 20th September, a straggler or two remaining later.
They may be heard cooing in my small wood of chestnut-
trees, which is not far from the centre of the city of Oporto,
and their note, with those of the Blackbird, Blackcap, Wry-
neck, Chaffinch, and other birds, gives a rural charm to the
place. Immense numbers of Turtle Doves migrate south in
the autumn along the coast of Portugal, preferring an east
wind, and travelling in large and also small flocks, from 500
to 1000 yards from the sea. Should the wind be mild they
fly very high, but if strong they sometimes almost skim the
tops of the Indian corn. At the proper season of the year,
as soon as the dry east wind begins to blow, the gunners
collect in the early morning along the sea-coast to intercept
the unfortunate travellers, and at Foz do Douro a continuous
fusilade may be heard from shortly after sunrise until about
10 o^clock in the morning.

In reference to the migration, a friend caught one on the
24th September, 1878, in the Bay of Biscay. The light-
house-keeper at Foz told me that sometimes Turtle Doves
strike against the lantern at night, and one morning he found
two lying dead under the lantern. If some take to travel-
ling at night it is not surprising that birds are met with so
far from land. After the morning flight the Turtle Doves
feed in the fields during the day, or rest in trees, and as
evening comes on a few make a short flight before sunset.

380 Mr. W. C, Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

195. Pterocles arenarius (Pall.). " Cortisol."

lu the Lisbon Museum there are four specimens of the
Black-bellied Sand Grouse from Evora. They tell me at
Abrantes that this bird is found on the elevated moors above
Salvadorinho, and is very wary, but the gunners lie in am-
bush for them at their drinking-resorts.

196. Pterocles alchata.

A specimen of the Pintailed Sand Grouse shot in October
1869 at Valladores, near Oporto, by Mr. Lawrence Fowke,
Vice-Consul, is the only specimen, so far as I can learn, as
yet met with in the north of Portugal. In the Lisbon
Museum there are specimens from Evora and the Alemtejo.

197. Caccabis RUFA (Linn.). " Perdiz.^'

The Red-legged Partridge is generally distributed, espe-
cially on the rocky sides of rivers and streams and the wide
moors of the Alemtejo.

198. Perdix cinerea, Lath. " Charella,'' Pitoes, Serra
do Gerez.

In Portugal the Grey Partridge reaches the southern limit
of its distribution. Like many other northern birds, it is
found in Portugal only at those higher elevations which, as is
now generally understood, correspond to a lower elevation in
a higher latitude. I am informed that this Partridge is com-
mon and well known at Pitoes on the Serra do Gerez, and it
is also found on the high ground about Pinheiro, in the
neighbourhood of Braga ; I hear that it is found also on the
Serra do Marao, and on the Serra de Rebordaos district of
Bragan^a. The Lisbon Museum possesses a specimen from
Benaventes.

199. CoTURNix COMMUNIS, Bouuat. " Codorniz,'^ Oporto
and Portugal generally ; "' Paspalhao,^' Valen^-a, Aveiro ;
Bragauea, also Galicia, Spain ; " Calcare,^' " Qualquard,^'
Braga; ''Cracole,^' Pedras Rubras, Mattosinhos; '^'Temtila,^'
Penafiel ; '' Carcalhota,'^ Coimbra.

Quails are to be met with abundantly nearly all the year
round, except from October to November, when the greater

Mr. W. C. Tait Ofi the Birds of Portugal. 381

number disappear. Their migration is by preference carried
on during the prevalence of easterly winds^ as in the case of
the Turtle Doves; but Quails travel by night, pi'eferring
clear moonlight for their flitting. Going out one autumn
with my gun in the early morning before sunrise, and while
the moon was still shining, I saw a small flock of Quails pass
from north to south.

There appear to be several races of Quails in this country.
The largest is that which breeds in the corn-fields. It is
light-coloured, lives in the midst of abundance, and is so fat
in August that it sometimes appears scarcely able to fly,
making an easy mark for the gun and a delicate morsel for
the table. This disappears as the winter comes on, and
its place is taken by a darker race, smaller and more active
on the wing, called " Codorniz d^arribacjao,'^ or migra-
tory Quail. I am told that in the rushes at Ovar a small
dark Quail is found, while at Alvito, in the Alemtejo, there
is a small light- coloured Quail, which goes by the local name
of " Codorniz creola," or the " Creole Quail," said to fre-
quent the moors and to feed on the berries of the spurge
laurel {Dap/me gnidium). At some future time I hope to
be able to collect further information about these interesting
races, and, if possible, to obtain measurements.

200. TuRNix SYLVATICA (Dcsf.). " Toirao do matto,"
Coimbra Museum.

I have seen specimens of the Andalucian Hemipode ob-
tained at Esmoriz and Ovar, where, however, they are rather
rare. They are said to be not uncommon in the Hibatejo.
This is a bird of the south of Portugal.

201, Rallus aquaticus, Linn. ''^Pinta d'agoa,''^ Oporto;
'' Frango d^agoa,'' " Fura matto,""" Coimbra Museum.

I have seen the Water Rail in the neighbourhood of Oporto
from the beginning of November to the beginning of April,
after which it disappeared from a small marsh where I used
to put it up occasionally. The species is common in winter
at Ovar, and I believe that many arrive in Portugal on
passage. In the autumn of 1884 I was shown a Water Rail

383 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

which had settled on a sailing-vessel in the Atlantic, about
240 miles off the coast of Portugal, while the vessel was on
its voyage from Newfoundland to Oporto. It was much
emaciated and died the day before the harbour was reached.

202. PORZANA MARUETTA (Lcach) .

I have seen specimens of the Spotted Crake obtained near
Oporto from the middle of October to the end of February.

203. PoRZANA BAILLONI (ViciU.) .

In June 1882 I found, in a small marsh near Esmoriz, a
nest of Baillon's Crake among the reeds, containing one
fresh egg, and another nest containing an egg and a young
bird just hatched. This latter was of a shiny black plumage,
with a yellowish bill and greenish slate-coloured legs. It
Tittered a low piping cry, which was answered by the parent
bird close by with kek-kek-kek. The nest was made of fine
dry stalks of grass, and the bird when disturbed scuttled
away like a water-rat along a narrow pathway leading from
it. A friend shot two specimens at Estarreja on Sep-
tember 9th.

I have not yet met with the Little Crake, nor is there a
specimen of it in either the Coimbra or the Lisbon Museum ;
but there is little doubt that it will be found in this country,
and it should be looked for on passage in October.

204. Crex pratensis, Bechst. " Pinta da herva,^" Oporto ;
" Codornizao," Coimbra Museum.

The Corn Crake is met with from the beginning of October
till the middle of March, and is sometimes put up by the
dogs when hunting for Quail.

205. PoRPHYRio c^RULEUs (Vandelli). " Camao/' " Gal-
linha sultana," " Alquimao," Coimbra Museum.

The beautiful Purple Gallinule is said to be common on
the banks of the Mondego between Coimbra and Figueira, in
the Foja and Arzila marshes, but so far these are the only
localities where it has been met with.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 383

206. Gallinula chloropus (Linn.). " Gallinha do rio/"
Anchora; " Franga marneca/^ Valen<ja; ^Tranga do rio,"
Esmoriz ; " Robocoellia/' " Gallinha d'agoa/' Ovar ; " Ra-
bello coellia/' ''Arriba coelha/' Murtoza ; " Rabillia," An-
geja, Vagos ; " Rabiscoelha/^ Coimbra.

The Moorhen is resident and abundant in suitable loca-
lities. I have found many nests at Esmoriz, Ovar, Estarreja,
and Angeja. There is a beautiful perfectly white specimen
in the Coimbra Museum.

207. FuLiCA ATRA, Linn. " Franga real/^ River Minho ;
" Negra/^ Esmoriz ; " Nagera/^ Murtoza ; " Galleirao/'
Coimbra Museum ; " Gallo/^ Vagos, near Aveiro.

I have identified the Common Coot chiefly during the
month of November, but I have also seen Coots on the
lagoons during winter and summer, and on some occasions
young ones, although I cannot say whether they were the
Common or the Crested Coot. It will be interesting to learn
whether one only or both of these species nest in this
country. Dr. Carvalho informs me that the Common Coot
nests in the marshes near Coimbra.

208. FuLiCA cRisTATA, Gmcl.

In October and November of 1882 many Crested Coots
were hawked about for sale in Oporto, and were said to have
been shot by the Murtoza gunners.

209. Grus communis, Bechst. " Grau," " Grulla,'' Vigo.
On February 13th, 1886, I saw from the train a flock of

Cranes in a field near Beja, where they are said to appear
from December to March and to do much damage in the
bean-fields, eating the broad-beans out of their shells. In
the Lisbon Museum there are specimens from Alcochete.

210. Otis TARDA, Linn. " Abetarda," " Batarda,^' Coim-
bra Museum.

The Great Bustard is said to be not uncommon in the
Alemtejo, and it is thence that specimens are obtained for
the museums. I have not been fortunate enough to see
the living birds in the open.

384 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

211. Otis tetrax^ Linn. ^' Abatarda pequena.^^

The Little Bustard is rare in the north of Portugal. I
have only lieard of one shot at Vianna do Castello, two at
Leya da Palmeira^ some at Ovar^ and I saw one killed at Es-
tarreja while out Quail-shooting. Most of these were ob-
tained during the month of August^ but I saw one for sale at
Oporto on the 8th October, 1881. The species is said to
have bred at Bairro Miguel, near Alcoentra, Estremadura.
In the Ribatejo and Alemtejo it appears to be commoner
than in the northern part of Portugal.

212. ffinicNEMUs scoLOPAx (S. G. Gmel.). " kXcoxowiio,"
Oporto, Caldas d^Aregos, Algarve ; " Sizao/' Oporto,
Esmoriz ; " Pirole,^^ Tou9a (Alta Beira)"; " Perlui/-" Esmoriz.

The Stone Curlew is one of the birds which arrive latest
in this country : say from the middle of November, staying till
the middle of February, being then common along the coast
on sandy or stony heaths. Some nest on the sand-hills near
Espinho, where I saw a nest containing two eggs, and I
was told that it breeds near Caldas d^Aregos and in the Al-
garve. On the 25th of December, 1864, I shot one near
Oporto as it flew in a southerly direction over my garden.

213. Glareola pratincola, Linn.

I am informed that there is a single specimen of the Pra-
tincole in the Lisbon Museum, from the Ribatejo.

214. Chabadrius PLUviALis, Linn. "Dourado," "Pildra,"
"Pildra dourada,^' Oporto; '^'^ Tordeiro,'' Lega de Palmeira;
" Douradinho,'' Tarambola,'-' Coimbra Museum.

The Golden Plover is an autumn visitant, arriving from the
north in the beginning of October, and when the wind blows
from the east numerous flocks pass near the sea- shore in a
southerly direction. They are more numerous during this
and the following month of November, most of them passing
south, although some remain to winter here.

215. Squatarola helvetica (Linn.). '' Pildra prata,"'
Oporto ; " Marrao,^^ Esmoriz ; '' Tarambola/' Aveiro.

The Grey Plover usually arrives later than the preceding :

Mr. W. C. Tait un the Birds of Portugal. 385

say during the months o£ November and December. The
greater number leave in the spring, but some remain till
very late. On the 17th May^ 1882^ I saAv one at Esmoriz in
summer plumage^ and one also at the entrance to Faro
harbour (A^lgarve) on the 6th of June, 1884, with the black
breast of summer plumage. It was with a flock of Knots,
which were also in summer plumage.

216. tEgialitis cantiana (Lath.). '^ Borrelho,'^ Oporto,
Ovar; " CoUeira/' Aveiro; ''Curo-curo,^' Algarve ; " La-
vandeira,^' Coimbra Museum.

The Kentish Plover is resident and abundant alongj the
coast of Portugal wherever it is sandy, and I have met with
it from Caminha, at the extreme north, to Villa Real de Sto.
Antonio. It breeds in May and Juue, laying three to four
eggs on the bare sand. I have found many nests, and on
one occasion caught a young bird, the legs of which seemed
disproportionately long.

217. ^GiALiTis CURONICA (Gmcl.). " Corriao," ^''Cor-
ri9ao/^ Melres ; " Carpido/' Caldas d'Aregos ; " Borr§lho/'
" Lavandeira," Coimbra Museum.

The Little Ringed Plover arrives near Oporto in the
spring, and I have usually seen the first in A-pi'il- On the 19th
of June, 1878, 1 found a nest containing two eggs on a sand-
bank of a small island on the River Lima, near Vianna do
Castello, and they also breed on the sand-banks of the river
Douro above Oporto. In August many appear on the sand-
banks at the mouth of the River Douro on passage, and a few
stray ones remain till December.

218. iEoiALiTis HiATicuLA (Linn.). '^ Borrelho," Oporto ;
'' Lavandeira,'' Coimbra Museum.

The Ringed Plover is a winter visitant, first arriving about
the middle of August at the mouth of the river Douro,
and in September they are abundant. Large numbers pass
the winter here, and I have observed them up till the end of
March.

SER. V. VOL. V. 2 E

386 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

219. EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS (Linil.).

There is a single specimen of the Dotterel in the Lisbon
Museum^ obtained from Estremadura. I am not aware that
any other has yet been obtained in Portugal.

220. Vanellus vulgaris, Bechst. '^ Ave f ria/^ " Agoas
neves," Anchora ; '' Pendro/' Vianna do Castello ; " Ave-
toninha/^ Oporto ; " Gallispo/^ Oporto, Penafiel, and Caldas
d'Aregos ; " Matoninha/' " Verdizella/' " Choradeira/' Pe-
nafiel ; " Galleno," Leca de Palmeira ; " Galleinlo/' Esmoriz,
Estarreja; " Redonzella/' '^ Coin/^ Ovar, Estarreja; " Ave-
coinha/-' " Donzella verde/' Estarreja ; " Abesconinha,"
Aveiro ; '' Abibe/' Abecuinha/' Coimbra Museum ; " Vi-
bora/"* " BibeSj" Abrantes and Algarve.

No bird has a greater variety of popular names in Portugal
than the Lapwing. Some are derived from its arrival coin-
ciding with that of the cold weather, some from its erratic
mode of flight, others from its crest-feathers, from the colour
of its plumage, from its cry, and the Algarve name of
" Bibes " is no doubt derived from the Moorish " Beebet."
The Abrantes name^Vibora" means viper, and I cannot
account for its being applied to a bird.

The first arrivals appear in October. During November
great numbers pass southwards along the coast, preferring,
as usual, an easterly wind. These birds usually fly nearly
abreast in a long line at a considerable height. Many remain
here to winter, disappearing in February or March, after
which I have never seen one, although I have looked for
them on the high moors of some of the serras and on the
marshes in various parts of the country.

221. Strepsilas interpres (Linn.). ^'Eola do mar,"
''Rola marinha," Oporto; '^ Seixoeira," Aveiro; "^ Parda,"
Esmoriz ; " Perna vermelha," Faro.

The Turnstone is usually seen near Oporto from the begin-
ning of April till the middle of September, and they breed
in this country. In the summer of 1869 a boy saw at Lavadoz,
near the mouth of the Douro, two young birds and caught
one of them alive, which I bought from him and kept for

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds af Portugal. 387

many months in a cage. It ate boiled rice, small pieces of
biscuit, and cooked meat, was very tame and became quite
familiar and affectionate, giving a short whistle of jjleasure
when it saw me and coming to feed from my hand. I took
it with me to England to deposit it in that paradise for birds,
the Zoological Gardens. One morning while the steamer was
going up the channel between England and Ireland, the cage
being on deck, a Whimbrel flew over the vessel. My Turn-
stone called, whereupon the Whimbrel responded, alighting
on the deck close to the cage, when the sailors caught the
latter without any difficulty and put it into the same cage
with the Turnstone. They struck up a friendship at once, and
the most extraordinary thing was that the Whimbrel at once
became as tame as the Turnstone, taking biscuit from my
hand without fear. It was curious to see the delight of the
Turnstone at obtaining a companion. These are evidently
very sociable birds. Wishing to observe the Turnstone's
instinct for turning over stones, I put one into its cage, when
it immediately began to turn it over and over, as if it ex-
pected to find something underneath. I left the two friends
comfortably housed in a large aviary in the Zoological
Society's Gardens, London.

I have seen this species in all the summer months. At
Faro I was told that it breeds in the rushes (?) along the coast
of the Algarve. During the months of August and Sep-
tember there is a large migration of these birds from north
to south, and numbers arrive on passage at the mouth of the
Ilouro. They travel by night, and during foggy weather may
be heard constantly calling to each other.

222. H^MATOPus osTKALEGUS. Linn. '' Passa rios,"
Oporto.

The Oyster-catcher is generally seen on passage during the
months of August, September, and October, and some few
remain through the winter. The rocks north of Leca de Pal-
meira and the Leixoes rocks are a favourite locality for
them, a few being seen every autumn at the mouth of the
Douro.

2e 2

388 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portuc/aL

223. Recurvirostra avocetta. '' Fracle," Setubal; "Al-
faile/^ " Lovella/' Coimbra Museum.

The Avocet is rare in the north of Portugal, but appears
to be tolerably common in the south. A friend of mine shot
one on a mud-bank near Ovar on December 4th. In the
Lisbon Museum there are two specimens from the Ribatejo.
On the 11th April, 1884, Dr. Hans Gadow and I fired simul-
taneously at a small flock settled on a sand-bank at the
entrance to Faro harbour and bagged four specimens. I am
told that they are common near Setubal.

224. HiMANTOPUs cANDiDUs, Bonuat. '' Garrancho,^'
Granjo, Esmoriz; " Esparella,^' Esmoriz; '' Milhereu,'^
Murtoza ; " Trebilongo,^' Aveiro.

I have seen the Stilt Plover occasionally on the sand-banks
of the river Douro in front of Campanhji, near Oporto, and
I have shot a few at Esmoriz, in the month of May, on the
sides of the lagoon, where I have seen them also in June. A
man at Aveiro told me that he had found a nest with young
there, but that they are not common. The bird is known
also at Murtoza. In the Lisbon Museum are specimens
obtained from the Ribatejo and Mafra. This is probably
only a summer visitant, as I have never seen it in winter.
At Esmoriz they were rather plentiful and were very noisy
when they rose. In flying they stretch back their long
slender legs, and at a distance look as if they were drag-
ging straws behind them.

225. Phalaropus fulicarius, Linn.

A few Grey Phalaropes appear every year on our coast,
usually from September to November.

226. ScoLOPAx RusTicuLA, Linn. " Gallinhola.'''
Common, and in some specially suitable localities even

plentiful, more so formerly than now. They usually arrive
from the north at the end of October or beginning of No-
vember, and I suspect that they travel in small flocks, as it
sometimes happens that about that time four or more Wood-
cocks are flushed from a small copse. I have seen neat round
holes made in the comparatively hard clay of the pine-woods

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 389

by this bird with its beak while searching for worms. In my
collection I have a very light-coloured Woodcock of a buff
shade. On February 26th sixteen Woodcocks were shot in
a copse near Vallongo (near Oporto), which looks as though
this was a flock on passage north. They have usually disap-
peared by the end of Febrnary.

227. Gallinago major (Gmel.).

The Double Snipe is said to have been shot once on a grassy
knoll near the mouth of the Douro, and there is a specimen
in the Lisbon Museum from the Ribatejo.

228. Gallinago c(ELESTis (Frenzel). "Narceja/^

The Common Snipe is very abundant in suitable localities
during winter^ a few arriving as early as the middle of August,
but the greater number from the middle to the end of Sep-
tember, becoming abundant by the month of November.
They generally remain till the end of February or begin-
ning of March. On one occasion, while out Snipe-shooting
at Estarreja, I saw two Snipe rise simultaneously, one from
each side of a low mound separating two rice-fields. They
converged and cannoned in the air. I never saw this happen
on any other occasion, although I have sometimes seen them
springing up thickly on all sides. My largest bag of Snipe
made near Leiria was twenty-four couple, and had I taken
a larger supply of cartridges it might have been greater.
This was in a small marsh with good cover, where the birds
had not been much disturbed. In February they collect
into whisps, previous to departing north. A friend once shot
one with a lob-worm in its beak and gullet.

229. Gallinago GALLiNULA (Linn.). ^' Narceja gallega,''
Caldas do Gerez, Aveiro ; " Serzeta,^^ Aveiro ; " Narseja
pequtna,^' Coimbra Museum.

The Jack Snipe is not so common as the preceding, but is
usually met with from November through the winter. It
frequents the fine mud Avhere a stream runs into a marsh,
and in such a place at Ovar I have found the species rather
numerous.

390 Mr. W. C. iuit on the Birds of Portayal.

230. Tringa alpina, Linn. " Majarico/^ a name of gene-
ral application for Sandpipers^ Curlews, and allied birds.

The Dunlin sometimes arrives as early as the beginning of
August, while the weather is still hot and some have not yet
moulted the summer plumage. Its migration is carried on
chiefly at night. Large flocks may be heard calling as they
pass southwards at the end of August and during September,
when they are very abundant on the sand-banks of the mouth
of the Douro. Many winter here, returning north in Feb-
ruary, and some few remain here through the summer; but I
have never met with their nests, and am inclined to believe
that these laggers are unpaired birds, as with Curlews and
other Waders.

231. Tringa minuta, Leisl.

Of the Little Stint the Coimbra Museum possesses a spe-
cimen and I have another.

232. Tringa subarcuata (GUld.).

The Curlew Sandpiper is not very common along this coast ;
I have a specimen obtained at the mouth of the Douro, where
I have seen others.

233. Tringa striata, Linn.

Rather rare. The Purple Sandpipers which I have seen
were shot near Oporto during the mouths of November and
December.

234. Tringa canutus, Linn.

The Knot is a common winter visitant, some arriving by
the end of August, but the main body appears during October,
in which month they are more numerous than in winter, so
it is to be surmised that many move further south for their
winter-quarters. On the 5tli of June, 1884, I shot near the
entrance to Faro harbour, in the extreme south of Portugal,
a Knot with the ruddy breast of summer plumage out of
a flock of thirteen similar birds, and on the following day
I saw another flock, also in summer dress. When Knots
arrive from the north they have usually put on their grey
winter plumage, yet I have seen some as late as the 10th of
October with remains of the summer garb still on them.

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 391

Like the other Scolopacidse, they are tame when they first
arrive^ but before they go back the winter- residents have
learnt to be wild.

235. Machetes pugnax (Linn.).

The RufF is not very common here. My notes mention its
appearance in September, February, and March.

236. Calidris arenaria (Linn.) .

The Sanderling arrives at Oporto in the month of August,
and is then common ; I have seen it also in September and
November.

237. ToTANus HYPOLEucus (Linn.). " Lavadeira/^ Monte
Mor o velho.

The Common Sandpiper is abundant at the mouth of the
Douro from August to the end of October, and I have seen
a straggler as late as the 4tli of December. At Le9a de
Palmeira creek, about three miles further north, they arrive
with great regularity between the 17th and 20th July. Some
pairs nest on the river Minho, where, on the 8th of June,
1882, I found a nest containing four eggs on a small islet
on the Spanish side, above Caldelas de Tuy. I saw the bird
fly off the nest, which was on the dry mud under a willow
shrub and was lined with a few stalks of grass. On the fol-
lowing day I found, another containing four eggs on an islet
on the Portuguese side of the same river. The bird flew oft'
the nest close to my feet, and as it settled on a mud-bank
close by, I had a good opportunity of identifying it through
my field-glass. This nest was lined with dried grass and a
few leaves. Several other pairs were seen during the same
visit. The Common Sandpiper will probably be found to
breed also on the rivers Lima and Douro. As the migratory
movement begins as early as the middle of July, it cannot be
the lowering of the temperature that induces it to travel, as
from that time till the middle of August is usually the hottest
part of the year in this country. It is partial to muddy
banks more than sand, and also to stones covered with green
weed. Dogs have a dislike to retrieve this bird on account
of the strong acrid smell from the plumage. The name

392 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

"Lavadeira" comes from its habit of bobbing np and down,
as a washerwoman does when soaping and scrubbing clothes
at the river-side.

238. ToTANUs ocHRopus (Linn.) . " Passaro bique-bique,"
Estarreja ; " Bite-bite/^ Murtoza.

The Green Sandpiper is a common winter visitant, arriving
in September, and I have seen it during the months of Oc-
tober, November, and December. A favourite locality is the
muddy ditches cut for draining the swampy ground at Es-
moriz, Ovar, and Estarreja. Like its relative, this bird has
a strong scent repulsive to dogs. It springs up rather like
a Snipe, and is apt to draw on it a snap-shot, unless it
utters its shrill noisy piping soon enough.

239. ToTANUS GLAREOLA (LiuU.).

In November 1883 the Coimbra Museum received two
specimens of the Wood Sandpiper from Estarreja.

240. ToTANus CALiDRis (Liuu.). " Fusello,^-" Aveiro.
The first arrivals of Redshanks are at the end of July, and

in August many flocks are to be seen at the mouth of the
river Douro, preferring the muddy parts. They remain at
Oporto only a short time, their favourite haunts being the
muddy salt-pans of Aveiro, where they are to be found plen-
tifully during the wintei', and are a great nuisance to the
duck-punters from their noisy and vigilant habits.

241. ToTANUS Fuscus (Linn.).

There are specimens of the Spotted Redshank in the Lisbon
Museum.

242. ToTANUs CANESCENS (Gmcl.).

The Green shank appears occasionally at the mouth of the
Douro. On April 11th, 1884, I shot one on the lagoon at
Faro, where some more were seen on the same occasion.

243. LiMOSA LAPPONiCA (Linn.).

The Bar-tailed Godwit has been observed by me during
the months of August (4th), October (several times), De-
cember, March (8th and 27th), May (21st), and doubtfully

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 393

on the 4th of June. That seen by me on the 4th of August,
1878, had the rufous breast of summer.

244. LiMosA BELGicA (Gmel.).

The Black-tailed Godwit is occasionally obtained at Aveiro
in February and March. The Coimbra and Lisbon Museums
possess specimens — the former from Foja, the latter from
Ribatejo.

245. NuMENius PH^opus (Linn.). " Meio maparico,"
" Macarico gallego/^ Oporto ; '' Sovella/' Murtoza.

Great numbers of the Whimbrel arrive at Oporto in the
month of August, and during foggy nights may be heard
calling to each other till late as they fly southwards. The
majority of the Whimbrels pass on, a few remaining during
the winter months. In March and April the migration
northwards takes place, and at this time of the year I
have seen flocks on the journey along the sea-coast during
the daytime. In May I saw large flocks at Esmoriz, and a
few stragglers at the mouth of the Douro even during the
months of June and July ; but I have never met with any in-
dications of its breeding in this country, nor have I found
it on the tablelands of the serras in summer.

246. NuMENius TENUiRosTRis, ViciU.

A specimen of the Slender-billed Curlew is in the Lisbon
Museum obtained from the Ribatejo.

247. NuMENius ARQUATA (Liuu.). '^ Macarico real,''
Oporto, Anchora, &c. ; " Gruau," Murtoza; " Perolico real,"
Cies Island, Vigo, Galicia.

The Curlew arrives in August and following months,
winters here, and migrates north in the spring. A straggler
may occasionally be seen in the summer months. On the
6th June, 1884, I saw a flock of six at Faro.

248. Sterna fluviatilis, Naum.

Some specimens of the Common Tern appear on our coast
during the autumn migration.

394 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

249. Sterna minuta, Linn. " Chureta/^ Vianna do Cas-
tello ; " Chilreta/' Oporto ; " Grazina/' Aveiro ; " Garajau/'
Faro ; '' Cliarrano/^ Tavira.

I have seen the Little Tern from May till the end of
August. Many nest on the sand-dunes of the Costa de S.
Jacintho at the entrance to Aveiro, where I have taken their
eggs ; also at the entrance to Faro harbour.

250. Sterna ANGLicA, Mont. '' Chagaz/' Ovar ; " Tagaz/'
Aveiro.

The Gull-billed Tern nests on the sand-dunes between the
Aveiro lagoon and the sea near Torreira, whence I have
received eggs and bird. 1 saw numbers flying about near
Aveiro bar in the beginning of June.

251. Sterna cantiaca, Gmel. " Garajau/' Oporto, AU
garve; " Garau," Esmoriz ; " Gaivina," Peniche ; '' Garao/'
River Tagus; "^ Gavito," Quarteira.

The Sandwich Tern passes on migration in August and
September, but some winter here and move north again iu
April. I have seen them in May, and on the 3rd of June,
1884, I shot one at Quarteira in the Algarve.

252. Hydrochelidon hybrida (Pall.).

I have seen the Whiskered Tern in spring several times
near Avintes on the river Douro, about two miles above
Oporto, and it is almost sure to breed in the marshes of this
country. I did not meet with it in summer on the marshes
edging the Ovar-Aveiro lagoon. In the Coimbra Museum
there are specimens obtained during the summer months.

253. Hydrochelidon nigra (Linn.).

The Black Tern has been seen by me during the months
of May, August, and September. It is probable that this
species will be found to nest in Portugal, as is the case in
Spain.

254. Larus RiDiBUNDUS, Linn. "Gagosa,'' Aveiro ; "Cha-
palheta," Eiver Guadiana.

The Brown-headed Gull is abundant, arriAang on migration
towards the end of October or beginning of November, by

Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal. 395

wliicli time it has lost its summer plumage, large numbers
remaining through the winter. Early in March some
already begin to change to summer plumage, and by the
beginning of April nearly all have the black head and rosy
tinge of their summer plumage, and gathering in large flocks
exercise themselves in evolutions over the river Douro and
take their departure. It is possible that some breed in
this country. I saw one at Caminha on May 6th, 1880 ;
some on the river Guadiana, near Villa Real de Santo An-
tonio, in June 1884; also some in Vigo Bay, June 3rd, 1882,
but these may possibly have been L. melanocephalus. I
have read that in the Zoological Society's Gardens, London,
it was noticed that a captive L. ridibundus changed from
white to black plumage on the head by the gradual growth
of the white feathers into black, the white tips falling off;
but my observations do not agree with this. Having obtained
specimens in all stages of changing from the white to the
black head, I find that the black feathers are new ones, and
may be seen springing up already black in their sheaths
among the white feathers. It would be interesting to mark
some of these birds before departure in such a manner as to
render it conspicuous in its summer home, as, for instance,
by dyeing one of the wings or painting a coloured stripe across
it and stamping the address on the wing or tail-feather, so
that any one catching it might communicate the capture.
This would enable us to trace the route of migration.

255. Larus melanocephalus (Natt.).

In February 1882, Dr. Carvalho wrote me that among other
specimens which had arrived for the Coimbra Museum was
a young Adriatic Gull.

256. Larus minutus. Pall.

I saw a Little Gull with a black cap on the river Douro
among some Brown-headed Gulls, and on account of its
diminutive size I could not well have mistaken any other
species for it.

257. Larus argentatus, Gmel. '^^ Gaiv6ta,'' Vianna,
Oporto, &c. ; " Falcoeira," Aveiro.

The Herring Gull is resident in Portugal, breeding on the

398 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

Berlengas Islands^ where I obtained eggs in 1879. No doubt
much larger numbers must have bred there formerly, but
they are now much harried by the pensioners on the old fort
there and fishermen, who eat the eggs. This Gull also nests
on the Cies Islands, Vigo. They are very numerous at the
entrance to the Douro, except during the breeding-season,
when they disappear, leaving only some young birds of the
previous year in their dark plumage, which remain through
the summer.

258. Larus argentatus cachinnans.

Dr. Carvalho writes me that tliere are two specimens of
the Mediterranean Herring Gull in the Coimbra Museum.

259. Larus fuscus, Linn. " Gaivota das azas negras,'^
Lisbon Museum.

Common in winter along our coast. The Lesser Black-
backed Gull associates with the Herring Gull, and I look
upon it as its northern representative. The first usually
arrive about the beginning of August and winter with us,
some remaining till the end of April, and a few stragglers till
summer. I did not see this species on the Berlengas or Cies
Islands.

260. Larus marinus, Linn.

The Povoa fishermen sometimes catch the Greater Black-
backed Gull out at sea and bring it alive for sale in Oporto
to clear the gardens of snails and slugs and insects. Other
Gulls also are brought for the same purpose. There are
specimens in the Lisbon Museum.

261. RiSSA TRIDACTYLA (LiuU.) .

The Kittiwake Gull is also brought in winter by the Povoa
fishermen for sale. There are specimens of it in the Lisbon
Museum.

262. Stercohariuspomatorhinus (Temm.). "Mandriao,'^
" Saragossa," Oporto ; " Moleiro,^^ " Medonho,^'' Povoa de
Varzim ; " Sabao,'^ Estmoriz ; " Cagado,^^ Povoa de Yarzim,
Ovar, Faro; " Palheira," Cies Islands, Vigo.

Mr. W. C. Tait 07i the Birds of Portugal. 397

The Pomatorhine Skua appears in the beginning of Sep-
tember and through the winter months, persecuting the
smaller Gulls.

263. Stercorarius crepidatus (Gmel.). " Cagado/' Povoa
de Vai'zim.

I shot an Arctic Skua at the mouth of the Douro on
the 28th of August, 1880, and have seen others flying.

264. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linn.).

Dr. Carvalho writes me that the Lisbon Museum has
eleven specimens of Buffon's Skua obtained at Cascaes near
Lisbon. I think I saw some of these birds at sea near
Oporto.

265. Procellaria leucorrhoa, Vieill.

The Lisbon Museum has specimens of the Fork-tailed
Petrel from Setubal, Santarem, and Coimbra; and the
Museum of the latter has received many from Cape
Mondego.

266. OcEANiTES oceanicus (Kuhl). " Chasquillo/' Oporto.
There are two specimens of Wilson^s Petrel in the Lisbon

Museum, received from Cascaes.

267. PuFFiNus ANGLORUM (Tcmm.). " Furabuxo,'' " Chi-
reta,^^ Oporto.

In the Lisbon Museum there is a Manx Shearwater ob-
tained at Cascaes. On May 20, 1879, when going in a boat
from Berlengas Islands to Cape Carvoeiro, I saw a flock of
birds which the fishermen called " Furabuxos,^^ one of which
I dropped with a charge of shot from my collecting-gun ;
but before we could put the boat about it rose again. They
looked to me like small Shearwaters, and may possibly have
been this species. I did not hear of their breeding on Ber-
lenga or on Cies. The Povoa fishermen, whom I have cross-
questioned about the Manx Shearwater, know it well, and
tell me that it is an excellent diver. In all probability it is
a winter visitant.

398 Mr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal,

268. PuFFiNUSGRiSEUS (Gmel.). " Pardella preta/^ Povoa
de Varzim.

The Sooty Shearwater is sometimes met with on this coast
and is known to the fishermen. The only specimen as yet
procured in this country is in my collection, and was obtained
off Mattosinbos, near Oporto, during the autumn. Professor
Newton informs me that this South Atlantic species had
not been known previously from the coast of Portugal.

269. PuFFiNus MAJOR, Pabcr. " Pardella de bico preto,"
Oporto.

The Great Shearwater arrives on the coast of Portugal in
the beginning of September, is plentiful in October and
November, and is said to disappear during December ; but
the fishermen's accounts, are rather confusing and con-
tradictory on this point. Those which I have were obtained
in October and November, when large numbers are brought
in by the fisbing-boats. I have not heard of them during the
spring, but it is probable that the movements of these birds
are almost entirely influenced by those of the shoals of
sardines and other small fish.

270. PuFFiNus KUHLi (Boic) , " Pardella de bico branco,"
Povoa de Varzim; " Maranhona,^' " Moira,'' "Pardillao/'
Oporto.

I found the Mediterranean Shearwater nesting in holes
under large stones on the north-east side of Berlenga Island,
in 1879, at the end of May, laying one large white ^^^. The
majority lay in June. A bird which I assisted to catch on
the nest bit and snapped fiercely with its hooked bill, making
at the same time a huffing noise, reminding me of the similar
noise made by Pigeons under same circumstances. This and
some other points of resemblances lead me to suspect that
the affinity between the Shearwaters and Pigeons is closer
than would appear at first sight, and I am not aware that it
has received the attention it deserves. Professor Huxley has
placed the orders Columbse and Tubinares under the Schizo-
gnathse.

The difference between this species and P. major is well
known to the Povoa fishermen. They say that P. kuhli has

:Mr. W. C. Tait 07i the Birds of Portugal. 399

more feathers and its flesh is drier. It is quite natural that
the northern species should have more fat, I do not know
whether P. hiihli remains here through the winter, as is
probable.

The Shearwaters are very useful to the Portuguese fisher-
men, as they indicate by their presence the neighbourhood of
the sardine-shoals, and also contribute to the general stew-
pot. They are caught by trailing after the boat, along the
surface of the sea, a line baited with a sardine. It is usual
to skin these birds before adding them to the pot, and the
fishermen say they are fat, and consider them a great
delicacy. P. major is said to be better eating than P. kuhli,
as it is fatter and tenderer. They generally keep well out
to sea, and approach nearer the coast during rainy weather
with southerly winds.

271. Alca torda, Linn.

There is a specimen of the Razorbill in the Lisbon Mu-
seum obtained from Cesimbra. On the 23rd of January,
1872, I bought two specimens hawked for sale at Oporto,
said to have been shot on the Ovar-Aveiro lagoon.

272. LoMviA TROiLE (Linn.) . "Aran," Vianna do Castello,
Oporto, Vigo ; '' Airo,^^ Berlenga Island ; '' Carolo,'^ Vigo.

The Common Guillemot is abundant along the coast of
Portugal. It breeds on the Berlenga Islands, chiefly on the
large rock O^ da Velha. There is every probability that it is
resident. On the 29th of December, 1881, I saw for sale at
Oporto a Guillemot of the variety L. lachrymans ; and in
the Lisbon Museum there are nine specimens from Cascaes
bay ; in fact the only specimen not L. lachrymans is from
Peniche. I saw Guillemots on the 4tli June, 1882, in the
neighbourhood of Cies Islands, and it is pretty certain that
they breed on the rocky coast of Galicia.

273. Fratercula arctica (Linn.). '^ Papagaio do mar,'^
Oporto.

The Puffin appears sometimes in the winter months off our
coast, and I have a specimen with the winter bill. Mr.
Howard Saunders informs me that passing in a steamer
he saw large numbers of Puffins off the Berlengas Island

400 INIr. W. C. Tait on the Birds of Portugal.

early in June 1868 ; but I heard nothing of their breeding
there duriug my visit, and they coukl not have escaped the
notice o£ the lighthouse people.

274. CoLYMBUs GLACiALis, Linn. "Mobelha/^ Murtoza,
Vigo.

l^'he Great Northern Diver is a regular winter visitant to
Portugal, and is well known on the lagoon at Aveiro, Mur-
toza, &c. I have seen specimens obtained in the months of
November, December, and January, and there are some in
the Lisbon Museum from the Tagus. On the 30th January,
1884, I saw a specimen near the Lazaretto at the head of
Vigo Bay.

275. CoLYMBUS ARCTicus, Linn.

A specimen of the Black-throated Diver is in the Lisbon
Museum.

276. CoLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS, Liun.

There are three specimens of the Red-throated Diver in the
Lisbon Museum, one of which came from Albufeira. I have
seen Divers in the Douro, probably this species.

277. PoDiCEPs cRisTATUs (Liuu.).

In December 1871 I bought three young Crested Grebes
which had been shot on the lagoon betAveen Ovar and Estar-
reja at Murtoza. Two specimens from Albufeira are in the
Lisbon Museum.

278. PoDiCEPS NiGRicoLLis. '^'^ Cagarraz,^^ Lisbon Mu-
seum.

I have an Eared Grebe from the Ovar- Aveiro lagoon ; and
there are four specimens in the Lisbon Museum, of which
one is from Ribatejo and three are from Albufeira.

279. PoDicEPS FLuviATiLis (Tuustall) . '' Fundujo," Va-
lencia do Minho ; " Mergulho,'' Esmoriz ; " Mergulhfto,"
Ovar, Aveiro, &c.

The Little Grebe is resident, and very abundant on tlie
Ovar- Aveiro lagoon, chiefly in winter. The country people
tell me that it nests along the sides of the streams and
among rushes.

On neiv Species of Central- Asian Birds. 401

XL. — On new Species of Central-Asian Birds. By General
N. M. Prjevalsky*. (Translated from tlie Russian by
E. Delmar Morgan.)

Since the publication in 1876 of ' Materials for the Avi-
fauna of Mongolia and the Tangatan country ' f, containing
my ornithological observations during my first journey in
Central Asia, I have accomplished three more journeys in
that country. One of the chief objects of my special investi-
gations during these Explorations was, asbefore^ ornithology,
and a mass of observations was obtained on the birds of
this wide and almost unknown tract of Asia, where I found
altogether 430 species.

The periodical repetition of my journeys, the preparation
of geographical reports, and other occupations have prevented
my undertaking the special elaboration of the materials col-
lected, and have obliged me to defer this work to a more
favourable opportunity. Even now I can only describe the
new species of birds found during my second, third, and fourth
journeys. Of these there were nine; but it is very possible
that upon a more careful study of the materials collected
some more novelties which escaped notice on the hurried
glance through the collection may be found. The new species
of birds found on my first journey numbered twenty, which
were described in the above-mentioned work. On all four
journeys about 5000 specimens of birds were collected, and
these have been transferred to the Museum of the Imperial
Academy of Science.

I deem it my duty to express my sincere acknowledgments
to the learned Curator of the Zoological Museum of the Im-
perial Academy of Science, F. D. Pleske, for his obliging
assistance in the present work.

* [Read at a Meeting of the Pliysico-Matliematical Section of the Im-
perial Academy of Science, St. Petersburg, on the 13th January, 1887.
We are much indebted to Mr. Delmar Morgan for enabling us to give
this early account of so many novelties. — Edd.]

t [The ornithological part of General Prjevalsky's first work on Mon-
golia was translated by Mr. Carl Oraemers for Rowley's ' Ornitholo-
gical Miscellany,' vol. ii. — E.D.M.]

SER. V. VOL. V. 2 F

402 General IN . M. Prjevalsky

1. Leptopcecile elegans, sp. n.

Mas : vertice et occipite pallide violaceo-cinereis^ fronte pal-
lidiore ; crista alba ; loris nigris ; genis^ superciliis, col-
lique partibus postica et lateral! castaneis, Dorso cyan-
escente-olivaceo ; scapularibus brunnescente-olivaceis,
uropygio cseruleo ; gastrseo toto cinnamomeo, abdomine
pallidiore, lateribus violaceo tinctis. RemigibuSj rectri-
cibusque fuscis, pallide cseruleo marginatis.

Fern : capitis parte superiore sordidiore quam in mare ; crista
breviore ; loris maculisque nuchalibus nigris. Striis
superciliaribus angustis nigro-castaneis. Collo jDostico
rufescente-olivaceo ; dorso scapularibusque fuscescenti-
oribus. Uropygio cyanescente-olivaceo ; geais cineras-
centibus ; gula pectoreque sordidc albis, abdomine rufo
tincto, lateribus rufescente-violaceis. Remigibus rec-
tricibusque ut in mare, marginibus rectricum magis
olivaceis.

Dimensions in millimetres : —

LeDgth*. Expanse. Closed wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus,
c? . . . . 104-] 12 152-165 5.3-55 48-55 9-0 19-5-20-5

2 104-110 158-165 54-56 46-49 9-10 20

Of the primaries 5=6 are the longest, the 4th being only
a little shorter, and sometimes of equal length; 3 = 8;
2<10 ; the 1st is not quite double the length of the upper
coA^erts. Bill black; eyes red; tarsus duslcy red, toes and
claws darker.

Male. Upper part of the head pale lilac-grey ; the fore-
head paler ; gape black. On the nape of the neck is a white
tuft about 10 raillim. longer than the nearest head-feathers.
The narrow superciliaries, cheeks, lores, sides and back of
neck chestnut-coloured. Tail-coverts azure-blue, with red-
dish or dusky-olive tips ; upper tail-coverts pale azure-blue.
The blue tinge on the back is likewise paler and mingled
with dusky olive. Shoulders dusky olive. Throat and
breast light chocolate, paler on the belly; flanks and under
tail-feathers chocolate with violet tinge. Tail and wings
brown ; rectrices and primaries with pale blue margins ;

* The measurements taken were from the point of the bill to the end
of the tail : from freshly killed birds.

on new Species of Central- Asian Birds. 403

secondaries and upper tail-coverts with dusky-olive margins.
LoAver wing-coverts and feathers underneath the shoulders
the same colour as the belly.

Female. Crown of the head dark lilac-grey ; forehead
paler ; the white or lilac-white tuft on the nape half the
length of that in the male ; along the sides of the crown are
broad black bars united by narrow rusty black superciliaries
with the black lores. Back of the neck rusty olive ; back,
shoulders, wide margins ol: the inner primaries, and upper
wing-coverts dusky olive. Upper tail-feathers greyish olive
with reddish tips. Sides of neck, throat, and breast dirty
white ; cheeks and ear-coverts greyish with olive tinge ;
abdomen rufous; lower tail-feathers paler than those of the
male; flanks reddish violet behind. Tail and wings same
as the male, except that the margins of the rectrices are
paler.

This beautiful Tit was first discovered by me in April 1880,
on the Upper Hoaug-ho, to the south of Koko-nor lake, and
was afterwards seen by our party in February 1884 in the
mountain-forests near the temple of Chertinton, north-east
of Siuing. On my first journey in 1872-73 we did not find
this species. In a word, L. elegans is distributed throughout
the whole of the hilly country in the basin of the Upper
Hoang-ho, where it appears to be restricted to the coniferous
and spruce-forested mountain-belts and defiles ranging
from 7,500 to 11,000 feet above sea-level. It is not a
rare bird, and associates with Pcecile affinis, or more often
with Regulus himalayensis, with both of which it has much in
common in character and habits. Like them it flits from tree
to tree, constantly clinging to the boughs in search of insects'
eggs, its winter food. In general L. elegans is an active,
restless bird, and by no means shy. Its note is a feeble
whistle, at times a chirrup like that of the Wren. At the
end of April the paired birds build their nests, which are
probably lined wath the downy covert-feathers of Crossoptilon
auritum, for I have several times watched this bird dragging
one of these feathers and overpowered in so doing by a strong

2 f2

404

General N. M. Prjevalsky

wind ; but we were not so fortunate as to find a nest or obtain
young birds.

2. Leptopcecile obscura, sp. n.
L. sophics simillima, sed minor^ gastrteoque toto uni colore.

L. sojjhics.

s

fl

o .
1^

Cl

1

a 1

hern
hian
btsa-

Dimensions.

^

13

^

M

srt

^a

0 <dW

*

'-I+:

1

-n (s

:5 <ti . rs+A-i H

•< .

DQ^

?

ffl c

c3 1

o ^

O^

^ isft' = §d' 2

2-i stpi^

s

"5 °

H I'XS a « c ■:S

-0:50 ■— -^

fi"^^

a

a^

c*^

a !a a«, a

- 0 1 53 0 C W)

o

o

o

o

o o

p 1 p

p 0 0 j-g

>-5

^

fe

tz;'^

^^^

S

fe \ P^

£ ^ -Scott

Length

no

1:^4

114-118

118

... 110-115

(^

Expanse

V

1iS

143-150

140-143

Folded wing(or closed)

50

51

49-52

52

50

53-54

50

50

49

51

51

Tail

51

55

54-57

57

55

53-57

54

54

54

57

57

Culmen

8-5

9

8-3

8-3

8-3

9

8-5

8-5

8-3

8-5

8-0-8-5

Tarsus

18.5

?

19-21

19

19

20-21

19

20

20

20 1 20

1

Proportions of primaries the same as in L. sophia ; culmen
black ; eyes ? (The eyes of L. sophite from Kansuh are red.)
Tarsus dark fulvous colour,

Male, in well-worn summer plumage (killed in June).
Crown of head rufous-chestnut ; head and supercilia ochra-
ceous white ; gape black ; nape^ back, and shoulders dusky
olive ; tail-eoverts bright violet-blue. Cheeks, sides of
neck, all the abdomen, flanks, and under tail-feathers
rufous cinnamon, with bluish-violet tipped feathers, like the

* We have only three specimens of L. ohscnra in om- collection — two
young males and one old, the diagnosis being made from the last.

t According to Severtzow : * Vertical and Horizontal Distribution of
the Fauna of Turkestan,' p. 135.

\ In this specimen the outer web of three pairs of rectrices is white,
and the proportion of the quills is different, one wing being unfortunately
broken ; and in another, killed in May, the feathers were perhaps not
fully gi'own.

on new Species of Central- Asian Bii-ds. 405

tail-coverts, brighter towards the hinder part of the flanks.
Wings fulvous, with greenish marginal feathers and rufous
margins on the posterior quills and larger upper coverts ;
lower wing-coverts greyish white, with reddish tips, much
worn in the specimen described, Rectrices dusky black, with
greenish-grey margins ; outer web of rectrices white.

Young males in fresh summer (June) plumage have less
brilliantly coloured tail-coverts, paler abdomen, dark-fulvous
quills, and black rectrices. We did not obtain a female.

This species was only discovered on my fourth journey into
Central Asia, in North-eastern Thibet, in the mountain-forests
on the Upper Blue River (Yang-tse-Kiang, or Dy-chu), at a
height of 13,000 to 14,000 feet. Its habits are not distin-
guishable from those of L. sophia (which inhabits the neigh-
bouring basin of the Upper Hoang-ho, but is not found on
the Upper Yang-tse Kiang) ; and it likewise mostly frequents
the thickets of the alpine zone; whereas L. elegans is con-
fined to the forests on the lower belts of the mountains.

Here let me say of L. sophi(B that this species, first dis-
covered in the Western Thian Shan by our well-known
zoologist and explorer, the late N. A. Severtzow, was met
with on all four of my journeys in Central Asia — in the
Thian Shan, in the basin of the Tarim, in the Russian Altyn
tagh and Nan-shan ranges, in Tsaidam and its neighbouring
mountainous Tibetan border-land, lastly in the basin of the
Upper Hoang-ho and on Lake Koko-nor. In these last
localities — in the mountains of Kan-suh (along the Tatuno--
gol), Koko-nor, and on the Upper Hoang-ho, south of this
lake, similar in climate and other physical conditions to the
forested parts of the Thian Shan — the specimens of L. sophice
obtained by us are not distinguishable, on comparison, from
the typical specimens brought home by Severtzow, and
have the same deep colouring both of the dusky as well as
of the ultramarine feathers. The seventeen specimens ob-
tained by us in the region intervening between the basin of
the Upper Hoang-ho and the Thian Shan (including the
southern treeless slope of this last-mentioned range, in fact

406 General N. M. Prjevalsky

in extremely arid^ desert tracts) have a pale coloration,
especially of the ultramarine feathers of the tail-coverts,
throat, breast, and flanks. In size and other respects the
paler are not distinguishable from the darker specimens.
This pale variety, however, has been made into a separate
subspecies by our celebrated ornithologist Dr. M. Meuzbier,
and described by him in ' The Ibis,^ 1885, p. 353, under the
name of L. sophia, var. mnjor.

In habits L. sophicB is non-migratory, and chiefly belongs
to the mountains, where it may be met w^ith in the various
ranges of its distribution at heights varying between 3,000
and 13,000 feet of absolute elevation. In the oases at the
foot of the Thian Shan, such as Ak-su and Utch-Turfan,
this little bird is common enough, but in the wide expanse
of plains along the Tarim and in Tsaidam it is rare. It
only frequents thick copses, whether of barberry, willow,
wild rose, or tamarisk, in the defiles of the southern slopes of
the Thian Shan ; or the thickest shrubberies of rhododendron,
Carogana juhata, Potentilla, and Salix, in the alpine zone of
the Kan-suh mountains; or, lastly, thickets of Myricaria,
kharmyk, and tamarisk in the defiles of the Tibetan moun-
tains bordering Tsaidam and the Tarim lowlands. In the
forested belts of mountains, as already stated, it lives chiefly
in the alpine zone of underwood, and only occasionally de-
scends to the lower wooded region along defiles of moun-
tain-torrents. It is a nimble climber in underwood and a swift
runner. Its note is a feeble whistle. In the alpine zone of
the Kan-suh mountains L. sophice is frequently met with ;
usually in small flocks, associated with Poecile superciliosa.

In the forests of the Upper Hoang-ho, notably on Mt.
Jakhan-fidza, I found one of its nests on the 16/28 April,
1880, quite ready, but as yet empty. This nest was suspended,
at a height of about 7 feet, from a branch of juniper, another
supporting it below ; it was formed of moss, sheep's-wool,
and down from the flowers of the willow, lined with the downy
coverts of Crossoptilon auritum. In shape it was round like
a ball, 5 inches in diameter, with a narrow opening above.

on new Species of Central-Asian Birds. 407

3. Accentor koslowi^ sp. n.

This species may be referred to that group of Accentors to
which belong A. modularis orientalis and A. rubidus fervidus,
but differs from these in not having striated ear-coverts — a
distinction which might separate it into a special subgroup.

Notseo toto brunnescente-fulvo, longitudinaliter sordide brun-
neomaculato; uropygio concolore. Pectore abdomineque
fulvescente-albis ; corporis lateribus longitudinaliter
brunneo maculatis ; gula pallide fusca ; regione parotica
baud striata. Marginibus tectricum alarum duas fascias
pallidas transversas fingentibus. Femina mari simillima.

Dimensions : —

Leng-tli.

Expanse.

Closed wiug.

Tail.

Ciilmeu.

Tarsus,

d ..

.. 155

219

68-74

07-72

9-11

19-20

$ ••

.. 148-155

211-214

68

68

10

20

The 1st primary is a little shorter than the upper coverts ;
2 > 7 ; 3rdj 4th^ and 5th are the longest and equal ; 6th is
only a little shorter than these. In the tail the outermost
pair of rectrices are 4-6 millim. shorter than 4th = 5 >6.

The bill is blacky the base of the mandibles light horny ;
feet flesh- coloured^ nails dark horny. Eyes light hazel.

In winter plumage, four males, one female, and two of
doubtful sex have the upper part of the head and body
yellowish light brown, with blackish spots on the shafts,
more distinct on the back and less so on the nape and
head. On the forehead these spots merge into a general
light-brown colour ; upper tail-feathers spotless, except
occasionally on the longest of the upper tail-coverts. The
throat is a smoky brown, in the lower part with whitish
tips, not worn off in December and January, forming an
indistinct half-collar on the neck ; ear-coverts are the same
dusky brown, but with no bars on the shafts ; neither are
there superciliaries. The underparts are yellowish white,
with a brown tinge on the breast, reddish on the flanks,
where the posterior feathers have dark bars on the shafts ;
lower wing-coverts rufous white, without spots. Rectrices,
quills, and upper wing-coverts brown, with tawny margins,
wider on the hinder quills and wing-coverts. Yellowish- white

408 General N. M. Prjevalsky

tips on the greater and median coverts form two narrow bars
on the wing. Under wing-coverts brownish red.

The female is not distinguishable in plumage from the
male.

This species, named by me after the valued coadjutor and
companion of my fourth journey in Central Asia, P. K.
Koslow, was first met with in December 1883 on the road
from Urga to Ala-shan. We then obtained only one speci-
men; but in January 1884 we found this species sufficiently
numerous in the Central Ala-shan, in a small but almost
barren group of mountains near the wells of Shaughin-dolai ;
and we once observed it in the sands of Tyngeri, in Southern
Ala-shan. It is generally rare in the Gobi, where it doubt-
less only winters. It probably nests in Southern Siberia
and in the wooded mountains bordering on the Gobi, such as
the Ala-shan and Munni-ula ranges. Its note in \vinter is
very like a whistle. We did not find A. kosloivi in any other
part of Central Asia except the Gobi ; but a specimen of the
same species was sent to the Museum of the Imperial Aca-
demy of Sciences by M. Beresowsky, who obtained it in
December in the environs of Kobdo^ in South-western
Mongolia.

4. BUDYTES LEUCOCEPHALA^ Sp. U.

Mas: capite albo : cervice colloque postico cinereo tinctis.
Dorso, scapularibus, uropygio, supracaudalibusque fla-
vescente- vel virescente-olivaceis ; gula, pectore, abdo-
mine, lateribus corporis et subcaudalibus intense flavis.
Alis duabus fasciis transversis flavescente-albis ornatis.
Duabus rectricibus, utrinque externis, albis, parte infe-
riore pogoniorum interuorum nigro marginata.
The description is made from two full-grown males ; we
aid not obtain a female.

Of the primaries 1 = 2, the longest ; 3rd is only a little
shorter. The bill and feet are black; the eyes dark hazel.

Male. Forehead, crown, ear-coverts, cheeks, lores, and chin
white; back of the head and nape whitish grey (in the
younger male they were leaden grey, extending also to the
crown) . Throat, breast, abdomen, and flanks, as well as

Oil new Species of Ceydral- Asian Birds. 409

under tail-featliers, bright yellow. Upper part of the body-
yellow or greenish olive; only the front upper tail -coverts
show a dark-brown colour. Primaries dark brown, with
yellowish margins, wide on the hindermost. The yel-
lowish-white tips of the large and median wing-coverts form
here two bars. The lower wing-coverts are yellowish white.
Rectrices darker than the quills ; in fact almost black, except
the two outermost pairs, which are white, with a black edge,
extending from the base to two thirds of the inner web, and
with a narrow black stripe in the basal half of the secon-
daries ; a white speck on the point of the third rectrix. A
younger male had hardly any spot here and more black on
the white rectrices.

This Wagtail was first discovered by us in the spring of
1879 migrating in Dzungaria, on the Urungu river, and in
the Southern Altai. The first arrivals were observed on the
15/27 April, but they may have appeared a few days earlier.
They kept in small flocks, from five to ten individuals in
each, and were frequently seen. In May they ceased to
appear, neither did we find them in any other regions visited
by us.

There is, however, an entry in my diary to the effect that
on the 31st August (12th September) of the above year, 1879,
this species was observed apparently in autumnal flight, on
lake Toso-nor in Tsaidam.

5. Lanius giganteus, sp. n.

Maximus. Notieo toto sordide cinereo ut in L. meridionali ;
gastrseo albo, pectore abdomineque rosaceo tinctis ; loris
regionibusque paroticis nigris ; secuudariis apice albis,
speculo basali nullo. Scapularibus albis ; tectricibus
minimis alarum superioribus cinereis, inferioribus omni-
bus albis. Cauda gradata ; rectricibus duabus mediis
nigris, extimis, interdum et secundis, albis, reliquis apice
albis.

Dimensions :

—

Length.

Expanse.

Closed wing.

Tail. Culmen.

Tarsus.

6.... 321

432

140

173 20

34

$.... 303-312

414-435

135-141

157-16G 20

33-34

410 General N. M. Prjevalsky

Tail strongly barred ; outermost rectrices shorter by 49-
57 miliim. than the median and longest. Bill and feet black ;
eyes dark hazel. Coloration very similar to that of L. meri-
dionalis.

Male. Head and upper part of body dark grey, but lighter
on the tail-coverts. All the abdomen white, with a rose tint
on breast and belly, and grey on the flanks. The narrow
superciliaries, bars under the eyes, and lores black. Wings
dull black. Primaries white in their basal half, forming a large
mirror; secondaries have only white at the tips; shoulders
white. The small upper wing-coverts grey, remainder dull
black ; lower wing-coverts white.

The outermost rectrices are white, with a narrow black
stripe down the basal half of their shafts ; the next pair are
the same colour, though in some cases with a larger black
mark on the basal half on the inner web, or with a
narrow black edge on the same web. The remainder are
dull black, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th pairs with continually
diminishing white tips ; the median rectrices without terminal
spots.

The female does not differ in plumage from the male.
We obtained eight specimens of this Shrike for our collec-
tion— three young, one old male, and four old females.

In the young birds obtained early in June the grey colour
on the upper part of the body is thickly covered with a red-
dish-brown tint. The rose-colour on the abdomen is also
mingled with a reddish hue ; the breast has barely perceptible
wavy brown striations. The blackness of the gape and the
cheek is less intense ; the superciliaries are not so marked.
The quills and upper wing-coverts have narrow brownish
margins. The second pair of rectrices are black on the
basal half of the inner web ; the two median rectrices have
small reddish spots on the tips.

This gigantic Shrike, larger than all its congeners, was
first met with by us on the 19/81 May, 1880, on the Upper
Hoang-ho, south of Gomi. A pair were nesting on the
border of the drift-sands, where the willow and an occasional
poplar grow. The male bird was an excellent songster.

on new Species of Central-Asian Birds. 41 1

The same year, as we were skirting the eastern shore of
Koko-nor lake, on the 1/13 July, we came upon a hrood of
three young birds, again in drift-sands among clumps of
thick spruce-woods. The old birds were then moulting, and
their young had already abandoned the nest. The note of
old and young alike was very loud. . A short time afterwards
we came across a second brood in the mountains bordering
the plateau of Koko-nor lake.

In the spring of 1884, on my fourth journey in Central
Asia, the first migratory specimens (three in number) were
observed on the 14/26 April on the southern slope of the
South Koko-nor range. They kept in the underwood, and
the males sang splendidly. A few days afterwards we secured
a solitary female, and lastly, during the autumnal flight in
the same year (1884), a single specimen was observed on the
15/27 August, in thickets of tamarisk in the ravine of the
Khatu-gol, on the northern margin of the Burkhan-Buddha
range.

Thus L. giganteus is in general a rare bird, and up to the
present time only found in the basins of the Upper Hoang-ho
and Koko-nor lake. Like the Shrikes, its habits are preda-
tory. My companion, M. Roborowsky, once shot a female
which had just caught and devoured an Arvicola.

6. LeUCOSTICTE ROBOROWSKIl, Sp. U.

Capite colloque coccineis; gula maculis triangularibus mi-
cante-albis, cervice similibus, sed minoribus, ornatis.
Toto corpore miniato-roseo ; marginibus singularum
plumarum colli postici, dorsi, scapularium, tectricumque
alarum externarum coccineis. Remigibus et rectricibus
brunneisj roseo marginatis.

Dimensions : —

Length. Expanse. Closed wing. Tail. (Culmen.) Tarsus.
^ 168 356 123 90 13-5 21

The 2nd primary is the longest ; 1 =3 a little shorter. The
bill is dark horny, the base of both mandibles paler ; eyes
dark hazel ; feet biown.

Male. Upper part of the head carmine, with silvery

412 General N. M. Prjevalsky

specks on the nape ; sides of head and throat blackish car-
mine'^, with large triangular silvery spots on the throat.
The whole body is o£ a reddish-pink colour^ with carmine
margins on the back of the neck and back, as well as on the
shoulders and upper wing-coverts ; the prevailing colour of
these latter is light brown. Tail-feathers^ upper and lower
tail-coverts are pink; thighs white; on the hinder flank-
feathers a few long blackish bars are noticeable. The fea-
thers under the shoulders and the lower wing-coverts are
whitCj with pink margins. The primaries are brown, with
whitish-red margins^ wider on the hinder ones, which have
greyish-white tips. This is also nearly the colour of the
shading on the inner webs of the primaries (except their
points) and partly of the secondaries. The rectrices are the
same colour as the primaries, with whitish-red margins on
their outer webs, except the outer pair, which have white
margins.

We only obtained one specimen of this species — a male in
summer plumage, much worn, from which the diagnosis has
been made.

This species is named by me in honour of my travel-
ling companion and assistant, Lieut. Roborowsky, whose
untiring energy was of such great service to the scientific
labours of my third and fourth expeditions in Central Asia.

On all my four journeys in Central Asia, L. rohorowskii
was only once met with, on the 1/13 August, 1884, on the
pass leading from the plateau of Tibet across the eastern
part of the Burkhan-Buddha range. Two or three pairs of
these birds at that time kept together with Leucosticte hama-
topygia in the highest zone of the alpine region, at a height
of 15,000 to 16,000 feet, descending a little to the alpine
meadows ; but we only obtained one male bird. We did not
hear its note, and in habits and mode of life we found this
little bird indistinguishable from L. hcematopygia.

7. Pykgilauda barbata, sp. n.
Notseo rufescente-fulvo, immaculato. Collo postico lateri-

* Tlie Mack colour appears here, owing to tlie lips of the feathers being
so much -worn.

on neiv Species of Central- Asian Birds. 413

busque ejus rufescentibus. Fronte genisque albis. Ma-
cula frontali media, superciliis, loris, mento, gulseque
parte superiore nigris. Reliquo gastraeo albo, corporis
lateribus rufo tinctis.
Dimensions taken from an old male and an old female;

the remaining five specimens in our collection are either

young birds or of doubtful sex.

Length. Expanse. Closed wing. Tail. (Culmen.) Tarsus,
d . . 145-150 275-280 93-100 55-60 10-11 18-20
5 . . 150 280-290 92-97 56-57 10-11 19-20

The apex of the wing is formed by three j^rimaries, of
which 1=3, 2nd is a little longer, but sometimes 1 = 2. The
tail is slightly curved. The bill, which is black, is shorter
and much thicker than in P. ruficoUis ; the legs arc also
black; the eyes light hazel.

The upper part of the body is of a brownish sandy colour,
becoming rufous-brown in fresh autumn plumage ; this
species has none of those dark spots on the back peculiar to
others of the genus Pyrgllauda. The nape is pale red ; sides
of neck the same colour, but deeper. Forehead, sides of
crown, and cheeks white. The streak from the bill along
the centre of the forehead to the crown, the straight super-
ciliaries parallel with it, and the lores are black, as are also
the chin and upper part of the throat, forming a kind of
bushy beard. The underparts are white, flanks reddish;
lower wing-coverts and rump white ; median upper tail-
coverts the same as the tail-feathers and back, but the lateral
tail-feathers are white. The primaries are blackish brown, and
from the fourth, sometimes also from the third, have a white
speck in the centre, increasing on the posterior quills, thus
forming an oblique white stripe, hardly observable, however,
on the closed wing ; the outer margin of the primaries is
white, that of the others (except the inner ones) brownish ;
the secondaries are tipped with white.

The lesser wing-coverts are brownish grey ; the remainder
the same colour as the wing, but these, as avcU as the inner
primaries, have a wide edge the same colour as the back.
The central rectrices are blackish brown, with a wide reddish

414 General N. M. Prjevalsky

border ; this, too, is the colour of the specks on the tips of
the remaining rectrices. These specks are divided below
by a wide band from the basal half of the same rectrices,
where the prevailing colour is dark brown or blackish brown
mixed with white; the outer web of the first rectrix, and
sometimes of the second, is white.

The female is not distinguishable from the male.

Tliis bird, together with P. rnficollis, inhabits the meadows
in the mountain defiles of Northern Tibet at an elevation of
12,000 to 14,000 feet. There it appears to be local, and
is generally a rarer bird than its congener, although com-
mon enough. In the steppes of Koko-nor, where P. ruficollis
is numerous, we only once found a pair of P. barbata. In
Northern Tibet we only came across it on the north of the
Tang-la range, while P. ruficollis was frequently met with
on the southern slope of these mountains as well. In the
winter of 1884-85 P. barbata was occasionally met with
again, in company with P. ruficollis, in that part of Northern
Tibet marching with Grass (south of Lob-nor). In character
and habits of life both species are identical, though the note
differs. They live in the burrows of Lagomys ladacensis
which cover in countless numbers the meadow-expanses of
Koko-nor and Northern Tibet. In these burrows the little
bird we are describing passes the night and hides from dan-
ger ; here, too, it probably forms its nest. Its flight is undu-
latory, low, and rapid ; it is also a swift runner. In the
winter of 1880-81 P. barbata was occasionally found in
Northern Tibet in flocks of twenty to forty ; but we neither
heard its song nor that of P. ruficollis.

8. Pyrgilauda kansuensis, sp. n.

Minima. Notaeo brunnescente-fulvo ; capite sordidiore, uro-
pygio pallidiore. Collo postico albescente-fulvo, dorso
longitudinalitcr brunnco maculato. Gastra^o sordide
albo, corporis lateribus rufo tinctis. Remigum brun-
ncarum pogoniis externis fulvescente marginatis, speculo
alari minimo. llectricibus brunneis margine fulves-
ccntibus; cxteruarum pogoniis externis albis, reliquum
maculis albis variegatis.

on new Species of Central- Asian Birds. 415

Dimensions : —

Lengtli. Expanse. Closed wing. Tail. (Culmen.) Tarsus.

6 .... 127-130 117-121 77 39 9 171

2 . . . . ? ? 70 41 9 17-3

Of the primaries the 2nd is the longest; 1=3, and sometimes
1 = 2. The outer rectrices (in full plumage) of its delicately
striated tail are 3 mm. shorter than the tertiaries. The bill
is yellow, tipped with brown at the extremities of both man-
dibles ; the tarsus brownish, toes darker, nails dark brown.
Eyes hazel.

Top of the head uniform brown ; nape and sides of neck
yellowish- whitish-brown; back yellowish brown, with blackish
long streaks ; tail-coverts and upper tail-coverts reddish
brown. Lores and hardly perceptible superciliaries dusky
whitish; ear-coverts light brown; cheeks and all the underparts
of the body dirty white, with reddish-brownish tinge on
cheeks and crop, more reddish on the flanks, which are uni-
form in colour; feathers on rump rufous white. In full
plumage the upper part of the throat shows a blackish colour
through the white points of the feathers, where these are
not abraded. The wings are blackish brown, with brownish-
yellowish margins, both on the quills and upper coverts ; the
margin of the outer web of the first rectrix is white. In
the centre of the inner web of the flight-feathers, beginning
at the fourth, there are white specks forming a mirror,
hardly noticeable when the wing is closed ; the lining of the
wings is white. The tail is dark brown, with brownish-
yellowish margins to the rectrices ; the outermost pair is
white, sometimes with dark- brown spots on the inner Avebs ;
the remaining rectrices, witli the exception of two or four
medians, which are of one colour, are white on the centre of
the inner, and sometimes of the outer web.

The female is not distinguishable from the male. In all
my four journeys into Central Asia the species described was
met with only once, on the 7/19 August, 1880, in the province
of Kan-suh, in the steppe and partly in tiie hilly belt north
of the Chagrin-gol. In the beginning of February 1884, on
my second visit to the Chagrin steppe, we did not come

416 Gen. Prjevalsky on new Central-Asian Birds.

across any of these little birds^ although we searched diligently
for them during three days.

In habits and manner of life P. kansuensis is not distin-
guishable from other Pyrgilaudce. It also frequents burrows ;
but these, instead of belonging to the Lagoniys, of which there
are none here, are the dwellings of a species of Spermophilus.
Its flight is low,uudulatory,and generally to no great distance.

9. Otocorys TELEscnowi, sp. n.

Magnitudine O.jJeniciUatte. Fronte, pileo^ loris genisque ni-
gris ; his a macula pectoral! nigra fasciis albis separatis.

Dimensions : —

Bill
Length. Expanse. Closed wing. Tail. (culmen). Tarsus.
S . . 188-190 330-348 109-114 80-85 12-13-0 24-24-5
$ .. 184-196 318-344 103-104 77-78 11-13 22-6-23

The three outer primaries are the longest, the second of
these being longer than the others = 3 > 1 ; sometimes 2 > 1
= 3, or 2>1 = 3, lastly, 1=2 = 3. Eyes are dark hazel;
upper mandible black, lower bluish horn-coloured, tipped
with black; legs dark brown.

Male. Forehead, crown, lores, cheeks and sides of the
throat, and breast-band deep black ; the latter divided from
that on the neck by a wide white band uniting the white throat
with the white sides of the neck ; the stripes at the back of the
eyes towards the back of the head and wing- coverts are also
white, the latter not uncommonly with a brownish or rufous
tinge. The breast, belly, and rump are white, with a brownish
or reddish tint ; flanks, and sometimes thigh-feathers, pale
reddish. Back of the head and nape of neck brownish pale
wine-colour, extending to the lesser and median of the
upper wing-coverts. Back and shoulders brownish sandy,
with narrow blackish stripes on the shafts, sometimes barely
noticeable. Tail-feathers and upper tail-coverts reddish
sandy colour.

The two central rectrices are the same colour as the back,
i. e. brownish or yellowish sandy, with shaded blackish stripes
lengthwise ; the other rectrices are black. The outer web of
the outermost pair about halfway up has a white margin.

On a rare Plover from the Cameroons Coast, 417

but in its upper part the whole web is white ; the next rec-
trices have only a white margin on the upper part of the
outer web. The quills are dark brown, with yellowish-white
margins on the outer webs and tips, similarly tipped on the
secondaries; the outer web of the primaries is altogether
white ; the tertiary quills, as well as the upper wing-coverts,
have a wide border the same colour as the back. The lining
of the wings and feathers under the shoulders are white.

The female, like others of the genus Otocortjs, has a nar-
rower black belt on the breast ; the sides of tlie throat and
head are blackish brown (they are black in the male), be-
coming sandy yellowish on the crown, assimilating to the
upper part of the body.

This species — named by me after my travelling companion,
P. P. Teleschow, senior subaltern of the Trans-Baikaliau Cos-
sacks, who prepared the skins of all specimens obtained on
my fourth journey, and actively cooperated in the general
work of the expedition — frequents the mountainous border
of Northern Tibet, in the region between the gorges of the
Cherchen and Khoten, i. e., the newly discovered Russian
range and that of Keria. Besides this, 0. teleschowi was
first met with by us in the Chamen-tagh range, on the Tibetan
plateau, to the west of Gass. It is, however, more common
in the Russian range, where it haunts springs and rivulets at
the entrances of defiles along the northern foot of the moun-
tains. Its note, flight, and habits are not distinguishable
from those of 0. albigula, which it replaces in the above-
mentioned ranges.

XLI. — Description of a rare Species of Plover from the
Cameroons Coast. By Captain G. E. Shelley, F.Z.S.

Mr. H. H. Johnston has recently sent home a small collec-
tion of West African birds, procured by him in the swampy
marshes of the Rio del Rey, near the Cameroons. This col-
lection contained two specimens of a Plover entirely un-
known to me, so I consulted Mr. Seebohm, who is preparing

SER. V. VOL. v. 2 G

418 On a rare Plover from the Cameroons Coast.

a volume on the geographical distribution of this order of
birdsj and who finds that this Cameroons species is very dis-
tinct from anything that he has hitherto seen. He is, how-
ever, of opinion that it would be unwise to describe it as
a new species, since it will most likely prove to be the adult of
Lobivanellus superciliosus of Dr. Reichenow, which was de-
scribed in the 'Journal fiir Ornithologie/ 1886, p. 119, and
figured on plate iii. fig. 2. That description was taken from a
"young, apparently not completely coloured individual," ob-
tained by Dr. Bohm and Mr. Paul Reichard at Marungu, on
the south-west shores of Lake Tanganyika, in Central Africa.
As the adult plumage of this species is undescribed, I
append the following description.

Sarciophorus superciliosus (Reichenow).
(J , Rio del Rey. A broad, sandy or very pale rufous fore-
head ; crown and nape black, a well-developed pendent yellow
wattle in front of the eye, remainder of the head and neck
uniform ashy grey. Back, scapulars, lesser, median, and the
basal portion of the greater wing-coverts uniform pale olive-
brown with a greenish gloss. Upper tail-coverts and tail
white ; the latter with the end half of the centre tail-feather
black, this black band rapidly narrowing and becoming sub-
terminal towards the outer feathers, and almost obliterated
on the outer webs of the tail, where it is only indicated by a
dusky shade. Primaries jet-black, with narrow white bases
which do not show beyond the under wing-coverts. Greater
wing-coverts broadly tipped with white ; secondaries white,
with black ends to all but the innermost ones, the black ends
increasing in breadth towards the outermost feathers. Crop
chocolate-colour, with a vinous shade; remainder of the
underparts of the body, axillaries, and under wing-coverts
white. Colour of the bill uncertain, but probably deep red,
with a pale end. Legs reddish black. Total length 10-5
inches, culmen O'S, wing 7Q, tail 3*2, tarsus 2*1.

The second specimen is similar to the one described.

The young bird described by Reichenow agrees very closely
with the adult example from West Africa in its dimensions.

Mr. S, Bligh on Baza ceylonensis. 419

but differs from it in having the crop rusty brown (instead
of vinous chocolate), and in having the crown dark brown
(instead of black), with the rusty brown of the forehead pro-
longed into a stripe over each eye.

The genus Sarciophorus, like Lobivanellus, has wattles in
front of the eye, but has been separated on account of its
members having only three toes ; the hallux, or hind toe, being
entirely absent. The type, S. tectus, like the present species,
has no spur on the wing.

The genus Sarciophorus comprises four species : —

1. S. tectus, from N.E, Africa and Senegambia.

2. S. superciliosus, Cameroons and Lake Tanganyika.

3. S. malabarica, India.

4. S. pectoralis, Australia.

S, superciliosus, when adult, may be readily distinguished
from all other Plovers by its pale, rufous-shaded forehead,
its black crown, and chocolate-coloured crop.

At all ages it may be diagnosed from every other species
of the group by its combination of four characters — small
wattle, red legs, no hind toe, and white outer tail-feathers.

XLII. — NotQ on Baza ceylonensis. By Samuel Bligh,
of Catton, Coslanda, Ceylon. (Communicated by J. H.

GURNEY.)

Towards the end of April I was delighted to find that a pair
of Baza ceylonensis liad taken up their quarters in a piece of
old forest of about five or six acres left on this estate, near
my bungalow, where the old trees have been thinned out, but a
few giants are left, and these they particularly haunted.
I would not molest the birds, in the hope they might nest, but
they only stayed two or three weeks. Their sailing high in
the air over the trees and playing in the air was a treat to
see; and their peculiar tumbling, like that of a Tumbler
Pigeon, was especially pretty, though the male only seemed
to do this. He would first rise, with a few laboured flaps of
the wings, almost perpendicularly, perhaps at an angle of 70°

2g 2

420 Mr. R. S. Wray on the Structure

or thereabouts ; but at whatever angle the bird rose, by a
few flaps it attained a perfectly perpendicular position, as if
suspended by its bill from the zenith^ with its wings quite
closed for a perceptible time ; it then descended rapidly
fifteen or twenty feet in a half-falling half-diving sort of way,
but without turning a somersault, though the bird changed
its position from head upwards to the reverse so suddenly as
to cause it to appear to turn over. This play it would repeat
three or four times in one place, and again further onwards ;
its mate was generally within fifty or a hundred yards, but
sometimes much nearer.

I particularly noticed the call-notes; these were like ke-wee-
kh-streer, often repeated when the bird was playing ; at other
times quite a different call, like itta-jee-oiv, repeated at short
intervals.

I noticed that these birds now and again dashed off from
their perches into the foliage of the tops of the trees, and
secured some prey which they carried in their claws to a
perch to eat.

XLIII. — On the Structure of the Barbs, Barbules, and
Barbicels of a Typical Pennaceous Feather. By
Richard S. Wray, B.Sc. (London).

(Plate XII.)

Having occasion to illustrate the above structure in the
Index Museum of the British Museum (Natural History),
Professor Flower and myself came to the conclusion that the
best way to do so would be by the preparation of a model,
the making of which I undertook, and consequently I had
to go thoroughly into the appearances presented by the parts
s]3ecified. I find that although my observations correspond
in all main particulars with what is already known, there
are some points, especially in the relations of the proximal
barbules to each other, which have not previously been fully
appreciated. These points, and the fact that no good figure
appears to exist giving at all a full idea of the completeness

of a Typical Pennaceous Feather. 421

and adaptive organization of these parts^ have made me think
that it might be worth while to publish the results of my
work^ founding my remarks upon the embodiment of it in
the model which is in the Natural History Museum.

Figure 1 represents the main part of the model, and shows
the inter-relation of the different parts.

Figures 2 and 4 represent part, modelled separately,
showing the different details.

Figure 3 shows appearances which are indicated on the
model (fig. 1), but cannot be shown in the drawing.

The model was made in gutta-percha, and modelled from
nature, the feather selected being a greater wing-covert of a
Goose.

Taking the parts in order, tlie stem of the feather gives off
on either side the barbs, and they in turn the barbules,
which are termed distal and proximal according as they
originate from the side of the barb nearest the tip or the base
of the feather. The barbules cross one another at an angle,
and are especially modified to give consistency to the vanes.
It is this adaptation the model was designed to show.

The proximal and distal barbules differ totally in form.
The proximal barbules are (as shown in fig. 2) thin laminae
with a thickened upper edge forming a small ledge or kind of
flange (fig. 2, 1) ; the broad end is the one attached to the
barb; the free half of the barbule is much narrower, and
fines away to a mere filament. Where this thinning com-
mences it is seen that the flange presents a broken appearance,
there being three indentations giving a short " dog-tooth "
edge (fig. 2, 2) ; beyond that the flange fines away. If a
single barb be examined, the proximal barbules appear
coming off at regular intervals, and at their proximal end
appear to join on to an edge-piece running parallel to the
barb. If now they are torn asunder with needles, this edge
is seen to be formed by the attenuated halves of these barbules
overlapping one another and being turned at a considerable
angle upon the other half. The '' dog-tooth ^^ portion allows
of this folding in the flange without any crumpling (fig. 3,
a and /3) . This arrangement gives strength and elasticity to

422 Mr. R. S. Wray on the Structure

the proximal half o£ every barb, since no one barbule bears
at any time the whole of any strain placed directly upon it,
but the strain is of necessity distributed.

The distal barbules present a totally different modification
(fig. 4). Each one is a thin lamina bearing on its distal
two-thirds barbicels, hooked in the centre of the barbule,
but not at the end. The proximal third is a flat lamina
about as broad as the proximal barbules^ then it presents two
or three tooth-like processes (fig. 4, 1) and becomes quite
narrow, beariug five hooked barbicels, and then four or five
unhooked ones, the end of the lamina being continued as a
barbicel-like process. These all occur on its lower edge.
On its ujjper edge there occur as many small tooth-like pro-
cesses (fig. 4, 4) as there are unhooked barbicels, the two
forming four or five pairs of processes.

If a section of a barb be examined showing the attachment
of the barbules, the proximal barbules are seen to be attached
somewhat lower down than the distal ; and the proximal
barbules slope gently downwards from their attachment,
while the distal slope gently upward (c/. fig. 1). The distal
barbules overlap the proximal, the overlapping being con-
fined to the pai't beyond the teeth (1. fig. 4), the ends of
the unhooked barbicels lying over the upper edge of the
barb often. The booklets (hamuli) catch the flange of the
proximal barbules, and, being regularly arranged, each
booklet has a grip on a separate barbule; each distal bar-
bule, therefore, is connected with five proximal ones, and as
each of these is intimately connected with its fellows by the
overlapping previously described, the whole forms a most
complete adaptation of structure to function {cf. figs. 1
and 4).

The methods adopted in procuring data for the making of
the model were as follows : —

(1) A feather was soaked in turpentine, and bits of the vane

were cut out and mounted in Canada balsam, show-
ing the upper and lower surfaces.

(2) Separate barbs were taken and mounted, the barbules on

some being teased out with needles, on others the

^ CENTRAL PARK, "^
O^ NEW YORK. ^.

Jl'^roRALm^lBj^

Tvg.Z.

Ibis. 1887, PI. XI 1,

~bp

T.Smiblitt..

STRUCTURE OF PEATHER

Hanliart imp .

of a Typical Pennaceous Feather. 433

barbules were cut off by placing a sharp razor on the
sides of the barb and pressing gently on the slide,
when sufficient perfect barbules of each kind were
obtained for examination.
(3) Portions of the vane were carefully embedded in paraffin,
and sections cut and mounted by the kreosote-shellac
method, so that the parts were obtained in their
relative, natural and undisturbed, positions,
(a) . Transversely : i. e., at right angles to the long axis of

the barb).
{h) Horizontally : «. e., parallel to the surface of the vane.
(c) Oblique sections in directions parallel to the distal
barbules {cf. fig. \a, a to /3). Some of these
showed the barbs in oblique section, a distal
barbule quite perfect, and sections of the proximal
barbules. In these could be seen exactly how the
booklets cling to the flange {cf. fig. 4).
Drawings were then made of all the parts in every position
from these working-drawings, and the model produced in
gutta-percha.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIL
B, barb ; hd, distal barbule ; and bp, proximal barbule in all figures.

Fig. 1. Perspective view of portions of two adjacent barbs looking fi'om
the main stem towards the edge of the feather.

Fig. la. Diagram of surface view, a to j3 direction of oblique sections
described in text.

Fig. 2. A proximal barbule. 1, flange ; 2, " dog-tooth " part of flange ;
3, overlapping portion.

Fig. 3. Diagrammatic view of a barb from above, a, slightly magnified •
/3, more highly magnified ; 3', the apparent firm edge parallel to
barb. B shows its composition, 1, 2, 3 as in fig. 2.

Fig. 4. Oblique section in direction a to /j (fig. !«), showing the exact
manner of the interlocking of the barbules. 1, tooth-like pro-
cesses ; 2, hooked barbicels ; 3, unhooked barbicels : 4, pro-
cesses serial with 3. The proximal barbules, bp, are seen in
oblique section.

424 Captain S. G. Reid on the

XLIV. — Notes on the Birds of Teneriffe.
By Capt. Savile G. Reid, R.E.

At tlie end of January of the present year (1887) I fled iu
despair from the prolonged horrors of our English winter to
the genial climate of the Canary Islands, and during a
pleasant sojourn at Orotava, Teneriffe, until the middle of
the following April, I made a few notes on the ornithology
of that island, which may be of interest to the readers of
* The Ibis/

I was aware that, owing to the excellent work done in
previous years in that island by Messrs, Webb and Berthelot,
Dr. Bolle, and Mr. F. D. Godman, there was not much
prospect of anything new ; but I found many interesting
species and enjoyed my ornithological excursions immensely,
in spite of the bad roads (always excepting the excellent
" carretera,^'' or main road) and the indifferent means of
locomotion.

Through the kind intervention of INIr. Peter S. Reid, our
British Vice-Consul at Orotava, Avell known to the native
and foreign population there as '^ Don Pedro,^^ I was intro-
duced soon after my arrival to the captain of the militia,
Don Benjamin Baeza, the same who in 1871 had accompanied
Mr. Godman in his rambles about the island. With him I
got on famously, and we were doing great things, when, alas !
he suddenly sickened and died ; his death putting an end to
the success and pleasure of my work in a Qianner that I
cannot attempt to describe. He was a really good fellow, who
knew everybody and everything in the island, besides being a
fairly good ornithologist and taxidermist and a tolerable shot.
I followed the poor man to his grave a few days before we
were to have gone on an expedition to the island of Fuerte-
ventui'a, where we had hoped to reap a rich harvest, our
preparations having been most carefully made, and everything
arranged even to the hour of sailing of the schooner ; which
is saying a good deal in a Spanish island like Teneriffe.

The unfortunate loss of my friend and guide quite upset
my plans, and I remained at Orotava the whole of the two

Birds of Teneriffe. 425

months of my visit ; consequently my notes are confined
to o])servations made in Teneriffe itself, and principally
on the north and north-west portions of the island. It
is therefore hardly desirable to tabulate the notes in any
formal manner, and I think the following brief account of
the general results of my work will be much more inter-
esting.

On arriving in TeneriflFe I had one or two fixed ideas in
my head, thanks in a great measure to the advice of ornitho-
logical friends. These were, in the first place, to endeavour
to clear up the mystery surrounding the identification of
the one or more species of '^Trocaz'''' Pigeons occurring in
the Canary Islands — the Columha laurivora of Webb and
Berthelot, the C. bolUi of Godman, and perhaps the C. trocaz
of Madeira and the Azores ; secondly, to determine, if pos-
sible, the actual species of Buzzard, Shrike, Raven, Turtle
Dove, Bustard, &c. occurring within the Canarian archi-
pelago. I was unable to effect the satisfactory settlement of
all these questions, but I trust that the information I ac-
quired may clear up many doubtful points.

To begin with the Pigeons : an interesting subject certainly,
but one requiring a visit to the other western islands of the
group, notably Gomera, for a proper determination of their
distribution. It was some time before I even saw a Pigeon,
the shady laurel and heath forests frequented by them being
high up on the mountain-side and a long ride from Orotava.
I was at last rewarded, however, by obtaining a pair of birds,
with nest and egg, of what is undoubtedly C hollii of God-
man. Three nests were found, but only one was occupied
at the time. I received a second egg from another of these
nests shortly afterwards. As the nest and o,^'^ of this Pigeon
are perhaps almost unknown at the present time, I venture
to give a few particulars.

In company with my friend Major Loyd, late 21st Hussars,
I rode over a villainous path from Orotava to the mountains
on the 9th March, and securing the services of an intelligent
native as guide, proceeded to the laurel forest in search of
the " Paloma turquesa,'' as they call it locally. Our guide

426 Captain S. G. Reid on the

Josd told us there were only two pairs in this small patch of
forest ; and his statement was apparently soon verified by the
discovery of two nests, both in " breso/' or tree-lieath [Erica
arbor ea), but both empty. We saw our first Pigeon, how-
ever, and were contented. On the 16th we again rode
out to the place, and were lucky enough to see a Pigeon fly
ofii" a third nest in a '' haya '^ tree, a little lower down the
hill, but close to the other two. This contained a single
much-incubated egg, and is now, with the egg, in my collec-
tion. We lay in wait under shelter of neighbouring trees
and obtained both birds. There is no doubt as to the species
— they are C. hollii of Godman, with no white at the tip of
the tail. All inquiries from Josd, as well as from intelli-
gent natives of other parts of Tenerifl'e, to say nothing of the
valuable testimony of Baeza himself, prove that this is the
Pigeon of the island, and I think it doubtful if the white-
tailed species, C. laurivora, occurs there at all.

The nests were similar to those of our familiar C. palumbus,
slight, but tolerably compact structures of small twigs, about
10 feet from the ground. It is somewhat remarkable that
only one egg is laid. My egg, above mentioned, was con-
siderably incubated, and Jose, who obtained another single
egg for me about a fortnight later, declared that no more
were ever deposited. The eggs measure, on the average, 1"72
by 1"16 inch, and are, of course, of the ordinary Pigeon
type. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the male bird
returned first to the nest and was shot about half an hour
after our discovery ; his crop was full of the leaves of some
shrub. The female did not present herself for nearly three
hours, her crop being crammed with laurel-berries. They
are undoubtedly very shy birds, even in the nesting-season.
Jose assured us that they breed at intervals all the year
round, which, in a climate like that of Teneriflfe, is, I think,
quite possible.

I regret that this is all the direct evidence I can furnish
as to the distribution of the Pigeons of the Canaries. The
only other skin in my collection, obtained for me subse-
quently by my friend Don Fernando del Hoyo^ a zealous

Birdfi of Teneriffe. 427

naturalist of Orotava, is also C. bollii ; and my theory is that
C. laurivora (W. & B.) is not to be found in TeneriflFe,
though apparently numerous in the neighbouring island of
Gomera. Poor Baeza^ who was nine months in the latter
island and killed many Pigeons there^ probably over a hun-
dred, told me they were all C. laurivora. Tliis segregation
of species differing so little as these two is only what might
be expected in an archipelago of large islands like the
Canaries, where the intervals between the islands are so
wide. I was greatly disappointed at not being able to
visit Gomera, but the difficulties of communication were
insurmountable. The chance of three days in a wretched
schooner (as experienced on one occasion by Dr. Crotch),
short of provisions and water, on a voyage of some forty
or fifty miles, was sufficient to damp my ardour, to say
nothing of the fact that there are no roads and no hotels in
Gomera, and that the people there are accounted a most
uncouth and inhospitable lot by the Teneriffians — a " muy
mala gente/'' as they term them. When the long-promised
steamer runs between the various islands, it will be a com-
paratively easy matter to settle the Pigeon question ; and I
confidently look forward to its solution Avithin the next two
or three years, for I am given to understand that the
Spanish Government have at last consented to subsidize
steamers carrying the local mails at regular and constant
intervals.

I had very little opportunity of studying the habits of
C bollii, but it appears to be an uncommonly shy and wary
bird, and comparatively few are obtained by the local sports-
men or ^'cazadores.^^ It must be tolerably numerous in
the belt of forest between Agua mansa (the ravine where I
obtained my nest, above the eastern end of the so-called
valley of Orotava) and Tacoronte, for I frequently heard ac-
counts of numbers seen in the cultivated ground below the
woods, and I also noticed feathers belonging to them at the
drinking-places in the woods of La Mina, above INIercedes,
near the city of Laguna. But a visitor might spend months
in the island before becoming aware of their existence.

428 Captain S. G. Reid on the

nearly all those that are shot being obtained by lying in wait
for them at the water.

From Baeza^s account, C. Imirivora is far more plentiful,
relatively speaking, in Gomera, but there the woods are
much more extensive and suited to their habits. I do not
think it likely that the Madeiran form, C trocaz, is ever
found in the Canaries ; certainly not in the western islands,
Teneriffe, Gomera, Palma, and Hierro.

Before leaving the Columbidai, I may mention that the
Rock Dove, C. livia, is very common in Teneriffe, frequenting
the inland precipices as well as the rocks of the coast. Of
the species of Turtle Dove visiting the island, I hope to have
more to say later on.

To pass to a very different family, the Falconidse, I was at
once struck, on my arrival, as every naturalist must inevitably
be, by the numbers of raptorial birds constantly in sight in
Teneriffe. These, on examination, resolved themselves into
five species, viz. : — Neophron percnopterus, Milvus ictinus,
Buteo vulgaris, Accipiter nisus, and Falco tinnunculus. I
have little to add to Mr. Godman's excellent account of these
birds (Ibis, 1872, pp. lGi-167), except in the case of the
Buzzard, which is somewhat unaccountably B. vulgaris, and
not B. desertorum as it ought to be with due respect to geo-
graphical position. This species, the ^' Aguililla ^^ of the
islanders, is very common and breeds in the cliffs which form
the abrupt termination of the lava-slopes immediately above
the coast-line, as well as in the precipices of the crater-walls
more inland. The only note I made worthy of record con-
cerning it is that I witnessed the union of a pair near Agua
mansa, the male circling round and suddenly descending upon
the female, which was perched on the summit of a high
isolated stack of rock in apparent ignorance of his presence,
and Avithin 200 yards of our party.

The Kestrel positively swarms, and must have a hard
struggle for life, for I do not think there are any rats or mice
outside the towns, and the lizards are remarkably war3^
It is said to prey much on small birds; but I think the
Sparrow-hawk, which is not uncommon, is the culprit in

Birds of Teyieriffe. 429

most of tlie cases described by my informants. Kestrels are
constantly to be seen among the houses and gardens in the
middle of the towns, so they may occasionally contrive to
snap up a well-fed town rat or mouse.

So far as the other members of the Falconidse occurring
in the island are concerned, I have but few remarks to make
about the Sparrow-hawk, which is not uncommon near
Orotava and along the coast. A recently killed male speci-
men was brought to me at Buena Vista on the 26th February.
I saw several at various times on the wing, and on one occa-
sion, near Orotava, one of these Hawks made a very bold
though unsuccessful dash at a small bird within a few yards
of a large party of us. Where and when it breeds I am
unable to say.

That the Hobby [Falco subbuteo) is occasionally found in
Teneriffe I am tolerably certain. I saw a small Falcon, which
I recorded at the time as of this species, on the edge of the
pine-woods above La Guaucha ; and Baeza informed me that
he had shot two during his lifetime, one near the coast below
Eealejo, and the other near Tacoronte. He described the
bird accurately, and from his knowledge of the subject I
conclude there is no doubt as to these two cases. Webb and
Berthelot include the Hobby in their list^ but Bolle seems
doubtful about it [vide Godman, Ibis, 1872, p. 165).

I regret that I have no information about the Peregrine.
I fully expected to meet with it in the upper regions of the
island, but I never saw or heard of one. Its absence, real
or apparent, is the more remarkable when one considers the
reliable evidence of its former occurrence, or, it may be said,
abundance, given in Don Jose Viera's ' Diccionario de His-
toria Natural de las Islas Canarias,' written in 1799, a copy
of which I was lucky enough to obtain. I venture to give
a translation from this work : —

" The species of this noble raptorial bird found in our
island has acquired considerable reputation. Edmund Scory,
in his observations on Teneriffe, published by Purchas (vol. v.
chap. 12), affirms that the Falcons of this island were the
best and strongest that could be found in the world for

430 Captain S. G. Reid on the

seizing and taking their prey, owing to their being of a more
robust type than those of Barbary ; and he relates that the
Captain-General of the Canaries, amusing himself one evening
in the citadel of Laguna by watching several Falcons which,
with splendid impetus and skill, were dashing down upon
the various water-fowl forced by the peasants with their
slings to rise from the surface of the lake, counted them ;
also that a certain Falcon of Teneriffe, which the same
Captain-General had presented to the Duke of Lerma,
minister to Philip III., escaped and returned from Anda-
lucia to its own country, performing the journey of 250
leagues in sixteen hours, and bringing with it its collar
with the coat-of-arms of the Duke, Count BufEon, in his
'Natural History/ mentions this occurrence (vol. i. Birds,
p. 33)-

What has become of this famous breed of Peregrines in
Teneriffe ? It has been exterminated, apparently. We in
England know how tenaciously the much-persecuted Pere-
grines of our southern coasts hold their own, and it is difficult
to realize the change brought about in a wild spot like
Teneriffe in something less than a century, for Viera speaks
of it as common in 1799.

It is somewhat strange that the Osprey ( Pandion halia'etus)
has been so little observed in Teneriffe, where it undoubtedly
occurs, for my friend, Don Bamon Gomez, has two examples
in his collection, obtained by himself on the shore; and it
breeds in the island of Gomera, for Dr. Crotch told me he
had eggs in his possession taken there. I fancied I saw one
near Orotava on one occasion, but could not identify it satis-
factorily. Baeza and others assured me that it also breeds
in Teneriffe, and I see no reason to doubt it, for the coast
abounds in suitable nesting-sites.

Passing to the Owls_, I found the Long-eared Owl {Asio
otus) a common species near Orotava ; an evening seldom
passed without one or more being seen, and they undoubtedly
breed in some thick palm trees in a villa garden just above
the Grand Hotel, belonging to an English lady, Mrs. Smith,
whence they were on one occasion dislodged for my inspec-

Birds of Teneriffe. 431

tion. I obtained several specimens near Orotava, and saw
others along the north- west coast near Garachico and Buena
Vista.

The Barn Owl {Strios flammea) is apparently rare. My
friend Gomez, the principal chemist of Orotava (who has a
most creditable museum of natural history and archaeological
remains)^ possesses a specimen ; but I did not meet with one
myself.

The Curator of the Botanical Gardens at Orotava, Herr
Vilprecht, an intelligent observer, assured me he had seen an
example of the Little Owl in the Gardens. This is not at all
improbable, and I was much astonished at not meeting with
some species of Athene in such a suitable place as Teneriffe.
The absence of the Eagle Owl is remarkable in a rocky
mountainous island where rabbits are fairly numerous ;
but I failed to hear of it, though I was continually making
inquiries.

The Blackbird [Turdas merula) has been restricted by
former writers to the upper wooded districts ; but this is un-
questionably an error, for it is numerous in the gardens of
Orotava, and delighted us at the hotel by its song in the early
spring. I have seen three or four at a time there, and a brood
was hatched out during my stay. I also noticed it frequently
along the sea-coast, on the north-west shore, in suitable
places. It is certainly more numerous in the forest-belt, to
which two other familiar species, the Robin and the Gold-
crest, are confined ; but^ whether of late years or not, it has
now obtained a permanent footing in the cultivated grounds
below.

Another bird that has now become quite as common in the
lower as in the forest region is the Chiffchaff {Phylloscopus
riff us), which is extremely abundant and lively in all the
gardens and orchards of Orotava and elsewhere along the
coast. I was sorely puzzled by the notes of this bird, which
differ considerably from the well-known " chip- chop '' so
welcome to our ears in early spring in our English woods.
The Cauarian bird expresses its song at greater length in a
desultory manner, though also in monosyllables resembling

432 Captain S. G. Reid on the

the sounds " chip-cheep-cheep-chip-cheep," &c. ; and wlien
the breeding-season arrived, and I was enabled to examine
the nest and eggs, I was still more at fault, for the nests
were generally four or five feet from the ground, the entrance-
hole being large and near the top, the eggs being spotted
with pale red, like those of P. trochiJus. My specimens,
however, have been submitted to several of the highest
English authorities, and there is no doubt that the bird is
true P. ri(fus, its notes and nesting-habits perhaps modified
by its remote insular position.

I observed the Sardinian Warbler [Sylvia melanocephald) in
the hotel garden at Orotava, and found the Spectacled Warbler
{S. conspiciUata) extremely common in the coast-region,
though absent above in the forest. My friend Major Loyd
and I discovered many nests of the latter in the shallow
scrub-covered ravines winding about among the cultivated
fields to the eastward of Orotava. Five eggs were the usual
complement, the bird sitting very close, even before incuba-
tion had commenced.

The Blackcap (*S^. atricapilla) is common in the cultivated
land, and was a great feature in the hotel garden at Orotava.
Its delightful song was constantly heard from the shady
recesses of the thickest trees, and it was a general favoiirite. I
never heard of the peculiar variety with the black neck and
shoulders found in Madeira, nor do I believe it occurs in the
Canaries. The " Capirote,^' as it is called, is apparently a
late breeder, for I did not come across a nest up to the time
of my dejjarture ; but Don F. del Hoyo has since sent me
specimens of the eggs, which are exactly like those found in
England. At Mercedes, near Laguna, we noticed oranges on
the trees, the inside of which had been completely and neatly
removed through a large hole at the top. This, Ave were
assured by our " arrieros,^' was the work of the " Capirote,'^
and we afterwards saw, in Laguna, a ripe orange fastened to
the bars of a cage containing one of these birds.

I failed to meet with the Whitethroat and the Subalpine
Warbler in any of my rambles, although, according to
Berthelot and others, they occur in Teneriffe. I was equally

Birds of Teyieriffe. 433

unfortunate with the Keclstart and the Stonechat, though 1
paid a special visit to Mercedes in search of the latter.

Of the Canai'ian Pipit {Anthus bertheloti) I saw a great deal.
They are very early breeders, and the first nest, found hy
Major Loyd near the hotel, contained three newly hatched
young on the 2nd March ; while in another I found three
incubated eggs on the 4th of the same month. After this we
examined several other nests at intervals, up to the date of our
departure early in April. The nest is by no means easy to
find, being artfully concealed under a tuft of weeds in broken
ground. In all cases where we removed the nest we came to
the conclusion that the hollow or depression in which it was
placed had been scratched out and deepened by the birds,
which seems to me a curious fact. The nests resemble those
of our familiar Meadow Pipit, being composed of dry weed-
stalks and coarse grasses, lined with finer grasses and horse-
hair. The eggs, which average three in number (more are
said to be laid in a second nest later on), are also very
similar : greenish grey, with dark freckles all over, averaging
'77 by "58 inch. This is certainly the commonest of Tene-
riffian birds, and is to be found breeding as high as the
Canadas, at an elevation of some 7000 feet, as well as a few
feet only above the sea-level. It is a lively little bird, but
not, to my mind, so objectionably squeaky and irritating as
our Meadow Pipit. Like the latter, it has a feeble soug, and
may be seen singing on the wing. On approaching the site
of a nest the old birds sneak quietly off, threading their way
among: the weeds like mice, and it was seldom that we could
discover the nest until we had paid repeated visits to the spot.

The Ultramarine Tit [Parus tenerifa) is exceeding com-
mon from the sea to the upper limit of the forest ; but I failed
to meet with the Great Tit in the pine trees, where it is
said to occur.

Swallows {Hirundo rustica) first appeared on the 26th
February at Buena Vista. I saw quite a number of Martins
{Chelidon urbica) flying over the houses at Orotava on the
29th March, but did not meet with tlie species again {cf.
Godman, Ibis, 1872, p. 171).

SER. V. VOL. V. 2 H

434 Captain S. G. Reid on the Birds of Teneriffe.

With regard to the two Swifts found in Teneriffe, I think
I may safely assert that Cypselus pallidus is stationary all
the year round. I observed several the day I landed, 4th
February, and was told by all my ornithological friends in
the island that they were to be seen throughout the winter.
Up to the 5th April no example of the other species (C. uni-
color) was met with, but on that day young Baeza shot one
and brought it to me. That both breed in Teneriffe is, I
think, certain.

The FringiUida are numerous in the island, though the
actual number of species is comparatively small. Foremost
among these is, of course, the Canary [Serinus canarius),
which, with the exception of Anthus bertheloti, is the com-
monest bird of all. It is truly a sweet songster, fully
deserving its reputation ; and to lie awake in the early hours
of a March morning, with one's window open (think of that,
ye shivering Britons !), listening to the "real wild'' Canaries
singing in the garden close by, is alone worth a journey to
these '' Fortunate " islands.

Goldfinches and Linnets are numerous, and the Common
Bunting is a perfect nuisance there, as in many other places,
with its harsh spluttering attempt at song. The Azorean
Chaffinch [Frinc^illa tintUlon) is common at a slight eleva-
tion, but does not descend to the coast-line ; the male in
breeding-plumage is a very handsome bird.

I was very sorry not to meet with the Teydean Chaffinch
(F. teydea), the most interesting bird in Teneriffe, though I
went to several likely places in search of it. The natives
could not tell me where these birds go to during the winter,
and it seems quite a mystery. Later on they appear in
certain places, and are comparatively easy to obtain. Baeza
and I carefully searched the pine-woods above La Guancha,
where Mr. Godman obtained his specimens in 1871; but we
never even heard the note of the "Pajaro azul," or " blue-
bird," as they call it.

The Sparrow of Teneriffe is Petronia stulta, the Bock
Sparrow, which is to be seen about the towns and hamlets
and breeds m holes in the walls. Passer kispaniolensis has

On a Collection of Birds from Kin a Balu. 435

been introduced some years ago, I was told, from the eastern
islands, and is now asserting itself, at any rate, in Orotava,
where it breeds in trees in the plaza and is not uncommon.

One of the principal objects of my visit to Fuerteventura
was to observe the Trumpeter Bullfinch {Pyrrhula githa-
ginea) in its wild state ; but the death of poor Baeza put a
stop to this. I was shown one, in a cage Avith a yellow
Canary from Europe, which the proprietor had recently ob-
tained from the eastern island, and which he hoped would
cross with the Canary.

The Starling [Sturnus vulgaris) is only an occasional winter
visitor to Teneriffe : I did not meet with it alive, but Don
Ramon Gomez has a stuffed specimen in his collection.
Viera, in his Dictionary, says the Chough [Pijrrochorax
graculus) has been obtained a few times in Teneriffe ; but it
is strange that it should be practically confined to the island
of Palma, where it breeds in considerable numbers in the
walls of the old crater, or '^caldera/^ My friend Don F.
del Hoyo sent me a good pair from that place. There are
plenty of suitable spots for it in Teneriffe, but it has never
migrated from its original home to take possession of them.

[To be continued.]

XLV. — Notes on a Collection of Birds made by Mr. John
Whitehead on the Mountain of Kina Balu, in Northern Bor-
neo, ivith Descriptions of neiv Species. By R. Bowdler
Sharpe, F.L.S. &c.

(Plates XIII. & XIV.)

Beyond the few species described by me in the ' Proceedings '
of the Zoological Society for 1879 (p. 245), nothing has been
ascertained of the ornithology of the remarkable mountain of
Kina Balu. In the present paper I give some descriptions of
new species of the greatest interest to science, and it is remark-
able to find that some of the genera hitherto believed to belong

2h 2

436 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

to the Himalayan subregions have received a startling acces-
sion of range. Certainly the discoveries by Dr. Beccari of
such Himalayan genera as Psarisomus, Pericrocotus, Stachy-
ris, Tnrdinus, Rimator, Pnoepyga, Buchanga, and Cochoa in
the higher regions of Sumatra might have prepared ornitho-
logists for the occuiTence of some of these genera in the high
ranges of Borneo^ which, however^ had hitherto been con-
sidered very Malayan in its avifauna, the only real Himalayan
element having been shown, quite within recent years, by the
discovery of Dendrocitta on the Lawas Biver, Ruhigula on
Kina Balu, and more lately by that of a Parus and Myiopho-
neus in the higher districts of Sarawak (c/. H. H. Slater,
Ibis, 1885, p. 121).

Mr. Whitehead's first expedition has resulted in the enlarge-
ment of our knowledge of this strictly Himalayan element,
and although he has not yet met with Pnoepyga, Cochoa,
or Rimator, it is quite possible that they will all be found,
along with such forms as Tarsiger hodgsoni, Hemichelidon
cinereiceps, Pterythius (jeralatus, Oriolus vulneratus , Staphidia,
&c. Apart from these evidences of connection with the
Himalayan system of Tenasserim, the Malayan peninsula, and
Sumatra, the new forms discovered by Mr. Whitehead are
striking enough, viz. : a marvellous new Calyptomena, a new
genus of Campophagidae, and a striking new Arachnothera.

The connection with the mountains of Java, so far as Kina
Balu has been explored, has not proved to be very marked,
though Orthotomus cucullatus and the new Sioparola show
a certain Javan afiinity ; but there is also a slight connec-
tion with the Celebesian avifauna exhibited by the new
Dictsum, which finds its ally in D. celebicum ; while the new
species of Hyloterpe is certainly allied to the Philippine sec-
tion of the genus.

I have referred to Count Salvadori's paper on the birds of
Beccari's expedition (Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov. xiv. pp. 169-
253), as afl^ording a good opportunity of comparing the
avifauna of the mountains of Sumatra and Borneo.

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 437

Fam. Falconid^.

1. ACCIPITER RUrOTIBIALIS^ Sp. n.

This may be briefly described as a form of A. vircfatus,
from which it diflfers in its uniform chestnut under tail-
coverts and chestnut thighs. A. virgatus has the thighs
always much paler rufous or ashy, with more or less remains
of dusky cross-bars. The measurements are very small like-
wise. Total length 9-3 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 5-95,
tail 4*2, tarsus 1-8. The young male sent by Mr. Whitehead
is moulting direct from its striped plumage into the chestnut-
breasted plumage of the adult ; this seems never to be the
case with true A. virgatus, of which the Museum now pos-
sesses a large series. It likewise shows uniform rufous thighs.
It will probably be found that .A. rnfotibialis is a mountain
form of A. virgatus, peculiar to Kina Balu. Mr. Gurney
agrees with me that A. rufotibialis is recognizably distinct
from A. virgatus.

Fam. C0RVID.E.

2. Dendrocitta cinerascenS; Sharpe_, Ibis, 1879, p. 250,
pi. viii.

Two sjjecimens of this fine Magpie, described by me from
the Lawas River.

3. Cissa minor. Cab. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. iii.
p. 86.

The male has the wing 5'2 inches, and the females 5'0-5'3
inches. The Sumatran examples in the '^ Catalogue ^ {I.e.)
had the wing 4"95-5'35 inches.

Fam. Oriolid^.

4. Oriolus vulneratus, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above glossy blue-black ; the
lower back somewhat mottled with ashy bases to the feathers ;
lesser wing-coverts like the back ; median and greater coverts,
bastard wing, and primary-coverts black, with a narrow
edging of glossy blue-black, the primary-coverts margined
with crimson near the ends ; quills black, edged with glossy
black, the primaries with hoary brown ; upper tail-coverts

438 Mr. li. Bowdler Sliarpe on a

like the back; tail feathers glossy black; crown of head,
sides of face, ear-coverts, cheeks, throat, and fore neck glossy-
black, with an ashy shade on the fore neck ; centre of breast
glossy crimson, forming a large patch ; abdomen, sides of
body, and flanks black, slightly varied with greyish bases to
the feathers ; thighs and under tail-coverts, under wing-
coverts, and axillaries black; quills below blackish, rather
more ashy along the inner edge. Total length 9 inches,
culmen 1, wing 5'1, tail 3*6, tarsus 0*9.

This is a very interesting representative of 0. sanguiao-
lentus of Java and O. consamjuineus of Sumatra. The re-
flexion of the upper plumage has more of a green gloss than
in either of the allied species, and it differs in the amount of
red on the primary-coverts, the three species being easily
distinguishable as follows : —

a. Primary-coverts entirely crimson conscuujidneus.

b. Primaiy-coverts only partially crimson.

a^ . Outer primary-coverts entirely black ; inner ones

broadly edged with crimson scmcpiiitolottHS.

bK Outer primary-coverts' narrowly fringed with

dull crimson ; inner ones entirely black vulneratus.

Fam. CAMPOPHAGlDiE.

5. Graucalus nokmani, sp. u.

Adult male. General colour above dark slate-grey; wing-
coverts like the back, the greater coverts lighter and more
ashy ; bastard wing black ; primary-coverts and quills black,
edged externally with slate-grey; the inner secondaries exter-
nally entirely pale ash-grey, like the greater coverts; upper
tail-coverts like the back; tail-feathers black, edged with slate-
grey, the two centre feathers dull grey for two thirds of their
length, the outer ones tipped with ashy ; crown of head dark
slate-grey, a little deeper in shade than the back ; forehead,
eyebrow, sides of crown, ear-coverts, cheeks, and throat
glossy blue-black, shading off" into slate-colour on the fore
neck; remainder of under surface of body dark slate-grey,
like the back ; thighs, under tail-coverts, under wing-coverts,
and axillaries like the breast ; quills below dusky, light ashy

Ibis. 1887. Pi.XUI.

J. &.Keulemaiua dEl.el.li.aL. Mjutem. Bi-

CHLAMTOOCFI^RA JEFFERYl. 1 ?, 2 c?.

Collection of Birds from Kina Balii. 439

along the inner web. Total length 10*4 inches, culmen 1^
wing 5'9j tail 41, tarsus 1.

Adult female. Similar to the male, but without any black
on the forehead or throat ; the lores, feathers round the eye,
sides of face, and ear-coverts glossy black. Total length 10
inches, culmen 0*95, wing 5*55, tail 4, tarsus 0'9.

This species must be very similar to G. melanocephalus,
Salvad. {t. c. p. 206), but is evidently different on account of
its grey crown. I have named it after my friend Mr. G. C.
Norman, from whom I have received material assistance in
ornithological work at the British Museum during the past
two years.

6. Pericrocotus montanus, Salvad. t. c. p. 205.

Of this species Mr. Whitehead has sent a pair, which I
refer to Salvadori^s species until I have the opportunity of
comparing Sumatran and Bornean examples. Count Salva-
dor! described the species from a female bird, and the speci-
men now received fully bears out the characters assigned to
it by its describer. The male resembles P. Solaris very
closely, but is altogether more richly vermilion and not so
orange, and has no yellow on the throat, as in that species.

ChlamydocHjEra, gen. n.

Chlamydochara, generi '^Edoliisoma^' dicto maxime affinis,
sed primario primo abbreviato et pictura insignissima et
insolita facile distinguenda.

7. Chlamydoch^ra jefferyi, sp. n. (Plate XIII.)
Adult male. General colour above dark French grey; wing-
coverts like the back, the greater series rather paler externally,
with concealed black bases ; bastard wing black, externally
grey near the base ; primary-coverts and quills black, with a
concealed grey speculum near the base of the outer webs of
the primaries ; inner secondaries French grey, like the back,
with a conspicuous black patch on the inner web ; upper tail-
coverts like the back ; centre tail-feathers French grey, with
a narrow white tip, before which is a subterminal band
of black; remainder of feathers black tipped with white.

440 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

increasing in extent towards the outer one, all more or less
grey towards tlie base ; crown of head paler French grey,
the forehead ochreous buff, a wash of which colour pervades
the crown ; lores and a broad eyebrow black, continued along
the sides of the crown and joining on the nape ; eyelid black
in front, white on the lower edge ; ear-coverts and sides of
face ochreous buff, as well as the cheeks and throat, paler
on the hinder part of the ear-coverts, and on the sides of
neck inclining to buffy grey ; fore neck and chest black,
forming a large plastron ; the feathers of the lower throat
white tipped with black, the white forming an indistinct
collar ; remainder of under surface of body light French grey,
washed with ochreous buff, especially towards the lower ab-
domen and vent ; thighs dark grey ; under tail-coverts pale
ochreous buflf, with grey bases; under wing-coverts grey,
washed with ochre ; axillaries dark slate-grey, the long ones
tipped with white ; quills below black, with large white spots
near the base of the inner web. Total length 9 inches
culmen 0'75, wing 4*5, tail 3'7, tarsus 1"05.

The adult female differs in being brown above, washed with
ashy grey, the inner secondaries and the centre tail-feathers
reddish brown, instead of grey, the marking being the same.
There is less grey on the head, which is nearly all ochreous
buff, with a grey tinge towards the nape ; the reddish ochre-
colour on the sides of the face and throat is richer than in
the male. The under surface of the body is deep ochreous
brown where the male is grey. Total length 8*7 inches,
culmen 0*75, wing 4*2, tail 3'35, tarsus 1.

I have named this species after Mr. Jeffery Whitehead,
the traveller's father, by whose aid and encouragement Mr.
John Whitehead has been enabled to carry out his ornitho-
logical expeditions.

Fam. MuscicAPiD^.

8. Tarsiger hodgsoni (Moore) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 258.

I cannot see the slightest difl-erence between the pair sent
by Mr. Whitehead and a pair collected in Sikkim by Man-
delli ; and this is the more curious as no one had previously

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 441

found the species out of the Himalayas^ where its range is
also very limited, extending merely from Nepal to Sikkim.
It has not as yet been met with in Tenasserim, the Malayan
peninsula, or Sumatra^ and the reappearance of the species
in Borneo is rather surprising.

9. Rhipidura albicollis (V.),; Sharpe, t. c. p. 317.
Adult birds, which I cannot separate from Tenasserim

specimens. This species is new to Borneo, but occurs in a
slightly darker form {R. airata, Salvad.) in Sumatra.

10. Hemichelidon cinereiceps, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above reddish brown, inclining
to clear chestnut on the lower back, rump, and upper tail-
coverts; lesser wing-covei*ts dusky black, edged with the
same colour as the back ; median and greater coverts blackish,
edged with pale chestnut; bastard wing, primary-coverts,
and quills blackish, the first primary and the inner secon-
daries edged with pale chestnut ; tail-feathers dusky brown,
with a good deal of chestnut on the inner webs of all but
the two centre ones, increasing towards the outer feathers,
which are all but entirely chestnut, with a little dusky brown
at the ends ; crown of head and hind neck dark ashy grey ;
lores whitish with a tawny tinge ; eyelid conspicuously
white ; ear-coverts, sides of face, and cheeks dark ashy brown,
with a rufous tinge, the ear-coverts streaked with fulvous
shaft-lines ; throat entirely white ; sides of neck ashy grey ;
fore neck and under surface of body clear tawny rufous,
more dingy on the fore neck and breast, the sides of the
latter rufous brown ; lower abdomen pure w hite ; sides of
body and flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts clear bright
tawny rufous ; under wing-coverts and axillaries dark rufous
brown, the lower ones and the edge of the wing clear tawny ;
quills below dusky, rufous along the inner edge. Total
length 5 inches, culmen 0*45, wing 2*7, tail 1-9, tarsus 0'5.

This new species differs from H . ferruyinea in having the
crown and sides of face dark ashy grey.

11. RhINOMYIAS RUFICRISSA, sp. n.

Adult mule. General colour above ruddy brown, more clearly

442 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

rufescent towards the lower back and rump ; lesser and
median coverts like the hack ; greater coverts^ bastard "wing,
primary-coverts, and quills dusky brown, edged wnth ruddy
brown like the back; the secondaries externally reddish brown,
the innermost with indistinct dusky cross bars ; upper tail-
coverts and tail-feathers rufous, moi^e distinctly chestnut
on the margins ; crown of head rather more olive-brown
than the back ; lores dull whitish, with an ashy shade above
them ; feathers round eye and ear-coverts brown, rather more
ashy near the cheeks, which are dull ashy ; throat white ;
sides of neck brown; fore neck, breast, sides of body, and
flanks ashy grey, the latter washed with brown ; abdomen
white ; thighs brown ; under tail-coverts pale rufous ; under
wing-coverts and axillaries pale brown, with ashy bases ;
quills below dusky, pale tawny along the inner edge. Total
length 6 inches, culmen 0-65, wing 3-05, tail 2-2, tarsus 0'65.

Adult female. Not different from the male. Total length
5-6 inches, culmen 0"65, wing 2-8, tail 2"1, tarsus 0-6.

Differs from R. ruficauda, Sharpe, in having olive-brown
ear-coverts, brown axillaries and under wing-coverts, and
especially in its rufescent (not white) under tail-coverts.

12. Cryptolopha MONTIS, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above dull olive-green, a little
more yellow on the lower wings and upper tail-coverts, the
latter being olive-green with yellow tips ; lesser wing-coverts
blackish, with dull olive-yellow ends ; median and greater
coverts blackish, edged with olive-green and tipped with
yellow, forming a double wing-bar, the second one rather
yellowish white ; bastard wing, primary- coverts, and quills
blackish, edged with olive-green, rather more yellow on the
margins of the primaries; tail-feathers dusky ashy brown,
edged with olive-green, with a narrow whitish tip to the
outer ones ; crown of head, occiput, and nape chestnut, ex-
tending on to the hind neck ; sides of crown also chestnut,
with a broad band of black running down the crown from
above the eye to the sides of the neck ; lores yellowish ; eye-
lid white ; ear-coverts and sides of face chestnut ; cheeks

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 443

bright yellow^ becoming rufous posteriorly ; throat and under
surface of body bright yellow^ with a wash of rufous on the
sides of the upper breast; thighs and under tail-coverts,
under wing-coverts, and axillaries bright yellow, the greater
series of under wing-coverts with white bases ; quills below
dusky, yellowish white along the inner edge. Total length
3-6 inches, cuknen 0-4, wing 2, tail I'S, tarsus 0-65.

The nearest ally of this species is Cryptolopha castanei-
ceps (Moore) (t/. Sharpe, Cat. B. iv. p. 404); but it is
easily recognized by its chestnut ear-coverts and entirely
yellow under surface.

13. Cryptolopha schwaneri (Blyth) ; Sharpe, t. c. p. 403.

I give a detailed description of a pair of this rare Fly-
catcher, the male of which was previously unknown.

Adult male. General colour above dull olive-yellow, a little
brighter towards the rump ; lesser wing-coverts like the
back ; median and greater coverts light brown, edged with
pale olive-yellow ; bastard wing and primary-coverts light
brown, fringed with olive-yellow ; quills brown, the primaries
edged with yellow, the secondaries externally yellow, lighter
than the back ; upper tail-coverts brighter yellow than the
back ; tail-feathers brown, edged with dull olive-yellow, the
inner webs conspicuously pale tawny buff along the margins
of all but the centre feathers; crown of head dull ashy,
washed with olive towards the nape ; lores dull ashy, sur-
mounted by a narrow white eyebrow, running from the base
of the nostrils to the sides of the occiput ; feathers round eye
whitish ; ear-coverts light ashy grey, with a slight wash of
olive-yellow ; cheeks also ashy, white on the fore part ; throat
also white, tinged with yellow towards the fore neck ; re-
mainder of under surface of body bright yellow, a little more
olive on the sides of the upper breast ; thighs and under tail-
coverts also bright yellow; under wing-coverts and axillaries
yellow, with white bases ; quills below dusky, light tawny
along the inner edge. Total length 4'1 inches, culmen 0*45,
wing 2*15, tail 1"75, tarsus 0'7.

Adult female. Similar to the male in plumage. Total

444 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

length 4 inches^ culmen 0*45^ wing 1-9, tail TS, tarsus
065.

14. Stoparola cerviniventris^ sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above blue as far as tlie upper
tail-coverts ; lesser wing-coverts brighter blue^ inclining to
cobalt ; median and greater coverts blackish, edged with dull
cobalt; bastard wing black, with a slight blue edging;
primary-coverts and quills black, edged with bright blue,
clearer and paler on the outer webs of the inner secondaries ;
upper tail-coverts black ; tail-feathers black, edged with blue,
all but the two centre feathers with broad white bases ; crown
of head like the back, with a black band across the forehead,
this succeeded by a band of silvery cobalt, extending back-
wards above the eye ; eyelid, and feathers above and round
the eye, black ; ear-coverts and cheeks deep blue, the latter
black anteriorly, as well as the chin; throat and under sur-
face of body blue, the lower breast washed with hoary whitish
edges ; abdomen and under tail-coverts light fawn-buflF, in-
creasing in depth of colour on the latter ; sides of body and
flanks ashy blue, the lower flanks pale fawn-colour; thighs
blue, with whitish margins ; under wing-coverts and axillaries
pale fawn-buff", the edge of the wing blue ; quills below
dusky, ashy whitish on the inner edge.

Of the same group as Stoparola indigo of Java and ^. ru-
ficrissa of Sumatra, but distinguished from both by the
rufescent abdomen.

Fam. TuRDiD^.

15. Myiophoneus borneensis, H. H. Slater, Ibis, 1885,
p. 123.

The characters which Mr. Slater has given for this species
are apparently those of the immature bird. Mr. Whitehead
has sent an adult male and a young female, the latter agree-
ing with the description of the type. The species is a very
distinct one, and apparently finds its nearest ally in M. blighi,
of Ceylon, but wants the blue shade on the back and breast
of the latter. The male measures — Total length 10 inches,
culmen 1-2, wing 5'7, tail 3'4, tarsus 1"75.

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 445

The female, apparently not fully adults measures — Total
length 10 inches, culmen l-3_, wing 5'75, tail 3"3, tarsus 1-8.

Fam. Pycnonotid^.

16. Chloropsis flavocincta, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above bright grass-green; lesser
wing-coverts bright cobalt-blue, forming a shoulder-patch ;
median and greater coverts externally green like the back, blue
in the centre of the feather ; bastard wing and primary-coverts
bright blue, dusky blackish on the inner web ; quills black,
externally bright blue, the secondaries duller blue on the
outer web, which is green like the back, the inner secon-
daries entirely green ; upper tail-coverts like the back ; tail-
feathers dull blue, more or less distinctly edged with green ;
crown of head more yellow than the back, becoming slightly
greener towards the nape, which is like the back ; base of
forehead bright yellow, extending backwards in a short streak
above the eye ; lores and feathers below the eye black, ex-
tending downwards in a well-defined line, and embracing the
anterior half of the ear-coverts and cheeks ; throat also black
this large patch being succeeded by yellow, which skirts the
black from the eye across the sides of the face and joins on
the fore neck; hinder ear-coverts and hinder cheeks washed
with green ; on the fore part of the cheeks a small streak of
purplish blue ; under surface of body from the chest down-
wards lighter and more emerald-green, washed with yellow ;
the sides of body, flanks, thighs, and under tail-coverts
greener ; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale bluish green,
the edge of the wing brighter blue; quills below blackish,
ashy along the inner edge. Total length 7 inches, culmen
0*75, wing 3*65, tail 2'65, tarsus 0*75.

Compared with five specimens of C. viridinucha, this new
species is distinguished at a glance by its yellow instead of
emerald-green under surface. The blue on the bastard wing
and primary-coverts is of a different shade, being light cobalt
instead of purplish blue.

17. Chloropsis kinabaluensis, sp. n.

Adult female. General colour above green; lesser wing-

446 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

coverts glossy cobalt-blue, forming a shoulder-patcli ; raerlian
coverts green ; greater coverts also green^ with lighter olive-
green edges ; bastard wing and primary-coverts blue ; quills
blacky externally cobalt-blue, the secondaries green on their
outer edges, the inner ones entirely green like the back ;
upper tail-coverts like the back ; tail-feathers dull blue, with
a greenish margin to most of them ; crown of head emerald-
green, a little duller towards the nape; forehead rather brighter
emerald-green ; lores, eyelid, feathers below the eye, fore
part of cheeks, and throat black ; ear-coverts and hinder
cheeks bright emerald-green, skirting the black throat and
forming a green collar on the lower throat ; remainder of
under surface from the fore neck downwards light greenish
yellow ; the sides of body and flanks more of a grass-green ;
thighs and under tail-coverts light grass-green ; under wing-
coverts and axillaries light bluish green, the edge of the wing
blue; quills below dusky blackish, the inner edge ashy grey.
Total length 7 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3-45, tail 2'6, tarsus
0-75.

Mr. Whitehead marks the specimen sent as ?i female, and he
is so careful in noting the sexes of his captures that I suppose
he is right. If it should turn out to be a male, its nearest
ally is C. mgricoUis of Java, but that has yellow skirting the
throat (not emerald-green) and the fore neck is golden yellow,
of which there is no trace in the Kina-Balu bird. The only
female birds with which this new species can be compared
would be those of C. aurifrons and C. malabarica, but they
have purplish throats, besides many other differences.

18. HeMIXUS CONNECTENS, Sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above earthy brown, slightly
washed with olive on the lower back and rump, which are
very full-feathered ; lesser wing-coverts brown, like the back ;
median and greater coverts olive-yellow ; bastard wing and
primary-coverts darker brown, slightly washed with olive ;
quills dark brown, externally waslied with olive-yellow, more
broadly on the secondaries, the inner ones being entirely of
the latter colour; upper tail-coverts olive-yellow; tail-feathers

Collection of Birds from Kina Bahi. 447

olive-yellow, browner on the inner web; crown of head
crested, brown like the back, the feathers lanceolate and
with ashy tips ; lores, sides of face, ear-coverts, and cheeks
brown ; throat white ; lower throat and fore neck ashy brown,
extending over the upper breast ; lower breast and abdomen
white ; sides of body and flanks ashy brown, the latter slightly
washed with olive-yellow ; thighs ashy brown ; under tail-
coverts clear yellow; under wing-coverts and axillaries white,
with a tinge of yellow ; quills below dusky blackish, ashy
white along the inner edge, with a tinge of yellow. Total
length 7'5 inches, culmen 0*85, wing 3"75, tail 3"1, tarsus 0*65.
A very distinct species, recalling the general appearance of
H. cinereus, but having the olive-yellow tail and wings of
the H.flavala section of the genus. It is in fact interme-
diate between the two sections noticed in the ^ Catalogue of
Birds ' (vol. vi. pp. 48, 49) .

Fam. TiMELiiD^.

19. Phyllergates cucullatus (Temm.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B.
Brit. Mus. vii. p. 229.

A single damaged specimen appears to belong to this
species, but it is very difficult to determine it. At any rate,
no example of this genus has been previously found in
Borneo.

20. Staphidia everetti, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour dull ashy grey, with white
shaft-streaks to the feathers of the mantle ; lesser and median
coverts brown ; greater coverts dusky, externally brown ;
bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky blackish,
edged with brown, the inner secondaries entirely brown, with
whitish shaft-lines ; upper tail-coverts brown, with ashy
margins ; tail-feathers blackish, edged with brown, the four
outer feathers tipped with white, increasing greatly towards
the outer one ; crown of head and hind neck dull rufous ;
lores and eyelid white ; ear-coverts rufous, like the crown ;
cheeks, throat, and under surface of body white ; sides of
neck ashy grey, like the back ; a few brown streaks on the

448 Mr. R. Bowdler Sliarpe on a

cheeks and on tlie malar line ; thighs ashy grey ; under tail-
coverts, under -wing-coverts, and axillaries white ; quills
below blackish, whitish along the inner edge. Total length
5'2 inches, culmen 0*45, wing 2"45, tail 2*3, tarsus 0*65.

Adult female. Similar in plumage to the male. Total
length 5 inches, cvilmen 0*4, wing 5, tail 22, tarsus 0-65.

Resembles Staphidia castaneiceps (Moore), cf. Sharpe, Cat.
B. vii. p. 616; but differs in its entirely rufous crown and
nape, the ashy margins to the frontal feathers of S. casta-
neiceps not being visible in S. everetti.

Named in honour of Mr. Alfred Everett, whose scientific
work in Borneo and the Philippines has hardly met with the
appreciation to which it seems entitled.

21. MiXORNIS MONTANA, Sp. n.

Adult female. General colour above reddish brown, with a
strong shade of ashy olive, especially on the mantle and hind
neck, the latter having sundiy dusky streaks ; the feathers
of the lower back and rump very long and fluffy ; lesser
wing-coverts like the back ; median and greater coverts dull
chestnut; bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills dusky
brown, externally dull chestnut, more conspicuous on the
secondaries ; upper tail-coverts reddish brown ; tail-feathers
blackish, externally washed with rufous brown ; crown of
head reddish brown, streaked with obscure blackish shaft-
streaks, the base of the forehead and lores ashy blackish ;
feathers round eye and ear-coverts dull ashy, washed with
rufous and having obscure dusky streaks ; cheeks blackish,
streaked with white, with which the feathers are edged ; throat
and fore neck white, washed with yellow and strongly marked
with triangular s]3ots of black, more longitudinal on the
latter ; breast pale sulphur-yellow, streaked with dusky
blackish ; abdomen rather whiter ; sides of body and flanks
uniform ashy olive-brown ; thighs brown, with hoary whitish
edges ; under tail-coverts dull sulphur-yellow ; under wing-
coverts and axillaries clear sulphur-yellow ; quills below
dusky, ashy along the inner edge. Total length 5*6 inches,
culmen 0*65, wing 2*45, tail 2, tarsus 0'85.

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 449

This species is evidently closely allied to Mixornis caga-
yanensis of Guillemard (P. Z. S. 1885^ p. 419), but differs,
apparently, in its yellow under wing-coverts. The plate of
the latter (pi. xxv.) is very inaccurate, scarcely a single
character mentioned by Dr. Guillemard being visible in the
figure.

22. Stachyris borneensis, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above dark olive-brown, a little
more rufescent on the upper tail-coverts ; lesser wing-coverts
like the back ; median and greater coverts dusky brown,
edged with the same colour as the back, a little more fulves-
cent on the outer ones ; bastard wing and primary-coverts
blue, like the rest of the wing-coverts ; quills dusky brown,
edged with reddish brown, inclining to olive-brown towards
the base of the outer webs ; upper tail-coverts more rufous
brown than the back ; tail-feathers dusky brown, rufous
brown on the edges, with dusky cross-markings under certain
lights ; crown of head dusky olive-brown, streaked with
hoary-grey edges to the feathers, producing a striped appear-
ance towards the forehead; along the sides of the crown a
broad streak of black, followed by a greyish eyebroAV, which
becomes paler posteriorly, the hinder part of the black band
being skirted by hoary streaks ; lores dull ashy ; feathers in
front of and round the eye blackish ; ear-coverts dusky
brown, the fore part blackish, as well as a streak below the
eye ; throat and cheeks blackish, washed with ashy, with a
broad white streak on the fore part of the cheeks ; sides of
neck and under surface of body ochreous buff, with paler
shaft-streaks ; abdomen light ashy ; sides of body and flanks,
thighs, and under tail-coverts brown, with an ochreous tinge ;
under wing-coverts and axillaries ochreous brown, the edge of
the wing ashy; quill below dusky, edged with ochreous
brown on the inner edge. Total length 5 '3 inches, culmen
0"7, wing 2"5, tail 2'25, tarsus 0"85.

Differs from S. nigriceps in having a black bill, grey (not
white) eyelid, and in having the head more uniform brown,
less streaked w ith hoary grey.

SER. V. VOL. V. 2 I

450 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

23. Stachyris poliocephala, Temm. ; Sharpe, Cat. B,
Brit. Mus. vii. p. 534.

An adult male from Kina Balu agrees with others from
Malacca.

24. TURDINUS CANICAPILLUS, Sp. n.

Adult female. General colour above dull tawny brown, the
mantle and upper back with distinct paler shaft-lines ; lesser
and median coverts like the back ; greater coverts dusky
brown, externally chestnut ; bastard wing and primary-coverts
tawny brown, internally dusky; quills blackish, externally
chestnut, lighter and more tawny on the primaries ; upper
tail-coverts like the back ; tail-feathers reddish brown, more
decidedly rufous on the margins ; crown of head dark ashy,
with a narrow whitish shaft-line to each feather, the shaft-
stripes on the forehead more fulvescent ; lores and an indis-
tinct eyebrow of ashy white, the feathers of the latter with
narrow white shaft-lines ; ear-coverts light tawny rufous, with
paler shaft-lines ; cheeks and throat white, with a few dusky
streaks on the fore neck, which is pale tawny ; breast and
abdomen white ; sides of body and flanks conspicuously
tawny rufous ; thighs also tawny rufous ; under tail-coverts
tawny rufous, white at the base; under wing-coverts and
axillaries light rufous ; quills below dusky, pale fulvous along
the inner edge. Total length 5*2 inches, culmen 0*65, wing
2"3, tail 2-05, tarsus 1.

The male exactly resembles the female.

This species is closely allied to T. sepiarius, but differs in
having a distinct eyebrow streaked with white, and more
especially in the colour of the breast and sides of the body,
which are bright tawny rufous.

Fam. Henicurid^.

25. Henicurus leschenaulti (V.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit.
Mus. vii. p. 313.

Apparently identical with Javan specimens in the British
Museum.

CENTRAL PARK,

•^^^^

O^ NEVVYORK, ^.

Ibis. 1887. PI. ITv

J G.Keulenians deletlitK

AR/.CHNQTHERA JULI^.

MirLtemBros. imp.

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 451

Fara. Laniidjl.

26. Hyloterpe hypoxantha, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above dull olive-yellow, with a
little tinge of brighter yellow on the rump ; lesser wing-
coverts dusky, with greenish margins; median and greater
coverts dusky, with greenish edges, some of the outer ones
rusty brown on the outer webs ; bastard wing dusky ;
primary-coverts dusky, margined with greenish ; quills dusky,
with yellowish-green edges, the primaries ashy towards the
ends, the secondaries rusty towards the ends of the outer
webs, the innermost almost entirely rusty brown ; upper tail-
coverts yellowish green; tail-feathers blackish, edged with
olive-green; crown of head like the back, a little brighter
olive-yellow towards the forehead and over the eye ; lores
dark ashy ; eyelid, sides of face, and ear-coverts olive-yellow,
with a reddish tinge on the hinder margin of the latter ;
cheeks and under surface of body bright yellow, duller and
more olive on the lower throat and fore neck, as well as on
the sides of body and flanks ; thighs and under tail-coverts
yellow ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white, edged with
bright yellow; edge of wing bright yellow; quills below
dusky, ashy whitish on the inner edge. Total length 5'8
inches, culmen 0"65, wing 3*25, tail 2*25, tarsus 0'75.

This species belongs to the section of the genus containing
H. sulfur IV enter and H. 23hiUppinensis, but differs in its en-
tirely yellow under surface.

27. Pterythius ^ralatus, Tickell.
Pteruthius cameranoi, Salvad. t. c. p. 232.

The pair sent by Mr. "Whitehead seems to me to be abso-
lutely inseparable from Tenasserim specimens of P. ceralntus.

Fam. NECTARINIIDiE.

28. Arachnothera juli^, sp. n. (Plate XIV.)

Adult male. General colour above brown, longitudinally
streaked with white, more broadly on the mantle, where the
white expands slightly towards the end of the feathers ;
scapulars like the back ; wing-coverts uniform dark brown,

2i 2

452 Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe on a

as also the bastard wing, primary-coverts, and quills, the
latter blackish; lower rump and upper tail-coverts bright
yellow; tail-feathers uniform blackish brown ; crown of head
like the back; lores and feathers round eye uniform brown ;
ear-coverts and sides of neck brown, narrowly streaked with
white ; cheeks hoary white, streaked with brown edges to the
feathers ; throat and under surface of body streaked like the
upper surface, the white centres to the feathers much broader ;
thighs white, streaked with brown ; vent and under tail-
coverts bright yellow ; under wing-coverts and axillaries
brown, with longitudinal whitish centres ; quills below dark
brown, ashy brownish along the inner edge. Total length 7
inches, culmen 2, wing 3 '4, tail 2, tarsus 0"7.

Fam. Meliphagid^.

29. ZosTEROPS AUREivENTER, Humc ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Brit.
Mus. ix. p. 163.

Not to be separated from a Tenasserim typical specimen.

Fam. DiCiEiDiE.

30. Dictum monticolum, sp. n.

Adult male. General colour above glossy purplish blue;
lesser wing-coverts like the back ; median and greater coverts,
bastard wing, and primary-coverts black, edged with purplish
blue ; quills black, the secondaries edged with purplish blue ;
upper tail-coverts like the back ; tail-feathers blue-black ;
crown of head glossy purplish blue, like the back ; lores, sides
of face, ear-coverts, and cheeks blackish, slightly glossed with
purplish blue; chin whitish; throat, fore neck, and breast
bright scarlet, followed by a large patch of dark ashy on the
lower breast and abdomen ; sides of upper breast dark slaty
grey ; abdomen ashy, slightly washed with olive, yellowish
white towards the vent ; sides of body and flanks dull olive-
yellow ; thighs dark ashy ; under tail-coverts pale saffron-
yellow ; under wing-coverts and axillaries white ; quills
below blackish, ashy along the inner edge. Total length 3*7
inches, culmen 0"4, Aving 1-95, tail 1'15, tarsus 0'5.

Extremely close to D. sulaense, Sharpe (Cat. B. x. p. 24),

Collection of Birds from Kina Balu. 453

and only differing in its more steel-blue upper surface, grey
sides of the breast, and clearer yellow under tail-coverts. It is
larger than D. celebicum, and is blue instead of purple above.

Fam. FRINGILLIDiE.

31. Chlorura hyperythra, Reich.; Salvad. Orn. Papuasia
&c. ii. p. 443.

Adult male. General colour above bright grass-green; lesser
wing-coverts like the back ; median and greater coverts
black, externally green, like the back ; bastard wing and
primary-coverts black, fringed with green ; quills black,
edged with somewhat lighter green fringes on the primaries,
the secondaries externally like the back ; upper tail-coverts
like the back ; centre tail-feathers olive-green, with black
bases, the remainder black edged with green, the outermost
with an ashy greenish spot at the end; forehead black, suc-
ceeded by a blue crown, the hinder part of the crown like
the back ; lores, eyebrow, feathers round the eye, ear-coverts,
cheeks, throat, fore neck, and breast pale tawny, deeper on
the fore neck and breast ; abdomen light ochreous buff,
washed with green ; sides of body and flanks light grass-
green; thighs and under tail-coverts deeper ochreous buff;
nuder wing-coverts and axillaries light tawny buff, like the
breast ; qiiills below blackish, ashy rufous along the inner
edge. Total length 4 inches, culmen 0*45, wing 2'3, tail I'O,
middle tail-feathers 1"15, tarsus 0'65.

The adult female is very similar to the male, but is every-
where duller in colour, with less blue on the crown, and the
black on the forehead less pronounced. Total length 4"1
inches, culmen 0*45, wing 2*35, tail 1*2, tarsus 0"65.

This species was described by Reichenbach as from New
Guinea {cf. Salvad. Orn. Papuasia, &c. ii. p. 443) . The two
sexes are here described for the first time.

Fam. EuRYL^MiD^.
32. PsARisoMus DALHOusi^, Jamcsou.
Psarisomus psittacinus (S. Mull.) ; Salvad. Ann. Mus.
Civic. Genov. xiv. p. 198.

New to Borneo. Apparently identical to the smallest par-

454 Mr. H. M. Wallis on Passer italise.

ticular with specimens from Tenasserim and the Eastern
Himalayas. Count Salvadori has also recorded it from Su-
matra, where it was likewise found by Solomon Miiller many
years ago. Count Salvadori^s supposition that Miiller^s name
of psittacinus is anterior to that of dalhoiisice does not seem
to me to be justified, for Jameson published the latter in
January 1835 (Mem. Wern. Soc. Edinb. vii. p. 472), and
the page of the ' Tijdschrift ' (p. 349) must surely point to a
later publication.

33. Calyptomena whitehead i, Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1887,
p. 558.

This, the finest of all Mr. Whitehead's discoveries, has
already been described by me (/. c.) .

34. Bambusicola hyperythra, Sharpe, Ibis, 1879, p. 266.

Two female birds sent by Mr. Whitehead belong, appa-
rently, to this species, which was discovered by Mr. Treacher
on the Lawas Hiver. The eyebrow and sides of face in the
original specimen were dark grey, and in the two individuals
now sent these parts are rufous ; but these differences are
probably sexual.

XL VI. — Notes upon the Northern Limit of the Italian
Sparrow (Passer italise). By H. M. Wallis.

At Lugano the Italian Sparrow is abundant, breeding under
the tiles of hou^ses in company with the Tree Sparrow {Passer
montanus). It is found at different points on the Piave,
north of Belluno, crosses the Italian frontier, and is strongly
established at Cortina, but does not penetrate the Ampezzo
Thai further north, the last few miles of the latter valley
and the Hell Thai being apparently unsuited to it.

At Toblach, in the Pusther Thai, a little place situated at
the parting of the waters of the rivers Eisack and Drave,
my observations were indecisive. The railway-station
south of the town supports a small colony of Sparrows, one

Mr. H. M. Wallis on Passer italiae. 455

of which, under a binocular_, at a distance of about fifteen yards,
showed no grey upon the crown ; yet he was scarcely a typical
Italian Sparrow, showing a distinct crease or break in the
feathering of the head. The Sparrows of the town itself I
failed to identify; those of a small detached hamlet a mile
north of it are fairly typical P. domesticus, the grey crown
rather narrow and the chocolate eyebrows somewhat more
pronounced than in Sparrows at Mainz and Munich.

Sparrows were seen, but not identified, at various roadside
stations in the Pusther Thai, west of Toblach. At Bruneck
there wei'e several nests in the gable of the station, and an
Italian Sparrow was seen. Franzenfeste seems to support no
Sparrows of any kind; but at Waidbruck, further south,
Italian Sparrows are common; there also the Tree Sparrow
reappears, building a conspicuous nest under the eaves of the
goods-shed. No Sparrows were seen in the valley between
Waidbruck and the village of St. Ulrich, in the Dolomites,
but at the latter there is a strongish colony of Italian
Sparrows.

Following the Brenner northwards, I saw one or two Spar-
rows at stations north of Franzenfeste, but I failed to identify
them ; the last was noticed at a little town lying at the
southern end of the great loop which the line makes in
ascending the upper gradients of the pass. At Innsbruck
P. do7nesticus reappears alone.

On the French frontier my notes are scanty. At Hy^res,
Var, P. domesticus prevails, nor did I see anything else ; and
it would be interesting to discover at what point on the
Riviera the races meet. I may add that I have no reason
to think that Lugano is the northern limit of the Italian
Sparrow in the Tessin ; for although I saw none in the Val
Sarantina^ some one else may be more fortunate.

456 Recently jniblished Ornithological Works.

XL VII. — Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications.

[Continued from p, 360.]

90. ' The Auk.'

I' The Auk; a Quarterly Journal of Ornitliology. Vol. IV. No. 2,
April, No. 3, July, 1887.]

In the April part IVIr. Cory describes Ramphocinclus sanctce-
lucice, from St. Lucia, and Blacicus martinicensis, from Mar-
tinique ; and liis " List of the Birds of the West Indies "
has now reached to the ColumbEe, Gallinse, and some of the
Liraicolie. In the July part he describes as new Lamprornis
hendersoni, from Old Providence Island, and Vireosylvia canes-
cens,Icterns lawrencii, Minius inagnirostris, Engyptila neoxena,
and Dendroica flavida, all from St. Andrew's Island, in the
Caribbean Sea ; also, in a later paper, Euethia grandior from
the former ; and a list of the species obtained on these two
islands during the winter of 188G-87 is given. Papers by
Mr. F. W. Langdon on the mountain-districts of Eastern Ten-
nessee, and Mr. G. B. Sennett on the neighbouring Western
North -Carolina Mountains, have an interesting and confir-
matory bearing upon Mr. W. Brewster^s previous observa-
tions in that, ornithologically, little-known country. Dr.
Stejneger contributes a supplementary note on the genus
Acanthis, wherein he states that specimens from Austria
prove to be identical Avith typical British A. cabaret, of
which A. rnfescens (Vieillot) is a true synonym. Mr. W.
Brewster distinguishes Symphemia semipalmata inornata,
Phaleenoptilus jiiittalli nitidus, and Vireo noveboracensis maij-
nardi as new subspecies. A paper by Mr. F. C. Browne,
reproducing his original notes on some Glossy Ibises obtained
in New England in 1850, elicits from Mr. J. H. Sage a copy
of the announcement published in the Middletown Conn.
' Sentinel and Witness ' of May 21st, 1850, by a Dr. Barratt,
who considers it " highly probable " that these " Black Egyp-
tian Ibises .... may have been driven to the south by the
late storms, after crossing Behring's Straits — having left the
valley of the Nile in March, as we suppose" (p. 253). Mr.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 457

W. Lloyd commences a series of notes on about 240 species
observed in Western Texas. Mr. Cox's account of the
capture in North-eastern New Brunswick of a supposed
Turkey^ but which proved to be what the Jamaica negro
called ''Turkey with a surname'^ (i.e. Cathartes aura) , is
amusing, and appears to be the furthest north on record for
this Vulture by some 200 miles. A new subspecies of the
Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Ammodramus caudacutus subvirgatus,
from the head of the Bay of Fundy, is described by Mr. J.
Dwiglit, jun.

Mr. W. E. D. Scott's continuation of his remarks on the
avifauna of portions of Arizona calls for no special remark
from us. Far otherwise is it with his two harrowing papers
upon " The present condition of some of the Bird-rookeries
on the Gulf coast of Florida ; " and the end of his sad story
of slaughter has not yet been told. Wooded islands, where
only a very few years ago the Roseate Spoonbill, the Reddish
Egret, all the common species of Herons, and the White
Ibis, nested in myriads never to be forgotten by those who
had visited the favoured spots, were noAV almost entirely
deserted, their former occupants having been exterminated
by the " plume-hunters " for the northern market. One
dealer alone, at Fort Myers, on the Caloosahatchie, regularly
employed from forty to sixty gunners at an average price of
40 cents per plume or flat skin. At a breeding-place of
the Reddish Egrets, Mr. Scott found a huge pile of dead,
half -decayed birds which had recently been shot from their
nests in the trees above, and he counted over 200 from which
the back-plumes had been torn away. A small island con-
taining a Brown Pelican's " rookery " was protected by the
owner, who proposed to let the unhappy birds rear their
young; but one day, during his absence from home, an old
French dealer came with a boat and deliberately killed off
about 180 old birds as they were feeding their young, which
of course died of starvation. Such are merely a few instances
of the extermination that is being conducted on a truly
American scale (as regards its thoroughness) for the supply
of articles required by the exigencies of the female fashion

458 Recently published Ornithological Works.

of the day. So long as this fashion lasts, no remonstrances
from us or from " Selborne Societies/^ or from any other
source, will, we are well aware, have the slightest effect upon
the indirect, but real, instigators of this slaughter; all that
can be hoped for is that the freaks of feminine vanity may
take some other and less harmful direction.

Under "Notes and NeAvs"" are some important items of
information respecting the American Museum of Natural
History of New York City; but these are reserved for a
separate heading in our Notices, as being more likely to
attract attention there than in the present review.

91. Barboza du Bocage on new Birds from St. Thome.

[Oiseaux nouveaux de File St. Thome : par J. V. Barboza du Bocage.
Jorn. Acad. Sci. Lisboa, no. xliv. p. 250.]

The species described as new are Cinnyris newtoni (near to
C hartlaubi of Prince's Island), named after Mr. Francis
Newton; and Prinia molleri, brought back by M. Moller, a
botanist who was exj)loring St. Thome.

93. Bombay Natural History Society's Journal.

[The Jourual of tlie Bombay Natural History Society. Edited by
R. A. Sterndale and E. H. Aitken. V'ol. II. nos. 1, 2. Bombay: 1887.]

These two numbers contain several minor papers which it
is hardly necessary to enumerate, and " Notes on some Birds
seen in a Journey through Pei^sia," by G. J. R. Rayment,
A.V.D.

93. British Association' s Report on Migrations in 1886.

[Report on the Mig-ration of Birds in tlie Spring and Autumn of 188G.
By Messrs. J. A. Harvie-Brown, J. Cordeaux, R. M. Barrington, A. G.
More, and W. Eagle Clarke. Eighth Report. 8vo. MTarlane and
Erskine, Edinburgh : 1887.]

We are glad to see that our suggestion of last year (Ibis,
1886, p. 516) has been adopted, and that the names of the
various stations are given in the present Report, instead of
numerals referring to a list on the map. Observations for
1886 have borne good fruit with Phylloscopus superciliosus

Recently published Ornithological Works. 459

from Sumburgh Head ; Agelaus phoeniceus from the Nash
(probably a bird which had eseaped from some vessel entering
the Bristol Channel) ; the second Irish example of lyna?
torquilla from Arran Island^ co. Galway ; the second and
third Irish-taken Muscicapa luctuosa ; and the record of an
important immigration of Dendrocopus major, a very rare
visitor to Ireland. Wings and legs from that country
ascribed to the Reed Warbler belong, as we believe, to the
Blackcap and Garden Warbler. Condensation and a general
abstract are still to be desired ; and we heartily endorse
Mr. W. Eagle darkens suggestion to his colleagues as to the
adoption of a united report showing at a glance the signifi-
cance and importance of each migratory movement, the area
covered by it, and the species participating in it. Such
errors as Charadriadse for Charadri^d£e, and Coh^mbidte for
Col^/mbidse (Divers) may perhaps be attributed to the printer ;
but we are sorry to see a member of the B.O.U. defying
established custom, if not absolute law, and setting a bad
example by persistently spelling the specific names with
initial capitals where roman type is employed, although
whenever italics are used capitals are not employed.

94. Capen on the Eggs of the Birds of New England.

[Oology of New England : a description of the eggs, nests, and
breeding-habits of the Birds known to breed in New England, with
coloured illusirations of their eggs. By Edwin A. Capen. Folio. Boston,

1886.]

This handsome work contains twenty-five plates and many
hundreds of coloured figures which favourably challenge
comparison with those in Mr. Seebohm's ^Eggs of British
Birds.' An interesting feature is the illustration of an egg
of the Heath Hen, the true Cupidonia cupido (Linn.), as
distinguished from the Western Prairie Hen, C. pinnata,
Brewster (c/. ^ Auk,' ii. pp. 80-84). The former species is a
remnant of the old stock which was once widely diffused
throughout the Eastern States, but is now confined to
Martha's Vineyard. The letterpress of this work is excellent.
The account of the breeding of Phalaropusfulicarius in Maine,

460 Recently published Ornithological Works.

in about 45° N. lat., on the authority of Mr. G. Boardman,
shows a great extension southwards of its nesting-range as
previously set down.

95. Carazzi on some Italian Birds.

[Appunti ornitologici. Comunicazione del socio Davide Carazzi. Boll.
d. Soc. d. Naturalist! in Napoli, ser. 1, vol. i. fasc. 1, 1887.]

In these notes are recorded the occurrence of two examples
of Falco eleonorce near Spezia in 1878, and of Pterocles
alchata near Leghorn in 1863. The latter is now in the
museum at Florence^ an apparently overlooked example of a
species which had not previously been obtained on the main-
land of Italy, as now politically restricted, although one ob-
tained at Nice since its annexation by France is in the Floren-
tine Museum.

. 96. Collett on new Norwegian Birds.

[Om 4 for Norges Fauna nye Fugle fundne i 1885 eg 1886. Af Uobert
Collett. Vidensk. Forbandl. Christiania, 1887, no. 8.]

The four new visitors to Norway are Turdus atrigularis,
obtained on December 3, 1886, Pastor roseus on September
30, 1885, and Xema sabinii on October 1, 1886, all from
Throndhjemsfjord j and Ardea purpurea on June 1, 1886,
about 60 kilometres from Christiania.

97. Dixon (J. H.) on the Birds of Gairloch.

[Gairloch in North-west Ross-sMre : its Kecords, Traditions, Inhabi-
tants, and Natural History, with a guide to Gairloch and Loch Maree,
and a Map and illustrations. By John H. Dixon. 8vo. Edinburgh :
1886.]

In this interesting work Chapter VI. is devoted to a list of
the birds of Gairloch, compiled with the aid of Mr. Osgood
H. Mackenzie, of Inverness, whose observations extend over
many years. The result of this partnership is one of the
best local lists that we have ever read, with notes on more
than 150 species. The evidence that the Sclavoniau Grebe
(Podicipes auritus) breeds near Gairloch appears nearly cou-
<!nsive.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 4G1

98. Green on Ocean Birds,

[Ocean Birds. By J. F. Green. With a preface by A. G. Gviillemard,
and a treatise on skinning Birds by F. H. H. Guillemard. The illustra-
tions by Frances E. Green. 4to. Loudon : 1887. R. H. Porter.]

The author, who is, we believe, a member of the well-
known firm of shipowners, and who has made several ''round
voyages,^^ has endeavoured to produce a work which shall
prove interesting and, at the same time, instructive, by giving
an account of the birds which may be met with on the way
to Australia by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and returning
round Cape Horn. The writer^s own observations are worthy
of perusal, and the entire compilation is well conceived; but
in execution it falls a little short. Some of the authorities
quoted are of no weight, or else they are completely out of
date in reference to such a subject ; and, as an instance of the
latter, when " Yarrell " is quoted, the reference is to the first
edition (1843), an epoch at which the most erroneous ideas
prevailed respecting the distribution of sea-birds. Transpo-
sitions in the numbering of plates ii. and iii. and of heads 6
and 7 in the latter r^re regrettable ; and, much as we wish to
speak well of a lady's work, high praise cannot be accorded
to the illustrations. A copy of this book in the saloon of
every ocean-going ship must necessarily stimulate a taste for
observation; but if the MS. had been submitted to some
judicious critic it would have been an advantage.

99. Hartlaub on Birds from Eastern Equatorial Africa.

[Dritter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der ostlicb-aquatorialen Gebiete
Afrikas. Von Dr. G. Hartlaub. Zoologische Jahrbiicher, Jena, Bd. ii.
p. 303.]

This is Dr. Hartlaub's third essay on birds collected by
Dr. Emin Pacha in various points of his Equatorial- African
dominions, stretching from Lado to the Albert Nyanza. The
collection reached Bremen in 1883, but has been kept in
hand awaiting further acquisitions. The species of which
specimens are now recorded are about 50 in number, and
have exact localities and notes attached to each of them.
Several of the novelties have been already described (e. g.

462 Recently published Ornithological Works.

Ptyrticus turdinus, Salpornis emini, &c.) ; but we now have
further Pentholaa bauds, Mirafra bucolica, and Sitagra pel-
zelni described as new. Four plates are given, illustrating
Ptyrticus turdinus, Xenocichla orientalis, u^githalus parvulus ,
Crateropvs tenebrosus, Habropyga nonnula, Lagonosticta oeno-
chroa, Pentholcea clericalis ad. et jr., Sitagra peLelni ad. et
jr., and Symplectes crocatus. Several essays are introduced
on the different species of Wryneck {lynx) and on the
African ^githali. Of the latter Dr. Hartlaub recognizes
seven species, and takes occasion to remark on the imperfect
treatment of this genus in the seventh volume of the British
Museum ' Catalogue,^ where Dr. Gadow is said to have
united three or four distinct species under /Egithalus capensis.

100. Lawrence on new Neotropical Birds.

[Descriptions of new Species of Birds of the Families Sijlviidce, Troglo-
(hjtidoi, and Tyrannidce. Ann. New York Acad, of Sci. vol. iv, p. 66.]

The species described are : — Regulus satrapa aztecus, from
the city of Mexico, smaller, with longer and larger bill and
darker coloration than true P. satrapa; Troglodytes bra-
chyurus, from Tenax, Yucatan, akin to T. intermedius ; and
Octhoeca flaviventris, from South America (precise locality
unknown), nearest to 0. gratiosa, Sclater.

101. Lorenz on the Birds of the Caucasus.

[Beitrag zur Kenntniss der ornithologischen Fauna an der Nordseite
des Kaukasus. Von Th. Lorenz. Sm. folio. Moscow : 1887.]

This memoir gives an account of the collections and obser-
vations made by Herr. Th. Lorenz during three visits to the
northern slopes of the Caucasus in 1882 and the following
years. On the former the author only reached the steppes at
the foot of the mountains, but in the two following years he
passed his time in the higher regions, making his head-
quarters at Kislowodsk, which he reached by the Vladi-
kafkas Railway and by road through Patigorsk. After a
general account of the district explored and the birds met
with, a systematic essay follows on the 161 species of which

Recently published Ornithological Works. 463

examples were obtained. Four of these are new species or
subspecies, namely : — Sturnus caucasicus, Phyllopneuste lo-
renzii, Mecistura irbii var. caucasica, and Ruticilla erythro-
gastra var. severzovi. Seven species are additional to tlie
Caucasian list, namely : — Nyctale tengmalmi, Phylloscopus
nitidus, Sitta krueperi, Lusciola infuscata, Cuculus indicus,
Sturnus purpuras cens, and Locustella ncevia. The following
species are figured : — Ruticilla ochrurus, Sturnus caucasicus,
Carpodacus rubicUlus, Phylloscopus nitidus, Phyllopneuste lo-
renzii, and Tetrao mlokosieviczi, male, female, and young of
both sexes. Very interesting details are given respecting the
last-named species, and its trachea is figured, showing a re-
markable diversity from that of T. tetrix. Altogether this is a
very good piece of work, containing a mass of original personal
observations of great importance to students of Paleearctic
ornithology.

103. Macfarland on the Ruby -throated Humming-bird.

[Nesting-Habits of tlie Humming-bird, Trochilus colubris. By Prof.
Wm. Macfarland. Journ. Trenton Nat. Hist. Soc. No. 2, 1887.]

This little paper contains an account of observations made
on the nesting and rearing of the young of the Ruby-throated
Humming-bird, the only species found in the eastern portion
of the United States.

103. Martin on the Birds of the Brenne.

[Catalogue des Oiseaux de la Brenne : Ornithologie de I'arrondisse-
ment du Blanc. Par Rene Martin. Extrait du Bull. Soc. Zoologique de
France, t. xii. 1887.]

"We have seldom perused a treatise by a French ornitho-
logist which has so thoroughly impressed us with a belief in
the accuracy of its local details as does the present contri-
bution to the history of the avifauna of a little-known district.
Situated in the department of Indre, the Brenne is principally
an extensive plain studded with some hundreds of lakes and
pools of varying dimensions, interspersed with marshy scrub
and woods, which, in the drier portions, attain the rank of

464 Recently published Ornithological Works.

forests. Scantily populated and ill cultivated, it may be
imagined ^liat attractions such a country must present for
resident as -well as migratory birds ; and we need hardly be
surprised at finding that, even after admitting many probable
visitors the presence of which has not been absolutely proved,
the species obtained in this district remote from the sea are
no fewer than 273 in number. INIany of the details respectiug
their food, habits, migration, and distribution are very inter-
esting. It is surprising to learn that Pernis apivorus is a
resident, and that its numbers have not been observed to
receive accessions on migration ; on the other hand it appears
strange that Circaetus gallicus and Milvus ictinus should be
rare, while Aquila pennata is as yet unknown, in a district
apparently so suitable to all three. Gecinus canus, generally
considered rare in France, is said to be comparatively common
in the woods on the left bank of the river Creuse ; and the
occasional appearance of the Wall Creeper [Tichodroma
muraria) at Nantes, on the Loire, is to some extent explained
when we read that this striking bird is often obtained on
migration in the department of Indre. Among the Warblers
which arrive to breed are Cettia cetti and Calamodyta aqua-
tica ; and, in a country so suited to their skulking habits,
almost all the European Rails are common. No fewer than
five species of Terns, including all three of the genus Hydro-
chelldon, breed on the etangs; but Sterna anglica has not
yet been obtained, even as a straggler. M. Martin is evi-
dently a close observer, and, althovigh we know that there
are many like him in France, we wish that some of them, for
instance, MM. Louis and Etienne Bureau, would follow his
example by publishing their experiences.

104. More's Guide to the Dublin Museum.

[Science and Art Museum, Dublin, Guide to tlie Natural History De-
partment.— Series I. Vertebrate Animals. (Recent.) Part I. Mammals
and Birds, by Alexander G. More, F.L.S., M.R.I.A., Cui-ator of the
Natural History Department. 8vo. Dublin : 1887.]

In this well-designed guide, about twenty pages are de-
voted to Birds, and contain a wonderful amount of compressed

Recently published Ornithological Works. 465

information. In a few lines (sometimes in a couple) Mr.
More has succeeded in conveying a good idea of the broad
lines of distribution of the 128 families included under the
subclass Carinatse, and the 7 which make up tbe Ratitae, with
the addition^ in some cases, of descriptions sufficient for
recognition by visitors to the Museum. Special attention is
called to those species which, although more or less frequent
in Great Britain, are either absent from, or of very rare occur-
rence in Ireland, and we believe that several of the latter have
been obtained or recorded for the first time by Mr. More
himself. In fact, during the twenty years that he has been at
the Dublin Museum, ornithology has received his warmest
support, although forming but one of the various branches
of Natural History under his care. It is therefore with
deep regret that we hear of his resignation, owing to severe
illness ; but it is satisfactory to know that a good orni-
thologist, Mr. Percy Evans Freke, M.B.O.U., is a candidate
for the vacant post.

105. 'Ornis.'

[Ornis : Internationale Zeitschrift fiir die gesammte Ornithologie.
Herausgeben von Dr. R. Blasius und G. v. Hayek. II. Jahrgang (1886),
4 Heft, m. Jahrgang, 1 Heft (1887). Wien.]

The former of these two Parts contains a long and elaborate
article by the President, Dr. Rudolf Blasius, on the migra-
tion-routes of the Nutcracker in Europe in the autumn of
1885 and the winter of 1885-86, illustrated by descriptions
and figures, to show that there are two forms distinguished
by the names of Nucifraya caryocatactes leptorhynchus, R.
Blasius (A^. macrorhynchus , C. L. Brehm), with a long slender
bill, and N. c. pachyrhynchus, R. Blasius {N. brachyrhynchus,
C. L. Brehm), with a short stout bill. This is followed by
the interesting " Third Annual Report on the 175 species of
birds observed in Denmark in 1885,^^ compiled by Herr Olaf
Winge, and, being written in English, it will be especially
useful to some of our readers. Herr Benedict Grondal com-
municates notes on 28 species noted in Iceland in 1886;
supplemented in Heft 1, for 1887, by a few remarks by Herr

SER. V. VOL. v. 2 k.

466 Recently published Ornithological Works.

P. Nielsen, from Eyrarbakki, the most interesting being the
record of Turclus nierula there in December 1877. Tlie
greater part of Heft 1 (pp. 156) is devoted to the first por-
tion of V. V. Tschusi and K. v. Dalla-Torre's annual report
on the birds of the Austro- Hungarian Empire.

106. Ridgway on a new Plumed Partridge.

[Description of a new Plumed Partridge from Sonera. ' Forest and
Stream,' xxviii. No. 6, March 8, 1887, p. 106.]

This species^ named Callipepla elegans bensoni, is based on
five specimens obtained by Lieutenant Benson, U.S.A., in
Sonora ; and we notice it in order that the record of its ex-
istence should not be buried in a newspaper.

107. The Ridgway Ornithological Club's ' Bulletin.'

[The Ridgway Ornithological Club of Chicago, Illinois, U. S. A. Bulle-
tin, Nos. 1, 2. Chicago : 1887.]

We have recently received Bulletin No. 1, bearing date so
far back as December 1883, consisting of a paper, originally
published in the ' American Field/ on '^ Bird Migration in
the Mississippi Valley/' by Messrs. Cooke and Widman, which
we have already noticed (Ibis, 1884, p. 37) under the authors'
names. Bulletin No. 2, dated 1887, is more than twice as
thick, and contains '' Notes and Observations on the Orni-
thology of Corpus Christi, Texas/' by J. L. Hancock ; two
papers by H. E. K. Coale, in one of which he describes Den-
droica cestiva morcomi, subsp. n., and Dendroica dugesi, sp. n. ;
a " List of Birds Breeding near Mt. Carmel, Illinois," by R.
Bidgway ; '' Notes on the Birds of Southern California and
South-western Arizona," by G. Frean Morcom (a countryman
of our own), with notes by his collector, Mr. F. Stephens;
short papers on Amrnodramus beJdingi and Dryohates nuttalli,
by B. T. Gault ; and an interesting " Contribution to our
knowledge of Albinism/' by the editor, G. L. Toppan, enume-
rating 154 species of American birds in which the absence
of colouring pigment has been observed. We wish this
new serial every success in its now independent career.

Recently published Ornithological Works. 467

108. Salvadori on Birds from Sumatra and Nias Island.

[Catalogo delle Collezioiii oruitologiche fatte presso Siboga in Sumatra
e neir isola Nias dal Signer Elio Modigliani e descritte da Tommaso Sal-
vadori. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Geuova, ser. 2, vol. iv. p. 614.]

Signer Elio Modigliani was advised by Dr. Beccari to visit
the little-known island of Nias, about 80 miles from the
west coast of Sumatra, and the result has been a collection
containing 62 species. Von Rosenberg, who seems to have
been the only previous visitor, recorded 40 other species
not obtained by Modigliani. At Siboga, on the west coast
of Sumatra, 22 species were procured. Among the birds
from Nias Island the following are described as new : —
Syrnium niasense, Miglyptes infuscatus, Terpsiphone insularis,
Cittacincla melanura, Calortiis altirostris, Gracula robusta,
Carpophaga consobrina, and Macropygia modigliani. The
series in this fine collection contains 178 specimens from Nias
Island.

109. Saunders^ s ' List of British Birds.'

[A List of British Birds; revised to April 1887 by Howard Saunders,
F.L.S., F.Z.S., kc. London : 1887.]

In this list, which is printed on one side of the page only,
so as to be available for labels if desired, the scientific and the
trivial names of all species regarded as *' British " are given.
The English names of those species of which fewer than six
examples have been obtained are printed in italics, while the
names of the doubtfully British birds are further enclosed in
square brackets. Introduced species, unless they have
actually established themselves, like the Red-legged Par-
tridge, are omitted. Those known to have bred in the
United Kingdom within the century are distinguished by
an asterisk. With few exceptions, the arrangement and
nomenclature of the 'B. O. U. Committee^s List ^ are fol-
lowed ; but it will be noticed that the name Limosa belgica
(Gmel.) is adopted for the Black -tailed Godwit, in place of
the specific name agocephakiy which has proved to be a
synonym of L. lapponica, the Bar-tailed Godwit ; and a cor-

2k 2

468 Recently published Ornithological Works.

rection by the Rev. Churchill Babington has been accepted
by the employment of the properly formed generic term
Podicipes for the Grebes, instead of Podiceps. Lastly, the
Order Tubinares is taken away from proximity to the Gavise.

1 10. Shufeldfs ' Contributions to Science.'

[Contributions to Science and Bibliographical Resum(5 of the Writings
of R. W. Shufeldt. By their Author. New York : 1887.]

Dr. Shufeldt sends us a copy of a printed list of his various
papers and writings since 1881, over a hundred in number,
besides others in the press and in preparation, showing a
large amount of work accomplished under not very advan-
tageous circumstances.

111. Sousa on the Birds of Dahomey,

[Aves de Dahomey par Jose Augusto de Sousa. Jorn. Acad. Sci.
Lisboa, No. xliv. pp. 217-219.]

A first remittance from Mr. Francis Newton to the Lisbon
Museum contains sixteen species, none of them new to science,
from Sao de Ajuda and other places in the kingdom of Da-
homey ; ten of these are included in Dr. Barboza du Bocage's
' Ornithologie d^Angola.'

112. Stejneger on Brachyrhamphus perdix.

[On Brachyramphus [sie] perdix (Pall.) and its nearest Allies. By
Leonhard Stejneger. Zeitschr. f. d. gesammte Ornithol. 1886, p. 210.]

A specimen of ''Murrelet'^ received from Kamtschatka
has convinced Dr. Stejneger that Pallas's Cephus perdix is a
perfectly valid species, nearest to Brachyrhamphus marmo-
ratus (Gmel.), but resembhng B. brevirostris (Vig.), usually
known as B. kittlitzii, in the coloration of its upper parts in
summer. A coloured plate of the resuscitated species and
full descriptions of it and of the other members of the
group are given.

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 469

XLVIII. — Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c.

We have received the following letters addressed to the
Editors of ^ The Ibis :'—

Swatow, June 11, 1887.
Sirs, — In Mr. F. W. Styan's article on a collection of
birds made by me in Foochow (Ibis, April 1887, p. 215)
some misprints have crept in.

Shmkow should be Sh?«'kow.

Ching Feng Lw^ig „ Ching Feng Lmg.
To Feng Sen „ ''^90 Feng Ssn.

(see pp. 216, 218, 222, 230.)

The following should be added to the list of Foochow
birds : —

1. HaLIAETUS ALBICILLA (?) .

Sea Eagles passed in some numbers during last autumn.
I have a specimen not yet identified, but which, from descrip-
tions, appears to be of this species.

2. Hypsipetes macclellandi.

Two specimens were shot at the end of February, in the
valley of the Min river, about 20 or 30 miles from Foochow.

3. Parus venustulus, Swinh.

One shot near Chang Lo Hsien, a city on the mainland,
some 13 miles south-east of Foochow.

4. Cypselus pacificus (?).

Large Swifts occur on the Min river, near Foochow, in
April, but are only seen on rainy days.

5. Bubo ignavus.

A couple of young Eagle Owls were obtained about six
years ago by Dr. Underwood, of Pagoda Anchorage (the
shipping-place of Foochow). He says they were certainly
obtained in the neighbourhood. This species seems unknown
to the natives. '

LlOTHRIX LUTEUS

Has also been obtained near Foochow. A specimen was
shot, out of a party of three, at the end of January last.

470 Letters, Extracts^ Notices, &;c.

SUTHORA SUFFUSA (?) .

A Suthora, as far as I can remember identical with that
from Puching mentioned by Mr. Styan, was shot last spring,
close to FoochoWj by Mr. C. W. Campbell.

MiCROHIERAX CHINENSIS.

Seems to be not very uncommon in the valley of the Min
river, another specimen (this time a male, in fine plumage)
having been shot for me by a native sportsman in March
last. Mr. Baun also collected three specimens in the neigh-
bourhood of Shuikow, Ching Feng Ling, &c.

Yours faithfully,

J. DE La Touche.

3 Kensington Gardens Square,
July 14, 1887.

Sirs, — With reference to Sir John Campbell-Orde's obser-
vation of Cypselus apus in North Uist, I may state that this
species is an irregular visitor to the opposite coast of Skye,
and it has occurred even at St. Kilda, a specimen having
been shot in the latter island in May 1886 by Mr. John
Mackenzie, of Dun vegan. There is nothing, therefore, sur-
prising in its straying to North Uist. With reference to
St. Kilda, I may add that the late schoolmaster, George
Murray, informs me that a single example of Larus glaucus
made its appearance in the bay in November 1886; that the
only example of Larus ridibimdus ever seen at St. Kilda
arrived on April 13th, 1887 ; and that he observed a specimen
of Chelidon urbica on June 9th.

Yours &c.,

H. A. Macpherson.

Direction des Konig-1. Zoologischen und des
Anthropologisch-Etlmographischen Museums zu Dresden,
July 21, 1887.

Sirs, — Mr. H. Seebohm, in his interesting paper "On the
genus Scolopax" (The Ibis, 1886, p. 128), remarks of Sco-
lopax rochusseni : " The Moluccan Woodcock is confined to
the sDuiU group of islands the name of which it bears, Avhither
it probably emigrated from Japan."

Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c. 471

I beg to say that there does not exist, so far as I am
aware, a group of islands with the name of Rochussen, but
that the species Scolopax rochusseni came from the island of
Obi major, an island of some importance to the south of the
largest Moluccan island called Halmahera (erroneously often
designated as Gilolo, Avliich is only a district of Halmahera).

Scolopax rochusseni, from Obi major, was called by Prof.
Schlegel (Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde, iii.
p. 256, 1866) after the Governor-General Rochussen, in the
following passage : —

*' Nous dedions cette esp^ce curieuse a Son Excellence le
Ministre d'etat, M. Rochussen, ancien Gouverneur-general
des Indes Neerlandaises et ancien Ministre des Colonies, qui
a donne I'elan h, I'exploration recente de la Nouvelle-Guinee
par I'expedition da bateau k vapeur FEtna, et en confiant ^
feu Bernstein la mission honorable de faire des recherches
scientifiques dans ces contrees lointaines et presque in-
connues.^^

Yours,

A. B. Meyer.

British Museum (Natural History),

Cromwell Road, London, S.W.

Sept. 6, 1887.

Sirs, — From Mr. Seebohm's article on Horsfield's Wood-
cock {antea, p. 284) it might be inferred that some of the
types of Horsfield's species, formerly in the India Museum,
cannot now be found in their present home in the Natural
History Museum. I have found the type of the species
alluded to by Mr. Seebohm, and I am not aware that any of
the Horsfieldian types are actually missing, but they are
mostly in the same state as the typical example of Gallinago
horsjieldi, viz. moth-eaten and devoid of feathers. It appears
that during the many migrations of the India Museum from
Leadenhall Street to Fife House and other places, the birds
were always packed up, and the Horsfieldian types, being
probably old and imperfectly preserved, were utterly de-
voured by moths. The gruesome remains were received by

472 Letters, Extracts, Notices, i^c.

us from the India Museum in the condition they now are,
and I write this short note of explanation, as otherwise in
future years it might be thought that the specimens had
been allowed to perish while under my care.

I am, &c.,

R. BOWDLER ShARPE.

Sirs, — We were not a little surprised after reading Mr.
Seebohm's paper on the " Birds of Natal/^ in the July No.
of ' The Ibis,' to find that in the short period of one month's
observation he had. been able to arrive at the conclusion
(p. 346) that there is not " a shred of evidence " in favour
of the theory which we advanced in ' The Ibis ' for 1883
respecting the various changes of plumage of Sawicola mori'
ticola. It will be remembered by those who read our paper
that for the greater part of the year 1881 we had the most
favourable opportunity of observing the plumage, habits, and
nidification of this species, and for upwards of ten months
we made a special study of this subject in the field, collecting
a very large series of skins in every stage of plumage, which
we brought home carefully labelled and in perfect preserva-
tion. Having submitted these skins (which are now in Capt.
Shelley's museum) to Mr, R. B. Sharpe for examination, and
having at the same time looked over the skins in the South
Kensington Museum, we had no difficulty, with so large
a series before us and the knowledge of the species which
we had acquired in the field, in deciding this long-discussed,
question. Mr. Sharpe, who is ever ready to give assistance
in such matters, was good enough to give his careful atten-
tion to the subject in our presence, and to view the skins
after we had arranged them in order, showing the various
changes of plumage, as described subsequently in our paper;
and he agreed Avith us, without hesitation, that our theory
was coi^rect, as will be seen by his remarks which followed
(p. 337). Now with the above facts fresh in our memory we
can hardly be expected to admit that we are entirely wrong,
that our time and labours in Natal were therefore wasted,
and that Mr. SLcbuhm's decision, after so little field-exjjc-

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 473

rience, is correct. Mr. Seebohm's favourite theory of in-
terbreeding is all very well in some cases, but it certainly
does not apply in this instance, as there is only one form of
hen bird.

In our paper, at p. 336, line 13, there is, unfortunately, a
clerical error, which we corrected in ' The Ibis ' for October
1884, p. 466, and to which we again call attention. Under
the head 6th stage, for " We consider stages 6 and 7 to be
of about the same period of the bird's life,'^ read '' We con-
sider stages 5 and 6/' &c.

Mr. Seebohm misunderstands us in saying " It is alleged
that the brown of the underparts changes first to white, then
to black, kc," as will be seen by referring to the paragraph
below the 9th stage, in which it is clearly stated that the
brown or blackish brown changes to pure white, the lower
parts never change, so far as our knowledge goes, from white
to black afterwards. In some instances, however, the white
head is gained before the white belly (6th stage), while in
others the white belly is assumed before the head changes as
described in the 5th stage, the result being that at this stage
birds which have not shed their abdominal feathers are still
black below, others which have commenced the moult are
black with traces of white, and those which have completed
it are white. Stages 5 and 6 are therefore very similar, the
diflfereuce between them being that in the 5th stage the bird
has assumed the white lower parts, and in the 6th it has not
completed the moult in respect to those parts. The 6th
stage is not very common, and we only obtained a few ex-
amples in that plumage, and most of those showed traces of
white below, as previously stated, showing the gradual change
from black to white. We consider stages 5 and 6 to be two
phases of the one stage, and they might perhaps have been
advantageously united. Mr. Seebohm considers that it would
be as logical to make the variations nineteen as nine in num-
ber ; but for the purpose of explaining our theory we found
the nine stages given sufficient.

In conclusion we may remark that, notwithstanding Mr.
Seebohm's decision, we are still of opinion that our theory is

474 Letters, Extracts, Notices, &;c.

correct, but we leave the readers of ^ The Ibis ' to judge for
themselves.

E. A. Butler.

H. W. Feilden.

S. G. Reid.
otb September, 1887.

Emin Pacha on the Birds of Lake Albert, Eastern Equato-
rial Africa. — "^ All along the river and in the lake I was struck
with the relatively small number of species of water-birds.
Further norths in the Bahr-el-Abiad, between 12° and 15°
north lat.j water-birds and marsh-birds occur in innu-
merable flocksj while to the south, in the localities men-
tioned, one cannot find a single duck or a single goose.
And although we can explain this marked difference, for the
winter-season (November to March) at least, by the fact that
large numbers of European emigrants on their way to the
south do not proceed beyond the marshy track between
Sobat and Ghaba Shambe, still this will not account for the
paucity of species and of numbers of species which do occur
in localities that are so eminently suited for them further
south. Ardea alba and A. comata went on fishing around
the steamer, quite regardless of the bustle; and a little
further away I noticed specimens of Anastomus lamelligerus,
Plotus levaillanti, and Phalacrocorax africanus. A few
jabirus [Mycteria senegalensis) were searching an inundated,
low-lying piece of land; and, on the margin of the lake, a
few Egyj)tian Geese {Chenalopex agyptiacus) showed them-
selves. With the Pelicans mentioned above as having been
observed in the river I close the list. Not a single plover
was seen, nor yet a strand-snipe or a duck.^' — (Extract from
' The Scottish Geographical Magazine,'' June 1887, p. 276.)

Nesting of the Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes) . — In
the Mitth. d. Orn. Ver. in Wien (xi. Jahrg. nr. 5 & 6), Herr
Edm. Pfanni has given an interesting account of his adven-

Letters, Extracts, Notices, S^c. 475

tures after Nutcrackers' nests in Lower Austria, near Lilien-
feld. As is well known, the difficulty witli this bird is that
it breeds very early in the season, before the winter's snow
is off the ground in the inclement regions which this bird
frequents, and, indeed, it begins to nest while fresh snow is
still falling. After several unsuccessful attempts, Herr
Pfanni began a new search on the 17th March, in a large
pine forest in which he had seen young Nutcrackers the
previous summer, and in which he was therefore pretty cer-
tain that this bird must breed. In spite of the trees being
covered with fresh snow and the great cold, many trees with
nests in them were found and ascended. But most of these
nests appeared to be old squirrels' dreys. The next day, in
the same forest, after several hours' search, he discovered
what appeared to be in all probability a two-years old nest
of the Nutcracker. It was placed on a pine about 15 feet
from the ground, and corresponded in every way to un-
doubted nests of Nutcrackers that had been taken in Switzer-
land. But this was as far as could be got on the 18th and
19th of March. On the 20th came a warm day, and the
snow disappeared from the trees. The morning was spent in
rain in a neighbouring wood of mixed trees. In the afternoon
Herr Pfanni resolved, as a last resource, to devote himself
to a steep south-eastern sloping hanger, in which patches of
pine- forest were mixed with other trees and clearings. At
2 o'clock he left the house, and after a walk of three quarters
of an hour began the search, taking one group of pines after
another. He had been at work about half an hour, when at
a lighter spot in a clump of firs he observed above him a
thick place in the foliage which appeared to be a nest, and
on cai'cful observation descried what appeared to be a bird's
tail protruding therefrom. Upon pelting the nest with snow-
balls, the tail suddenly vanished and the head and bill of a
Nutcracker appeared in its place. When his excitement at
this discovery had somewhat cooled down, Herr Pfanni
endeavoured to frighten the bird off her nest by clapping his
hands. This manoeuvre proving ineffectual, he climbed up a
neighbouring beech tree to about the same height as the

476 Letters, Extracts, Notices, i^c.

nest, and only when he could just see into it did the mother
quickly and silently glide off. Two eggs, not quite alike,
lay in it. Thinking more eggs would be laid, and wishing
his companion, Herr Reiser, to see the nest, he left the spot.
On returning next day, Herr Pfanni saAV the bird quit her
post in exactly the same fashion as on the previous occasion.
The eggs had not increased in number, and it was evident
that the bird was sitting hard.

Herr Reiser, who accompanied Herr Pfanni when the eggs
were finally taken, adds to the paper some notes on the
structure of the nest and eggs. The nest was placed about
15 feet from the ground, upon the branches of a pine some
21 feet high, on the side of the tree facing the valley ; it was
composed of twigs of the larch, bird-cherry, and other trees,
and lined with dried grasses and straws and a few roots, but
with very little moss, and was smaller in size than is usual
with this bird. The eggs were very like those of the Jack-
daw ; even when examined with a magnifier they showed
but little difterence. Taken on March 23rd, they appeared
to have been incubated about five or six days; they dif-
fered slightly from one another in size, shape, and mark-
ings, of which exact particulars are recorded by Herr Reiser.

A new Fossil Bird from the Wealden. — In the May number
of the 'Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society' (p. 206),
Prof. H. Gr. Seeley founds a new type of bird, Ornithodesmus
cluniculus, on some remains from the Wealden in the British
Museum, The differences which the fossil shows from
existing birds are three : first, the small number of vertebrae
in the sacrum ; secondly, the absence of the sacral recesses
from the middle lobes of the kidneys ; and, thirdly, the form
of the articular face of the first sacral vertebra. Fossil birds
lessen the importance of these differences : first the Archce-
opteryx has as few vertebi se in the sacrum, while Ichthyornis
dispar has no renal recesses in the middle of the sacrum ;
and the Gannet makes a sufficiently near approximation to
the form of the articulation to remove any improbability as
to its being a modified avian form. Prof. Seeley submits.

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 477

OD the evidence of the resemblances and considerations which
he discusses, that Ornithodesmus was probably a bird, but
that it differed from existing birds so as to suggest that it
was a link towards lower forms. It cannot be placed in any
existing division of the class, but approximates towards the
Dinosaurs in a way of which no bird had previously given
evidence.

Gudcharo-shooting in Trinidad. — The Report of the U.S.
Fish-Commission for 1884 contains an interesting narrative
of the cruise of the steamer ' Albatross ' in the Caribbean Sea
in the early months of that year, prepared by Mr. Benedict,
the naturalist of the expedition. From Port of Spain, Trini-
dad, an excursion was made to the caves of the Guacharo-bird
{Steatornis caripensis), which are described as follows : —

" At half-past 7 on the morning of February 1, Captain
Tanner and four members of the scientific staff left the ship
in the steam-launch for Mono Island, 10 miles distant, and
near where the birds we were in search of live in caves.
When nearly there Mr. Garrett and Mr. Ackerman were left
on a small island to collect until the return of the launch.
The others kept on to Mono Island, where the captain found
Mr. Morrison, to whom he had been directed as the best guide
to the caves. Mr. Morrison consented to go with us in search
of the birds.

" From this place we steamed around the island to Trinidad,
and tried to enter a cave there inhabited by the Guacharo-
birds. The larger caves on Huevos Island were then too
much exposed to the ocean to be accessible, and at any season
can be approached only on occasional days, when the water is
very smooth.

" We found the cave on the western side of Trinidad too
much exposed to enter with anything like safety, though
several attempts were made. We were finally obliged to
give it up, to our great disappointment. The entire floor of
the cave is water. As a swell advances inwards, innocent at
first, it becomes angry and dangerous long before it reaches
the farther end, where it brings up with a heavy booming

478 Letters, Extracts, Notices, 5)C.

sound, leaving jagged rocks briefly exposed in its wake. The
entrance to the chamber where the birds live is about 10
feet high, 12 feet wide at the bottom, and 50 feet long. The
chamber is about 40 feet in diameter at its base and 35 feet
high. A coloured man was employed to take us in in his
canoe. Mr. Morrison assisted in the management of it,
while Mr. Nye and myself held our guns in readiness. We
were backed in about 35 feet, when a breaker boarded us, half
filling the canoe with water, and we came out as soon as
possible. The cauoe being too heavily loaded, I got out, and
the others went in again. This time Mr. Nye succeeded in
shooting two birds, but before he could secure them another
breaker boarded them, and again partly filled the boat. The
swells becoming heavier, we considered it unsafe to venture
into the cave again ; however,being very desirous of obtaining
the birds, we adopted another plan, which was to shoot them
as they came out at night. Captain Tanner thought well of
this and went back to the ship, leaving Mr. Nye and myself
to carry out the plan, with Mr. Morrison's assistance, at whose
house the greater part of the afternoon was pleasantly spent.
Towards night we went into a grove of cocoanut-palms and
killed a number of birds. Before dark we were again at the
cave in a canoe. Mr. Nye landed and obtained as good a
position as the nature of the ground would allow, while I
remained in the boat near the cave to shoot as best I could
against the face of the precipitous hill which rises above it.
The birds did not come out until after dark, Avhen it was
possible to see them only against the sky. Nevertheless,
Mr. Nye killed two, only one of which was recovered, and
that after it had been in the water for half an hour."

Important Additions to the New York Museum. — We learn
from the July No. of ' The Auk ' that the American Museum
of Natural History of New York City has recently received
several important additions to the Department of Ornithology.
One of these is the acquisition by presentation of Mr. D. G.
Elliot's superb collection of Humming-birds, numbei"ing over
400 species, represented by about 2000 specimens, and in-

Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 479

eluding some fifty or more types, a collection which formed
the basis of his recent monograph of the family. Next comes
the addition, by purchase, of Mr. George N. Lawrence's col-
lection, comprising about 3000 species and some 800 types
of birds from North America, Mexico, the West Indies,
Central and South America — a reference collection of high
value, inasmuch as it contains the types of nearly all the
species described by our veteran Foreign Member. By pur-
chase also the Museum has acquired 4000 bird-skins, belong-
ing to about 300 species, with about 150 clutches of identified
eggs, obtained by Mr. H. Smith in the province of Matto
Grosso, Brazil [supra, p. 244). In the exhibition-series of
birds, eighteen elaborate '' group pieces,"" arranged in twelve
cases placed in the alcoves of the " Bird Floor," illustrate
the nesting-habits of the species represented, after the plan
adopted in our Natural History Museum at Kensington.
The funds for these groups, and for some twenty more which
will be added in the course of the year, are supplied by the
generosity of Mrs. Robert E. Stuart, an atonement-offering
for the sins of the American plume-wearers, which may be
recommended for imitation by English ladies. Lastly, Mr.
D. G. Elliotts fine ornithological library, comprising about
1000 volumes, has been purchased and presented to the Mu-
seum by Messrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Percy R. Pyne,
two of its trustees. We heartily congratulate Professor J.
A. Allen on these acquisitions by the Department over which
he so worthily presides.

Obituary. — We regret to record the death of a promising
young naturalist, Mr. Thomas Henry Bowyer Bower, who
was already known for his explorations in the interior of
Queensland, where he procured many interesting species,
among the principal being Cracticus rufescens and Scenopceus
dentirostris. Last year he proceeded to Western Australia,
accompanied by Mr. Walter Burton, and made large collec-
tions on the Fitzroy River, the bulk of which, however, were
lost by a disastrous fire in the camp ; and he unfortunately
contracted a sharp attack of fever, which developed into
typhoid at Port Darwin, where he died last January in his

480 Letter.9, Extracts, Notices, ^c.

twenty-fifth year. His father, Capt. Bowyer Bower, ha
presented nearly the whole of his son's collection to th

British IVTnspnm

as

lie

|J1 CaCllLCll llCclllV

British Museum.

Sir Julius ton Haast, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., who died sud-
denly at Bonn (his birthplace) on the 15th of August last,
was for years a prominent figure among the zoologists of
New Zealand. Born in 1824', he accompanied Professor
Hochstetter on the 'Novara' Expedition in 1858, and sub-
sequently, as Director of the Canterbury Museum, Christ-
church, he did excellent scientific work. From the purely
ornithological point of view he will be remembered in con-
nexion with his researches on the extinction of Dinornis ;
but his loss will be felt by many who experienced his courtesy
last year at the Colonial Exhibition.

By the death of Professor Spencer Fullerton Baird
the British Ornithologists' Union has lost one of the oldest
of its Honorary Members. Born at Reading, Pennsylvania,
on February 3, 1823, he formed in 1838 a friendship with
Audubon, who, in 1842, handed over to the young naturalist
the greater part of his collection of birds, including many
types of new species. The first printed paper which bears
his name is a description of two new species of Flycatchers
in 1843, and in 1846 he was engaged in the preparation of a
synonymy of North American birds. In 1850 he was ap-
pointed Assistant-Secretary at the Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, succeeding to the secretaryship upon the death
of Professor Henry in 1878. Such standard works as "^ The
Birds of North America' (1858), the 'Review of North
American Birds/ and the ' History of North American Birds '
(1874-84), the latter in conjunction with the late Dr. Brewer
and Mr. R. Ridgway, testify to his ornithological attain-
ments ; while the flourishing condition of the Smithsonian
Institution, and of the United States National Museum, of
which he was also Director as well as Fisheries Commissioner,
prove his enormous capacity for organization. His death,
Avhich took place at Wood's Holl, Massachusetts, on August
22nd last, will be deeply regretted, especially by those who
enjoyed the privilege of his personal acquaintance.

INDEX.

Acanthis cabaret, 456.

rufesceus, 4bCy.

Accentor coUaris, 135.

koslowi, 407, 408.

modiilaris, 69, 96.

orientalis,

407.
rubidua ferTidus,

407.
Accipiter gularis, 233,

362.
minullus, 47.

nisoides, 362.

nisus, 73, 233, 312,

428.

rufotibialis, 437.

virgatus, 233, 362,

437.
Acredula caudata, 183.

concinna, 221.

irbyi, 69, 77, 182.

rosea, 69, 183.

Acrocephalus aquaticus,

94.

arundinaceus, 93.

bistrigiceps, 219.

orientalis, 219.

pliragmitis, 342.

schcenobrenus, 94.

streperiis, 93.

turdoides, 342.

Adelomyia cervina, 353.
Aedon fumiliaris, 259.

galactodes, 93.

./Egialitis cantiana, 385.

curonica, 385.

hiaticula, 385.

tricollaris, 334.

jEgithalus capensis, 462.
— — parvulus. 462.
iEgithina philipi. 254.
^Egotheles wallacii, 108.

SER. V, VOL. V.

jEstrelata sandwicbensis,

114.
Agelseus phceniceiis, 459.

sclateri, 352.

Agropbilus htematoce-

plialus, 5.

' melanorbyncbus, 5.

superciliosLis, 5.

Alauda arborea, 72, 198,

282.

arvensis, 72, 197.

cristata, 72, 197.

Alca torcki, 399.
Alcedo bengalensis, 230.

ispida. 72, 305.

bengalensis,

176.
Alcippe brunnea, 222.

morrisonia, 215,

222.

Alecto dineinelli, 44.
Alectroruis albirostris,

43.

panicivora, 43.

Alseonax latirostris, 225.
Amadina erythrocephala,

332.

frontalis, 4.

squauiifrons, 3.

Amazilia cupreicauda,

353.
Amblyornis subalaris,

108.
Amblyospiza albifrons,

44, 45, 46.

capitalbus, 45, 46,

melanotis, 45, 46.

unicolor, 45.

Ammodramus beldingi,

466.

caudacutus siibvir-

gatu.s, 457.

Ammodramus peteuicas,

108.
Ampelis pboenicoptera,

176.
Amphispiza ferrari-

perezi, 106, 108.
Anaplectes melanotis, 18.

rubriceps, 17.

Anas acuta, 264.

angustirostris, 376.

boscas, 73, 376.

cbinganensis, 254.

clypeata, 264.

crecca, 264.

diazi, 106.

querquedula, 264.

Anastomus lamelligerus,

474.
Auous cferuleus, 213.

meianogenys, 214.

stolidus, 210, 211,

212, 213, 368.
Anser, sp., 73.

cinereus, 375.

: segetum, 73, 375.

Anthodiajta coUaris, 56.
Antbracoceros marchei,

253.
Antbus agilis, 223.

aquaticus, 107.

arboreus, 107.

bertbeloti, 433, 434.

campestris, 188.

gustavi, 223.

japonicus, 223.

ludoviciauus, 107.

maculatus, 223.

obscurus, 107, 188.

pratensis, 70, 187.

ricbardi, 223.

spipoletta, 107, 132,

137, 138, 188.
2 L

482

INDKX.

Antbua spraguii, 1U(5. '

trivialis, 187. j

Apbelocoma insularis, i

243. 1
Aquila adalberti, 311.
chrysaetus, 73, 148,

311. i

heliaca, 232. !

najvia, 311. i

pernata, 311, 464.

Arachnotbera juliiB, '

451. 1

Ardea alba, 182, 474. i

bubulcus, 372.

• ciuerea, 264, 335,

372.

comata, 474.

garzetta, 372.

grayi, 182.

melanoeepbala, 62.

miuiita, 373.

picata, 104.

purpurea, 372,

460.

ralloides, 373.

sacra, 180.

Asio accipitrinus, 231,

307.

otus, 72, 307, 430.

Astur inelanocblamys,

108.

palumbarius, 312.

poliocepbalus, 96,

97.
Aeturina iiiagnirostris,

318.
Aeturinula monogram-
mica, 47.
Atbene noctua, 73, 308.
Aulacorbampbus dimidi-

atus, 113.

Bambusicola byperytbra,

454.
Barbatula bilineata, 52.

bocagei, 255.

Basileuterus conspicilla-

tus, 130.
Baza ceylonensis, 419.
Bernicla antarctica, 202.

brenta, 375.

uiagellanica, 202.

Bandvicensis, 212.

Blacicus martinicensis,

456.
BotauruB stellaris, 259,

334,373.
Bourcieria insectivora,

353.
tra\ iesi, ■j53.

Brachypodius melaiioce-

pba'lus, 118.
Bracbyrbampbus brevi-

rostris, 468.

kittlitzii, 468.

marmoratus, 468.

perdix, 468.

Bradyornis benguellensis,

255.

silens, 331.

Buarremou melanocepba-

lus, 130.
Bubalornis niger, 43.
Bubo iguavus, 73, 308,

469.
Buceros buccinator, 51.
Bucbanga asairailis, 331.

atra, 224.

leucogenys, 224.

Budytes leucocepbala,

408.
Bupbaga ervtbrorbyncba,

58, 368. '
Buruesia sonitans, 221.
Butastur indicus, 233.
Buteo borealis, 115.

bracbyurus, 114.

desertorum, 326,

428.

fuliginosus, 114.

■ latis.simu8, 114.

plumipes, 231.

vulgaris, 73, 264,

310,428.
Butorides atricapilla, 63.

Cacatua goffini, 104.

sanguinea, 104.

Caccabis chukar, 259.
. petrosa, 272.

rufa, 73, 266, 288,

380.

saxatilis, 150.

Caica melaiiocepbala,3l7.
Calainodyta aquatica,464.
Calandrella bracbydac-

tyla, 198.
Calidris ai-enaria, 391.
Callipepla elegaus ben-

soni, 466.
OaUipbarus nigriventris,

353.
Calornis altirostris, 467.

feadensis, 108.

Calvpbantria comorensis,

lo. .

eminentissima, 15.

erytbrogenys, 18.

Djadagascarieiisi.s.

16.

(-'alvpbautria melanotis,

18.
Calyptomena wbitebeadi,

4b4.
Campopbaga ca^rulea,
253.

quisealina, 247.

Campotbera abingtoni,
53.

bennetti, 53.

CaprimulguB europaeus,
303.

jotaka, 228.

mossambicus, 327. .

ruficoUis, 303.

rufigena, 327.

Carduelis elegans, 70,

191.
Carpodacus rubicilUis,

4(53.
Carpopbaga eousobriua,
467.

iantbina, 179.

Casarca cana, 335.

rutila, 260.

Catbartes aura, 457.
Centropus bengalensia,
230.

natalensis, 52.

savorguani, 253.

sinensis, 230.

Centurus caymaueusis,

125.
Cepbvis perdix, 468.
Certbia bracbydaclyla,
184.

faniiliavis, 70, 184.

Certbilauda duponti,
244.

, var. lusitanica,

199, 244.
Certbiola atrata, 360.

cbloropyga, 317.

saccbariua, 360.

sbarpei, 125.

Ceryle guttata, 230.

maxima, 50, 63,

327.

rudis, 230, 327.

Buperciliosa, 318.

Cettia canturiens, 220.

cetti, 94, 464.

fortipes, 220.

Ceyx geutiana, 108.
Cbajtura pelagica, 363.
CbalcopeHa af'ra, 60.
Cbaradrius fulvus, 180,
I 212.

' marginatus, 338.

jihivialis, 74, 384.

INDEX.

483

Charadrius tricollaris,

338.
Chaiilelasraus streperus,

37fi.
Clielidon namivei, 3fi0.

urbica, 'l91, 4:33,

470.
Cbelidoptera tenebrosa,

317.
Cbenalopex regyptiacus,

474.
Cbibia brevirostris, 224.

hottentota, 224.

Chlamydochwra, gen.

nov., 439.

jeiferyi, 439.

Chloropsis aurifrons, 446.

flavocnicta, 445.

kinnbaluensis, 445.

malabarica, 446.

nigricollis, 446.

veniista, 248.

viridinucba, 445.

C ilorostilbon angusti-

pennis, 297.

atala, 297, 298.

cumptus, 296, 207.

■ dapbne,297, 298.

raelaHorb\'uchn3,

296, 297.

prasinu.s 297, 298.

• subfurcatus, 297,

298.
Cblorura bvperytbra,

453.
Chrv.sococcvx cupreus,

328.
Chrysolampis gigliolii,

2o3.
Cbrysomitris citrinella,

134, 140.

spinus, 192.

Chrysotis bodini, 318.

• caymaiiensis, 125.

leueocepbaia, 1 25.

Ciconia alba, 345, 374.

nigra, 374.

Cinclus albicollis, 68.

aquaticus. 68, 86.

pallasi, 219.

Oinnyris gutturalis, 55.

hartlaubi, 458.

mariquensis, 55.

newtoni, 352, 458.

talatala, 55, 56.

Circaetus gallicus, 311,

464.
Circe latirostris, 292.
Circus a?niginosus, 231,

.310.

Circus cineraceus, 271.
310, 325.

cyaueus, 231, 310.

macrurus, 325.

• luelanoleucus, 231.

spilonotus, 231.

swainsoni, 310.

Cissa minor, 437.

nigricoronata, 248.

Cisticola briinneiceps,

175.

cisticola, 220.

cursitans, 95.

esilis, 175.

schcBnicola, 175.

brunneiceps,

175.
Cittacincla melanura,

4(w .
Clangula glaucion, 378.
Coccothraust.es albiros-

tris, 43.

gambiensis, 33, 36.

uielanocephala, 33.

olivaceus, 36.

vulgaris, 193.

Coccystes brazzae, 253.

glandai'ius, 307, 329.

jacobinus, 329.

Culaptes cbilensis, 240.

chrysocaulosus, 125.

gundlachi, 125.

Coliuspnsser procne, 332.
Columba bollii, 425, 42*),

427.

intermedia, 182.

laurivora, 425, 426.

427, 428.

livia, 378, 428.

oenas, 578.

palumbus, 73, 378,

42(i.

trocaz, 425, 428.

Colymbus adamsi, 107.

arcticus, 400.

glacialis, 107, 400.

septentrionalis, 40U.

Conurus carolinensis,

114.

solstitialis, 317.

Copsychus saularis, 218.
Coraeias caudata, 50.

garrula. 305, 327.

n£Evia, 327.

Corvus corax, 72, 201.

cornix, 3 16.

corone, 72, 200, 346.

frngilegus, 201.

japonensis, 176.

iiKjiieduIa, 200.

Coryphegnatbus albi-
frons. 46.

capitalbus, 46.

melanotis, 46.

schiffi, 45, 46.

uuicolor, 45.

Corythaix fiscberi, 128.
Corvthornis cvanostiguia,

327.
Cossypha quadrivirgata,
54.

natalensis, 54.

pecilei, 253.

Ootile riparia, 191, 227.

rupestris, 138, 190.

Coturni.x communis, 333,

343, 380.
Cotyle cincta, 343.

fuligula, 349.

paludicola, .343.

rupestris, 266.

Cracticus ruf'escens, 479.
Crateropus tenebi'osus,

462.
Crax alector, 318.
Crex pratensis, 287, 382.
Oritbagra ictera, 333.
Crossoptilon auritum,

403, 40(').
Cryptolopba castaneiceps,
443.

mentis, 442.

scbwaueri, 443.

Cuculus canorus, 230,
306.

indicus, 463.

micropterus, 230.

stornisi, 352.

Cupidoiiia cupido, 459.

piunata, 459.

Cursorius bioinctus, 334.

rufus, 334, 344.

Cyanecula leucocyanea,
355.

wolfi, 89.

Cyanopica cooki, 200.
Cyanospiza rositffi, 108.
Cyclopsittacus salvadorii,

'2.54.
Cyclorhis albiventris,
321. 323.

altirostris, 320, .321,

323.

atrirostris, 322,

324.

cearensiSj 323.

controrasi, 321,

322.

flavi pectus, 321,

322.

484

INDEX.

Cyclorhis flavipectus Bub-

flavescens, 322.
flaviventris, 321,

322.

yucataneneis,

322, 356.

guianeiisis,320, 321,

323.

insularis, 322.

— — nigi'irostris, 320,

321, 322, 324.
ochrocephala, 321,

323.

virenticeps, 321,322.

Tiridis, 323, 324.

wiedi, 323.

Cygnus, sp. inc., 375.
Cyphorinus musiciis, 318.
Cypseliis apus, 157, 302,

342, 363, 470.
melba, 146, 268,

303, 358, 363.
murarius, 153.

papificus, 469.

pallidas, 303, 434.

unicolor, 363, 434.

Dafila acuta, 377.

bahamensis, 203.

Caption capensis, 208.
Daulias luscinia, 89.

philomela, 90.

Dendrocitta cinerasceus,

437.
Dendrocopus major, 304,

459.

medius, 304.

minor, 304.

Dendrocygna javanica,

181.

Tagans, 257.

vidiiata, 64.

Dendroica aistiva mor-

comi, 466.

discolor, 125.

dugesi, 4()6.

flavida, 456.

vitellina, 125.

Dendropicus cardiualis,

330.

pecilei, 253.

Dertroides albirostris,

43.
Dicceum celebicum, 436,

453.

ignipectuB, 227.

■ monticolum, 452.

pectorale, 108.

sulaense, 452.

Dicrurus catba?cu.';. 224.

Dilophus caruuculatus,

342.
Dinemellia leucocepbala,

44.
Diphlogjena iris, 295, 296.
buckleyi, 295,

296.
Drepanornis bruijnii,

108.
Drymcepus extensicauda,

220.
Dryobates namiyei, 117.

nuttallii, 356, 466.

pubescens gaird-

nerii, 3.56.

■ subcirrus, 117.

Dryonastes perspicillatus,

218.

sannio, 218.

Dryotriorcbis spectabilis,

247.

Edoliisoma poliopse, 108.
Elanus cseriileus, 312,

327.
Emberiza aureola, 228.

borbonica, 16.

cia, 71, 196.

ciopsis, 228.

cirlus, 71, 196.

citriuella, 71.

fucata, 228.

fuscofulva, 16.

bortulana, 196.

miliaria, 71, 195.

personata, 174.

pusilla, 228.

rubra, 16.

schceniclus, 71, 196.

spodocephala, 228.

sulpburata, 228.

Empidocbanes arenaceua,

66.
— — fringillaris, 64, 65.

fiiscatus. 64, 65, 66.

oliva, 64, 66.

■ Tireoiiinus, 66.

Empidonax bimaculatus,

65, 66.

brunneus, 64, 65.

oliva, 65.

Engyptila collaris, 125.

neoxena, 456.

Eos fuscata, 108.
Eritbacus caeruleculus,

219.

calliope, 219.

komadori, 176.

rubecula, 68, 89,

107.

Erytbromyias pyrrho-
nota, 104.

riedeli, 104.

Erythrotriorcbis dorise,

108.
Estrelda astrild, 333.

frontalis, 4.

jonquillacea, 22.

nitidub), 47.

squaniifrous, 3.

Eudoeiuius ruber, 317.
Eudromias morinellus,

386.
Euetbia grandior, 456.
Eulampis bolosericeus,
295.

lougirostris,

295.

jugularis, 294, 295.

eximius, 294,

295.
Eupbodes xantbosomus,

19, 20.
Eupbonia cayana, 318.
Euplectes lepidopterus, 3.

! — pyrrliocepbalus, 18.

I ruber, 16.

j rufovelatus, 40.

Euplocamus leucomela-
1 nus, 109.
I Eurypyga belias, 317.
j Eurvstomus orientalis,
I 229.

j Eustepbanus fernanden-
sis, 21.5.

galeritus, 215.

Eutbyrhyncba fulrigula,
110.

Falco sesalon, 313.

amurensis, 344.

babylonicus, 158,

159, 160, 161, 162, 163,

165, 166, 277.

• barbarus, 158, 159,

160,161,162,163,165,

166, 275, 276.

brookii, 275.

cencbris, 313.

communis, 233.

eleonorae, 277, 460.

feldeggi, 276.

japonicus, 233.

melanogenys. 233.

mmor, zio.

276.

peregrinoides, 275.

peregrinus, 267,

276, 277, 313.
piinieus, 159, 166,

26(i, 275, 276, 277.

INUKX.

485

Falco regulus, 283.

subbuteo. 233, 313,

429.

tinnuncuius, 73,

233, 313, 428.

vespertinu?, 283.

Foudia algondae, 15.

borbonica, IG.

■ comovensis, 15.

eininentissiuia, 15.

erythrocepliala, 16.

flavicans, 17.

madagascariensis,

16.

martineti, 16.

rubra, 16.

■ seychellaruin, 17.

Francolinus pileatus, 61.

subtorquatus, 61.

Fratercula arctica, 264,

399.
Fregata aquila, 210, 213.

minor, 164.

Fringilla borealis, 142.

bruaute, 16.

capital! s. 33.

chrysouielas, 31.

coelebs, 71, 194.

erytbrocepbala, 16.

frontalis, 3.

■ gregalis, 19.

lepidopterus, 3.

longirostris, 3(3.

Iuteola,31.

madagascariensis,

16.
montifringilla, 71,

194.

mllUeri. 31.

senegaleusis, 36.

spin us, 174.

tevdea, 434.

tintillon, 434.

velata, 36, 37-

vitellina, 27.

Fringillaria saharae, 120.
Fulica atra, 74, 180, 288,

383.

cristata, 383.

Fuligula cristata, 377.

ferina, 264, 377.

marila, 182.

nationi, 203.

Galbula albirostris, 318.
Gallinago ccelestis, 74,
389.

gallinula, 74, 389.

hor.sfieldi, 471.

major, 389.

Gallinula cbloropus, 74.

180, 383.
Garrulus glandarius, 72,

199.
Gecinus canus, 464.

flaviro-stris, 251,301.

gorii, 74, 75, 76,

259,301.

guerini, 229.

mentalis, 240.

puniceus, 240.

sbarpii, 184, 304.

squamatus, 75, 76,

301.

tancola, 229.

viridis, 72, 251.

zarudnoi, 301.

Geocichla litsitsirupa,

330.

Taria, 217.

Geocolaptes oliraceus,

330.
Glareola melanoptera,

342.

pratincola, 384.

Glaucidium perlatum,

49.

wbitelyi, 231.

Gracula robusta, 467.
Grauialus melanocepha-

lus, 439.

normani, 438.

pectoralis, 56.

rex-pineti, 215, 225.

Grus cinerea, 263.

communis, 383.

Gygis Candida, 210, 211,

212, 213.
Gvpaetus barbatus, 148.
Gyps fulvus, 309.

Habropyga nonnula, 462.
Haematopus ater, 205.

galapagensis, 355.

ostralegus, 387.

palUatus, 204, 205,

356.
Hfcmopbila humeralis,

108.

lawrencii, 107.

rufescens, 108.

ruficauda, 107, 108.

superciliosa, 108.

Halcyon coronianda, 176.
pileatus, 230.

smyrnensis, 230.

Haliaetus albicilla, 469.

leucogaster, 215,

232.

vocifer, 48.

Haliaster indus, 234.
Haplospiza uiiiformis,

h)S.
Helianthea osculans,

353.
Heliodoxa xantbogouys,

353.
Helotarsus ecaudatus,

324.
Heniiclielidon cinerei-

ceps, 436.
• ferruginea, 226,

441.
Hemipodius plumbipes,

180.

pugnax, 180.

taigoor, 180.

Hemixus castanouotus,

215, 224.

cinereus, 447.

connectens, 446.

flavula, 447.

sinensis, 224.

Henicurus lescbenaidti,

450.

• scbistaceus, 219.

sinensis, 219.

Herbivocula flemingi,

220.
Herod las alba, 335.

• intermedia, 335.

Himantopus candidus,

388.
Hirundinapua klaesi,

248.
Hirundo albigularis, 342,

343.

atrocaerulea, 340.

cucullata, 343.

gutturalis, 227.

japonica, 227.

javanica, 176.

lucida, 247.

rustica, 190, 338,

342, 433.

semirufa, 343.

substriolata, 227.

Huhua lactea, 48, 49.

nipalensis, 258.

verreauxi, 49.

Hydrocbelidon liybrida,

335, 394.

leucoptera, 335.

nigra, .394.

Hydrophasianus cbirur-

gus, 257.
Hyloterpe bvpoxantha,

451.

philippinensis, 451,

sulfuriveuter, 451.

486

INDEX.

Hypliautorni8, sp., 25.

abycsinicus, 37.

asthiops, 30, 31.

amauronotus, 22.

atrogularis, 28, 30.

aurantia, 26.

aurantiigula, 25.

a urea, 26.

aureoflava, 26.

auricapillus, 30.

aiirifrons, 24.

axillai'is, 34.

badius, 34.

baglafecbt, 29.

bicolor, 20.

bojeri, 26.

bracbyptera, 23.

cabanisi, 32.

capensis, 24.

• capitalis, 30, 32, 33,

34.

castaneigula, 25.

castaneofusra, 38.

cnstanosoma, 38.

cbrysogastra, 19.

cincta, 35,

collaris, 35.

concolor, 26.

croeata, 23,

cucullatiis, 33, 35.

dimidiata, 34.

etiiini, 21.

erytbropbthalma,

32.

flavigula, 22, 23.

' fusco-castanea, 38.

galbula, 27.

garabiensis, 36.

grandis, 35.

grayi, 22.

guerini, 21.

gutturalis, 2.3.

intermedia, .32.

isabellina, 38.

jonquillaceus. 22.

larvatvis, 35, 37.

luteolus, 31.

niagnirostris, 36.

inariqueneis, 30.

332.
melaiiocepbala, 36,

37.

melanops, 30, 31.

melanotis, 21.

meloxit, 29.

niodesta, 36.

nigriceps, 35.

nigricollis. 22.

nigrifron.'!, 30, 31,

ii2.

Hyphantornis ociilaria,

32.

ocidaris, 23.

olivaceus, 24.

pensilis, 15.

personata, 31.

princeps, 24.

prosoborinus, 34.

royrei, 26.

rubiginosa, 37.

somalensis, 29.

somalicus, 29.

spekii, 29.

spilonota, 29.

subaureus, 25, 26.

subpersonatus, 32.

superciliosiis, 27.

taenioptera, 28.

tabatali, 25.

temporalis, 21.

textor, 36.

■ tricolor, 38.

velatus, 30, 332.

vitellinus, 27, 30.

xanthops. 25.

xanthopterus, 25.

Hyphanturgua nielano-

xanthus, 22.

nigricoUis, 22.

ocularius, 23, 58.

■ reiobenowi, 21.

Hypolais polyglotta. 93.
Hvpsipetes amaurotis,

"174.

leueoce]3lialus, 22.3.

macclellandi, 469.

pryeri, 360.

lacbe latirostris, 292, 293,

294.

lawrencei, 292,

magica, 293, 294.

lantbcenas griseigidarif,

363.
Ibis a3thiopica, 335.
Tcbtliyornis dispar, 476.
looturus naraiyei, 360,
Icteropsis croeata, 23.
Icterus bairdi, 125.

caffer, 24.

lawrencii, 456.

leucopteryx, 125.

olivaceus, 24.

lonocicca alleni, 3.58.
Irrisor erythrorbyncluH,

51.
Txidia squamata, 118.
Ixonotiis landann\ 2.5.3.
lyiigipiciis kalcoinis, 229.

lyngipicus kizuki. 177.
nigresceiis,

177, 178.
eeebobmi,

178.

nigrescens, 178.

pygmjeiis, 177.

— — doerriesi,

177.

kaleeiisia, 177.

scintilliceps,

177.

scintilliceps, 229.

lynx torquilla, 229. 3(t4,

459.

Juuco alticola, 108.

Lagonosticte nitidula, 46,

109.

cenochroa. 462.

rufopicta, 46.

senegala, 46, 60.

Lampraster branickii,

353.
Lainprornis hendersoni,

456.
Lamprotornis australis,

331.

pboenicopterus, 331.

Laniarius gutturalis, 331.

icterus, 57.

jwlioeephalus, 57.

sulphureipectus,

Lanius collaris, 330.

collurio, 140, 189.

excubilor, 252.

fuscatus, 216, 225.

giganteus, 409, 411.

Incionensis, 225.

major, 252.

■ meridionalis, 70,

189,409,410.

minor, 283, 330.

• pomeranus, 189.

scliacb, 225.

Larus argentatus, 351,

395.
cachinnans,

351, 396.

atricilla, 116.

belcberi, 205.

cacbinnans, 261,

264, 270.

can us, 74.

cirrhocephalus, 208.

dominicanus, 202,

2i)5.
IVanklini, 204, 207-

INDKX.

4s:

Larus fiiscus, 2(11, 351,

396.

glaucua, 470.

marinus, 39().

melanocephalus,

261, 264, 265, 395.

minutus, 395.

ridibundus, 116,

261,264,394,39.5,470.

.serraniis, 204, 2U7.

Leiotlirix luteus, 222,

469.
Leptopoecile elegans, 402,

403, 405.

obscura, 404.

• sophiie, 404, 405,

406.
, var. major,

406.
Leptoptilus crumenifer,

63.
Leucophrys pileatiis, 5.
Leiicopternis albicollis,

318,319
Leucosticte haematopy-

gia, 412.
roborowskii, 411,

412.
Ligurinuschloris, 70, 193.
Liniuaetus cejlouensis,

2.58.
Limnocorax niger, 62.
Limosa segocepbala, 4(57.

belgica, 393, 467.

budsonica, 204.

lapponica, 392. 467.

Linota cannabina, 71,

195.

rufescens, 141.

Lobivanellus supercilio-

sus, 418.
Lociistellus certbiola,

220.
— — luscinioides, 94.

nsevia, 94, 463.

ocboteiisis, 220.

Lomvia lacbrvmans, 399.

troile, 399.

Lopboaetus occipitalis,

48.
Lophorina minor, 110.

superba, IKJ.

Lopbornis paToninus,

353.
Loxia abyssinica, 37.

curvirostra, 195.

frontabs, 3.

madagascariensis,

15.
■ raelauocepbala, 33.

Loxia panicivora, 43.

pensilis, 14.

pityopsiltacus. 195.

Lusciniola fuscata, 220.

melanopogon, 263.

schwarzi, 220.

Lusciola infuscata, 463.

Macbetes pugnax, 391.
Macbirbampbu3 alcimis,

113.

anderssoni, 113.

revoili, 113.

Macronyx capensis, 333.
Macropygia modigbani,

467.
MaHmbus cassini, 39, 41,

60.

cristatus, 39, 40,

41.

aurantius, 25.

mabmbicus, 39, 40.

melanotis, 18.

nigerrimus, 39.

nigricolHs. 22.

iiitens. 39, 41.

racbelise, 39, 40,

42.
rubriceps, 17, 59,

60.
rubricolli.s, 40.

rubroj^ersonatus,

40, 41.

rufovelatu.s, 40.

scutatus, 39, 40, 41,

42.
Mareca penelojie, 73, 264,

377.
Margarop3 albiventris,

354.

montanus, 354.

Mecistura irbii, yar. cau-

casica, 463.
Megalrema virens, 2-30.
Mega])odius breiicbleyi,

108.
Melanoeorypba bimacu-

lata, 259.

calandra, 72, 198.

■ mongolica, 228.

Melanopyrrbus anais,

108.

orien talis, 108.

MeliarcbiLs sclateri, 108.
Melierax gabar, 327.
Melirrbopbetes batesi,

108.
Mebzopbilus sard us, 279.

282.

uiulal us, (59,91,279.

Melopbus melaiiicteru.i,

228.
Menura superba, 109.
Mergus serrator, 378.
Merops apiaster, 306.
Merula cardis, 217.
cbrysolaus, 174,

216.

fuscata, 217.

bortulorum, 216.

mandariua, 216.

naumanni 174,

216.

ob-scura, 216.

pallida, 174, 216.

Mesopicus namaquus,

53.
Metallura primolina,

353.
Micratbene graysoui,

106.

wbitneyi, 106.

Microcichla scouleri,

219.
Microbierax cbinensis,

470.

■ • sinensis, 216, 234.

Micropternus fokiensis,

229.
Micropus melanolencus,

151, 1.52.
Miglvptes infuscatus,

467.
Milvus ictiuus, 264, 312,

428, 464.

melanotis, 234.

migrans, 149, 312.

Mimocicbla ravida, 125.
Mimus maguirostris,

45(5.
Mirafra bucolica, 462.
Mixorui.s cagayanensis,

449.

montana, 448.

Monticola afBnis. 218.

brevipes, 109.

cvanus, 68, 86, 217,

218,' 2(56, 346.

saxatilis, 85.

solitaria, 174, 217,

346.
Moutifringilla nivalis,

142, 252.
Motacilla alba, 70, 137,

18.5.
flava, 186, 187, 223,

278.
— ■ — leucopsis, 222.
lugens, 222.

lugllbri.'::, 185.

488

I.VDKX.

Motacilla melauope, 7U.

186, 223.

ocularis, 223.

raii, 186, 187.

siilphurea, 176.

taivana, 223. '

Muscicapa atricapilla,

190.

collaris. 190.

griseisticta, 226.

grisola, 189, 190.

■ luctuosa, 459.

oliva, 65.

Muscipeta biiiiaculata,

65.
Mycteria senegalensis,

474.
Myiarehus coalei, 356.

denigratus, 125.

ferox, 318.

nigriceps, 356.

Myiophobus olivus, 65.
Myioplioneus blighi,

444.

boi'neensis, 444.

cffiruleus, 217.

melanurus, 248.

Myiopsitta lineola, 114.
Myiozetetes cayeuueusis,

318.

Nsenia inca, 204, 208.
Nectai'inia famo.sa, 330.
Nelicurvius nelicourvi,

15.

pensilis, 15.

Neophron percnoptei-us,

140, 309, 428.

pileatus, 255.

Nigrita canicapilla, 247.

emiliBe, 247.

Ninox tliraorplia, 108.

japonicus, 174, 231.

scutulata, 231.

Nisaetus bellicosus, 325.
fasciatus, 215, 232,

312.

spilogaster, 49.

Nothoprocta perdicaria,

202.
Nucifraga brachyrhyn-

chus, 465.
■ caryocatactes, 199,

474.
leptorhynchus,

465.
pachyrhyn-

cbus, 465.
inacrorhynebus,

465.

Numcnius arqiiata, 182,

286, 393.

hudsoiiicus, 208.

pli;topus, 393.

tenuirostris, 393.

Numida niarchii, 254.

verreauxi, 350.

Nyctale teiigmalmi, 463.
Nyctea soandiaca, 252.
Nycticorax nycticorax,

181.
Nyroca ferruginea, 377.

Oceaiiites oceaiiicus, 397.
Ocbtha?ca arenacea, {S6.
flaviventris, 4()2.

gratiosa, 462.

(Edeinia nigra, 378.
CEdicnemu8 capensis,

338.

scolopax, 74, 384.

vermiculatu.s, 338.

CEna capensis, 333.
CEstrelata hffisitata, 114.

phffiopygia, 114.

■ saudwichensis, 114.

Opisthocomus cristatus,

319.
Oreicola ferrea, 219.
Oriolinus aiu'ifrons, 24.

• capensis, 24.

subaureus, 25.

Oriolus capensis, 24.

consanguineus, 438.

cucullatus, 36.

diffusus, 224.

galbula, 188.

ocellatus, 180.

sanguiuolenta, 438.

textor, 36.

• vulneratus, 436,

437, 438.
Ornithodesmus clunicu-

lus, 476.
Ortalis motmot, 317,

318.
Orthotomus cucullatus,

436.

longicauda, 221.

Otis cserulesceus, 61.

hartlaubi, 351.

melanogaster, 351.

tai'da, 383.

tetrax, 384.

Otocorys albigula, 417.

penicillata, 416.

■ ■ teleschowi,416,417.

Otoinela bogdanowi, 245.

pha?nicuroide8, 245.

— — romanowi, 245.

Pauliyt'cpbala collaris,

108.
Pagopliila eburnea, 107.
Pandion haliaetus, 231,

313, 430.
Panvptila cayennensis,

318.
Paradoxornis guttati-

coUis, 218.
Parisoiua plunibeuni,

247.
Parra africana, 62.

jacana, 209.

Par us ater, 69, 118, 140,

176, 183.
britannicus,

118.

atricristatus casta-

neifrons, 243.

bicolor texensis,

243.

borealis, 141.

britannicus, 118.

cwruleus, 70, 183.

cinereus, 221.

comniixtus, 221.

cristatus, 184.

major, 69, 183.

minor, 176, 221.

— — - palustris, 118.

dresseri, 118.

pendulinus, 359.

teneriffoe, 433.

varius, 176.

vennstulus, 469.

Parvus nelicourvi, 14.
Passer brancoensis, 252.
domesticus, 70, 193,

455.

hispaniolensis, 434.

italise, 454.

jagoensis, 252.

moutanus, 71, 174,

194, 454.

riippeli, 5.

saliceti, 282.

saturatus, 174.

Pastor roseus, 460.
Pelecanus molinoe, 207.

onocrotalus, 263.

Penelope cristata, 317.

greeyi, 317, 318.

Pentholsea baucis, 462.

clericalis, 462.

Perdix cinerea, 73, 380.
Pericrocotus cantouensis,

176, 224.

cinereus, 176, 360.

igneus, 10.5.

japonicus, 360.

INDEX.

489

Pericrocotus lansbergii,

105.

montanus, 439.

13eregrinus, 105.

Solaris, 439.

tegimte, 360.

Pernis apivorus, 313,

464.
Petasophora germaiia,

353.
Petronia stulta, 71, 194,

434.
PeuL'tea notosticta, 108.
Phaethon rubricauda,

211,213.
Phaethoniis nattereri,

289, 290, 291.
Phaetornis apheles, 291.

longuemareus, 289,

290, 291.
Phalacrocorax africanus,

474.

brasilieusis, 207.

carbo, 314.

gaimardi, 207.

— — graculus, 264, 314.
Phalrenoptilus nuttalli

niticlus, 456.
Phalaropus fulicarius,

388, 459.
Phasiauus cbrjsomelas,

169, 170, 171, 172,
173.

colehicus, 168, 169,

170, 288.

insignia, 171, 172.

komarovi, 172, 24.5,

301.
mongolicus, 169,

171, 172, 173.

persicus, 169, 170,

171, 302.

■ principalis, 169.

170, 171,172,245,259,

301.
reevesi, 109.

seraitorquatus, 173.

sbawi, 169,171, 172,

173.
torquatus, 109, 168,

169, 173.
Pbedina brazzae, 253.
Philseterus squamifrons,

3.
Pbilagrns mahali, 5.

melanorbyncbus, 5.

pectoralis, 6.

superciliaris, 5.

Pbilentoma Telatum,

118.
SER. V. VOL. V.

Pbilortyx personatus,

106. '
Plioenicopterus roseus,

375.
Pbyllergates cucullatus,

447.
Pbjllopneuste lorenzii,

463.
Pbylloscopus bonellii,

93.

borealis, 219.

collybita, 92.

coronatus, 219.

nitidus, 463.

■ proregulus, 219.

rufiis, 431, 4,32.

sibilatrix, 92.

superciliosus, 219,

458.

tenellipes, 219.

trocbilus, 69, 92.

Pica riistica, 72, 200.
Picolaptes rikeri, 356.
Picus cabanisi, 229.

canus yessoensis,

117.

gouldi, 229.

barrisi, 239.

luciani, 229.

major, 177, 239.

• • mandariniis, 229.

minor, 177.

noguchii, 178.

pubescens, 239.

Pipileo com plexus, 106,

108.

maci-onj-x, 108.

maculatus, 108.

submaculatus, 106,

108.
Pipra gutturalis, 318.

leucocilla, 318.

Pitangus sulpburatus,

317.
Pitbys rufigula, 318.
Platalea leucorodia, 374.
Plectropbanes nivalis,

196, 252.
Plegadis falcinellus, 374.
Ploceolus capitalis, 32.

luteolus, 31.

melanotis, 21.

nigrifrons, 30.

personatus, 31.

sublarvatus, 28.

vitellinus, 28.

Plocepasser mahali, 4, 5,

6.
melanorbyncbus, 4,

5,6.

Plocepasser pectoralis, 4,

6.

pileatus, 5.

propiuquatus, 4, 6.

superciliosus, 4, 5.

Ploceus, sp., 34.

abyssinicus, 14, 24,

37.

affinis, 33, 34.

algondaj, 15.

amaurocepbalus, 9,

20.

angolensis, 7, 9, 18.

atricapilla, 22.

atrogularis, 22.

auranticeps, 28.

aurantius, 11, 21,

25, 26.

aureoflavus, 7, 11,

26.
aureus, 24, 27.

auricapillus, 30,

31.

auricularis, 20.

auril'rons, 24.

badius. 13, 34, 35.

baglafect, 9, 20.

bicolor, 6, 9, 19,

20.

bojeri, 11, 26.

bracbypterus, 10,

23.

brandtii, 29.

capensis, 10, 24.

capitalis, 13, 33,34.

• castaueigula, 25.

castaneofuscus, 7,

14, 38.

cliloronotus, 30, 31.

cbrysogaster, 19.

chrj-sostictos, 29.

cinctus, 14, 35.

coUaris, 35, 38.

cristatus, 40.

cucullatus, 6, 14, 33,

36.

cyclospilus, 29.

dimidiatus, 13, 33,

34, 35.

duboisi, 33, 109.

eminentissimus, 8,

15.

emini, 9, 21, 27.

erytbrocepbalus, 16,

18.
erythropbtbalnius,

32.

flavicans, 8, 17.

flavicapillus, 22.

flaviceps, 29.

2m

490

INDEX.

Ploceus flavigula, 23.

flavirostris, 37.

flavomarginalis, 28.

galbula, 11, 26.

grandis, ] 3, 35.

— — ■ gurneyi, 8, 17.

gutturalis, 23.

hajmatocephalus,

18.

heuglini, 12, 30.

hypoxanthus, 7.

icterocephalus, 24.

intermedins, 13, 28,

32.

isabellinus, 38.

jonquillaceus, 22.

kersteui, 9, 18.

larvatus, 37.

leuconotus, 18.

leucophthaliniis, 21.

luteolus, 6, 7, 1-,

31.
madagascariensis, 6,

7, 8, 15, 16.

magnirostris, 36.

iTiariqueiisis, 30, 31,

332.
melanocepbalus, 13,

33, 35, 37.

melanogenys, 21.

iiielanotis, 7, 8, 18,

20, 31.
melanoxanthus, 9,

22

• minutus, 31.

modestus, 36.

mordoreus, 34.

nelicOLirvi, 8, 14, 15.

iiiger, 38.

nigerrimus, 7, 14,

22, 38.

nigriceps, 14, 35.

nigricollis, 9, 22.

nitens, 41.

ocularius, 7, 10, 23,

24.

pensilis, 6, 15.

personatus, 12, 30,

31.

philippinus, 6.

princeps, 10, 24.

reichardi, 28.

reichenowi, 9, 21,

27.

rubor, 8, 16.

rubiginosus, 14, 37.

rubriceps, 8, 17.

rubricollis, 40.

ruficeps, 17, 27-

rulueitrinus, 34.

Ploceus sakalava, 8, 15.

senegaleusis, 36.

seycbellensis, 8, 17.

solitarius, 36, 37.

spekii, 12, 29.

spilouotus, 11, 29.

stictifrous, 9, 19.

stictonotus, 29.

subaureus, 7, 10, 25.

— • siiblarvatus, 27.

subpersonatus, 13,

32.

superciliosus, 5, 11,

27.

28.

■ ta3uioplerus, 11, 28.

■ tahatali, 25.
textor, 36.
tricolor, 14, 38.
velatus, 12, 30, 31.

■ vitellinus, 11, 27,

xanthops, 10, 25.
xanthopterus, 10,

(Cinnamopteryx)

castaueofuscus, 38.

(Hyphantornis) ru-
briceps, 17.

(Melanopteryx) ni-
gerrimus, 39.

Plotu.s anbinga, 336.

levaillanti, 336, 474.

melanogaster, 336.

Podiceps clarkii, 361.

cristatus, 99, 400.

fluviatilis, 400.

griseigena, 99.

holboellii, 362.

leucopterus, 98, 99.

major, 99, 361.

nigricollis, 262, 400.

occideutalis, 98, 99,

258, 361, 362.

tricolor, 257.

Podicipes auritus, 460.

Poecile aflinis, 403.

superciliosa, 406.

Pogonorhynchus leuco-
melas, 329.

torquatus, 329.

Poliomyias luteola, 226.

Poliopicus ellioti, 74, 76.

Poliospiza flegeli, 3.53.

Pomatorhinus stridulus,
218.

Porjjhyrio alleni, 358.

caeruleus, 382.

indicus, 257.

smaragdonotus,

334.

Porzana bailloni, 382.

maruetta, 382.

Pratineola maura, 219.

rubetra, 87.

rubicola, 68, 87.

Prinia flavicans, 330.

inornata, 220.

molleri, 352, 458.

Priouops talacoma, 57.
Procellaria gigautea, 208.

leiicorrhoa, 397.

Psamniocrex petiti, 253.
Psarisomus dalbousioe,

4,53.

psittacinus, 453.

Pseudogerygone cbryso-

gastra, 108.

■ cinereiceps, 108.

notata, 108.

Psittacella madaraszi,

108.
Psittacus fuscicapillus,

53.
Psophia crepitans, 317.
Pterocles alcbata, 380,

460.

arenarius, 259, 380.

namaqua, 333.

Pterutbius cameranoi,

451.
Pterythius asralatus, 436,

451.
Ptilopus (RhampLiculus)

marebii, 2.54.
Ptyrlicus turdiuus, 462.
Puffinus anglorum, 262,

397.

borealis, 256.

edwardsii, 252.

griseus, 256, 398.

kuhli, 256, 262, 398,

399.
major, 250, 256,

398, 399.
Pycnonotus sinensis, 223.
Pyranga icteromelas, 19.
Pyrenestes albifrons, 45,

46.

capitalbus, 46.

frontalis, 4(5.

unicolor, 45.

Pyrgilauda barbata, 412,

414.
kausuensis, 414,

416.

ruficoUis, 413, 414.

Pyroderus masoui, 1 13.
Pyromelaua oryx, 332.
Pvrrboeorax alpinus,
■ 146.

INDEX.

491

Pyrrbocorax graculu3,

199, 262, 43d.
Pyrrhiila albifrons, 45.
■ cineracea, 100, 101,

102.
pallida. 101,

102.

europaea, 195.

frontalis, 46.

gitliaginea, 435.

kamtschatica, 101.

kurilensis, lOl.

major, lOU, 102, 103.

marina, 101.

orientalis, 101, 102,

103.
kurileiLsitf,

101.
rosacea, 101,

102, 103.
rosacea, 100, 101,

102, 103.
vulgaris, 71, 101,

102.
kaiutscbatica,

101.

major, 102.

Pyrrhulauda signata,

113.

Terticalis, 113.

Qiielea latliami, 332.
Querquedula circia, 377.

crecca, 73, 376.

Quiscalus caymanensis,
125.

Eallus aquaticus, 73, 287,

3S1.

gularis, 358.

jouyi, 358.

striatus, 358, 359.

Ramphocinelus saucta?-

lucite, 456.
Eecurvirostra avocetta,

388.
Regulus calendula, 103.

cristatus, 69, 92.

maderensis,

92.

himalayensis, 403.

ignicapillus, 69, 92,

134.

satrapa, 462.

aztecus, 462.

Remiza pendulinus, 359.
Rhampbastos vitellinus,

317.
Rbanipboccelus jacapa,

317.

Rbeiuartius ocellatus,

254.
Rbinomyias ruficauda,

442.

ruficrissa, 441.

Rblnopomastes cyanome-

las, 52, 328.
Rhipidui-a albicoUis, 441.

atrata, 441.

byperytbra; 108.

rubrofrontata, 108.

Eissa tridactyla, 396.
Eubigula di.spar, 118.
Euticilla aurorea, 219.

■ cairii, 134.

erytlirogastra, var.

severzovi, 463.

ocbrurus, 463.

pboenicurus, 88.

titys, 68, 88, 133,

134.

Salporuis emini, 462.
Sarciophorus malabarica,

419.

pectoralis, 419.

superciliosus, 418,

419.

tectus, 419.

Saxicola albicoUis, 86.

capisti-ata, 346.

leucomelseua, 345.

leucopyga, 346.

leucura, 68, 87.

lugubris, 346.

monticola, 55, 345,

472.

occidentalis, 358.

cenantbe, 86, 133.

picata, 346.

rufa, 87.

sbelleyi, 54.

stapazini, 358.

tbolloni, 253.

Scelospizias polyzonoides,

47.
Scenopseus dentirostris,

479.
Scolopax a^quatorialis,

344.

• minor, 285.

rocbusseni, 284, 285,

470, 471.
rosenbergi, 283,

284.
rusticula, 74, 285,

287, 354, 388.
satur ata 283, 284,

285.
Scops elegans, 230.

Scops gill, 308.

semitorques, 174.

Scotopelia bouvieri, 247.

ussheri, 247.

Serinus eanarius, 434.

bortulanus, 70, 192.

Setopbaga albifrons, 129,

130.

brunneiceps, 130.

eastaneocapilla, 130.

flavivertex, 129,

130.

miniata, 130.

picta, 130.

ruticilla, 130.

- — - verticalis, 130.
Sbarpia angolensis, 18.

ayresi, 17.

Sibia desgodinsi, 112.
Sigmodus retzii, 57.

rufiventris, 57.

tricolor, 57.

Sitagra luteola, 31.

• pelzelni, 23, 462.

Sitta amurensis, 359.
albifrons,

359.

clara, 359.

cjesia, 77, 184, 222,

250.

bimalayana, 222.

■ — — krueperi, 463.

sinensis, 221, 222.

Spatula clypeata, 376.
Spermestes cucuUata, 60.
Spilornis cbeela, 233.
Spindalis pretrii, 125.

sal\dni, 125.

Spizella pinetorum, 108.
Spizixus semitorques,

224.
Sporopipes frontalis, 3, 4.

lepidopterus, 3.

squamifrons, 3, 331 .

Spreo bicolor, 331.
Squatarola belvetica, 384.
Stacbyridopsis ruficeps,

222.
Stacbyris borneensis, 449.

uigriceps, 449.

poliocepbala, 450.

precognitus, 222.

Stapbidia castaneiceps,

448.

everetti, 447, 448.

Steatoruis caripensis,

477.
Stercorarius chilensis,

206.
crepidatus,262,.397.

492

INDEX,

S tercorarius parasiticus,

397.
pomatorhinus, 206,

396.
Sterna anglica, 394', 464.

cantiaca, 263, 394.

cas])ia, 283.

dougalli, 181.

exilis, •_'()4, 20.5, 207.

fluviatilis, 267, 393.

fuliginosa, 213, 214,

368.

hirundinacea, 208.

macrura, 203.

magnirostris, 209.

— - — • melauauchen, 181.

minuta, 181, 394.

sinensis, 181.

Stigmatops kebirensis,

108.

squamata, 108.

Stoparola cerviniventris,

444.

indigo, 444.

ruficrissa, 444.

Strepsilas interpres, 287,

386.
Strix flammea, 307, 358,

431.
Strobilophaga burtoni,

123.
Struthiolithus chersonen-

sis, HI.
Sturnus caiicasicus, 463.

purpurascens, 463.

uuicolor, 199.

vulgaris,72, 199, 435.

Sula bassana, 314.

fusca, 213.

Suthora suffusa, 218, 470.
Sutoria sutoria, 221.
Siiya crinigera, 220.
^^ striata, 220.
Sycobius, sp., 41.

albinucba, 39.

bicolor, 19.

cassini, 41.

cristatus, 40.

gregalis, 19.

malimbus, 40.

melanotis, 18.

nigerrimus, .39.

nigrifrons, 40.

nitens, 41.

rachelia;, 42.

rubrieeps, 17, 41,

59, 60.

rubricollis, 40.

St. thomre, 22.

scutatus, 41.

Sycobrotiis amaurocepba-
' lus, 20.

bicolor, 19, 20.

eiuini, 21.

kersteui, 18.

nielanoxanthus, 22.

nigricollis, 22.

reichenowi, 21.

Sylvia atricapilla, 68, 91.

432.
conspicillata. 90,

4.32.

ciirruea, 90.

komadori, 360.

melanocepbala, 68,

90, 279, 432.

nisoria, 250.

oi'phea, 91.

rufa, 90.

saliearia, 91.

subalpina, 90, 269.

Sylvietta stampflii, 247.
Symphemia semipalmata

inornata, 456.
Symplectus amauroce-

pbalus, 20.

baglafecbt, 21.

bicolor, 19.

cbrysogaster, 20.

cliry somas, 19.

ebrysopbrys, 22.

crocatus, 462.

emini, 21.

kersteni, 18.

nigricollis, 22.

princeps, 24.

reichenowi, 21.

stictifrons, 19.

Sj'nthliborhampbus auti-

quus, 3f>0.

wumizusumo, 359.

Syrnium aluco, 308.

niasense, 467.

niicbale, 255.

woodfordi, 351.

Tacbyeres cinereus, 202.
Tadorua cornuta, 375.
Ta?nioglaux capensis, ,50.
Tanagra capitalis, 34.

episcopus, 316.

maliaibica, 40.

palmarum, 317.

Tarsiger cyaniirus, 174,

226.

hodgsoni, 436, 440.

Telepbonus erytbropte-

rus, 58.

Senegal us, 58.

Terekia cinerea, 104.

Terpsipbone incii, 227.

iiisiilaris, 4(i7.

Tetrao mlokosieviczi, 463.

tetrix, 463.

urogallus, 302.

, var. uralensis,

302.
Tetraopbasis desgodinsi,
112.

obscurus, 113.

Textor albirostris, 42, 43,

44.

alecto, 43.

atrogularis, 30.

aureoflavus, 26.

boebmi, 43^ ^14.

ca8taneo-auratus,34.

castaneofuscus, 38.

cbrysopygus, 28.

cucuUatus, 33.

dinemelli, 42, 43,44.

erytbrorbyuchus, 43.

flavigula, 2.3.

galbula, 27, 28, ,34.

intermedins, 43, 44.

larvatus, 37.

mariqiiensis, 30.

melanotis, 21.

niger, 43.

panicivorus, 42, 43.

rubiginosus, 34, 38.

scioanus, 43, 44.

sublarvatus, 27.

vitellina, 27.

Tbalassornis leuconota,

336.
Tbalurania jelskii, 353.
Tbamnomanes glaiicus,

318.
Tbamnopbilus murinus,

318.
Tbarrbaleus pallidas,

299.
Ticbodroma muraria, 70,

139, 184, 259, 464.
Tinamus subcristatus,

317.
Tinnanculus rupicola,

326.

rupicoloides, 326.

Topaza pella, 317.
Totanus brevipes, ISO.

calidris, 392.

eanescens, 392.

fuscus, 392.

glareola, 392.

bypoleacus, 182,

268,274,391.
ocbropas, 74, 268,

392.

INDEX.

493

Treron calva, 352.

crassirostris, 352.

permagna, 360.

sieboldi, 179.

Tringa alpina, 390.

canutus, 390.

leucoptera, 288.

minuta, 390.

striata, 390.

subarcuata, 390.

Trochalopteron canoram,

1G8, 218.

cineraceiim, 166.

cinereiceps, 166,

167.

ellioti, 300.

prjevalskii, 300.

Trocbilus colubris, 463.
Troglodytes bi-acbyurus,

462.

intermeclius, 462.

parvulus, 70, 184.

Tuvdinus canicapilliis,

450.

sepiarius, 450.

Tardus alpestris, 359.

atrigularis, 460.

iliacus, 67, S5.

merula, 68, 85, 107,

431, 466.
musicus, 67, 84, 85,

107.

olivaceus, 3S0.

pilaris, 68, 85, 107,

252.

storinsi, 109.

torquatus, 68, 86,

133, 359.

Tiscivorus, 67, 84.

Turnix lepurana, 333.
ocellata, 179.

Turnix pluiubipes, 179.

' rostrata, 179, 180.

sylvatica, 381.

Turtur commuuis, 379.

orientalis, 179.

Tyrannus melancholicus,
318.

Upupa africana,- 328.

epops, 229, 306.

UrsBgintbus granatinus,

333.
Urocbroma purj)urata,

317.
Urogalba paradisea, 318.
Urolestes melauoleucus,

331.
Urospizias albigularis,

97, 98. _
jardinei, 97, 98.

Vanellus cristatus, 286.

inornatus, 350.

melanopterus, 344.

vulgari:?, 74, 386.

Vidua principalis, 331.
Vireo alleni, 125.

cayraanensis, 243.

noTeboracensis

maynardi, 456.
Vireosyhia canescens,

456.
Vultur monacbus, 309.

Xantbopbilus aureofla-

vus, 26.

pulpbureus, 28.

Xantbopvgia cyanome-

la?na, 226.
fub'ginosa, 226.

Xantbopygia narcissina,

226.

tricolor, 227.

Xanthotis chrysotis, 108.
Xenia furcatum, 204.
sabinii, 107, 207,

460.
Xenocichla orientalis,462.

Zenaida aurita, 202.

boliviana, 202.

■ ricbardsoni, 243.

spadicea, 125, 243.

Zonotricbia quinque-
sfriata, 108.

vulcani, 108.

Zosterops anjuanensis,

369, 370, 371.

aurei venter, 4,52.

borbonica, 235, 371.

cinereus, 235.

curvirosti-is, 371.

bsesitata, 371.

bovarum, 235, 370,

371.

japonica, 176.

kirki, 370.

lutea, 234.

raadagascariensis,

371.
mauritiana, 235,

370, 371.

mayottensis, 370.

modesta, 235, 371.

palpebrosa, 227.

prffiterniissa, 370,

371.

semiflava, 370.

senegalensis, 234.

siameusis, 234.

sinqilex, 227.

END OF VOL. V.

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ON THE WIXGS OF BIEDS.

By C. J. SUNDEYALL.

69 pp. with two Plates. (Translated from the original Swedishbv W.
S. D.4LLAS, F.L.S.) Reprinted from ' The Ibis ' for 1886.

London : John Van Vooest, 1 Paternoster Row, E.G.

CONTENTS OF NUMBER XYII. {continued).

19. Oustalet on a new Tetraophasis \\2

20. Oustalet on Birds from Somali-land .' j

21. Pelzeln and Kohl on Birds from Ceylon X

22. Ridgway on Venezuelan Birds ( ^^^

23. Ridgway on (Estrelata sandtvichensis i

24. Ridgway on Buteo latissimus .'(•114

25. Shufeldt on the Osteology of Conurus {

26. Smart on British Birds \ \Yo

27. Stejneger on Japanese Birds * * wj

28. Stejneger on the British Marsh Tit .... ." ' * " \

29. Taczanowski's ' Omithologie du Perou ' , A

30. Vorderman on the Birds of Western Java ...!*. !{ ■'■•^'^

31. Wells on the Birds of Grenada ! .' ! )

XI. Letters, Extracts, Xotices, &c. : —

Letters fi-om Comit T. Salvador! and Dr. A. B. Meyer • The
House Bunting of the Sahara and Maroceo (Frmf/iUaria
Sahara); Migration at Chicago; the Ridgway Ornitho-
logical Club ; Ornithological Works in Progress ; "^Exhibition
at Ekaterinburg ; New Birds from the West Indies ; ' Stray
Feathers ' ; Obituary — Mr. A. E. Knox, Dr. G. A. Fischer. . 119

Publications received since the issue of No. 16_, Fifth Series

AND not noticed IN THE PRESENT NuMBER.

1. 'The Auk.' Vol. iii. no. 4.

2. BiiTTiKOFER. Contributions to the Ornithology of Sumatra. (Notes
from the Leyden Mus. viii.)

3. BtJTTiKorER. Zoological Researches in Siberia. A List of Birds. (Notes
from the Leyden Mus. viii. p. 243.)

4. KoLoMBATOvic. Agariunti ai Vertebrati della Dalmazia. (8to Snlit
1886.) y • t ,

5. Macpherson, The Birds of Skye. (Proc. R. Pbys. Soc. Edinburo-h
1886, p. 118.) "" '

6. Mexzbier. Die Zugstrassen der Vogel im europiiischen Russland
(Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, 1886, No. 2.)

7. Mexzbier. Notiz liber einen neuen Griinspecht, Gecinus flavirostris
(Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Moscou, 1886, No. 2.)

8. Mittheilungen des ornithologischen Vereines in Wien. (Blatter fiir
Vogelkunde, kc, Jahrg. 10, 1886, Nos. 17, 18.)

9. OrsTALET. Notices sm* quelques especes nouvelles ou pen connues de la
collection Ornithologique du Museum. (Nouvelles Archives d. Mus. d'Hist.
Nat. Paris, ser. 2, tome vi.)

10. Oustaeet. Description d'especes nouvelles d'Oiseaux provenant des lies
du Cap Vert. (Ann. Sci. Nat. 1883, Art. 5.)

11. Oustalet. Description d'especes nouvelles d'Oiseaux provenant du
Congo. (Ann. Sci. Nat. 1884, xvii. Art, 8.)

12'. Oustalet. Description d'un Oiseau nouveau de I'Afrique occidentale
(Le Naturaliste, 1884.)

13. Oustalet. Description de deux especes nouvelles faisant partie de la
collection Omithologique du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. (Le
Naturaliste, I860.)

14. Oustalet. Notice siu- quelques Oiseaux nouveaux du Cono-o CLq
Naturaliste, 1886.) _ _ e • ^

15. Shufeldt. On Injuries of the Beak in Birds and the Method of Renair
(Journ. Comp. Med. & Surg., 1886.) ^ '

16. Zaroudnoi. Oiseaux de la contree Trans-Caspienne. (Bull Soc Imn
Nat. Moscou, 1885, No. 2.) * ^"

CONTENTS OF NUMBER XVII.— EIETH SERIES.

Page
I. A Review of the Species of the Family Ploceidce of the
Ethiopian Region. By Captain G. E. Shelley, F.Z.S. —
Part II. Ploceince. (Plates I. & II.) 1

II, A List of Birds collected by Mr. Walter Ayres in Transvaal
and in Umzeilla's Country lying to the North-east of Trans-
vaal, between the 23rd and 24th degrees of South Latitude
and the 32nd and 33rd of East Longitude, with JSTotos by
the Collector. Communicated by John Henrt Gurxey. . 47

III. On Empidonax brunneus and its allied Species. By P. L.

SCLATER 64

IV. Observations in the Eastern Pyrenees. By James Backhouse,

jun 66

V. Notes on "Woodpeckers. — No. XIII. On Gecinus gorii, and on

the male of Poliopicus ellioti. By Edward Hargitt, F.Z.S. 74

VI. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By William C. Tait, Oporto 77

VII. On an apparently undescribed Hawk of the Asturine Subgenus
Urospizias, proposed to be called Urospiizias jardinei. By
J. H. GuRNEY. (Plate IIL) 90

Vni. On the Breeding-plumage of Podiceps occidentalism Lawrence.

By H. B. Trisiram, D.D., F.R.S 98

IX. On the Bullfinches of Siberia and Japan. By Henry Seebohm 100

X. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : —

1. Beckham on the Ruby-crowned Kinglet i lfi<l

2. Berlepsch on the Literature of the Trochilid^ . . . . j

3. W. Blasius on the Birds of Celebes

4. Biittikofer on Birds from the Tenimber Islands . .

5. Buttikofer on a new Perkrocotus

6. Dubois on Birds from the Tanganyka District ....!• 105

7. Ferrari-Perez on Mexican Birds )

8. Fischer and Pelzeln on the Birds of Jan Meyen .... 106

9. Godman andSalvin's 'Biologia Centrali-Americana ' . . 107

10. Gould's ' Birds of New Guinea ' 108

11. Hartlaub on new African Birds |

12. Huet on Additions to the Jardin des Plantes (, 109

13. Littleboy on the Birds of Hertfordshire J

14. Meyer on some Birds from New Guinea I nn

15. Milne-Edwards and Grandidier's ' Madagascar ' . . . .(

16. Nathusius on the Position of the Egg in the Oviduct . . I m

17. Nathusius on the Egg of Struthiolithus j ■'■-'•■'•

18. Norfolk and Norwich NaturaUsts' Society's Transactions . 112

[Contents continued on page 3 of Wrapper,']

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CONTENTS OF NUMBER XVIII, {continued).

39. Booth on British Birds 246

40. Biittikofer on the Birds of Liberia 247

41. Biittikofer on 8umati'an Birds j

42. Guillemard's Cruise of the ' Marchesa ' (

43. Harvie-Browu on North Rona i mn

44. Gilford's ' British Birds ' | '^■*''

45. Maepherson on the Birds of Skye I o-n

46. Menzbier on the Migration Routes of Russian Birds . . (

47. Menzbier on a new Green Woodpecker ... I o-

48. ' Ornis,' Vol. I. No. 4, Vol. II. Nos. 1-3 .....'.' f ^^^

49. Oustalet on two new Species of Bii-ds from tlie Cape Verd

Islands 252

50-52. Oustalet on new Birds from the Congo 1

63-64. Oustalet on new or rare Species of Birds in the Paris i 263
Museum |

55. Pelzeln and Lorenz on the Types in the Vienna Museum 1

56. Schperck on the Birds of the Amur (. 254

67. Shufeldt on Injuries to the Beak in Birds j

68-69. Sousa on African Birds j

60. S. Swinburne on Oceanic Birds j" "^'^

61. Vian on the Young in Down of the Ptilop^des 256

62. Vian on Asiatic Warblers in Heligoland )

63. Vorderman on the Birds of Borneo . • /

64. Zaroudnoi and Menzbier on the Birds of the Trans- (

Caspian Regions j

XXV. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. : —

Letters from Mr. J. H. Gurney and Canon Tristram ; ' Birds
of the Afghan Boundary ;' Dr. Radde's Trans-Caspian
Expedition ; Obituary — Mr. Robert Gray 258

Publications received since the issue of No. 17, Fifth Series,

AND not noticed IN THE PRESENT NuMBER.

17. Babboza du Bocage. Oiseaux nouveaux de I'lle St. Thom6. (Jorn.
Sci. Lisboa, No. 44, 1887.)

18. Cory. Description of a new Species of Rhamphocinclus from St. Lucia,
W. Indies. (The Auk, iv. p. 94.)

19. Cory. A list of the Birds collected by Mr. W. B, Richardson in the
Island of Martinique, W. Indies. (The Auk, iv, p. 95.)

20. Hoffmann. Die Waldschnepfe. Zweite Auflage. (8vo. Stutto-art,
1887.)

21. Jahresbsricht (1885). Der ornithologisehen Beobachtungstationen im
Konigreich Sachsen, bearbeitet von Dr. A. B. Meyer und von Dr. F. Helm.
(8vo, Dresden, 1886.)

22. Leverkuhn. Omithologische Exkursionen im Friihling 1886. (Mon-
atschr. d. deutsch. Ver. z, Schiitze d. Vogelwelt, 1886, p. 241.)

23. Marshall. Deutschlands Vogelwelt im Wechsel der Zeiten. (8vo.
Hamburg, 1887.)

24. Mittheilungen des ornithologisehen Vereines in Wien. (Section fiir
Vogelkunde, Jahr, x. Nos. 17, 18 ; xi. Nos. 1-3, 1887.)

25. Ridgway. a Nomenclature of Colours for Naturalists, and compendium
of useful knowledge for Ornithologists, (8vo. Boston, 1886,)

CONTENTS OF NUMBER XVIII.— EIETH SEllIES.

Page
XII. Description of a new Species of the Genus Setophaga.

By OsBERi Saltix, M.A., F.E.S., &c. (Plate lY.) . . .129

XIII. Notes on some Swiss Birds. By Scott B. Wilsox . . . 130

XIV. Observations upon the Habits of Micropus melanqleucus,
M-ith Critical Xotes on its Plumage and External Char%ters.
Bv H. W. Shvteldt, CM.Z.S., Capt. Mod. Corps, U.S. Army,
(Plate V.) ' . 151

XV. On FaJco habi/loniciis and Falco barbanis. By John IIi:>'PvY

Gurnet 158

XVI, On a new Species of TrochaJo^t^ron from China. Bv F. W.

Sttax, F.Z.S. (Plate VI.) '. . . ] 06

XVII. On P/mstanMS coZcZiicus and its AUies. By Hexet Szebohm, 163

XVIII. Xotes on the Birds of the Loo-choo Islands. By He>"ry

SEEBOHii. (Plate VII.) 173

XIX. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By Williaij C. Tait,

Oporto. (Continued.) 182

XX, Xotes on Birds*in the Western Pacific,'made in H.M.S.
' Constance,' 1883-5. By Ji. E,. H. ilAoFii^LANE, X avigatiug-
Lieut,, E.X . ^ . 201

XXI. On a Collection of Birds from Fooehow, ; By F. W. Styan,

F.Z.S 215

XXII. On an apparently new Species of Zjsterops from Madagascar.

By H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.B.S ".^. . .234

XXTTT, The Polar Origin of Life considcTe4*n its bearing on the
Distribution and Migration of Bir(^s. — l*arfc I. By H. B.
Teisiram, D.D., F.B.S 236

XXIV. Xotices of recent Ornithological* Pubucations : —

32. ' The Auk ' .243

33. Barboza du Bocage on Dupont's Lark in Portugal . • ■ { c,

34. Belgian Ornithol gical Report ( "

244

3-5. Bianchi on a new Shrike

36. Bianchi on the Birds of the Western Pamir K 245

37. Bogdanow on a new Pheai^ant )

38. The Bombay Xatural History Society 246

[^ConteTits continued on page 3 of Wrapper.']

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THE IBIS,

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY.

EDITED BY

PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.,

SECEETAEY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCLETT OF LOSDOy.
ASD

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CONTENTS OF NUMBEE, XIX.— EIETH SEllIES.

Page
XXVI. Notes on Mediterranean Ornithology. By Lord Lilfoed,

(Plate VIII.) 261

XXVII. On Horsfield's "Woodcock, Scolopax saturata. By Henry

Seebohdi 283

XXVIII. Some Remarks on SundevaU's Account of the number of

Secondaries in Birds. By Henry Seebohm .... 280

XXIX. Descriptions of new Species and Subspecies of Trochilidce.

By Hans von BERLEPScn 289

XXX. On some new or rare Palajarctic Birds. By Dr. M. Menz-

BiER, Professor in the University of Moscow. (Plate IX.) 299

XXXI. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By Williajt C. Tait,

Oporto. (Continued.) 302

XXXII. A few Notes on British Guiana and its Birds. By W. L.

ScLATEB, B.A., r.Z.S '. . . 315

XXXIII. Eemarks on the Species of the Genus Cyclorhis. By P. L,

ScLATER. (Plate X.) 320

XXXIV. Notes on a Collection of Birds from Kroonstad, in the
Orange Pree State. By Edward Symonds. (Commu-
nicated by J. H. Gurney.) 324

XXXV. Notes on the Birds of Natal and adjoining parts of Soiith

Africa. By Henry Seebohm 336

XXXVI. Notices of Recent Ornithological Publications : —

65. Barboza du Bocage on new V/est- African Birds . . . , ]

66. Blakiston on the Water- Birds of Japan L'^")

07. Dubois on two new Birds \ '^~

68. Gould's ' Supplement to the Troc/iilides ' j

69. Hartert on the Birds of the Niger District 3o3

70. Hoftmann on the .Woodcock \

71. Kolombatovic on the Vertebrates of Dalniatia . . . . ( .j^.

72. Lawrence on a new Thrush C '-''^

73. Leverkiihn's ' Ornithological Excursions ' J

74. Marshall on Changes in the German Avifauna .... 1

75. Meyer and Helm on the Saxon Ornithological Stations . i 355

76. Ridgway on a new Oyatercatcher |

77. Ridgway on a new Subspecies of Cyclvrhis ~j

78. Ridgway on a new Myiarchus |

79. Ridgway on a supposed Hybrid Woodpecker \ 356

80. Ridgway on a new Picolaptes |

81. Ridgwav on Colours J

82. Salvadoii's ' List of Italian Birds ' 357

[^Contents continued on jmge 3 of Wrapper.^

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1 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. (Successors to J. Van Voohst).

Members of the B. 0. U. are requested to keep the Secretary, H. E.
Dresser, Esq., 6 Tenterden Street, Hanover Square, "VV., informed of any
change of Residence, so that the Numbers of ' The Ibis ' may be sent to them
without delay.

^^ft FIFTH SERIES.
ft±€ Vol. V. Xo. 20.

OCTOBER 1887.

Fi'ice Qs.

THE IBIS,

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY.

EDITED BY

PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S.

SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LOifDOX,

AND

HOWAED SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S.

LONDON:

GUENEY AND JACKSON, 1, PATEENOSTER ROW.

(Successors to J. VAN VOORST.)

Annual Subscription^ payaUe before 31«< March each year, £1 Is.

^^H^TATLOE AXD FRANCIS, PRINTERS,]

[bed lion COURT, FLEET STREET.^

BRITISH OMITHQLOGISTS' UNION.

PRESIDENT.
The Right Hon. Lord Lilford.
SECRETARY.
H. E. Dresser, Esq.
COMMITTEE.
The President. "^ »

The Editors op ' The Ibis.' > Ex officio.
The Secretary. J

W. T. Blanford, Esq. (Elected 1885.)
Edward Cavendish Taylor, Esq. (Elected 1886.)
E. Bidwell, Esq. (Elected 1887.)
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-nine 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 a contri-
bution of £1 on election, and £1 on the 1st of January of each
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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.

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Nuio ready. — Price 2s. 6d.

ON THE WINCiS OF BIRDS.

By C. J. SUNDEVALL.
69 pp, witli two Plates. (Translated from the original Swedish by
W. S. Dallas, F.L.S.) Eeprinted from ' The Ibis ' for 1880.

London : Gurnet & Jackson (Successors to J. Van Voorst),
1 Paternoster Row, E.G.

NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION OF THE

HISTORY OF THE BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.

SIR V/ALTER LAWRY BULLER, K.C.M.a., F.R.S., &c.

Owing to the favourable reception accorded to the New Edition in the Austral-
asian Colonies, and the consequently increased number of subscribers to this
work, tlie Author linds himself in the gratifying position of being able to reduce
the price of each Part from One Guinea and a half (as announced in the original
prospectus) to One Guinea ; but the Edition will b i strictly limited to 1000
copies, of which only about 2o0 will be available for Europe and America.

The work will be issued in Thirteen Parts (to Subscribers only) at the price
of One Gui7iea each, or Tioelve Guineas for the whole if paid in advance.

106. Kiu

107. The kidgv .^

108. Salvador! on Bi» .o x.

109. Saunders's ' List of Britisu

110. Shufeldt's ' Contributions to Scienuc

111. Sousa on the Birds of Dahomey

112. Stejneger on Brachyrhamphus perdix I

XL VIII. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. : —

Letters from J. de La Touche ; Rev. H. A. Macpherson ; Dr.
A. B. Meyer ; R. B. Sharpe ; Lt.-Col. E. A. Butler, Lt.-Col.
H. W. Feilden, and Capt. Savile G. Reid ; Emin Pacha on
the Birds of Lake Albert, Eastern Equatorial Africa ; Nesting
of Kucifraga caryocatactes ; A new FossU Bird from the
Wealden ; Guacharo-shooting in Trinidad ; Important Ad-
ditions to the New York Museum; Obituary — T. Henry
Bowyer Bower, Sir Julius von Haast, and Professor Spencer
F. Baird 469

Index 481

Titlepage, Preface, List of Members, and Contents.

Publications received since the issue of No. 19^ Fifth Series,

AND not noticed IN THE PRESENT NUMBER.

46. Andebson. List of Birds, chiefly from the Mergui Archipelago. (Jouru.
Linn. Soc. (Zool.) vol. xxi. p. 136.)

47. Beblepsch. Systematisches Verzeichniss der von Herrn Ricardo Rohda
in Paraguay gesammelten Yogel und Appendix. (J. f. O. 1887, pp. 1, 113.)

48. Cabazzi. Materiali per una Avifauna del Golfo di Spezia e della Val di
Magra. (8vo. Spezia, 1887.)

49. GuBNEY. On the Periodical Movements of Gulls (Larida) on the Coast
of Norfolk. (Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc. iv. p. 326.)

50. GuENEY and Southwell. Fauna and Flora of Norfolk. — Part XI.
Birds, Section II, (Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc. iv. p. 397.)

51. Habtebt. Vorliiufiger Versuch einer Ornis Preussens. (Mitth. d. Omi-
thol. Ver. Wien, 1887.)

52. The Indian Annals and Magazine of Natm-al Science. Conducted by
James A. Mubkay. (Vol. i. no?. 1, 2, 3, 1887.)

63. Menzbleb. Vergleichende Osteolosie der Penguine in Anwendimg zur
Haupteintheilung der V6p;el. (Bull. Soc. Imp. d. Nat. Moscou, 1887, no. 2.)

54. The Naturalist's Monthly. (Vol. i. no. 1.)

55. Nazaeow. Recherches zoologiques des Steppes des Kirguiz. (Bull. Soc.
Imp. d. Nat. Moscou, 1887, pt. 2, p. 338.)

56. Scully. On the Mammals and Birds collected by Capt. C. E. Yate in
Northern Afghanistan. (J. A. S. B. vol. Ivi. pt. 2, p. 68.)

57. Shueeldt. a Critical Comparison of a Series of Skulls of the Wild and
Domesticated Turkeys. (Journ. of Comp. Med. & Surg., July 1887.)

58. Shueeldt. Another Muscle in Birds of Taxonomic Value. (Science,
vol. ix. p. 623.)

59. Sousa. Lista das Aves de Mozambique (districto de Cabo Delgado) col-
ligidas pelo Sr. Augusto Cardosa. (Jorn. d. Sci. Math. Phys. e Nat. Lisboa,
no. xlv.)

60. Sousa. Aves da Ilha do Principe coUigidas pelo Sr. Francisco Newton.
(Jorn. d. Sci. Math. Phys. e Nat. Lisboa, no. xlv.)

61-64. Stejnegeb. Review of Japanese Birds : IV. Synopsis of the Genus
Turdus. (P. U. S. N. M. 1887, p. 4.) — Birds of Kauai Island, Hawaiian Archi-
pelago. (Ibid, p. 75.) — Contributions to the Natural History of the Commander
Islands : No. 7. Revised and Annotated Catalogue of the Birds inhabiting the
Commander Islands. {Ibid. p. 117.) — Description of a new Species of Fruit-
Pigeon (lanthoenas jouyi) from the Liu Kiu Islands, Japan. (American Natu-
ralist, 1887, p. 583.) *

65. Transactions of the Wagner Free Institute of Science of Philadelphia.
(Vol. I. Roy. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1887.)

-PIFTH SEEIES.

Page
.^. <jn an apparently new Species of Zosterops from the
Island of Anjuan, Comoro Group. By H. B. Tristram,
D.D., P.R.S. (Plate XI.) 369

XXXIX. A List of the Birds of Portugal. By William C. Tait,

Oporto. (Concluded.) 372

XL. On new Species of Central-Asian Birds. By General
JN". M. Prjeyalskt. (Translated from the Eussian by
E. Delmar Morgan.) 401

XLI. Description of a rare Species of Plover from the Came-

roons Coast. By Captain G. E. Shellef, E.Z.S. . . 417

XLII. Note on Baza ceylonensis. By Samuel Bligh, of
Catton, Coslanda, Ceylon. (Communicated by J. H.
Gtjeney.) 419

XLIII. On the Structure of the Barbs, Barbules, and Barbicels
of a Typical Pcnnaceous Feather. By Bichard S.
Wrat, B.Sc. (London). (Plate XII.) 420

XLIV. Notes on the Birds of TenerifFe. By Capt. Saa'Ile G.

Reid, E.E 424

XLV. Notes on a Collection of Birds made by Mr. John "White-
head on the Mountain of Xina Balu, in Northern
Borneo, with Descriptions of new Species. B3' R.
BowDLER Sharpe, E.L.S. &c. (Plates XIII. & XIV.). 435

XLVI. Notes upon the Northern Limit of the Italian Sparrow

(Passer italice). By H. M. Wallis 454

XL VII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications : —

90. ' The Auk ' 456

91. Barboza du Bocage on new Birds from St. ThomiS . . )

92. Bombay Natural History Society's Journal . . . . i 458

93. British Association's 'Repoi-t on Migrations in 1836' . |

94. Capeu on the Ea'gs of the Birds of New England . . . 459

95. Carazzi on some Italian Birds 1

96. Collett on new Norwegian Birds t 460

97. Dixon (J. H.) on the Birds of Gairloch j

98. Green on Ocean Birds i , „,

99. Hartlaub on Birds from Eastern Equatorial Africa . \

100. Lawrence on new Neotropical Birds ) ,p.^

101. Lorenz on the Birds of the Caucasus j

102. Macfarland on the Ruby-throated Humming-bird . . ( .p„

103. ]Martin on the Birds of the Brenne p*^"^

104. More's ' Guide to the Dublin Museum ' 464

105. 'Ornis' 465

\_Contents continued on jjage 3 of W)'a2)per.'\

Covers for binding last year's Volume may be had on application to the

Publishers.

Communications may be addressed to the Editors, 6 Tenterden Street, Han-
over Square, W. Advertisements &c. to the Publishers, Gubney & Jackson,
1 Paternoster Row, London, E.G. (Successors to J. Van Voorst).

Members of the B. O. U. are requested to keep the Secretary, H. E.
Dresser, 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.

APR - ^9