eer perce gee bree yypbeee ‘ Pehre ge Pe ee es THU eam | ‘ . ae Ar] ee nL oe ee ON ee tenes, Te PL be a - 4 TRUM AR eo x Tad Or ‘ Wh ey etree te ny aA ee ; Witty WAR vata ‘ ; Pee ewe ed av eae prvearas oa ut ne CALL) 14 Vig 2a pt i hae weer mea a base vain FURUNCN AC COUR A ate! tN ' rerayy pyaty eer eee : , Lehane any ' wey mon aN ae rane ved an peur thedee rt ra gauk 4 ” ’ vorengt ' : rye : ANS F ‘ 7 . : Vt ys er ‘ $ \ i yy VVaAore 1 * DUAR) Be 4 i ke 4034 } 4 ve , yar Ce “>> t Or ie ‘ Ret Ne A V SOO NOL 4 vay put AA , i vos ‘ ; Ce rer pe Wrage Ct Ps Pe La oles ade alta yest OAL AL hey TOURETTE DENS \ Ma Ni ‘ rt ‘ wa eh ae 5 wpa vil ' \ vty r es thatehy reer yy we ual ute uN y ye wie Le =< ese peye gas phan eyegeey Pee b pe bag Se > yer yeep vet ors yyy Var Lye Vly ewe een! YR Pee yb ee be Preys py eee yt PAV Vr Vy een ey a ee er BD 2 ‘ t rs {ALES ot EE Pu hh) mo) Sb Pye rast as ners maaan) a ete ’ 9 eS Feta Jad : adilibus gy A f? uy WOT ash attealg Behe Vidor Pad Pde be edab De bee: Oe ee ee eae Cee Ce 2 of ue \ Bene be T ede MOP ethaidida enh tay rf fears iy ebb bila td Pat on Me Saree i A eee ere ta Pare se) BLS, A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. EDITED BY EPL IP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A. Ph.Dsgk-R:s., “HCRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Mii ie HI) | A aes = ee AEE rt VOL. I. 1889. SIXTH. SERIES. Cognovi omnia yolatilia celi. LONDON: GURNEY AND JACKSON, 1 PATERNOSTER ROW. (Successors To J. VAN VOORST.) 1889. | a ALERE ? FLAMMAM. PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, PREFACE. WHEN, upon the resignation of Mr. Howard Saunders, I consented to carry on the duties of the Editorship of this Journal for another period of six years, I was under the impression that in the place of my former colleague I should have associated with me some other member of the B. O. U., whose assistance would materially tend to lighten my labours. But upon consulting some of the older and more experienced members of the Union I found that there was a decided concurrence of opinion that it would be better to revert to the original system of having only one responsible Editor. To this expres- sion of feeling I agreed, somewhat unwillingly, to defer ; and, in spite of increasing years and the heavy burden of other pressing avocations, I have consented to undertake the sole Editorship of the Sixth Series of ‘Tue Isis, as I had formerly that of the First Series. During my first year of office, I am pleased to say that I have received from my brother Members of the Committee of the B. O. U. great support in this arduous task. I also wish to acknowledge the material assistance which, as kindly arranged by the Committee, Mr. F. H. Waterhouse, whose 1V PREFACE. zeal in hunting up references and in performing other literary work is well known to many of us, has given to me during the same period. I am likewise much gratified in being able to point out the large measure of support still accorded to the Editor by the contributors to this Journal. The first volume of the Sixth Series is, it will be ob- served, in no way inferior to its thirty companions in number of pages and plates, and, as it is believed, does not yield to them as regards the value and interest of its contents. ‘This promising inauguration of the new series induces me to hope that I may be enabled to carry out the task 1 have undertaken to a successful issue. P. ks 3 Hanover Square, London, W. Sept. Ist, 1889. 15 BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. Date of Election. 1881. 1887. 1888. 1885. 1879. 1889. 1872. 1885. 1884. 1881. 1885. 1884, 1875. 1889. [An asterisk indicates an Original Member. ] Wittram Rawnpat, Earl of Antrim; St. James’s Palace, London, 8.W. Freprrick Caarztes APLiIn ; Bodicote, Banbury. Outver Vernon Aptin ; Bloxham, Banbury. James Bacxuouss, Jun., F.Z.S.; West Bank, York. Vatentine Batt, F.R.S.; Science and Art Museum, Dublin. Ricwarp James Barston, F.Z.S.; Springfield, Maidstone. Hansoury Barctay, Colonel, F.Z.S.; Cross Oak, Great Berk- hampstead, Herts. Hue G. Barctay ; Colney Hall, Norwich. Henry E. Barnas, Lieut.; Commissariat Department, India. Ricwarp Mantirre Barrineton, LL.B.; Fassaroe, Bray, co. Wicklow. E. F. Brcuerr, Capt. R.A., F.Z.S.; care of Rev. W. Becher, Wellow-green Cottage, Wellow, Newark-on-Trent, Notts. Frank E. Bepparp, F.Z.8., Prosector to the Zoological Society of London; 13 Castlebar Road, Ealing, London, W. Joun Brpputrg, Colonel, Bengal Staff Corps, F.Z.S.; care of Messrs. Cocks, Biddulph, and Co., 43 Charing Cross, London, 8.W. ; . Epwarp Bripwett; | Trig Lane, Upper Thames Street, Lon- don, E.C. . C.T. Brnenan, Capt., F.Z.S.: Deputy Conservator of Forests, Rangoon, Burma. . W. T. Branrorp, F.R.S., F.Z.S., &c. ; 72 Bedford Gardens, Kensington, London, W. . Wrt11aM Borrer, M.A., F.L.S.; Cowfold, Horsham. 20 25 30 35 40 Date of Election. 1885. 1868. 1872. 1884. 1884. 1889. 1888. 1879. 1888. 1888. 1884. 1882. 1889. 1880. 1876. 1880. 1874. 1888. 1882. 1882. 1877. 1874. 1883. 1884. Vi WuuAm F. Brocxnotrts; Claughton-on-Brock, Garstang, Lancashire. - Tomas Epwarp Bucxtey, B.A., F.Z.S.; Millerton House, Inverness, N.B. Sir Watrer Lawey Butter, K.C.M.G., Sc.D., F.R.S.,C.M.Z.8., &e.; 69 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, S.W. E. A. Burizr, Lieut.-Col.; Herringfieet Hall, Lowestoft. Grorrrey Fowrrt Buxton; Sunny Hill, Thorpe, Norwich. Ewen Somertep Cameron, F.Z.S.; Burgar, Evie, Orkney. Joun Duncan Cameron, late Capt. R.A.; Lowwood, Bethers- den, near Ashford, Kent. THomas Davin Gipson CarmicHaz., F.Z.S.; Chiefswood, Mel- rose, Lanarkshire, N.B. James Carter; Burton House, Masham, Yorkshire. Watrer CuamBertain, F.Z.S.; Harborne Hall, Harborne, near Birmingham. Asrt Caapman; Roker, Sunderland. Rorert Witr1am CuaAsE; Southfield, Edgbaston Road, Bir- mingham. SrepHenson Ropert Crarxe, F.Z.S.; Croydon Lodge, Croydon. Witrram Eacre Crarxe, F.L.S.; Science and Art Muscum, Edinburgh. Epwarp Henry Srvart, Lord Cuirror, F.Z.8.; Dumpton Park, Ramsgate. E. H. Coorrr, Lieut.-Col., F.Z.S.; 42 Portman Square, London, W. Joun CorpEAux; Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lineolnshire. Witt1am Witrrip Corpravx, Lieut. 2nd Dragoon Guards ; Queen’s Bay’s Cavalry Depot, Canterbury. Cuartzs B, Cory, F.Z.8.; 8 Arlington Street, Boston, Mass., US.A. Purp Crow ey, F.Z.S8.; Waddon House, Waddon, Croydon. J.J. Datexetsn ; 8 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh. Cuarues G. Danrorp, F.Z.8.; Villa des Jets @’eau, Pont de Briques, Pas-de-Calais, France, and Conservative Club, St. James’s Street, London, 8.W. James Davinson ; 32 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. Wituiam Roxton Davison, F.Z.8.; care of Messrs. Dawson & Son, Booksellers, 121 Cannon Street, E.C. 45 50 OE: 60 65 vu Date of Election. 1889. Wittram Henry Doster, M.R.C.S. ; 22 Upper Northgate Street, Chester. 1883. Scrore b. Dorie; Public Works Department, Bombay. 1880 . Arruur Dowsert, F.Z.S.; Castle Hill House, Reading. 1865. Henry Erztes Dresser, F.L.S., F.Z.S.; Topclyffe Grange, Farnborough, Beckenham, Kent. *Henry Maurice Drummonp-Hay, C.M.Z.S., Lieut.-Col., Royal Perth Rifles; Seggieden, Perth. 1878. W. Arruur Durnrorp: Elsecar, Barnsley. 1876. Grorcr Le C. Eeerron, Commander R.N.; The Lodge, Stoke Road, Gosport. 1870. Danret Grravp Exxiot, F.R.S.E., F.Z.S., &e.; Fuller Build- ings, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A. 1584. Aterrnon Exxiort, Assist. Comm., Amraoti Camp, Berar. 1866. Henry Jonn Etwes, F.Z.8S.; Preston, Cirencester. 1879. Artuur Humsie Evans, B.A., F.Z.S.; 9 Harvey Road, Cam- bridge. 1888. Wittram Evans, F.R.S.E.; 18a Morningside Park, Edin- burgh. 1873. H. W. Fritpen, Lieut.-Col., F.Z.S., C.M.Z.S.; Junior United Service Club, Charles Street, St. James’s, 8.W., and West House, Wells, Norfolk. 1886. Haroxp Stuart Ferevson, Lieut. Nair Brigade; Trevandrum, Travancore. 1884. Henry Oce Forses, F.Z.S.; Canterbury Museum, Christ- church, New Zealand. 1880. Wittram Foster; The Hill, Witley, Surrey. 1887. W. W. Fowter, M.A.; Lincoln College, Oxford. 1865. Rev. Henry Exriorr Fox, M.A.; 12 South Bailey, Durham. 1881. Percy Evans Frexe; 9 Sydenham Road, Dundrum, co. Dublin. 1881. Hans Gapow, Ph.D., F.Z.S.; Zoological Museums, Downing Street, Cambridge. 1886. The Fart or Gatnsporoven; Exton Park, Oakham. 1885. Sir Ratew Payne Gatiwey, Bart. ; Thirkleby Park, Thirsk. 1879. Ernest Grsson ; 1 Eglinton Crescent, Edinburgh. *FreperRick DuCane Gopman, F.R.S., F.Z.8., &e.; 10 Chandos Street, Cavendish Square, London, W. *Prroy Sanpen Gonoman, B.A.. C.M.Z.S.; Muntham, Hor- sham. 7° 75 80 85 go Vill Date of Election. 1874. H. H. Gopwin-Avsten, Lieut.-Col., F.R.S., F.Z.8., &e.; Shal- ford House, Guildford. 1884. J. G. Goopcuitp, F.Z.8.; Museum of Science and Art, Edin- burgh. 1886, Wirt1im Granam, F.Z.8.; Manor House, Crayford, Kent. 1878. Henry Grey, Bengal Staff Corps; care of Messrs. Grindlay & Co. 1885. F. H. H: Gurttemarp, M.A., M.D., F.Z.S.; Eltham, Kent. 1876. Aznsert C. L. G. Ginruer, M.A., M.D., F.R.S., F.Z.S. &c.; Keeper of the Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History), London, 8.W. *Joun Henry Gurney, F.Z.S.; Northrepps Hall, Norwich. 1870. Joun Henry Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S.; Keswick Hall, Norwich. 1887. Joun Preypextt Witton Harness; The Lodge, Gloucester. 1886. Epwarp Hamitton, M.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S.; 9 Portugal Street, Grosvenor Square, London, W. 1889. Geratp Barrerr Hamitron ; Kilmannock House, New Ross, Wexford. 1877. Epwarp W. Harcourt, F.Z.S. ; Nuneham Park, Abingdon. 1883. Lewis Vernon Harcourt; Malwood, Lyndhurst, Hants. 1876. H. C. Harrorp, 99th Regiment; Stapleton Lodge, Chelsea Road, Southsea. 1877. HE. Harerrt, F.Z.S.; Broadwater Lodge, Broadwater, Worthing. 1868. James Epmunp Hartine, F.L.S., F.Z.S.; Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W. 1873. Joun A. Harvin-Browy, F.Z.S.; Dunipace House, Larbert, N.B. 1868. Rev. Herpert 8. Hawnrns, M.A.; Beyton Rectory, Suffolk. 1887. Cuartes T. Huppert, F.Z.S.; 12 Hereford Gardens, London, W. 1884. C. J. Horpsworte ; Oxenholme, Westmoreland. 1877. E. W. H. Hoxpswortn, F.Z.8.; 84 Clifton Hill, St. John’s Wood, London, N.W. 1888. Hersert Knicur Horsrretp ; Oakfield Terrace, Headingley, Leeds. 1881. Roserr James Howarp; Fern Bank, Blackburn, Lancashire. *Witrrip Hupieston Hupruston, M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.S. ; Cul- verden Lodge, Oatlands Park, Weybridge. 1879. Baron A. von Hiern; Museum of Archeology, Cambridge. 1870. Hepworru Hytron-Jottirre, Lord Hyuyron, F.Z.8.; Merstham House, Red Hill, Surrey. 95 100 105 110 aes ix Date of Election. 1870. Leonarp Howarp L. Irpy, Lieut.-Col., F.Z.8.; Army and Navy Club, Pall Mall, London, S.W. 1888. Freperick J. Jackson, F.Z.8.; 18 Westbourne Square, London, Wie 1886. Harry Berxetry James, F.Z.8.; The Oaks, Woodmansterne, near Epsom. 1889. FrepErick Ponsonspy Jounson; Castlesteads, Brampton, Cumberland. 1880. Henry Rosert Kernan, Capt. 74th Highlanders; Dagehai, N.W. Provinces, India. 1882. Puitrp M. Kermope; Seabridge Cottage, Ramsey, Isle of Man. 1882. Rey. Epw. Ponsonpy Knusrey, M.A.; Stavely Rectory, Leeds. 1884. Herzert Laneron; 11 Marlborough Place, Brighton. 1881. Hon. Grrarp Lascentms; Queen's House, Lyndhurst. 1885. Grorer Lawson, C.B.; 36 Craven Hill Gardens, Hyde Park, London, W. 1876. Witi1am Vincent Lreer, Col. R.A., F.Z.S.; Commandant’s Office, Hobart Town, Tasmania. 1868. Hamon Le Srraner, F.Z.S8.; Hunstanton Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. 1875. Pacer Water Le Srranee, Col. R.A.; Dol-Ian, Llandyosil, South Wales. 1886. Haron Lirrieparz, B.A. &c.; Vice-Principal, The College, Baroda. *Tnomas Lytrieron, Lord Lizrorp, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &e.; Lilford Hall, Oundle, and 18 Princes St., Cavendish Sq., London, W. 1874. Joun Hayzs Luoyp, Col., F.Z.8.; Sudley House, Bognor, Sussex. 1889. ArtHur Purvis Loyp, F.Z.S. (Late Major 21st Hussars) ; Belgrave Mansions, Grosvenor Gardens, S.W. 1877. J. Lumspen, F.Z.S.; Arden House, Alexandria, N.B. 1886. Rev. HueH AtexanpER Macpuerson ; 20 Cecil Street, Carlisle. 1875. Joun Winerrerp Matcorm, F.Z.8. ; 7 Great Stanhope Street, Mayfair, London, W. 1878. Henry Sracy Marks, R.A., F.Z.S.; 17 Hamilton Terrace, St. John’s Wood, London, N.W. 1870. C. H. T. Marsnatt, Col., F.Z.S. ; Secretary to H.H. The Nizam, Hyderabad, Deccan. 1885. Jonn Marsuat, F.L.S.; Belmont, Taunton. 1878. Rev. Murray A. Martuew, M.A., F.L.S.; Buckland Dinham, Frome, Somersetshire. 120 125 130 135 Date of Election. 1883. Epmunp Gustavus Broomrretp Meapr-Wa1po; Rope Hill, Lymington, Hants. 1886. Jonn Guitte Minrais, F.Z.S.; 2 Palace Gate, Kensington, W. 1879. Freprerick Saaw Mircuert; Hornshaws, Clitheroe, Lanca- shire. 1864, ALEXANDER Goopman Morz, F.L.S., &c.; 92 Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin. 1887. Groner Morean, Lieut.-Col.; Biddlesden Park, Brackley. 1886. Grorce Murrueap, F.Z.S.; Mains of Haddo, Aberdeen. 1889. CuristopneR Joun Naytor; Brynllywarch, Kerry, Mont- gomeryshire. 1885. Epwarp Nxrare; 43 Charlotte Street, Portland Place, London, W. 1882. Tuomas Hupson Netson; 186 High Street, Redcar, York- shire. 1876. Hvueu Nevitt; Newton Villa, Godalming. 1872. Francis D’Arcy Witi1am Croven Newcome; Feltwell Hall, Brandon, Suffolk. *AtFRED Newton, M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.8., Professor of Zoology in the University of Cambridge ; Magdalene College, Cam- bridge. *Sir Epwarp Newton, M.A., K.C.M.G., F.L.S., C.M.Z.S. ; 20 Wellington Esplanade, Lowestoft. 1886. Howarp Hitt Joun Nicuorts, M.R.C.S.; The Moat, East- bourne. 1876. Francis Nicnotson, F.Z.S.; Oakfield, Ashley Rd., Altrincham. 1887. Grorcr Cameron Norman, F.Z.S.; Crosthwaite House, Crosth- waite, Kendal. 1882. Evernr Witrt1am Oarss, F.Z.8.; care of Grindlay & Co., 55 Parliament Street, London, 8.W. 1889. Berrram Savite Octe; Hill House, Steeple Aston, Oxford. *Sir Joun W. P. Camesett Orpe, Bart., F.Z.8., late Captain, 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment; Kilmory House, Lochgilphead, Argyllshire, N.B. 1883. Henry Parker, C.E., F.Z.8.; Irrigation Office, Ceylon. 1880. Tuomas Parkin, M.A., F.Z.8.; Fairseat, High Wickham, Hastings. 1884. R. L. Parrerson, F.L.S.; Croft House, Holywood, co. Down. 1886. E. Campripce Puitures ; The Elms, Brecon. 140 145 150 155 160 xi Date of Election. 1886 1888. 1883. 1888. 1880. 1888. 1872. 1879. 1888. Sit: 1873. 1883 . E. Lorr Puuiriirs, F.Z.8.; 22 Bolton Street, Piccadilly, London, W. Grorcr THorne Puririies; Wokingham, Berkshire. Tuomas Mayer Pixr, M.A.; care of R. H. Porter, 18 Princes Street, Cavendish Square, London, W. Mervyn Owen Wayne Powys, B.A., F.Z.8.; The Vicarage, Kemsing, Sevenoaks. Cuartes Marrurw Prior; Adstock Manor, Winslow, Bucks. Kvsracze Ravctyrre ; Hyde, Wareham, Dorset. R. G. Warprtaw Ramsay, Major, F.Z.S.; Dalhousie Grange, Bonnyrigg, Midlothian. Herpert Evetyn Rawson, F.Z.8.; St. Stephen’s Club, S.W. Rozert H. Reap; 8 Great George Street, Westminster, S.W. Savite G. Rei, late Capt. R.E., F.Z.8.; Otterhead, Taunton. Sir Ottver Bravcuame Coventry Sr. Jonny, Colonel R.E., F.Z.8.; care of Messrs. H. 8S. King & Co., 45 Pall Mall, London, S.W. . WittiaAm Hersert Sr. Quintin, F.Z.S.; Scampston Hall, Rillington, Yorkshire. *OsBERT Satvin, M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.8., &.; 10 Chandos Street, London, W., and Hawksfold, Fernhurst, Haslemere. 1870. Howarp Savunvers, F.L.S., F.Z.8., &c.; 7 Radnor Place, 1881. 1873. 1889. 1871. 1886. 1870. 1865. 1881. Hyde Park, London, W. *Puitip Luriey Sctater, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S., &.; Sec. Zoo- logical Society of London, 3 Hanover Square, London, W. J. Scurry, F.L.S., F.Z.8., Surgeon-Major; care of Messrs. H. S. King & Co., 45 Pall Mall, London, S.W. Henry Srrsoum, F.Z.8.; 22 Courtfield Gardens, London, 8.W. Humpurey Parrictus Sennousz, B.A.; The Fitz, Cocker- mouth, Cumberland. Ricuarp Bowprer Smarer, F.L.S., F.Z.8. ; Senior Assistant, Zoological Department, British Museum (Natural History), South Kensington, London, 8.W. Witrram Carstarrs SHaw; Bank of Madras, Madras. G. Ernest SHeEtzey, F.Z.S., late Captain, Grenadier Guards ; 13 Rutland Gate, London, S.W. Rev. Cuartes WittiAm SuepHerp, M.A., F.Z.S.; Trotters- cliffe Rectory, Maidstone, Kent. F. B. Suvson, F.Z.S.; Broom Hill, Spratton, Northampton. 170 175 180 185 Xil Date of Election. 1882. Rev. Henry H. Srarer, M.A., F.Z.8.; Irchester Vicarage, Wellingboro’, Northamptonshire. 1878. Grorcr Moytaw Stavcurer, Brigade-Surgeon ; Farningham, Kent. 1864. Rev. Atrrep Cuartus Surrn, M.A. ; Old Park, Devizes, Wilts. 1874. Cxcrx Surru, F.Z.S. ; Lydeard House, Taunton, Somersetshire. 1881. THomas Souruwett, F.Z.S.; 10 The Crescent, Chapel Field, Norwich. 1875. A. C. Starx; The Cottage, Whiteparish, near Salisbury. 1889. WittrAm Sroate; The Colony, Burnham, Somerset. 1881. Rosert Wrieur Sruppy, Lieut.-Col. 2nd Manchester Regi- ment, India; care of E. W. H. Holdsworth, 84 Clifton Hill, St. John’s Wood, London, N.W. 1887. Freperick Wittr1am Stan, F.Z.S8.; 23 Upper Bedford Place London, W.C., and Shanghai, China. 1887. Jomy SwinpuryeE; Shona Ranch, St. John’s, Apache Country, Arizona, U.S.A. 1882. Cuartes Swinnor, Col. Bombay Staff Corps, F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; care of 1. H. Wrentmore, 29 Bedford Row, London, W.C. 1884. W. C. Tarr, C.M.Z.8.; Oporto, Portugal. *Epwarp Cavenpisu Taytor, M.A.,F.Z.8.; 74J ermyn Street, London, 8.W. 1873. Witt1am Bernuarp Txeermerer, F.Z.S.; 16 Alexandra Grove, North Finchley, N. 1889. Epwarp Priavtx Tennant; 40 Grosvenor Square, W., and The Glen, Innerleithen, N.B. 1886. Horace A. Terry, Captain 43rd Light Infantry; Burvale, Walton-on-Thames, *Rev. Huyry Barer Trisrram, M.A., LL.D., F.RS., C.M.ZS., &e., Canon of Durham; The College, Durham. 1864. Henry Morris Urcurr, F.Z.8.; Sheringham Hall, Norfolk, and Feltwell Hall, Brandon. 1881. Wittovensy Verner, Capt. Rifle Brigade; Junior United Service Club, S.W. 1884. A. 8S. Vusry; Heronsgate, near Rickmansworth. 1889. H. Howarp Vysz; Stoke Place, Slough. 1886. H. D. Wavr-Datron, Major Middlesex Regiment ; Hawxwell Hall, Bedale, Yorkshire. 1881. Tuomas, Lord Watstnenam, F.Z.S.; Eaton House, Eaton Square, London, 8.W., and Merton Hall, Thetford, Norfolk. b] 190 195 Date of xiii Election. 1374. 1878. 1884. 1887. 1887. 1888. ikea 1875. 1876. 1889. 1878. 1877. 1860, 1886. 1860. 1860. 1870. 1880. 1860. 1860. 1869, 1872. 1875. Cuartes Bycrave Wuarton, F.Z.S.; Hounsdown, Totton Hants. Henry THornton Waarrton, M.A., F.Z.8.; 39 St. George’s Road, Abbey Road, London, N.W. JoserH Wuairaker, F.Z.8.; Rainworth Lodge, Mansfield, Notts. JEFFERY WHITEHEAD ; Southwood, Bickley, Kent. Scorr Barcnarp Witson, F.Z.S.; Heatherbank, Weybridge Heath, Surrey. Cuartes Josepn Witson; 16 Gordon Square, W.C. FE. Percevat Wraieut, M.D., F.L.S., F.Z.8., Professor of Botany in the University of Dublin. Cuartus A. Wrieut, F.Z.8.; Kayhough House, Kew Gardens, Kew. Craupe W. Wyarr; Adderbury, Banbury. James B. Youne, Commander R. N.; R. N. College, Ports- mouth. Joun Youne, F.Z.S.; 64 Hereford Road, Bayswater, London, W. J.H, Yur, Major, Devon Regiment; Jullundur, Bengal. Extra-Ordinary Member. ALFRED Russetn Watuace, F.Z.8.; Corfe View, Parkstone, Dorset. Honorary Members. Taomas Ayres; Potchefstroom, Transvaal. Dr. Epvarp Batpamvs, Moritzwinger, No. 7, Halle. Dr. Jean Capants, C.M.Z.S., Berlin. Dr. Orro Fryscu, C.M.Z.S., Delmenhorst, near Bremen. Heryricu GArke, C.M.Z.8., Heligoland. Dr. Gustav Harttavs, C.M.Z.8., Bremen. Epear Leorotp Layarp, C.M.G., F.Z.8., Nowmea, New Cale- donia. Aveust von Prevzetn, C.M.Z.8., Oberdobling, Vienna. Foreign Members. Prof. J. V. Barsoza pu Bocaen, C.M.Z.S., Royal Museum, Lisbon. Hans, Graf von Brrtepscu, C.M.Z.8., Minden, Hannover. = X1V Date of Election. 1880. 1873. 1872. 1875. 1872. 1872. 1872. 1872. 1866. 1872. 1883. 1881 1872 Lovis Burrav, M.D., Ecole de médecine, Nantes. Prof. Roserr Cotierr, C.M.Z.S., Zoological Museum, Chris- teania. Dr. Exxiorr Cours, C.M.Z.S., Smithsonian Institution, Wash- ington, D.C. Marchese Gracomo Dorra, C.M.Z.S., Genoa. Dr. Vicror Farto, C.M.Z.S., Geneva. Dr. Henry Hittyer Gierorr, 0.M.Z.S., Real Instituto di Studi Superiori, Florence. Grorce N. Lawrence; C.M.Z.S8., New York. Baron Dr Setys Lonecuamres, Liege. Dr. Jutius von Maparisz, National Museum, Buda-Pesth. Dr. A. J. Matuerun, Helsingfors. Prof. Orunret Cartes Marsn, C.M.Z.8., Yale College, New- haven, U.S.A. . Dr. Aporpu Beryarp Meyer, C.M.Z.S., Director of the Royal Museum, Dresden. - Dr. A. von Mippenporrr, Dorpat. 1872. Prof. ALpHoysz Mitnx-Epwarps, C.M.Z.S., Jardin des Plantes, 1872 1880 1872 Paris. . Prof. Gustav Rappz, C.M.Z.S., Tiflis. - Rozerr Riveway, C.M.Z.8., Smithsonian Institution, Wash- ington, D.C. - Count Tommaso Satvyaporr, C.M.Z.S., Zoological Museum, Turin. CONTENTS or VOL. L—SIXTH SERIES. (1889. ) Numper I., January. I. Notes on some Birds of the Canary Islands. By E. G. Meape-Watpo . ei) gay Soe. ee! ia Oe eee el ec es II. Ornithological Notes on the Island of Gran Canaria. By H. B. Trisrram, D.D., F.R.S. . 555 Sas III. On the Genus Platalea, with a Description of a new Species from New Guinea. i W. R. Ocitvie-Granr. (Plate I.). IV. Notes on Woodpeckers.—No. XV. On three new Ame- rican Species. By Epwarp Harairt, F.Z.S. V. On the Breeding of Puffinus auduboni in the Island of Barbados. By Colonel H. W. Ferupen . oh eee ea VI. On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. By R. Bowpier Snarper, F.L.S. &c., Zoological Department, British Museum. With Notes by Joun Wurrenrap. (Plates II.-IV.) VII. Notes on the Birds collected by Dr. G. Radde in the Transcaspian Region. By H. E. Dresszr, F.Z.8. (Plate V.) VIII. An Attempt to Diagnose the Suborders of the Ancient Ardeino-Anserine Assemblage of Birds by the aid of Osteolo- gical Characters alone. By Henry Srrzoum ate Ps IX. On an apparently undescribed Species of Owl from An- jouan Island, proposed to be called Scops capnodes. By Joun Henry GurRNEY Page 1 13 32 58 85 92 . 104 XVl CONTENTS. Page X. On Scolopax rosenbergi and S. saturata. By T. Satva- pori, C.M.Z.S8. . < 107 XI. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications :— 1. Allen on the Birds of the American Museum of Na- tural History . 5 . 2. Allen on the Flight of Birds . 114 3, 4. Barboza du Bocage on Birds from St. thera West Africa . : ; . LA 5. Beckham on the Birds of sent Py eatsin anes pee bil 6. Bendire on Polioptila californica . dis 7. Bendire on Nests and Eggs from Arizona - ils 8. Berlepsch on new or rare Birds from Bogota « 16 9. KR. Blasius on the Birds of Brunswick . LG 10. R. Blasius on Mergus anatarius , TF 11. W. Blasius on Birds from Palawan oe 12. W. Blasius on Birds from Great Sanghir . ds 13. Brusina on the Birds of Croatia . Lis 14. Forbes on Attempts to reach the Owen cele Poa 118 15. J. G. on the Birds of the Stonyhurst District re 16. Hartlaub on Bird-collecting during Scientific Expedi- tions : ; £18 17. Hartlaub on Wigrin aauae » akg 18. Kempen on Abnormal Plumages in Birds . 120 19. Lawrence on a new Thrush . . 120 20. Meyer and Helm’s Report on the Ornigholépienl peers ving-Stations for Saxony . . 120 21. Sir E. Newton’s Presidential Address, > bd 22. Picaglia on Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Italy . ik 23. Prjevalsky’s Fourth Journey . 122 24, Ramsay’s List of Australian Birds . 123 25. Regalia on the Claws of Birds . . 124 26. Report of the Ornithologist of the U. 5. “Departinant of Agriculture 3 Rae, eee . 124 27. Report of the Coburg Sodicty for the Proteotion of Animals and Plants . : : 125 28. Report of the Committee on Oisarsisig Stations for German Birds. : - 125 29. Ridgway on the Genus Denar mnie , <6 30. Ridgway on Catharus berlepschi . 126 CONTENTS. xvii Page 31, Ridgway on new Central American Birds . 126 32. Ridgway on the Generic Name Uropsila . 127 33. Ridgway on new Birds from the Lower Amazons. . 127 34. Ridgway on the Genus Psittacula . 3 2G 35, Ridgway on Rirds from the Caribbean rislawae and Honduras . ms ee tae Oe nas 72s 36. Ridgway on a new Psaltriparus ‘ . 129 37. Salvadori on Bonaparte’s ‘ Fauna Italica’ 2) 38. Salvadori on the Occurrence of Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Italy . 180 39. Salvadori on Birds fri SWou and Hara: . 180 40. Salvadori and Giglioli on the Birds of the Voyage oF the ‘ Vettor Pisani’ = + 130 41. Shufeldt on the Ostsbiogy of Ster me = ell 42. Shufeldt on the Osteology of Porzana carolina . 5 13 43, 44. Sousa on Additions to the Birds of Angola. . 132 45. Stejneger on the Birds of the Idzu Islands . . 122 46, Stejneger on Japanese Birds : . 132 47. Taczanowski on the Birds of Poland . . 133 48. Turner on the Birds of Alaska . . 133 XII. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. :— Letters from J. H. Gurney, Esq.; J. A. Harvie-Brown, Esq. ; Lt.-Col. E. A. Butler ; Rev. H. A. Macpherson ; J. Young, Esq. ; R. Lloyd Patterson, Esq. Additions to the National Bird Col- lection in 1887-88 ; Loche’s Collection of Algerian Birds ; Pro- tection of the Sea-Birds on the Farne Islands ; Hydrochelidon leucoptera in New Zealand and Australia; The Birds of British India; The Northern Falcons ; The Penguin of the Rio de la Plata . i . 134 Nomser II., April. XIII. On the Birds of Southern Afghanistan and Kelit. By Lieut.-Col. Sir O. B. St. Jonn, R.E., K.C.S.I. ». pomreeed (e5 XIV. Descriptions of two new Birds from Northern Peru. By Hans von Bertzurscu. (Plate VI.) 181 SER. VI.—VOL. I. b XVili CONTENTS. XV. On the “ Manus” of Phenicopterus. By W.K. Parker, F.R.S. : XVI. On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. By R. Bowprtrr Suarrer, F.LS., F.Z.8., &e. With Notes by Joun Wauritrneav.—Part II. (Plates VIT., VIII) . XVII. Cyprus and its Birds in 1888, By Dr. F. H. H. GuittemarD, M.A., F.Z.S. XVIII. On an Instance of a Cuckoo mega its own ee By Oberforster Apotr Mutter . XIX. Note on a small Collection of Birds from Kikombo, Central Africa. By H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.R.S. XX. Some Stray aS Notes. By H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.B.S. : : : XXI. Notes on Woodpeckers.—No. XVI. On some new Species of Picide. By Epwarp Harerrt, F.Z.8. . XXII. Notes on Mexican Birds. By Osperr Satvin and F. Du Cane Gopman . eA aed eee eM SPE: XXIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications :— 49. Buller’s ‘ Birds of New Zealand’ : 50. Buller on Mr. 8. W. Silver’s Collection of See Tem land Birds . 51. Biittikofer on Birds from the Goues and S. W. ees 52. Chapman’s ‘ Bird-life of the Borders’ . 53. Dixon on our Rarer Birds 54. Gould’s ‘ Birds of New Guinea’ ; 55. Littleboy on the Birds of Hertfordshire . 56. Meyer on Pallas’s Sand-Grouse in Bulgaria . 57. Nelson on the Birds of Alaska . : 58. Pleske’s Revision of the Ornis of Tuekestan 59. Ridgway on new American Hawks 60. Ridgway on @strelata sandwichensis . 61. Shufeldt on the Osteology of Arctic and Sub- Ree Page - 183 Water-birds eee F . 252 62. Shufeldt on Gallus panleud : . 252 63. Stejneger on the European Marsh- Tits . 252 64. Stejneger on the Hawaian Avifauna . 253 65. Stejneger on the European Crested Titmice . 253 CONTENTS. X1x Page 66. Trumbull on North-American Game Birds . . . . O54 67. Tschusi zu Schmidhoffen on Addi‘ions to the Ornis AUSHOSEIMGATICR. 5 a! ee we 0 oe ee oe oe OE DS. moolopical Record, 1887 us. fs 4 OF we es 200 XXIV. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. :— Letters from J. H. Gurney, Esq. ; J. Young, Esq. ; Hans, Graf von Berlepsch ; Dr. Leonhard Stejneger; R. Lloyd Patterson, Esq.; Sir John Campbell-Orde ; and Ramon Gomez. Black- game in Newfoundland; ‘Stray Feathers’; A Pteroptochian trom Costa Rica; Field-Notes on the Yang-tze ; A new Tunisian Lark. Obituary—Mr. Richard Spalding Wray . . . . . 206 Nomper III., July. XXV. On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. By R. Bowprer Sarre, F.LS. &. With Notes by Joun Wutre- rene bare PUN. (Plabe: TEX) 44) re Le Sev ey fas 13268 XXVI. Contributions to the Anatomy of the Hoatzin (Opis- thocomus cristatus), with particular Reference to the Structure of the Wing in the Young. By Franx E. Bepparp, M.A., F.Z.8., Prosector to the Zoological Society of London, Lecturer on Biology in the Medical School of Guy’s Hospital . . . . 283 XXVII. Note on Emberiza cioides, Brandt. By H. B. REISER AW, DID sehen Ce late Xt ek. eso st el a 298 XXVIII. Remarks on Brandt’s Siberian Bunting (Zmberiza cioides). By Henry Sresoum, F.LS.,F.2.8. . . . . . . 295 XXIX. Notes on some New-Zealand Birds. By T. W. Kirk, BMEME ney Motus We 6 ae gO ROL” eles a aa DOG XXX. Notes on the Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus). ivadis C-OMGIGEAN eo 5 GS Gy Gee ges Shane ene XXXI. On an apparently undescribed Species of Owl from the Liu Kiu (or Loo Choo) Islands, proposed to be called Scops prgert... Liye) Oray EuNRY GURNEY.” Mr) Ss oak et 1 BOR xX CONTENTS, Page XXXII. A List of the Birds of Cyprus. By Lorp Linrorp. 305 XXXIITI. Notes on some recently described Species of Den- drocolaptide. By P. L. Sctarer, (Plate XI.) . .. . . da XXXIV. Notes on Woodpeckers.—No. XVII. On an ap- parently unnamed Species. of Picumnus from Guiana. By [Sin ee ines OS eh ei ge) 9 Sate Ra eS PN ee 15 XXXY. On the European Cuckoo and its Indian Allies. By RUGENE AW OATES RASS: 5. sie “since Mw) ou 4. eee ROO XXXVI. A List of the Birds of the Islands of the Coast of Yneatan and of the Bay of Honduras. By Osperr Savin, 1) GNA 25) SS EAR on oh = aghals cweclte: tel Pemmnmmetoees XXXVII. Notes on Mexican Birds.—Part II. By Osperr Shiney yt 1s Der Ons Commeuy 45 ol 6 6 & & o o « St XXXVIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications :— 69. Brewster on new Birds from Western North America and’ Mexico=. . . . 382 70. Chapman on the Nomadetsies of Negi Lmentenn IBIEDS ge 1 oe, 22 o) eeremceberes 71. Cooke on the Birds of ie een v its Ses Oe 72. Cory on the Birds of the West Indies . .. . . 384 73. Finsch’s ‘ Voyage of the ‘Samoa’’ —., . 385 TS . Lawrence on Audubon’s Petrel in the W bat Tee . 386 . Lilford’s ‘ Coloured Figures of British Birds’ . . . 386 . Lucas on the Osteology of the Thrushes. . . . . 387 . Marage on the Sympathetic System of Birds . . . 387 78. Menzbier and Sewertzow on the eae of JI s1 ~7 =] TI 1S) Or Turkestan . . . 388 79. Middendorff on the Birds of the Pe “Baltic Provinces . . . 088 80. Milne-Edwards and Gustine on ae Birds of me Comoro Islands. . . . 389 81. Sir Henry Peek’s List of his Galiecon of British Birds 390 82. Ridgway on a new Pigeon . . en, @ 8 Vika a emcee 83. Ridgway on the male of Aevarioon: se ES, he ree 84. Salvadori on Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Italy . . . . 391 85, Sciater and Hudson’s ‘ Argentine Ornithology’ . . 391 CONTENTS. XX1 Page 86. Sharpe and Wyatt on the Hirundinide . oe meaue 87. Shufeldt on the Osteology of Arctic and Sub- hectic Water-Birds : . 393 88. Shufeldt on the Affinities of are iz. . 393 89. Stejneger on a Kamtschatkan Woodpecker . . 393 90. Studer and Fatio on the Birds of Switzerland . . 394 91. ‘ Timehri,’ Vol. II. (new series) Pt. 2 . 394 92. Walker on the Quadrate Bone . . 394 93. Zeledon on a new Rail . 395 XXXIX. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. :— Letters from J. H. Gurney, Esq. (two); J. H. Gurney, Jun., Esq.; A. H. Evans, Esq.; T. E. Buckley, Esq. The Monach Islands and Dr. John MacRury ; Naturalists in Foreign Parts ; Return of Mr. Scott Wilson ; Transfer of Important Collections ; The Sitting Cuckoo; The B. M. Catalogue of Birds ; Bustard- hawking in Morocco; List of Ornithological Works in course of Publication and Dates of last Part issued; Birds from the Riocour Collection; Anniversary Meeting of the British Orni- thologists’ Union, 1889 ce eee . 396 Noumper LV., October. XL. On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. By R. Bowpirr Swarr, F.L.S., F.Z.8., && With Notes by Joun Warrenrad.—Part IV. (Plates XII., XIIL.). . 409 XLI. Some Notes on, and Additions to, the Chinese Avi- fauna. By F. W. Sryan . 443 XLII. On the Genus Turniv. By W. R. Oatrvie-Grant. (Plate XIV.) Hy a rig tite IG. . 446 XLII. On some new Genera and Species of the Family Capitonide. By Captain G. KE. Suettey, F.ZS8. . 475 XLIV. On the Birds of Barbados. By Colonel Heyy W. Feivpen, C.M.Z.S., F.G.S. . XXil la: CONTENTS. Page Further Notes on the Birds of the Canary Islands. By E.G. Meape-Warno.' (Plates XV., XVI.) .°. . . . 508 XLVI. On the Ornithology of the Valleys of Andorra and the Upper Ariége, and other Contributions to the Avifauna of the Eastern Pyrenees. By W. Eaaue Crarxe, F.LS. &. . . 520 XLVII. On a small Collection of Birds from the Louisiade and d’Entrecasteaux Islands. By H. B. Trisrram, D.D., F.R.S. . 94, 95. 96. oie 98. 99. jae XLVIII. Notices of recent Ornithological Publications :— Allen on, birds trom. Bolivia =... <« 4 lw eoee Allen on Birds from Quito . . . . 5, bale British Association's ‘ Report on the MGeeaon of Be ds’ 560 Buttikofer on new Liberian Birds... . . . . 9560 Butakoter onva new Owl... < \s! 0+» . us ek ae ee Buttikofer on Birds from Liberia . . . bre SE OLONE Biittikofer on Birds from South-western ane 5 Gel 100. LOM. 102. 103. 104. 105, 106. 107. 108. 109. TENE ie 112; 113. 114. 115. TG. an es 118. 119. Carazzi on the Birds of the District of Spezia . . . 561 Chamberlain's ‘ Notes on Non-Volant Birds’ . . . 562 Check-List of North-American Birds (Supplement) . 562 Check-List of North-American Birds. (Abridged COUIOMS) is weve el te ; 4 0! 4 e068 Ernst on the Birds in the Mruderan of ‘Caracns eos) Oe Harvie-Brown and Buckley, ‘ Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides’ . . . : . . 564 Leverktihn on the Birds senha in fe Tear . +. 064 Leverkiihn on new South-American Birds . . . . 564 Marshall on the Parrots: 5% |. .- 6 to eebe Marshall on the Woodpeckers . . . : . 566 Mojsisovics on the Zoo-geography of Sanehorn Hunpany 566 Pleske’s ‘ Ornithographia Rossica’ =. on ey OU Radde and Walter on the Birds of Deatwodtpint A enor Saunders’s ‘ Manual of British Birds’. . . . . . 567 Shufeldt on the Osteology of Circus hudsonius. . . 568 Shufeldt on the Osteology of the Anseres . . . . 568 Shufeldt on the Osteology of the Water-Birds . . . 568 Sousa on Birds from Angola . . . oy Bag oS Sousa on Birds collected by Sr. Apihieta: | Sig aes CONTENTS, xxii Page 120. Strauch on the Zoological Museum of St. Petersburg. 569 Toi Wallaccion Darwinism. | . 5 «/. » . « « » 540 eo Watsons SyhvanFolle’*, <) "s . 6. we os OTL XLIX. Letters, Extracts, Notices, &c. :— Letters from Sir Walter Buller; J. H. Gurney, Jun., Esq. ; W. E. Brooks, Esq.; Prof. Alfred Newton; Herr H. Giitke ; Lieut.-Col. H. M. Drummond-Hay ; R. Bowdler Sharpe, Esq. ; and H. Lloyd Patterson, Esq. Habits of Newton’s Bower- bird; Parliamentary Report on the British Museum ; Extract from a letter from Mr. F. J. Jackson; Abundance of Pha- sianus principalis on the Upper Murghab . . . . . . . O71 Index of Scientific Names Index of Contents . SE ee ee os Titlepage, Preface, List of Members, and Contents. . 585 . 601 is ee ‘ ee _ (or AL oil ig ea Le Thi Hs : Ase a a > F, aie . He ied eons ay i ee te, ’ ; " baaesiep. tt yer : Apert) © ee a a a - 7 i a ai ~- Mba, 2 Reh 4 5-9 FS us SS aly Ve HG 0 ee lb ate SIXTH SERIES. No. I. JANUARY 1889. I.—Notes on some Birds of the Canary Islands. By E. G. Muape-Watpo. Berne obliged to spend some months in the Canary Islands last winter, I devoted myself almost entirely to observing and making a small collection of the birds. I landed in Tenerife early in October and left again in June; so I saw something of both the autumn and spring migrations. In February I went to the island of Gomera, to which I paid another short visit in May, while parts of March and April I spent in Fuerteventura. Of the birds of Tenerife so much has already been written by Mr. Godman and Capt. Savile Reid, that I shall only contribute a few remarks on the habits of some of the species, and notice several additions to the migrants. TURDUS MUSICUS. The Song Thrush was abundant in the winter in the high woods and wherever there was sufficient covert; a few came down to within 1500 feet of the sea; they were always remarkably wild. TURDUS PILARIS. I saw a Fieldfare which had been shot on the 19th of March close to Orotava. SER. VI.—VOL. I. B 2 Mr. E. G. Meade-Waldo on some TURDUS MERULA. Blackbirds swarmed in the high forests during the winter ; there was a great preponderance of males. The main body left about the 30th of January, and those which remained to breed did not nest early. RvurTicILLaA PHENICURUS. I saw a male Redstart on two occasions close to my house near Orotava. CYANECULA WOLTI. A boy showed me two White-spotted Bluethroats which he had shot near Laguna; and as he thought a good deal of them, I expect they are rare stragglers. ERITHACUS RUBECULA. The Robin of Tenerife has the red on its breast of a dark reddish orange and the white of the abdomen and lower part of the breast very pure, the red of the throat extending a short way only. I mention this because in Gomera the Robin has the breast of a pale dirty orange, the colour extend- ing downwards much farther than in the Tenerife bird, and the white of the breast is nowhere pure, but of a dark fawn. These differences are constant. It has been stated that the Redbreast of the Canary Islands belongs to the dark northern form; but my Tenerife birds are much darker and brighter than ours, while the Gomera variety is much paler and gene- rally duller. All my Gomera Redbreasts have a hook to the upper mandible, which is wanting in my Tenerife ones. MuscicaPa GRISOLA. I saw one Spotted Flycatcher that had been shot in the winter near Laguna. SERINUS CANARIUS. Large numbers of Canaries ascend to the high mountain- woods to breed, going up about the end of April; they were only breeding in the end of May. Those which remained in the valleys bred very early, and I found a nest with hard-set eggs early in February. Birds of the Canary Islands. 3 FRINGILLA TEYDBA. I saw a great deal of the Teydean Chaffinch, which goes about during the winter in small, rather scattered flocks, sometimes associating with the Azorean Chaffinch, F. tin- tillon ; in fact, I generally found them near other birds. Its call-note is a loud double chirp, sometimes like that of the Azorean Chaffinch, but very easily distinguished by its plain- tive ring. It is a very late breeder, only commencing to build at the end of May. I found several pairs breeding in a stretch of pine-forest at an elevation of nearly 6000 feet, where there were many very large lichen-covered trees, and where the forest had been less hacked about than is usually the case in the Canaries. With the exception of a few Tits and Goldcrests, a pair of young Kites just on the wing, some Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and a pair of Sparrow-Hawks, whose nest I found, they were the only birds there. I heard many cocks singing a regular Chaffinch’s song—several low notes, gradually rising and ending in three or four harsh ones. I found a nest in course of construction by watching the birds carry materials ; they were perfectly fearless, collecting lichen &c. within a few feet of where we stood, and working away while we were under their tree. I went up to this forest again on the 4th of June, hoping to get eggs, but found it impossible to reach the nest, though I got on to the branch on which it was placed; it was completed, and from the behaviour of the birds I think they had laid. Three out of four other nests found this day were at the end of thin and decaying branches and inaccessible; they were probably empty, as in each case the parent birds were carrying mate- rials. I got up to one nest, which was half built, very neat and round, like a Chaffinch’s, but with a few pine-needles worked in; the hen came and added materials while I was sitting in the tree. I did not find these birds in the Retama, where Webb and Berthelot mention having found them, but in all cases they were in the pines or in the tree-heath and laurel among the pines; they were always very fearless. The plu- mage of the female is much bluer in summer than in winter. I am afraid the days of this species are numbered, as the B2 4, Mr. E. G. Meade- Waldo on some natives have now a great idea of their value, and shoot them on every possible occasion. CYPSELUS UNICOLOR. A very few Swifts pass the winter in Tenerife ; the only one I shot there was apparently C. unicolor. Large numbers of C. pallidus arrived early in February, and the main body of C. unicolor later. AQUILA, sp. ine. I saw several Eagles during November and early in De- cember, but never near enough to be sure of the species. FALCO PEREGRINUS. I saw Peregrines on three occasions in Tenerife ; they all struck me as being very small tiercels, but only one was near to me; he had a very blue back and very black cheeks *. ARDEA PURPUREA. A very fine Purple Heron that had been shot at Laguna was shown to me. ARDEA BUBULCUS. I saw three Buff-backed Herons during the winter, two alive and one that had just been shot. PoRZANA PARVA. The Little Crake has occurred at Laguna; I saw one that a boy had caught. GLAREOLA PRATINCOLA. A man shot a Collared Pratincole, which I saw in the flesh. Of the Waders I saw and obtained examples of the Grey Plover, Ring Plover, Kentish Plover, Turnstone, Dunlin, Cur- lew-Sandpiper, Sanderling, Common and Wood Sandpipers, Redshank, Greenshank, and Whimbrel, the last-mentioned in pairs up to 5thof June. I never found Snipes numerous, but they are said to be so on some occasions. Woodcocks appeared to be more numerous in the breeding-season than during the * (Capt. Reid will be glad to learn that this species is not, as he feared, exterminated (cf. Ibis, 1887, p. 429),.-—Ep.] Birds of the Canary Islands. a winter; but this was probably owing to their showing them- selves more. In May I have seen as many as ten or twelve on the wing in an evening. Asmall piece of turf under some chest- nut trees was a favourite playing-ground, and five or six would sometimes be strutting about on it atthesame time. Ihave had them alight within two yards of me, although I was sitting quite exposed ; they were all rather small birds. The only evidence of any migration was three or four seen in a barranco, not more than 1000 feet above the sea. I saw no Herring Gull except the yellow-legged Larus cachinnans. Bulwer’s Petrel I never shot, but saw two or three off the coast of Tenerife when on my way to Gomera. Wilson’s Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) also occurs. Three Cinereous Shearwaters (Puffinus kuhli) brought to me alive by some boys refused to fly away, although absolutely unin- jured. If thrown up they dropped like stones, and even when left out all day and night on a parapet, it was not until the second night that two of them disappeared; the other had to be turned on to the sea, when it went off all right. I started with a friend for my first visit to Gomera on Feb. 6th, riding across Tenerife by the valley of Santiago, and embarking in a schooner which we had ordered to meet us at San Juan, below Guia. The schooner was two days late, and we did not land at San Sebastian, the port of Gomera, until the morning of the 10th. The distance be- tween the islands is only some fifteen miles, but the frequent calms make the journey of most uncertain length. The principal object of my visit on this occasion was to obtain specimens of Columba laurivora, and if possible to get some young ones alive. Nothing less likely for Wood Pigeons than the aspect of the country as seen from San Sebastian can well be imagined ; not a tree, except a few palms, to be seen, barren mountains intercepted by very deep barrancos everywhere. On the beach were flocks of Kentish Plovers and a few Turnstones, while Yellow-legged Herring Gulls, Ravens, and Egyptian Vultures, with Goldfinches, Rock Sparrows, Berthelot’s Pipits, and Corn Buntings, were the 6 Mr. E. G. Meade-Waldo on some most noticeable birds near the town. Having discovered and made the acquaintance of a native sportsman, I ques- tioned him about the birds, and he told me that there were two kinds of Pigeons in the mountain-forests : one, “ Paloma turque,” which I recognized from his description as the common Tenerife “ Paloma turquesa’’ (Columba bollic) ; the other, a much larger bird, called “ Rabichi” or ‘ Rabi blanea,” which I saw would be C. laurivora. Starting early next morning to cross the island, we climbed slowly up, beasts of burden being very hard to get and very bad in San Sebastian. At about 3000 feet we got into some low heath-scrub, where Sylvia melanocephala was plentiful, also a few of the pale-coloured Robins. We saw very many Partridges (Caccabis petrosa), and Ravens (Corvus tingitanus) were in flocks and very tame. A Red Kite soared over us ; but this species is comparatively scarce in Gomera, where there are but few pine trees. Blackbirds, Thrushes, Linnets, and Goldfinches were about all the other birds we saw here ; at 4000 feet the heath got higher, and I saw a most brilliant cock Azorean Chaffinch. After 4300 feet we began to de- scend, and soon opened out large valleys and hills of ever- green forest stretching to the north. I soon heard Pigeons cooing, and recognized the voice of C. bollit. Goldcrests, Tits, and Chiffchaffs were here very abundant, and at dusk many Woodcocks flighted over us, squeaking and croaking, and then we felt our way gradually downwards in the dark by an almost blind track, not arriving at our destination till 10 p.m. I started early the next morning for the high forest, where my sporting friend said I should get Pigeons, accom- panied by two or three peasants carrying my things, for I intended to sleep upon the Pigeon-ground. The woods were very fine, the heaths and evergreen trees of many kinds being far larger and more luxuriant in growth than any I had ever seen before. We hunted carefully through the woods that day and the next without seeing a single C. laurivora ; but C. bollit was common enough, and I shot two or three for specimens, finding some of its nests, each containing one egg, aud catching alive a nearly full-grown young one, a fine Birds of the Canary Islands. 7 male, which I have at the present time. Woodcocks were very abundant, and so were Partridges wherever the ground was sufficiently open. Tits, Goldcrests, &c. swarmed, and I feel almost sure I saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ; but I had come for C. laurivora. Getting impatient at last, I extracted from my guides that there were no “ Rabichi” up in the mountains, but that they were in the Cordillera, be- tween the mountains and the valley, and that there it was too steep and dangerous for me to shoot, owing to the wet weather, that the stones, loosened by the rains, were falling in all directions, and that the ground fell away if walked upon. The next morning at daybreak we started for the Cordillera, having got over the objections of my companions by an offer of a good reward for each “ Rabichi” I killed. To-day and henceforth I dispensed with my original guide, as he had evidently thought that Pigeons were Pigeons, and that C. bollit would do as well as C. laurivora. A capital young fellow accompanied me, Luis by name, who was very keen and knew every inch of the ground, and was also well up in the birds of his island. He carried his gun and was a very fair shot, and if there were many more like him the Gomera Partridges would soon cease to be as abundant as they are at present; for a close time is unknown, and the cock Partridge, as he sits on a rock uttering his Curlew-like scream, while his mate is hatching close by, is a most favourite object for a stalk. On the Cordillera, which was very steep indeed and covered with thick heath and laurel-scrub and with many precipices, the whole descending into the valley by a series of terraces, I found C. /aurivora fairly abundant, flying along the face of the mountain in pairs and singly. Their light- tipped tails were very conspicuous and looked white when flyg, giving them somewhat the appearance of gigantic Turtle-Doves. Their flight was peculiar, quite unlike that of any Pigeon I had ever seen, a soft flopping flight, fairly fast. I found it exceedingly difficult to get good specimens, as if shot when flying along the mountain-side the birds were mostly dashed to pieces by a fall of over 100 feet into 8 Mr. E. G. Meade-Waldo on some the scrub; but I eventually found a place in a barranco where they used to settle in some tall trees, and there I managed to get some very good birds. They varied very much in size, my finest cock being 17} inches, while some were only 15 inches in length. I had on this and subse- quent days many opportunities of watching them. ‘They are yery active on the ground, on which a great deal of their time appears to be spent, as one might gather from their strong muscular thighs and legs. I only heard one bird “coo,” and none of those I shot proved to be nesting, very unlike the C. dollii, which breeds all the winter. Their flesh was capital eating and of two colours, the muscle nearest the bone being white. Their food appears to be exactly the same as that of C. bolléi; a few, very few, C. bollti come on to the C. laurivora ground. Three months later, May 6th, I went again to Gomera, my object this time being to get, if possible, some young C. laurt- vora alive; Canon Tristram accompanied me on this occa- sion. We found the Pigeons had only just began to breed ; some had laid, and others were going todo so. I had, how- ever, one dead young one brought to me. One egg only is laid. In the crops of some shot were the blossoms of flax and a little barley; the Pigeons came down into the barley regularly to feed. When first shot the bill of C. lawrivora is white, the nares being pink. The brown wings contrast with the pale blue rump and iridescent green neck and head, giving the bird when on the wing and flying below a patchy appearance. ‘These two Pigeons keep to their own domains, C. boll to the high mountain-forest, C. laurivora to the scrub-covered slopes lower lown, seldom encroaching one on the other. Whether C. laurivora is confined to Gomera or not remains to be proved ; it certainly does not occur in 'Tene- rife, where there is no ground really suited to its habits ; but I think it will very likely be found in Palma, where I intend to search for it next autumn. Fringilla tintillon was very abundant in Gomera, as was also the Canary, the young of the year, in their brown plumage, being in flocks in the valleys. The little Chiffchaff with the Birds of the Canary Islands. 9 light-coloured tarsi was “ ticking ” in every direction, a note I never heard from our bird. Rabbits were fairly common, and the common rat and the house-mouse lived in the highest mountain-forests. I also saw a small bat, with short ears and fur of a bright chestnut colour. On March 20th I started with a friend from Tenerife, en route for Fuerteventura, and taking a schooner from Las Palmas, in Grand Canary, found ourselves under the high peaks of Jandia at daybreak on the 22nd. Those who have travelled among the Canary Islands will know that this was good work. We had a fair wind—plenty of it—and we had just caught the schooner, which started the day and hour it was timed to start! As we coasted along, the island looked far more mountainous than I had expected it would be; but after a time a peep through the mountains showed inland a large plain, and as there was a nice beach for landing we asked the “ padron ” the name of the place; he told us Gran Tarajal, and that we could land there if we hiked. This we agreed to, and very soon we were on the beach of Fuerte- ventura, an island I had longed to visit more than any other. We had a letter of introduction to a farmer in a village, which we found to be only nine miles inland; thither we determined to go, and hiring camels on the beach—some peasants had come down on seeing our boat —we started up a valley in which was a dry river-bed, with a quantity of tamarisk growing on its banks, almost the only covert I saw in the island. Here Sylvia melanocephala and S. conspicillata were abun- dant, and soon afterwards I saw Sand Grouse, Cream-coloured Coursers, quantities of Short-toed Larks, Berthelot’s Pipits, some Rock Pigeons, and Egyptian Vultures. On arriving at our destination, Tuineje, where we hoped to be taken in, we picsented our letter, and, though utterly unexpected, “ Don Lucas ac Saa” turned out of his best room and made us as comfortable as possible, as his guests. In a very short time his wife, hearing what I had come for, presented me with the handsomest pair of Houbara Bustard’s eggs (Otis undulata) that I got on the island. They are taken by the 10 Mr. E. G. Meade-Waldo on some islanders for food!!! Many were the interesting excursions about here. I was much struck with the tameness of the birds, and especially of the Thick-knees (idicnemus scolopaz), which were abundant everywhere, and came even into the villages, running about almost as tame as Fowls, and would permit an approach to within ten yards. One day I saw an old bird standing close to me, plaintively whistling, and on going up to her found she was standing by two young ones, one of which was much smaller than the other; she ran away a few yards and stood watching me,—behaviour which seems to me quite extraordinary in this class of birds. The beautiful little Trumpeter Bullfinch (Pyrrhula githaginea) was common about all the villages, and had young on the wing by the end of March, whilst many had commenced sit- ting, apparently for the second time; the long trumpeter-like pipe of the cock struck me very much. Nearly every palm tree had its colony of Spanish Spar- rows, most of the wells also harboured numbers. In the same palm trees as the Sparrows there was frequently a pair of Kestrels nesting. Near here only did I see a Stonechat (Pratincola, sp. inc.), that appeared to me at the time unlike any I had seen before; it was not a common bird. They had bred very early, for on March 25th I got a full-grown young bird, very much the colour of a Spotted Flycatcher. I have brought home a pair and a young bird, and on com- paring them find that it is a good new species, its nearest ally being Pratincola borbonica. I hope to give a figure and description of this bird on some future occasion. The Short-toed Lark was the commonest bird all over the island, and Berthelot’s Pipit was also exceedingly abundant. Grey Shrikes (Lanius algeriensis) were common everywhere, and had their young on the wing. From the same nest they were frequently of two colours, sand-coloured and grey; I saw what was, apparently, an old bird of the sandy colour. I brought alive to England a young sandy-coloured Shrike, which is now nearly clean moulted, and is a beautiful grey bird, with pure white breast; he has a decided song, and warbles away by the hour; he began this accomplishment Birds of the Canary Islands. 1] while quite a baby. With L. algeriensis occurs also L. hemi- leucurus,—at least a skin which I brought home has been so named for me. The Hoopoe (Upupa epops) was more abundant here than I have ever seen it before. By the end of March their young were full-grown. On the plains the Black-breasted Sand Grouse (Péerocles arenarius) was common, and, though it was the commencement of their breeding-season, were still in flocks. It was the exception to see pairs, but I often saw single birds; these were almost invariably hens. Another species, probably P. a/chata, also occurs, but I did not meet with it; the islanders call it “Ganga mora,” P. arenarius being ‘‘ Ganga parda.” The flocks of P. arenarius were most regular in their movements, the same flocks frequenting the same parts of the desert at the same hour of the day; their principal food was a small creeping trefoil. The Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius gallicus) was fairly numerous and breeding ; it seemed to prefer the barest parts of the desert, where the stones were mostly small. It had bred very early, for on the 23rd of March I saw a young bird almost able to fly, and also found a small young one. The old birds did not make any fuss when I was close to their young or eggs, simply running away and, when I approached, going a little further, generally creeping about 50 yards off. The eggs were very difficult to find, the only guide to their whereabouts being the scratches made by the old birds before finally fixing on a suitable place to lay. I found the Houbara Bustard (Otis undulata) on all suitable ground ; they preferred the plains near to the coast ; their eggs were very easy to find. On March 24th a boy brought me a fine young one, which throve well and quickly became tamed; but one moonlight night it walked out of the door and escaped. Nearly all the eggs I found were hard-set ; 20th February would be their laying-time. The old birds, though shy of people on foot, were very easily approached by a little manoeuvring on a donkey or camel. On one occasion, after twice riding within ten yards of a fine pair which had squatted, after being ridden after for a little 12 On some Birds of the Canary Islands. while, I sprung them on purpose, and marked them down about a quarter of a mile off. Dismounting I walked to- wards them, and at first could only see the male, who coolly stalked past me within thirty yards; I soon, however, saw the hen, squatting, about fifteen yards from me, and she let me look her well over before she got up, and flying round a little way, settled by the cock, and they both hurried back to where I had first found them. As this hen had either eggs or young (and from her extreme tameness I think she had young ones), it must be very unusual to find the male asso- ciating with her. The Bustards were in small parties, pairs, and single birds ; the small parties of four or five were invariably males, the pairs male and female, single birds female. I never saw a Bustard away from the desert; they appear never to come into the corn. Small snails, lizards, and a trefoil were their principal food. There were a few Song Thrushes in the tamarisks, and the islanders told me that the Blackbird occa- sionally occurs. A large Pipit, of which I saw many one day, I was unable to find afterwards, so I did not get a skin. I thought, of course, I could get them any time, and when I saw them I was after a cock Bustard. The only Buzzard I saw looked like the Buteo vulgaris; they are pretty common in the mountains. In the neighbourhood of Puerto Cabras, on the north-east coast, there were fewer land birds, but numbers of Waders. The Kentish Plover was extremely common, breeding both near the sea and some distance inland. The Whimbrel, Sanderling, and Grey Plover were numerous; | only saw one Curlew; the Turnstone was common, the Ringed Plover rather rare. The Yellow-legged Herring Gull was more numerous than I had seen it anywhere before, and I saw one Lesser Black-backed Gull. A trip to Oliva, in the north, produced no fresh species, but birds were much more numer- ous than on the east coast. There is a good deal of corn- land here, and at times a great many Quails; but this year the crops are wretched, owing to the drought, and there were few. On the coast near Puerto Cabras several pairs of Ornithological Notes on Gran Canaria. 13 the Pallid Swift were nesting in a low sandstone cliff, in holes that had the appearance of Sand-Martins’ holes, only larger. Our homeward voyage was very different to our outward, for after beating against a high headwind for two days, we had to anchor near the lighthouse on the point of Jandia, and wait for a fairer wind and less of it. This, though very tedious, was the means of my obtaining a bird that I had hoped to get, but had not seen before (I had, however, been told of its existence by the islanders), the Black Oyster- catcher (Hematopus capensis). Whether this species breeds in Fuerteventura or no, J cannot say, but I was assured it did so on the north coast and on the islands of Lanzarote and Graciosa, and the bird I shot was an old female with well-developed eggs. Between the high mountains of Jandia and the lighthouse runs a low headland some four or five miles long by one or two wide, all of sand, slightly raised above sea-level, and covered, when we were there, with a very sweet-scented dwarf stock. All the Waders were here in numbers, and I saw a small flock of Sand Grouse and a few Coursers, but the latter were not breeding here. Ospreys were continually in sight, sometimes three or four on the wing together. My delay enabled me to lay in a good store of lizards for my Shrike, which was thriving, and apparently the only passenger on board who did not find the journey irksome. After waiting here for two days the weather improved somewhat, and we beat across to Grand Canary, arriving five days after leaving Puerto Cabras, the distance between the islands being fifty- four miles. II.— Ornithological Notes on the Island of Gran Canaria. By H. B. Tristram, D.D., F.R.S. Driven by the bitter blasts of our north-eastern coast to seek a holiday under more sunny skies during the three spring months of the present year, the Canary Islands were 14. Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological happily suggested, as affording not only a balmy climate but perchance some objects of interest to the ornithologist. A voyage of eight days from Liverpool brought us to Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria. We were delayed by having encountered the worst storm of the season in the chops of the Channel; but after passing the latitude of Gibraltar we had summer seas and gentle breezes. To the eastward of Madeira we began to notice large flocks of Shearwaters, chiefly Puffinus kuhli, with other smaller species, while the Gulls and Guillemots entirely disappeared. Early one morning I noticed a number of a small Petrel for an hour or two. These birds I at first took for Wilson’s Petrel, Oceanites oceanica, but soon saw that they had far more white on the lower back and abdomen than that bird, and that they were probably Procellaria marina, which has more than once been taken off Canary. On examining our place on the ship’s chart I found that we were not more than twenty miles east of the Salvages, a desert group of waterless rocks, rarely visited, for there is no anchorage, but which are known to be a favourite breeding-place of many species of seafowl. I have little doubt but that these birds, which I never saw again until near the same spot on the return voyage, were preparing to breed on the Salvages. On Sunday morning, March 18, we sighted the distant peak of Tenerife, and had a magnificent view of the island as we steamed along its northern shore towards Gran Canaria, which we reached soon after nightfall. One day sufficed for hotel and other arrangements in that happy land, where custom-houses are unknown and trade is literally free. The first view of Gran Canaria from the roadstead of Las Palmas is not attractive, the island, which is a solid, almost circular, mass of voleanic rock, about thirty miles in diameter, rising precipitously from the ocean depths to a height of 6000 feet above the sea-level, and having no shore except on the south side, where there is a low desert tract covered with scoriz. Unlike its greater sister, Tenerife, there is no one central peak, but a central mass of jagged Notes on Gran Canaria. 15 crests from 5700 ft. to 6300 ft. high. No forest clothes the slopes of Gran Canaria. Every available patch of land is laid under cultivation, and the Spaniards, ignorant of the value of forests, of which there are so few in their mother- land, are ruthlessly destroying for charcoal the isolated patches of primeval timber which here and there remain. Monday sufficed for hotel arrangements and a walk of three miles out towards the interior, on a finely engineered road, over as dreary and rugged a volcanic spur as could be imagined, so soon as I had passed through the gardens and palm-groves which encircle the city. The Spanish Sparrow seemed to monopolize these, save for a few Pallid Swifts rapidly darting about. The open hillside has absolutely no turf or smaller herbage, but is sparsely clad with bushes of various species of Euphorbia, the only examples of vegetable life. Birds there were none save several Kestrels, all males, keenly on the look-out for the small black lizards which abound among the cinders, and a few of the Canary Pipit (Anthus bertheloti), with which I here made my first acquaint- ance. I have little to add to Capt. Savile Reid’s description of this bird. I rarely saw two together, but individuals are scattered over every part of the country, whatever its cha- racter. I found them in all the islands, alike among the cinders, in the fields, on the roadsides, in the open spaces in the forests, and even on the Cumbres, the desert bare plateau above the limit of ordinary vegetation. It is the one bird of the islands which seems to maintain itself every- where, and is comparatively indifferent to the presence of man, simply running along before the pedestrian and some- times perching on a tree. Later in the season I found its nest more than once, not differing from that of our Meadow Pipit, and with similarly marked eges. The next morning I started with two English friends for a few days in the interior, fearing that I had made a mistake, ornithologically, in choosing Gran Canaria for my début among the islands. We went by diligence to Arucas, among the mountains on the north side of the island. The carre- tero, or carriage road, was splendidly constructed, and the 16 Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological country reminded me much of Malta, with its careful terraced cultivation and the absence of wood, except orange and other fruit trees. The next striking feature was the immense number of reservoirs and the carefully constructed channels for irrigation. The Spanish Sparrow, Linnet, and Goldfinch were the only birds noticed. Arrived at the little town, we were set down with our baggage in the market- place and left to our own devices. As my companions knew not a word of Spanish, and I little more than they, we felt rather forlorn. However we soon found a man who volunteered to take our baggage on his donkey to Firgas, the village which we proposed to make our head- quarters for two or three days; it was only a two hours’ walk, across a_ well-cultivated, irregular, upland plain. Berthelot’s Pipit was the first Canarian specimen I procured in this walk, then the Common Bunting, which abounded, uttering his spluttering note from the stems of the asphodel. I put up a Norfolk Plover out of shot, and vainly stalked it for half an hour. At Firgas, finding no fonda to receive us, we were at last taken in by a peasant, whose quaint cottage possessed an upper storey and a balcony, and whose wife fortunately had been in service and was a good cook, while our host pro- fessed to know well the Barranco de la Virgen, or Virgin’s Ravine, which I intended to explore the next day. Our quarters were clean and free frompvermin, as were all I experienced in all the islands, with: put one exception. Next morning, with my host for guide and porter carry- ing my provisions and botany-box, I started at daybreak for the barranco, my friends making another expedition to the Pico Osorio. Half an hour brought us to the edge of the barranco, into which we descended by a breakneck path. The splendour and novelty of the flora in the sides of the cliffs were absolutely bewildering, but I must confine myself to the birds. I soon found that if there were neither rarities nor abund- ance, there was variety enough to satisfy the keenest natu- ralist. The Egyptian Vulture was never out of sight. ”™ py Notes on Gran Canaria. 1? Indeed we had seen numbers on the day before from the suburbs of Las Palmas onwards. The Buzzard was frequently to be observed, and I had hardly begun to descend the steep path when I noticed a pair of Falcons on the crest of the cliff on the opposite side of the glen. The male was in the act of treading. By the aid of my field-glasses I scrutinized them very closely. They looked to me of a much lghter russet than our ordinary Peregrine, and I fancied I might have before me Falco barbarus. But I afterwards found a pair in the Museum of Las Palmas, shot in this gorge, which were undoubted Peregrines, though of a very reddish hue. At any rate the Peregrine, for which Canary was once famous, is not yet quite extinct. Kestrels here abounded, but their nesting-places were hopelessly out of reach. I shot a male, which, like all those subsequently obtained, was small and very much darker than our English specimens; the wing is an inch shorter and the bill very much smaller than in European or Asiatic specimens. Its food seems to be almost exclusively lizards. Field-mice are unknown, and _ the small birds are far too few to maintain the population of Kestrels. . Arrived at the bottom of the barranco, where is a scanty perennial stream, the most conspicuous bird was the Grey Wagtail, perhaps the most numerous bird of Gran Canaria, encouraged by the number of reservoirs, at each one of which there is sure to be a family of these charming birds, perfectly tame and fearless. By the side of a pool formed by the little stream under a group of trees a number of Wagtails were disporting themselves. In a book recently published on the Canaries, and in which is a very good engraving of this charming spot, it is stated that flocks of Canaries inhabit it, and may be seen drinking at the water’s edge! At any rate the Wagtail has as much yellow on its plumage as the wild Canary. However rich botanically, the barranco did not repay ornithologically, and the Black- cap was the only other species I obtained. My guide, however, informed me that he knew where I might find “Palomo Turquese,”’ the Trocaz Pigeon, which he distin- SER. VI.—VOL. I. - c 18 Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological guished from the Blue Rock Pigeon, of which we had seen many in the cliffs above us. After working up the glen for three hours, we clambered out on the opposite side, and emerged on what is certainly the richest piece of Gran Canaria,—Doramas, not a village, but a district of scattered houses and farms, with lovely pathways shaded by laurel trees, Indian fig, and various other non-European trees, to me then unknown. At the further end of Doramas is a fragment of primeval forest of laurel trees, and here we hoped to find the “ Palomo Turquese.” We gradually as- cended till we reached a height of 4000 feet on the side of the Pico de la Virgen. In the wood J had a glimpse of two Pigeons which passed over us, and which the guide exclaimed were the “ Turquese.” They were not the Rock Dove, and certainly had not the whitish tail of Columba laurivora, which is very conspicuous in flight, and with which I fortunately became well acquainted elsewhere. The extremity of the tail was dark, but more than this I cannot aver. On another occasion I got a better view of a solitary Pigeon of the same species in a patch of laurel not far from Doramas. Both my guide at Doramas and another mountaineer whom I found near the Pinar del Pajonal professed to be well acquainted with the Turquese, and stated that while the laurel-forest existed it was common. But the Spanish Government unfortunately rewarded a hero of the Cuban war by a grant of this crown-forest, and he naturally enough at once proceeded to cut down all the timber and cultivate the estate. Now both the known Pigeons, C. dJollii and C. laurivora, live principally, if not almost exclusively, on the fruit of laurel trees; small wonder, then, that Turquese has disappeared along with his food! But the problem remains unsolved, was the Turquese of Gran Canaria a distinct species, or was it C. bollii of Tenerife and Gomera? Pro- bably the latter. But we have not yet ascertained the species of the island of Palma ; and should this latter prove distinct, the Pigeon of Gran Canaria may have been so likewise, and be on the verge of perishing, like the avifauna of Rodriguez and Mauritius, unwept, unhonoured, and un- sung. Notes on Gran Canaria. 19 In the glades of Doramas I obtained my first Blackbird, which is not nearly so common as in Tenerife, and is more shy. Nor have I observed it, as in the latter island, lower than about 2000 feet, while in Tenerife it is found from the shore up to 4000 feet. Though no doubt specifically iden- tical with our familiar friend, yet there is a tendency to become what some of my friends would term an incipient species, especially in the direction of equalization of the sexes. After examining a very large series in the British Museum and elsewhere, I find no approximation to the male plumage in the Canary female examples which I cannot match elsewhere; but in the one case it is exceptional, in the other it is constant. Proceeding onwards, at the edge of the forest I heard a note, resembling that of a Chaffinch, but more varied and powerful, and ending with a sustained trill. On the ex- tremity of a branch was perched the musician (Kringilla tintillon). In the course of half an hour I secured four specimens, three males and one female. They did not appear to have as yet commenced the duties of nidification. April and May are the usual time for the nesting of this Chaffinch. Unlike the Pipit, the Tintillon has a very limited perpen- dicular range. Neither in Canaria, nor in Tenerife, nor in Gomera did I ever find it lower than 2000 feet, and it is commonest at the edge or in the opens of the forest belt, from 3000 ft. to 4500 ft. in altitude. The call-note, nest, and eggs are identical with those of our Chaffinch, but the eggs run a trifle larger. I see that Mr. Sharpe, in his British Museum Catalogue, endeavours to discriminate between the Tintillon of Madeira, Azores, and Canaries, making them three subspecies. On ex- amining, however, the series in the British Museum, I found that the distinctions are scarcely borne out by them; and my own series presents examples from the Canaries corre- sponding to all three subdivisions in the Catalogue. The frontal band in one of my Azorean specimens is more dis- tinctly marked than in any of the Canarians, but not suf- ficiently so as to necessitate separation ; while, as to the colour C2 20 Canon H. B. Tristram—Ornilhological of the back, I obtained in the same district and in the same week specimens with the back olive-yellow to the neck, with the back slaty blue to the upper tail-coverts, and with the back half slaty blue and the lower half olive-yellow. Besides these I shot a specimen in Gomera on the 9th of May which has the centre of the back, between the slaty blue and the olive-yellow, reddish brown, the exact hue of the back of our Chaffinch. Yet in the same forest I shot others without a trace of this hue, but olive-yellow nearly to the neck. It is impossible to attribute this variation to seasonal change, as all my specimens are breeding birds, and all were obtained between the middle of March and the 12th of May. Nor can we suppose that age has much to do with the matter, when out of fourteen Canarian male specimens I have ex- amples of seven different proportions in the distribution of the colours of the back. Again the under surface varies in like fashion from the palest salmon-colour to a dark brownish pink. The specimens (three) from Gomera are the darkest on the under surface, darker even than Madei- ran birds. But in Gran Canaria itself I obtained dark- as well as light-breasted examples. The only conclusion at which I ean arrive is that Fringilla tintilion has by no means made up its mind as to what-coloured livery it shall wear, but is resolved to assert the rights of the idividual, and to exercise freedom of choice, though very possibly in lapse of time and by isolation the fashions may become stereotyped differently in different islands, and that Gomera will adopt a deeper-dyed cloak than even moist Madeira. In the hedgerow timber of Doramas I obtained a pair of Chiffchafis. This is one of the most abundant species in all the three islands I visited, and, like the Pipit, is found in highlands and lowlands alike, equally common in the sugar- cane plots, the hedgesides, the gardens, and the dense forest glades. It is, moreover, a constant resident, not even mi- grating up and down the hills; for its food in the evergreen verdure of the Canaries is equally abundant everywhere at all times of the year. I was surprised to hear a note quite different from that of our Chiffchaff, and had no idea, until I picked it up, that the first specimen I shot, and to which Notes on Gran Canaria. Q1 I had been attracted by its note in the top of a laurel tree, was a Chiffchaff. I then noticed its yellow legs and feet, and though I have taken a few specimens with rather darker tarsi, I never found one with dark brown tarsi approaching our bird in intensity of colour. The eggs do not differ from those of our Chiffchaff, and the architecture and lining of its domed nest is the same. Why it should use such a pro- fusion of feathers for the lining in so warm a climate I do not pretend to explain. But I never heard of the nest being placed on or near the ground. All those which I secured, by the help of boys, were in the crowns of palm trees, and one high up in a laurel tree. I did not succeed in obtaining any nests in the forests of Teneriffe and Gomera, where the bird was extremely abundant, but always resorting to the higher branches of trees, and many a specimen I brought down fancying I had got a Goldcrest. Its song consists of four notes ending in a long trill; but later in the season one heard more frequently the ‘chip chip” of our own bird, often interjaculated between the staves of the longer refrain. Its wing-formula also differs from that of the European Phylloscopus rufus. While our bird has its third and fourth primaries longest and equal, and the second intermediate between the seventh and eighth, though sometimes, but rarely, nearly equalling the sixth, the Canarian bird has always the fourth and fifth longest, and the second shorter than the eighth. This holds good in all the twelve speci- mens I have examined, and from all three islands of Canaria, Teneriffe, and Gomera. I have therefore no hesitation in claiming for this bird specific rank, and propose to name it PHYLLOSCOPUS FORTUNATUS, Sp. NOV. Ph. Phylloscopo rufo (Bechst.)=Ph. collybite (V.) similli- mus, sed tarsis et pedibus pallide flavidis: remigibus quarto et quinto, nec tertio et quarto, longissimis: et remige secundo octavo breviore. Hab. Insule Canarienses. Heading up the valley near Valleseco I returned towards Firgas through a very rugged but open and richly cultivated country. The slopes were generally terraced, and the bright 22 Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological eall of the Quail resounded from every field. But the crops, chiefly of Indian corn and French beans, were too far ad- vanced for us to walk through them; and though the Canarians are, of all people in the world, the most tolerant of trespassers, I could not venture to try to walk up the game, which, indeed, without a dog, would not have been a very successful enterprise. A Red Kite (Milvus ictinus) obligingly passed over my head and gave me the opportunity of securing a very fine female specimen which had not yet bred. The Kite, though pretty generally distributed, so that one could seldom be out for a day without seeing one, is by no means abundant in individuals, and seems to feed here exclusively on offal. It is a migrant, and retires during the winter, while the Buzzard remains. Up to this time, though I had frequently seen the Linnet and the Goldfinch, I had not yet found the Canary bird, but at length secured one of a pair sitting in a peach-tree over- hanging the path. The Canary is certainly much scarcer in Canaria than in Tenerife or Gomera. In fact it was not easy to get more than one or two in a day’s ramble, while in the other islands one might without trouble secure more in a morning than I should care to skin m a day. In Canaria, though it descends lower than the Tintillon, 1 never saw it, as I did in Tenerife, near the sea-level ; but I was told that in winter it comes down in small flocks to the coast. I often saw Canaries feeding along with Linnets. In the other islands we found in May large flocks of the national bird above the forests, among the pine trees, at a height of 5000 feet. They appeared to be chiefly birds of the year. ‘Their song is identical with that of the domesti- eated race, or perhaps finer. I listened to a singing-match between a Canary and a Linnet in two neighbouring trees, and the superior power and richness of the notes of the former were indisputable. Its habits, as might be expected, hardly differ from those of the Linnet, excepting that it more affects trees and perches higher. The nest is neat and Linnet-like, abundantly lined with goat’s hair. A Notes on Gran Canaria. 23 thriving trade is carried on at the Port with the passengers of the African and New Zealand steamers in yellow Canaries, which fetch a fancy price, as being the “ real thing.” I was amused to find these birds priced at from 3 to 5 dollars, while the real native, perfectly tame and singing as well as the other, could be had for half a dollar. My only other capture of interest on this my first day’s outing was Cypselus unicolor, a flock of which graceful bird were skimming low as the evening set in. This Swift has a different flight from that of C. apus, more gliding, and is very silent on the wing. Parties may be seen from sunrise to sunset systematically hunting, generally sweeping laterally over the upland plains or along the face of the steeper cliffs, and returning in about an hour to the same spot. At mid- day I have noticed them at the height of 5000 feet, but towards evening they descend, though rarely to the coast- line. Their roosting- and nesting-places are in cliffs, gene- rally from one to two thousand feet above the sea. In this respect they differ from C. pallidus, which is also very numerous, but which particularly affects the coast-line, and which I never saw at any great height mland. So far as I could ascertain, both species are permanent residents, Cypselus unicolor certainly is so. Such were my captures for my first day’s work in Gran Canaria ; and though it cannot be looked on as a “ birdy ” country, I had no reason to be dissatisfied with a bag which it required a long day’s work to skin, and which added three local species to my collection. We returned to Las Palmas the next day by a mountain- path on foot, a seventeen-miles walk, with fine rugged scenery, _grand in spite of the absence of forest, and passing many of the cave-dwellings of the ancient Guanches, the aboriginal and civilized inhabitants who were dispossessed and too often brutally slaughtered by the Spaniards. I added a few specimens to my bag on the way, among them the Short-toed Lark (Alauda brachydactyla), which occurred on the barest and most rugged mountain-sides, and which is one of the few birds inhabiting Gran Canaria, but 24. Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological not found, so far as I am aware, on any of the other western islands. Mr. Meade-Waldo met with it in Fuerteventura, but neither he norI in Tenerife or Gomera. Webb and Berthelot do not notice it. In Canaria it is far from numerous, though the shepherd boys know it and distinguish it from the Pipit. The Hoopoe frequently made his bow to us on the top of a boulder. He is only a spring and summer migrant, but very abundant on all the islands during the season. One of my most interesting expeditions was a ramble of four days to the south of the island, returning over the highest mountain-passes in the very centre, back by San Mateo to Las Palmas. We drove by the coast to Aguimes, near the S.E. corner of the island, where we had wretched quarters in a loft, swarming with vermin, the only comfort- less night I experienced in any of the islands. On the way, near Telde, I made acquaintance with an old Algerian and Syrian friend, the Spectacled Warbler, which seemed to be just returning to its summer-quarters. After this date it occurred everywhere in suitable localities, and I secured specimens in all three islands. It does not ascend very high, but inhabits the low scrub up to about 2500 feet, affecting especially the dry hill-sides and the Euphorbia bushes, in which it builds close to the ground. When we reach the higher elevations its place is taken by the little skulking Sylvia melanocephala, not so easily seen though often heard. Webb and Berthelot notice the Spectacled Warbler, under the name of Sylvia passerina, as common in all the islands, and give a very accurate description of its habits and nidifi- cation. Subsequent writers have identified Webb and Ber- thelot’s S. passerina with the Subalpine Warbler, S. sud- alpina, Bonelli (ef. Ibis, 1872, p. 175), and have given the latter as inhabiting all the islands on their authority. No one, however, has as yet found the Subalpine Warbler in the group, and it is impossible that Webb and Berthelot could have overlooked the Spectacled, even had not their descrip- tion been unmistakable. We may therefore eliminate the Subalpime Warbler from the Canary list. Notes on Gran Canaria. 2a I also noticed three Common Swallows skimming along the Barranco at Telde, and afterwards an occasional solitary specimen might be seen over the gardens round Las Palmas. But the Swallow and House Martin are only spring stragglers. The islands are out of their line of migration, and the few wanderers who may have been driven thither do not gene- rally remain more than a day or two. I noticed a small flock of House Martins hunting down on the mountain-side ; but they were gone in the evening, and I never met with a Martin elsewhere. A Swallow which I obtained was of our common English type (Hirundo rustica), with the pale lower parts ; but I saw one in the hands of the Orotava bird-dealer about as dark as H. savignii. Mr. Godman found the Swallow breeding in Tenerife, and, in contrast with its accidental appearance in Canaria, I noticed it daily and in some plenty in Teneriffe. From Aguimes we made a long day’s ramble by Sardina across a desolate volcanic plain towards Maspalomas, the southern point of the island. Our plans did not allow us to spend an additional day here; but I was not aware of what I afterwards discovered, that on the desert-tract before us is the home of the Trumpeter Bullfinch (Pyrrhula githa- ginea) and of the Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius galli- cus), of both of which specimens are in Las Palmas Museum, obtained near Maspalomas. The ground is admirably suited for them, and also faces the island of Fuerteventura, which is here in sight, and may be looked on as the headquarters of these desert-loving birds. Numbers of the little Black Swift (Cypselus unicolor) were playing over the plain, at a great height; but these, with a few Kestrels and an occa- sional Neophron, were the only signs of bird-life we noticed. But when, turning again northward under the fine peak of lataga, we zigzagged up the gorge of Sitio de Arriba towards Tirajana and the Paso de la Plata, with the Pico de las Nieves rising 6300 feet above it, we were indeed re- warded. The scenery was a strange blending of the most savage rocks, everywhere seeming as though the wreck of some convulsion of yesterday, with the richest semitropicalh 26 Canon H. B. Tristram—Ornithological culture, oranges, almonds, and peaches ripening together, and forming the hedges of gardens or plots of peas and other vegetables. Again I got one glimpse of a Falcon. The Buzzard was several times noticed, and the Kestrel was ubiquitous. The Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) here began to be very abundant, especially in the fruit trees, and I suppose had only just returned. ‘“‘Capirote,”’ as he is here called, made the narrow Barrancos resound with his music, while in the little open patches of maize or vineyards the Robin and the Blackbird caught up the refrain. We passed on through the villages, or rather little towns, of Santa Lucia and Tiri- jana, perched on the mountain-side, with gushing streamlets bursting on the path-side through the rocks, and carefully utilized for the gardens, while our path was overhung with almond-trees Jaden with fruit, mingled with oranges, which were only just ripe, for we are here 3000 feet above the sea. We reached the little town of San Bartolomeo at nightfall, 3200 feet above the sea, and (for inns are unknown) called on the Alcalde, and were advised where we might find lodgings. Here we made our headquarters for three days. Our host, a small farmer, was a keen sportsman, and had a well-trained Spanish pointer. He was delighted to accom- pany me, and was ready to promise every bird after which I made enquiry, especially “ Palomo Turquese.” Our first day’s work was not encouraging. My guide insisted on working the lower slopes of the mountain just on the edge of the line of cultivation. Hoopoes, Blackbirds, and Black- caps were plentiful. The Tintillon was conspicuous by its absence. There were a few Quails ; but I soon found that Don Lorenzo’s one idea was to secure French Partridges when his dog pointed them, by potting them before they began to run; and with perdiche in view, he could not understand my looking after “ Pajari” or dickybirds. I may here mention that the Quail, which is very numerous (though I doubt whether even Mr. Godman himself could equal his feat in the Western Azores and shoot seventy couple in a day), is declared by the natives to receive large additions to its numbers in spring. I am inclined to doubt this, but to Notes on Gran Canaria. ae attribute the belief rather to the bird exercising its vocal organs more lustily at this season ; because all the Quails | have seen here appear to be of the small dark-coloured race found in South Africa, although even darker than the Cape specimens. The wing is fully 25 inch shorter than in British or Syrian specimens, but exactly the same as in Natal and Cape specimens. Not only is the throat-patch black, but the dark chestnut breast is blotched with black patches amid the fine white strie. I am quite sure our friends across the Atlantic would make the Canarian a very good subspecies at least. But the Partridge is yet more distinct. It is curious that there should have been such uncertainty as to the distribu- tion of this species. Webb and Berthelot state that the Barbary Partridge (Caccabis petrosa) is found in Canaria, Tenerife, Gomera, and Hierro, and make no mention what- ever of Caccabis rufa. There is no doubt that C. petrosa is the only Partridge of Tenerife and Gomera (of Hierro I know nothing), but most certainly in Gran Canaria Caccabis rufa is the only species known. It is found im small numbers over the whole country, and seems to have a greater facility in adapting itself to all kinds of country than its congener. Thus while in Tenerife and Gomera the Barbary Partridge affects especially the lofty cliffs overhanging the sea, and the rocky declivities high up on the verge of and beyond the limits of cultivation, the other species in Gran Canaria is found from the coast, on the most barren shores, upwards on the cultivated sides of the Barrancos, and even on the moun- tain-tops, the barren cumbres, where vegetation has almost ceased. Not only is it numerous in the barley- and wheat- fields about San Bartolomeo, but I have put it up in the vine- yards near Atalaya,and one day Mr. Meade-Waldo, walking with me, flushed a pair evidently breeding on the barren cinder-hills not a mile outside the eity of Las Palmas. I also put up a pair on the side of the Pico de las Nieves at 5700 feet, where there was absolutely no vegetation but a small Draba (?), a dwarf crocus, and some lichens, and where we were walking over the snow which had fallen in the 28 Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological night. I saw for several days just before the close season numbers of Partridges for sale in the market of Las Palmas, and only of this species. When I first obtained the French Partridge at San Bar- tolomeo I was struck by the size of the bill, much larger, I thought, than in any specimen I had seen elsewhere. That this was no accidental variation I ascertained by comparing my skin with twenty-nine other birds I found for sale in Las Palmas on the day of my return. All agreed in dimensions both of bill and tarsus, as well as in coloration. On com- parison with the series in the British Museum, and with Lord Lilford’s and my own, I find the following marked differences. The Canarian bird has a band of reddish brown on the nape and hind neck, brighter than in French and English, but not brighter than in Spanish examples. But whereas in European birds the whole of the rest of the upper parts are reddish brown, in the Canarian the back and upper tail are slaty grey. I have seen an example from Andalusia which is intermediate between the Northern and the Cana- rian characters. The black collar round the fore neck is very much wider than in European birds. So marked is the dis- tinction that Mr. Godman felt disposed to describe his specimen from the Azores as a new species, had it not been that it was a wretched and mutilated specimen in moult. But on comparing my Canarian with his Azorean there can be no doubt of their specific identity. But the marked structural distinction is in the beak and tarsi. In French specimens the beak measures 1:33 inch from the gape, and the Canarian 1:82 inch. Depth from the ridge of the culmen: French specimens ‘27 inch ; Canarian, 33 inch. Length of tarsus in French specimens 1-33 inch, Canarian, 1°82, while both bill and tarsus are comparatively far more massive in the insular bird than even their measurements would show. I propose, therefore, to distinguish the latter as CacCABIS RUFA, Var. AUSTRALIS. C. rostro quarta parte robustiore et longiore quam in C. rufd: tarsis robustioribus et dimidio pollicis longi- Notes on Gran Canaria. 29 oribus: dorso cinereo, nec rufescenti-fusco: fascia nigré circum guttur latiore quam in C. rufd. Tarsus long. 1°82 poll. Rostrum a culmine ad imum °33 poll., long. *98 poll. The next day I started early with Don Alfonso to explore the Pinas del Pajonal on the S.W. side of the central moun- tain mass, where we might possibly meet with the “ 'Tur- quese.” We had to climb by a zigzag path, sometimes a mere niche cut out of the side of the cliff, till we reached the crest of the pass, which opened on to the wide Pinas or Pine- forest. We were standing on a niche in a narrow ridge not 100 yards wide. Nothing could be more startling than the sudden change of scene. Turning round to look at the country we had left we saw a richly cultivated district, with orchards of almond-trees creeping to the very base of the cliffs 1100 feet below us. Before us was spread a wide basin, or rather a valley with a narrow opening at the further end, giving a glimpse of the western ocean; and the whole basin, from the crest of the enclosing mountain downwards, dotted, rather than covered, with small Canarian pine-trees, and here and there an ancient survivor of the primeval forest towering like a giant among the Liliputians. The Spaniards have recklessly destroyed the forest, chiefly for charcoal, and have not taken the trouble to replant it, leaving only the saplings which twenty years ago were too small for timber. Happily they are thick enough to form a forest in the course of another century if allowed to remain so long. A fine barranco, fed by many tiny rills and cascades from the mountain-sides, drains the basin west- ward. I saw at a glance that my hopes of the Pigeon were gone, as ‘‘Turquese”’? does not resort to pines, and cover there was none. But I was surprised to see, at the very summit of the pass, a pair of Tits (Parus teneriffe) flitting almost Creeper-like among the little bushes on the face of the cliff. I secured one of them, the other falling into an inaccessible cranny above our heads. We were here 4300 feet above the sea. This was the highest point where I noticed the Titmouse, but it occurs in small numbers at all 30 Canon H. B. Tristram— Ornithological the lower elevations down to the coast-line. I had already obtained it among the chestnut-trees near San Mateo ; but it is not nearly so numerous in Canaria as in the other islands, in both of which I procured specimens. Some are absolutely without any trace of white edgings to the second- aries and greater wing-coverts, so conspicuous in Algerian birds, but most of them have traces of the white tips more or less distinct, and in one specimen, procured by Mr. Meade- Waldo in the eastern island of Fuerteventura, the white ex- tremities are larger than in Algerian specimens, while, as might be expected in that desert soil, the whole blue plumage is much paler than in any others I have seen, continental or insular. We spent the whole day in the pine-forest, but with a poor harvest, the only bird of interest I secured being the Great Spotted Woodpecker, identical with our British bird, and not, as has been suggested, Picus numidicus. Teneriffe examples are identical with Canarian. But in the former island, I believe that on more than one occasion I saw in the laurel-forest Picus minor. I may here remark that there seems to be no evidence whatever that Parus major has ever been found in the Archipelago. Messrs. Webb and Ber- thelot never saw it themselves, and it escaped Mr. Godman’s all-penetrating researches. Our next day’s expedition was in a northerly direction from San Bartolemeo by the Paso de la Plata to the Roque del Nublo, the highest crest of Canaria, 6400 feet, and then across the Cumbre down to San Mateo on the northern slope of the central range. If not rewarded ornithologically, we were certainly repaid by the magnificent scenery, which lost none of its grandeur by a fall of snow during the preceding night, which lightly covered the higher peaks. Even here we found the Pipit, the French Partridge, and of course the Raven (Corvus tingitanus), while the Little Swift (Cypselus unicolor) was disporting itself far overhead. We descended upon Lech- uilla, above San Mateo, where begins what has been called the garden of Canaria. The orange mingles with apple, pear, guince, plum, cherry, peach, and almond trees, and here Notes on Gran Canaria. ou and there a survival in a noble Canary pine. These orchards abounded in song-birds, the Blackbird, the Robin, and espe- cially the little Blackcap, or “ Capirote”’ as he is called, the favourite songster of the Canarians, while the Chiffchaff was simply everywhere. I never found or saw the black- throated variety of the Blackeap, known from Madeira and described as Sylvia heinekeni. I cannot but think that the Robin of the island is at least an incipient species. It is a permanent resident. All the specimens obtained both by Mr. Meade-Waldo and myself in Canaria and Tenerife are of a richer and darker plumage than European birds, and the red of the breast decidedly deeper, while there is the trace of a white ring round the eye. But in examining a series I notice that some Spanish specimens equal the Canarian in intensity of colour. It is curious, however, that in Gomera, where the Robin is very plentiful and we collected many specimens, all without ex- ception correspond exactly in every particular with British birds. But this is not the only instance in which the avi- fauna of the little island of Gomera shows a distinct indi- viduality. In some open ground, on our return next day to Las Palmas, I saw the Rock Sparrow (Fringilla petronia), now very scarce in the island, and altogether expelled from the towns and villages by that impudent intruder the Spanish Sparrow, which is becoming a perfect nuisance in many places. Happily it has not yet reached Teneriffe, where the Rock Sparrow still utters his ditty unmolested on the eaves and gables of the houses. I subsequently explored, more or less carefully, the whole of the rest of the island, and I do not think that much remains to be discovered, unless in the way of occasional stragglers. Contrasting this island with its neighbours, we have a pretty fair idea of the result of cultivation and the destruction of forests. The growing scarcity of water may, indeed, induce the Government to encourage the re- planting of the higher mountain-sides, which can never have an agricultural value, and to preserve what forests remain in Tenerife and Gomera. 32 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. To my enthusiastic, keen, and accurate companion in the latter islands, Mr. Meade-Waldo, for whom I confidently predict a very high place among our rising field-naturalists, I leave the task of describing the researches, in which he bore the chief part, in the latter islands. III.—On the Genus Platalea, with a Description of a new Species from New Guinea. By W. R. Ocitvie-Granrt. (Plate I.) Tue head and legs of a Spoonbill recently killed at Port Moresby, S.E. New Guinea, were forwarded by Mr. H. Romilly to Lord Walsingham, by whom these interesting remains were presented to the Natural History Museum. The rest of the body had unfortunately been cut up for eating by the natives before the bird was observed by Mr. Romilly ; but the whole plumage is said to have been entirely white, like the head, and to have belonged to a bird hitherto unknown in New Guinea. That no Spoonbill has ever been recorded from Papua is certain, and at the first glance I believed these remains to belong to the Australian black-faced species, P. melano- rhyncha, Reich. (P. regia, Gould), which it seemed probable might have strayed northwards beyond its usual range ; but after a very careful comparison with specimens of the Aus- tralian bird of the same age I am convinced that the Spoon- bill of New Guinea belongs to quite a distinct species, some- what intermediate between P. melanorhyncha and P. minor, Temm. & Schi., from Japan and Formosa, Before venturing to describe a new species on such frag- mentary evidence, more especially as the species of this group are not yet well understood, chiefly owing to the scarcity of material in museums and to the difficulty of procur- ing specimens, I have made a detailed examination of all the available material both in the Natural History Museum and elsewhere, and have attempted to clearly establish the distin- guishing characters of the different species. I trust the results may be of some value to those who are interested in Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 33 the Platalean problem. I do not include in my remarks either the Australian species, P. flavipes, or the American P. ajaja, as I consider them to belong to two distinct genera, Platibis and Ajaja. The most recent remarks bearing on the subject before us are to be found in Mr. Stejneger’s “ Review of the Japanese Birds ” (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1887, p. 275), where an excellent résumé of the literature is given, and the several questions to be solved are put clearly before the reader. At the same time I must remark that, although a great admirer of Mr. Stejneger’s careful and accurate work, my own inves- tigations have on several points resulted in conclusions quite the opposite to those arrived at by that ornithologist— ~ notably when he says, p. 281, “ it is a curious peculiarity of the Spoonbills (at least of the European species) that the very youngest birds have the face more denuded of feathers than the older ones ;”’ and again (p. 284), ‘ to this I would remark that, as already stated, I regard the type of P. minor as very young and that the greater extent of naked skin is due to its younger age.” Now even supposing, as is probably the case, that all the species of Platalea are alike in having the downy young “ with nearly the whole face and throat naked” as in P. leucorodia, this character ceases to be pronounced after the young birds become feathered ; and in ail the species (always of course allowing a certain margin for individual variation in this most variable group) younger specimens have both the bare skin of the forehead and throat much less developed than in fully adult birds of the same species. In all the species the young birds may be distinguished from the adults of the same sex by the following characters—the smaller size (usually), the smoothness and lighter colour of the bill, the smaller area of bare skin both on the forehead and throat, and the black and dark brown colour of the ends of the primary quills and their shafts. In fully adult speci- mens of the different species with pure white primaries, &c., a number of characters are found common to all at certain seasons, such as the corrugations on the bill, the long crest and the irregular buff-coloured band round the base of the SER. VI.—VOL. I. D 34 Mr. W.R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. neck. ‘To the best of my belief these characters are only seasonal and disappear about the end of December ; for as shown in a fully adult male specimen of P. major (no. 7) there is no visible crest in January, and the bill is nearly smooth. In March a male from Delhi (no. 4) and a female from Egypt (no. 21), both fully adult, have the bill somewhat corrugated and a short crest in quill, and adult male speci- mens (nos. 5 and 3), procured at Hakodadi in April and Jodhpur in November respectively, have fully developed crests and the bill strongly corrugated. The fully adult females differ from the males only in their usually smaller size ; but I believe Mr. Swinhoe to be correct in his surmise that they take considerably longer to attain maturity. I have to return my best thanks to Dr. Bittikofer, who has been more than kind in supplying me with all required information, as well as in sending a number of water-colour drawings of heads of various Spoonbills in the Leyden Museum, also to Mr. Seebohm, Canon Tristram, and Capt. Shelley, who have been kind enough to send me for exami- nation specimens of Platalea from their collections. Key to the Species. A, Forehead feathered almost to the base of the culmen. a. Naked skin of throat and round eyes yellow, on narrow forehead and in front of eyes blackish. Culmen black barred with yellow. Legs black. a’. Smaller; culmen from 7-8'9 inches long .. PP. leucorodia, p. 35. b'. Larger; culmen from 8-2-9-7 inches long... P. major, p. 89. B. A considerable extent of forehead above the base of the culmen naked. b. Naked skin of face and throat, bill, and legs RAG AS Ruste kan SU tio AA Ripe eee P. alba, p. 47. c. Naked skin of face and throat, bill, and legs black or dark purplish brown. ce’. Throat naked for a considerable extent. a’. Bare skin of throat extends ca. 2°8 beyond the angle ofthe mouth, rounded or slightly W-shaped: posteriorly, on bare forehead 1:2 beyond base of culmen. Yellow patch on the back of the forehead and largely Mr. W. BR. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 35 above and somewhat less below each eye. Bill black. End of spatule obtusely [p. 48. toumented. (Ganon oie. with Bee gute < P. melanerhyncha, 6", Bare skin of throat extends ca. 1:5 beyond the angle of the gape, slightly W-shaped posteriorly, that of forehead 1:0 beyond base of culmen. Slight yellow patch on the back of the forehead and below each eye. Bull deep black. End of spatule [p. 52, rounded. Intermediate-. ....¢ jc.csac.- P. intermedia, d'. Throat almost entirely feathered. e’. Bare skin of throat extends 1:2 beyond the angle of the gape, strongly W-shaped posteriorly, that of forehead extends ‘6 beyond base of culmen. Yellow patch below and in a thin line over each eye, none on forehead. Bill black. End of spatule yellow. Sizesmaller ........ P. minor, p. 64. PLATALEA LEUCORODIA, Linn. Western Race. (P. leucorodia.) It is unnecessary to make any remarks on this species, as my reasons for uniting with it P. major are fully explained under that heading (p. 39). It seems curious, however, that both the specimens I have seen from Egypt should belong to the Eastern race instead cf the European; possibly both forms occur in that country. The measurements of No. 33 from Massouah are extraor- dinarily small for a fully adult specimen, and Heuglin states that in this respect all the Red-Sea specimens are alike. I should not be at all surprised if these prove to belong to a distinct race or even species. The following table (pp. 36-38) contains a complete list of all the specimens which I have been able to examine, with measurements and other details. For the dimensions of those in the Leyden Museum I have to thank Dr. Biittikofer. D2 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 36 LONG ‘yng Wo ‘ou0 NT png Ws png FST ‘yng Wysraey *yoou Jo 6G F€ ‘adus jo a] Sue WOLF poransvout seq 7? PUT | qroaqy Jo LYS aueg, "ory syyeys ‘youlq JTe@H ‘OTITM OIN See “sqeys “qstyporlq ‘OUI ONG ‘OUI ON MERU dege sooBly “OJ TTTAA aind ysoupy “diy ye soireut -tad Jo mojpog ‘aUON | &.G ee | Lg se | Lg ¢ | 6g Li | 8g oF | Lg “q8o.t/) ‘snsi¥ al Lal GFL 6-FL 6-F1 “SUT AA "MO]TOx YstUMOIq £ YZOOUIG ey ‘aqnzeds uo 1uedserd MoT ‘yovyq § peyesnaioo AQIS L9 ‘atnjeds mo moTped ysowye Surmadeq ‘maorq { YoouTg 6-9 ‘atnyeds ydeoxe yorTq [ITM pepjout morped £ pezeona10— ! ‘moTed opnzeds “yortq qT poring oped f payeona10— j af ‘mood onjzeds ‘yortq WTA pop}jour Moped f pazvona0/ 8 ‘uot[ND al 3 (5) (P) "X99 (‘uryg) (‘GQ ‘IITA *FZ) ‘Spuvptoqye NT (urs) ‘(piofnT p07) turdg yng Curyg) ‘(piofyvy pLoT) uredg qynog CuLyS) ‘(nbpquopy “709 ) aLIYSMOAS(T (“paynyg) “puepsugy (‘uLyg) ‘(pLofnT ploT) uirdg yynog ‘osp ‘AqITvOO'T PAT “SU ‘WUT ‘VIGOWOOATT VATVIVIG TOD WeUApos) 3 UIATeS 9 37 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. ‘au0 N ‘aUON, “90 NT “aul N “au0N NOTION “MOTTE “MOTTO A OTe ‘QUO N N 6-1 ovy, ouyg, AOR Te “(Rte “OVA “OPT AN 7 “OPITTM aM ‘OUT M. OLN. “OTT M OLN ‘aA0qe SV “aUON "aul0 N ‘q.toys AI9 A, ‘OO NJ “oO NT Gg 8g 1 8g PGI ‘IMOIG § aAOGB SY 9 ‘QAOQU SY &P ‘aA0GR SV 8g ‘ystmorped ¢ yoourg L:9 ‘IAOGR SY VL ‘dA0GB SY GL ‘aAOGR SY GL ‘aAOGB SV Z ‘MOT[AA aTNZRds3 Fo pudo‘sivq sso.10 MOT[OA TFL YovT § poywsna10/) 6-8 (capo ng, opy) unphury -snypy a ‘QuON g OL ‘aHUBIO YSIMOT[Ad { [JOO VS ald (‘gp ‘THA ‘-) “purllofy (09 "XE 03) ‘uopso'y C9 “XT 08) ‘uapdory (G9, "XT "G3) ‘UdOUL[VLY] C09 “Ex *§) ‘uepAay (‘09 “AT GZ) “9AOGB SV C09 ‘AL 63) ‘9AOGB SY (‘09 ‘AT ‘GG) ‘QAOGB SV (‘09 ‘4 °@) ‘purl[oy] “TST SLOBAGT[OTIG (‘uryg) TION BAyoq9e8 CT9 ‘TA “ZT) *puvl[[oH ‘OL, ‘OL 6 8 ya Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 38 “WLOF ULOSVA SILT OY[} 07 Suopoq AryUN0D ywyy Wo VOSS OAR] T SUOTATOEdS 94} Y0q ynq { MouyY you Op T 4GdKBq 64 08 Jae sprig ursdomy oy} soy AA “porTeyot oq JSNU seoMAIOJor OY} JO LOGUIME B ooRA YOTT[A OF [[9} 07 erqissodurt 41 se ATpRI00ds0 ‘axa 4f oye[Nyidewoor 0} ArvssoooUUN ST 4I VY} popsvdar uayo os useq Aprorpe svy soteds styy Jo uOTNGIYSTP worydersoos onL SOLON] 6& "Mh “ou0N 9G ‘ou0 NI PL “a0 N ol “ou N G.T "“ou0N GT *yoou jo a ee aL SUR WO} pocnsvout oseq 72 PUPA | yeoagy Jo uLys oavg ‘OPIYA OLN oped AToaryue TIT Bead SPSESE eA itsh rl OU ‘dry qe sorreur -tad jo «no0jog q Wg *ou0 NT “ou0 NT ‘9UON "QUO N ‘auON ‘qso19) CF 6-GL ‘etnyeds 07 pte OT -[ek pur savq ssor1d moro quia ‘Yystyoutq $ payeoni0; i) v ‘yue|tiroeds| cunod AIOA 1910 pu Suryyse I I E[}BON ‘Snsavy, CFL ial ‘OUT M ‘oAOGR SY og "aA0qR SW SG ‘QA0GR SY F "OAOdR SY P ‘moja £ qyoourg g “moun a. Orem O! 6 Oo ESO "xog “IsyT SdovAeTOYIG = * JT "(panuitjuod) VIGOUOOAAT VATVLVIG (upbnazT *ZORT) "Bag por “‘qunosse py "6G F “purvyloH “TST SLOBASTTOYIS "GE-ZE (08 ‘T14 ‘OT) ‘uapdary Lea Ny "IZ (‘19 ‘14 ‘g) aA0Ge SY ‘0G (‘GO ‘IA *2Z) ‘2A0GB SY ‘6L (TQ ‘MA ‘g) ‘ayUTY] Usculperyy = “QT (‘9g ‘TA ‘9T) *pureylpoyy ‘ony ‘ApTvOOTT we Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 39 Eastern Race. (Platalea major, Temm. & Schl.) (Wood- cut, fig. 1.) After examining very carefully a considerable series of Asiatic and European specimens of different ages, the details and measurements of which are given on pp. 42-45, I am certainly inclined to share Mr. Seebohm’sopinion, and, in spite of Mr. Stejneger’s conclusions to the contrary, I feel convinced that, although somewhat larger, P. major cannot be con- sidered specifically distinct from the European P. leucorodia. Fig. 2. Head of Platalea minor. 3. Japanese and Chinese specimens appear to be identical with specimens from India and other parts of Asia and Egypt. 40 Mr. W.R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. The characters found in the length of the bill and tarsus and the extent of the bare skin of the throat are subject to considerable individual variation, each of them becoming more pronounced with the increase of age and differing in males and females, the latter being always considerably smaller, and apparently taking longer to assume the fully adult characters. Mr. Hume (‘Stray Feathers, i. 1873, p. 256) says, “the bills in this species [P. major, which he calls P. leucorodia] vary very materially in length, even in the same sex; amongst males, for instance, they vary from 82 to 9°7.” The smaller extent of the throat-patch is put forward as being a distinguishing character between the Japanese birds and P. leucorodia, and certainly specimen No. 11 from Yokohama has a very small area of bare skin on the throat, only 1:4 (measured from the angle of the gape), and the same peculiarity is to be found in specimen No. 8, from Oudh, which, though rather a larger specimen, has the throat-patch only 2 inches long, and shows the same W-shaped form posteriorly ; while, on the other hand, No. 14 (2, R. Swinhoe, No. 1, Ibis, 1864, p. 864), from Tamsuy, Formosa, and No. 5, ¢ adult, Hakodadi, have the skin of the throat rounded off posteriorly, like the rest of the Asiatic and European specimens, and the latter has fully as large an area of naked skin on the throat as any of the European specimens I have seen; and Nos. 3 and 4, from Jodhpur and Delhi, have even more, the latter especially (4:1). These differences will be at once seen by referring to the table of measurements below. I believe both specimens Nos. 8 and 11 to be young males, and I do not think any reliance can be placed on the shape of the termination of the throat-patch, which has been suggested as a character in this group, as it may be either rounded off or W-shaped, though usually the former. Specimen No. 11 (Yokohama), already referred to, is almost identical with the type of P. major, though the mea- surements of the latter are somewhat larger. The specimens referred to by Taczanowski (Bull. Soc. Zool. Fr. x. p. 476) are clearly not very old birds, having probably Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 41 attained their second season. The combination of black ends to the primaries with a considerable crest, described as cha- racters of these specimens, is equally found in P. leucorodia (Nos. 1 and 4) from South Spain. Finally, I cannot find any distinguishing character in the width of the rim of the upper mandible between the nasal groove and the edge, a character put forward both by Prof. Sundevall and Mr. Stej- neger ; for the width appears to vary nearly in proportion to the length of the culmen, which being greater, as already stated, in P. major, naturally has a broader rim. Never- theless, taken as a whole, specimens of P. major may gene- rally be distinguished from the European bird by the length of the “ neck” of the spatule and, as a rule, especially in imma- ture birds, by the smaller area of naked skin on the throat, always, of course, comparing birds of a nearly similar age. Through the kindness of Dr. Bittikofer I have received a life-sized water-colour drawing of the head of the type of P. major in the Leyden Museum, from which the accom- panying woodcut (p. 39) has been taken. By glancing at this and comparing it with that of P. minor, shown beneath it, it is more easy to understand why Prof. Schlegel, after receiving. a nearly adult specimen of the latter species, obtained by Mr. Swinhoe at Swatow, which in size was almost inter- mediate between the type specimens, united them under one name, and characterized them as very like P. leucorodia, but with the lower part of the throat feathered and the beak brownish. Cuar.—Adult g. Exactly similar to P. leucorodia, but rather larger, and having the culmen, as a rule, longer, from 8°3-9°7. Adult 2. Similar; smaller. Imm. 8 & 2. Throat-patch extending over a somewhat smaller area than in P. leucorodia of the same age, and either rounded off (usually) or W-shaped posteriorly. The following table gives a complete list of all the speci- mens examined, with measurements and other details. For particulars of those in the Leyden Museum I have to thank Dr. Bittikofer. lvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 1 o to) Mr. W. R. O 42 "910 N “oUl0 NT nq oe Bnq eye ng opeq Boe ped Ata A, “QUO NT *"yoou jo aseq ye purg & ‘nowt jo opsue puodeq spue}xe yVo.iyy JO UTYS paye yy) “OY M. OI ‘ouTp LAs sygeys “st -Ovl[q JO saoviy, ‘OPI M OLN ‘Aq OIN ‘OUI AM GING Pa ena ‘youyq YStuUMorg ‘oVIp TIA szzeys ‘YSt -yOR[q JO SeoVLy, ‘dy qe soreur -1ad Jo mmojog ‘OUO NT L9 “OO NJ 9 °R0) BG [ym ut 1 || 2:9 yo8e 9 ‘aUON | GY ‘euON | T.-9 ‘qsoa9 |snsaey, “MoTpd apngqeds Spoeyq Ystumorg $ peyeons109 AYYYSTTS 6&8 ‘moyad apngeds ‘ystypovyq {peyesnatoa AYYSTS 68 ‘pla JV 4WIISATD ALOT -eA Yytas ‘xovTq | poyesna10¢ 68 “moped ‘Tunb ui} apngeds ‘yortq $ poyeSnt109 GTI FI ¢-GT 6-FL F8 “MoTTOA ginjeds ‘yorlq $ poyesnt0p GSL G¢-8 ‘aqnzeds jo pus 3% yods ystmoyped ydooxe ‘yoryTq { poyesnatoa ATYQYSITS or 6 ‘moro opngeds ‘YSEyRTG {peywsn1109 ATIPSITS oh 6 “SUL “uotaTNY HAT SUN ‘TOS WH WMA], “AOLVIN VATVLVIG "xOg ‘(ULyS) [TON eumnyzy (bux “9 “81 °t'g) ‘erally : ‘(alys) ‘oO emnyzy (awneT ‘OV ‘TL 1X93)! “UIP NG vA0GB snpay 9g | ‘(ULyS) “TO wyoqeeg | (uoprrymg ‘ydng *- at *—)| ‘TpepoyepyH'G ‘(Carys) ‘ToD eumyy (euny hog TD OL 1'6S) eG v ‘(urys) ‘T]OQ eumy (Aux 9°89 “Xt ‘g) ‘«indqpor zs ) ad (‘aryg) é 3 ‘(ULys) ‘ToQ omnyy CawnzyT ‘OV ‘TL ‘IX ‘9Z) “TMI NG 9AO0G®B supuy a ‘oxy ‘AqITBOOTT 43 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. Curyg) ‘opuqeds mora Co ‘sdoysihd «q) "ory ‘UMOIg | poywonit09 ATIYSITS (‘uoshpoyT “FT '{) ‘ou10 NT ee syVys ‘UMOIG | ‘OUON | F-G FL Gd, ‘jedan ‘eT CL ON ‘F96 “d ‘Fost ‘siq1) ‘(UIYS) ‘TON wyoqeag ‘yoryq sqyyeys ‘moped YstuMorq £ yZOOUTG (‘aoyumgy “FQ ‘TIL *2) ‘auON @L ‘amoiq popey | "euUON | GG | fF od & “ANSUI® J, ‘PI ‘sovTq syeqs “moja ‘(UIys) [TOD oumyT UMOIG JoJUNOMIB | Surmoseq ‘taorq f yoo (‘998T) "ou0 N GG Qqvlopisuoy | euoN |) FG | F-FT GL (3) ‘year “ST ‘dy ye yods mores ‘(arys) ‘TJoOQ sunyT nb urSspovyq £ pozwcna100 yeIMoeuOg CFZ8L) ‘QUON Ge ‘OHM ONG |‘emON| GG | L-FT FL & "1u0ag EI ‘anjeds uo Motos Sutm090q *(UIyS) ‘[TOQ wToqeag ‘padvys- AA "soeyq syyeys ‘UMOIG § poyVSNALIOd ATLYLSTTG (0g ‘Tx *-) *aU0 NT FL UMmoIg YIVG | ‘OUON | FG | BFL GJ (P) ‘euByOyOR ‘TL ‘aqnjeds uo moped Sut (‘paynig) *yoryq -T0deq ‘MAOIG {YJOOTS SOUT YW (uimg ““() CON (AE) syeys “UMOI |"eUON | ¢.¢ tL GL (P) Cpa ‘OL ‘(arys) ‘TOD eumyy “morpok (‘awngT ‘O ‘WV “TL HX '6) ginqeds ‘umoaq foo “‘snpUy YITAL “aUON AG ‘QA0G® SY ‘am0N | L-9 | QPL G8 ‘uoyounl wou ‘qeacyy *6 ‘yoryq syeys ‘ys! “moras ‘(Urys) ‘TOO eumyy ‘podeys- Ay -yor]q Jo JunowY puv UMOIg peyjout f yooUTG (‘syoougy “TM ‘°GL UX '-) ‘ou0 N j equtopisuog |*eUN | 6G | OFT 8 (2?) “Upro 8 lvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. i o ro) Mr. W. R.O 4d. Bog WSU "au0 N "aU N PNG Sug, “OUI NT *yoou Jo aseq ye purg GG “Yynout jo spsur puodeq spue}xe Jeo.1yy JO UTYS poyeNy ‘ay aIng ‘yorTq sqyeys WAOIG JO JUNO TTB a[qvV.lapisuoyr pial sqyeys ‘uMorg | “OUI A OIN ee syeys ‘Yystypoer| L-U1 ‘Cur 9.1) worten $ATTensnan apnyzedg ‘MoT ernzeds { ystmozped (JIA patteg ‘sovpq ‘pezesns10K9 LZ “UDAISUAT “YH Sul A “90 NT “ot NY G "va “oU0 NT ‘diy 4v soreur -tud Jo amojoy, "ysorQ Sg VI Fo | 8S 9-9 | 9-FT ES FL ae Bae ‘snsaey,| “SUT AA ‘atnyeds mo moTpok Sururodeq ‘YsiUMOoIq | YZOOUIG Z ‘MOTTOx YstUMmorg { Yyooutrg LZ ‘atnyeds m0 yuedse.t9 MOTIA ‘YoRTG : poyVout10;) TZ ‘MOT[eA aTnyeds ‘yoetq $ yyoours AT.Ave Ny ‘uampng (3) Cary) (mpl “I "8g ‘III “CT) qdAany ‘ouynog ‘9z ‘(ULYS) ‘TTOD emnyzy (69 “At -) ‘orsuey ye’ Curygs) (‘sauop wapumuutgg ) ‘eiuejodoseyy “I ‘(UIyS) "TOO ewnyzT Cunpy WA “EL WA 16) “IMYqureg At 6L ‘(UTys) ‘TTOO eumnyz] (umy bug LO OL WG) aed OF ‘oxy ‘AqITRIO'T ‘(panuzjuod) AOLVW VATVLVIdg 45 lvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. i o ‘=) Mr. W. R. O | Steet ‘QA0q SY | JIMA pespa pur L9 (3) | ‘Fler Surealreq gz ‘oU0N LG peddy Apurg | el | GF | 9-81 -gA0q8 SY ) “ouON LG “oqtyas ON I | eg | SFI fovea ay (5) | “Pzs1 Burpolwg +26 | y TIA poedaeg Spovlq !pezyBona1op Z "MOTIIA LG ‘ayy ong =| Gp | Fe ial -qayed soy (d) “erpuy "GE -[ad WTA ‘yoRTq { payeonss09 G8 ‘auON € ony ong | OT | LG | OFT “yqored (P) ‘FLST ‘Surpoolieq, “FZ | MOTE YL ‘youlq { Poou 18 ‘euON 96 piChatst ‘sUON | #9 | GL (?) eau, €G ‘TMOIG YStaMoypak fyjOoWG ‘(vobnag ““T) “QUON Bat OU, ‘eUON | [L-9 | F-GT 6 P -(adhz) uedepe ‘ZS “(dqQoyyng py) “wnpbnT sayy oF *yovyq szerys “YSIMOT ‘anuly TMOIq YB -of onyeds jo pua ‘umolg Ayng Aq poyeo jo yunoure eq | T “Bo ystmorzpod =f qyooms 4soully (‘Aaqoys “T'9. ‘OL MST) ~tpur Apyure sy aS ~Iopisuoo TUM IYTS| 9 | BFL £8 GP) qd doy ‘IZ "hoyaus “TD Sn 7 46 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. Geographical Distribution of P. major. Type from Japan (Temm. & Schl. Fauna Japon., Aves, p- 119, pl. 75): Hakodadi (Whitely, Ibis, 1867, p. 204): Amoor (Radde, Reis. in S. O.-Sibir. ii. p. 345). Lake Khanka (Prze- walski, Voy. dans le Pays Ussuri, no. 188). Occasional winter visitant to Amoy (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1860, p. 65). A pair or more of large Spoonbills were frequently to be seen, the winter through, on the Tamsuy River (Formosa). From their size I take them to be of this species, but I did not obtain any specimens (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1863, p. 417). 9, No. 1. Tamsuy harbour (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1864, p. 364). I saw Spoonbills at Bampir, in Balichistan ; they are, of course, also found on the shores of the Caspian (Blanford, ‘ Eastern Persia,’ 11. p. 298). Sutlej River, Mooltan (Hume, Str. F. 1878, p.106). Alike along the banks and sand-banks of all the greater rivers of the Punjab, and of the Indus, in Sindh, the Spoonbill was repeatedly met with in large flocks (id. p. 256). Plentiful on the rivers of the Punjab during winter (Adams, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 507). Eastern Narra: Eggs taken in October and November (8. Doig, Str. F. 1879, p. 372). Kattiawar: Not uncommon a few miles est of Limree (Lloyd, Ibis, 1873, p. 419). Small tanks and reservoirs at Jodhpur (Hume, Str. F. 1878, 1. p.67). Mt. Aboo and N. Guzerat: Common, asso- ciating in flocks in all the marshes and rivers (Hume, Str. F. 1876, p. 24). Sambhur Lake and its vicinity: I have met with small flocks of tle Spoonbill during rains only (Adams, Str. F. 1873, p. 899). Lucknow: Common during cold weather (Reid, Str. F. 1881, p. 77). Oudh and Kumaon: Common in flocks at the end of the cold season (Irby, Ibis, 1861, p. 244). . Nepaul Terai (fide Hodgson, in Gray’s Zool. Mise. p. 86). Eastern Bengal, Jheel, N.W. of Dacca (Simson, Ibis, 1882, p. 93). Lower Bengal (Blyth, Ibis, 1867, p. 173). Calcutta market, may be seen occasionally (Hume, Str. F. 1878, ii. p. 49). Central India: Very common (Swinhoe & Barnes, Ibis, 1885, p. 1386). In the Mahanadi, close to Cuttack (Sambulpur and Orissa) (Ball, Str. F. 1876, p. 237). Orissa, north and south of Mahanadi (Ball, Str. F. 1878, u. Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 47 p- 231). Raipur (Hume, /.c.). Godavery River: In flocks and occasionally on the smaller streams. Breeds during the month of April (Burgess, P. Z. 8. 1855, p. 71). Khandeish : Winter visitant, not common anywhere (Davidson, Str. F. 1881, p. 324). Deccan (Fairbank, Str. F. 1876, p. 264) : Common and breeds in April and May (Davidson & Wenden, Str. F. 1878, 11. p. 91). S. Konkan: A straggler (Vidal, Str. F. 1880, p. 91). Ceylon. Not an uncommon bird in the south-east of Ceylon and in the tank-districts of the northern half of the island (Legge, ‘ Birds of Ceylon,’ p. 1097). Egypt and Nubia. Very plentiful throughout. It may constantly be seen in flocks on the sand-banks of the river and in the great marshy lakes of Lower Egypt and Fayoom (Shelley, ‘ Handb. B. Egypt,’ p. 264). Abundant, but very wild and difficult to shoot (Taylor, Ibis, 1859, p. 51). The above references are only those which I can con- fidently refer to this species ; all the doubtful ones have been omitted, as it is frequently quite uncertain whether the speci- mens mentioned by the different writers about Japan and China belonged to the above or to P. minor. PLaTALEA ALBA, Scop. Prof, Milne-Edwards and M. Grandidier, while writing on this Spoonbill (P. tenuirostris, ‘ Histoire de Madagascar, Oiseaux,’ il. p. 524), remark, in a footnote, that it is by accident that ornithologists up to the present time have re- garded the Madagascar (and African) species as identical with the White Spoonbill and the Crested Spoonbill, of which Sonnerat gives descriptions in his ‘ Voyage a la Nouvelle Guinée’ and his ‘ Voyage aux Indes et en Chine’ (Platalea cristata, Scopoh, and P. duzoniensis, Bonaparte) ; for, con- trary to what people have thought, a Spoonbill zs found in Luzon, M. Baer having killed one there, which M. Oustalet has had in his hands, and which differs from P. fenuirostris. The above-mentioned authors do not mention to what species the bird in question belonged, nor do they tell us that it was identical with Sonnerat’s species. Their argu- 48 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. ment appears to fall short of the question, which is, Were Sonnerat’s birds obtained in Luzon or Africa? Now, grant- ing that the occurrence of Spoonbills in the Philippines should have been somewhat unexpected, as no specimen had been recorded since Sonnerat’s time (his examples were said to have been obtained in Luzon before the year 1776), there is no apparent reason why previous writers should have been mistaken in identifying Sonnerat’s species with the African and Madagascar bird. After a careful investigation of the question, one can only agree with Prof. Schlegel’s decided opinion (‘ Mus. Pays-Bas, Ciconie, p. 22) that there can be hardly a doubt that Sonnerat described his Spatule blanche and Spatule hupée from a young and an adult specimen of the so-called P. tenuirostris. That M. Baer’s bird should differ from this species, as stated by M. Oustalet, is a further argu- ment in favour of this view, and his bird most probably belonged to P. minor. I have, unfortunately, been unable to examine any speci- mens of Spoonbills from Luzon. PLATALEA MELANORHYNCHA, Reich. (Plate I. figs. 1, la, 4, & 5.) This species is apparently confined to the Australian con- tinent, though one or two straggling imstances have been recorded, with more or less certainty, of its occurrence in New Zealand, and there is a fully adult specimen from Timor in the Leyden Museum, presented by Governor Lansberge. It is to be distinguished from the following species by several characters, as already shown in the Key; but of course these distinctions are only clearly marked in nearly mature or adult specimens ; and young and immature Australian spe- cimens might be easily confounded with specimens of P. in- termedia, though never with P. minor, in which the nearly feathered throat is always a strongly marked character. Yet the obtusely truncate shape of the spatule will, I believe, always serve to distinguish this species from P. intermedia with its rounded spatule. Cuar.— Adult 3 & 9. Naked skin of forehead and throat Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea, 49 black; bill black or transversely barred with purplish black. A yellow triangular patch at the back of the forehead and above and below the eye, less marked below. The plumes on the forehead do not advance to above the posterior margin of the eye, and are distant ca. 1°2 from the base of the culmen. The naked throat extends from 2°3-2°8 beyond the angle of the mouth, and is either rounded or slightly W-shaped posteriorly. End of spatule obtusely truncate. Primaries white. Imm. Naked skin of forehead and throat black ; bill brownish black. Yellow on forehead and above and below the eye indistinct or absent. The plumes on the forehead advance to above the middle of the eye within about °6 of the base of the culmen. The naked throat extends about 1°5 beyond the angle of the mouth and is W-shaped posteriorly. ‘Tips of primaries blackish. The following table (pp. 50, 51) gives a list of all the spe- cimens I have been able to examine, with measurements and other details. For those in the Leyden Museum I am in- debted to the kindness of Dr. Biittikofer. Geographical Distribution of P. melanorhyncha. Timor: Adult specimen in the Leyden Museum, presented by Governor Lansberge. Derby, N.W. Australia, Port Darwin and Port Essington, Rockingham Bay, Port Denison, Wide Bay District, Rich- mond and Clarence Rivers, New South Wales, Interior, Vic- toria and 8. Australia (Ramsay, ‘Tabular List of Australian Birds,’ p. 20). (?) Castle Point, East Coast of N. Island, New Zealand (Ellman, Zoo]. 1861, p. 7469). Shot at Manawatu River, and supposed to have been seen at Rangitikei River (Buller, Trans. N. Z. Inst. ix. p. 337). SEs) Vile VO. Ts E Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 50 ‘podvys- AA *QUON 9.[ “Bo "oO NT 2.6 80 ‘ynq, *podvyqs- AA, eyed Aro A, 8.g “BO seHONT SiGaas ‘paduys- AA oe 8: 89 “yqnour Jo ‘yoou Jo | epsun puosaq 9seq 4B pur SpUe}xo yeVorqy JO ULYS PeyUN UMOIG PEP] ‘OPM ONT ‘OPI ONT TEER. syyeys ¢ ysTypel_ ‘OPITAL 91D] ‘diy ye sareut -1ad Jo amojog ‘OU0N | 9-F Trmb ay G"80| G'0| GF F-G'RO| 9.¢ G.g"80| J.G *48o.1() SUEIGT, | °-F1 Gl "pRayoaroy uo yods morjok jo sora ‘youtq 61 8: ‘peayaroy m0 pur sada aaoqe yods moped {yourey 6F1 eT ‘proyeroy uo pu seXa aaoqe yods MOT -Jad $Aqrem fypoulg GS if “peayaxoy 0 pur sofa asaoqe yods Mood $ YoRTA ‘yor[q fyjooug 9-9 "MMOL ystpdand yytas ATOSMOASURIY palred ‘yorlq {pozVon1o— L-9 ‘mmorq ysttd -ind [LA petieq ‘yoryq ! pozVont10— LZ ‘yoryq Sparwsni10—) LL TU AMOLG qsydand gar GFL LSE ‘prayaloy wo pue soo aA0qe ods MOT -JoX {Aqawa Syorpg. “TeuIyNa ‘Sur, |puoseq spuezxe proy -a10J UO ULYS poyVN ATASIoAsuRI} paldeq ‘youyq {poyeon1dog “UsUT[ NY) (8) (6) (3) (2) (ary) OEE STE yee be) (aduoys *¢ 8 11210490) “) ‘purjsusen’y ‘Gg (paynag) ‘Sn URTRySNW ‘SaTB AA YINOG MON "fF (UrIS) ‘TOD UlATRg wz URMIpoL (aduoy 7, 9 yjatayoog *f) ‘puvpsueen’y iG (“paynyg) ‘SN Uv’ITTVAjsn V ‘SOR / A YNoGg MON G (‘uryg) (T1990 pmoy) (wmro) 9) ‘Aeq wojatoyy “| ‘ony ‘AGI[ROO'T ‘ME “Sn ‘Yoroy ‘VHONAHUONVIGW VATVLVTG 51 lvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. i o co) Mr. W. R. O ee ee eS “QON “moyjak qure ‘ou NT ‘au0N “au NT ‘QUO N ‘aulON NN GOL LG 6-1 “poduys- AA L-[ Bo ‘podeys- AQ G.[ "Bo BG"B0 ‘OURS OTL, ‘outs OT], Ov. Gia Sle Wee TL 9:9 ‘oUes OUT, ‘yovyq + yyoourg “OUT M Ceo) al eG-VE &1 9:9 ‘peoyotoy m0 pue ofa ot]} MoTeq pur esoge youed | ‘ysmtma opnzeds Mook f your | “yoRyq *yyooug AN 6 g GPL [ vL ‘peoyetoy 10 pur ofa of} MOTE pure eroqe qoyed moped t youre | “yoRTA £ yyoourg Sica 9-T EG eer is ut 9-2 ‘(aajoyuyjng epy) ‘unphnT snyy “pRoryatoy uo yods sorpak *soRyq "yovTq syegs quiey Sypetq ystjdand_ ! qyooutg ‘UMOIq YstpoRq| ‘euoN | 9-F 9.61 9. 9 ‘qurey Azaa sjods MoTed § AZTBA ‘yovyq {popes "yortq syeys Apysys {yor | -natoo AWWSTTS ‘UMOIg YIVG | ‘eUON| BF fone Jil 2.9 ‘O.BIR] “moyjok JOVI pRoyotoy YIM pacreq ApUrey uo pue sake adoqe| yoerq {poze ‘oyIp sIyeys jods mozed ‘yovq| -natoo AYSITS “ovyq ysiumorg|"eaoN | G | L&T ol G9 (d) (3d) (‘abuagsun'T w0usaaoy ) TR81 ‘LOWLY, “el ‘6181 ‘ytox ode = ‘IT fe) & "6981 ‘Avyprvyy Wod “OL “698T ‘AVG UOJLOY "G Cupig) wren Ae 3) (7mxo) “9 ) ‘Avg uojoloyy «= “8 (‘uryg) TeO CAS Bere) (aduoy TZ, ‘£8 112409909 ‘£ ‘puvpsusen?) pi (peyngs) (car rar‘swaquipyg M7409 ) ‘UOpSUISSy WOT ‘9 52 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. PLATALEA INTERMEDIA, sp. n. (Plate I. figs. 2 & 2a.) This species, as already mentioned, is based solely on the head and feet of a specimen obtained by Mr. H. Romilly at Port Moresby, New Guinea, in or about the month of Janu- ary 1888. It appears to have been a nearly fully adult bird, in winter plumage, and, judging from the appearance of the feathers in quill, would in a short time have possessed a crest. The plumage is said to have been entirely white, like that of the head; but whether the primaries were entirely white is uncertain, and it seems to me probable that they were still more or less tipped with brownish black, as I believe the bird to have been in the second season. The species is most nearly allied to P. melanorhyncha of Australia, but is distinguished by having the naked skin of the fore- head and throat, as well as the culmen, intense black, with- out any yellow spots above the eyes, and the spatule rounded, instead of being obtusely truncate, a character which will be easily seen by referring to the Plate, where the culmen is figured side by side with that of an Australian specimen of about the same age. Since writing the above, I have received, through the kindness of Dr. Biittikofer, life-sized water-coloured drawings of the heads of two specimens from Borneo, which are pre- served in the Leyden Museum. These birds agree in every particular with the head of my type from New Guinea, but are, unfortunately, neither of them fully adult, having the crests only partially developed and the ends of the primaries still tipped with black. They are both said to have been female specimens, and, judging from their mea- surements, are doubtless correctly sexed ; but unfortunately the dates when they were obtained are not recorded, nor the exact localities; but they were probably obtained in the south of Borneo, which is said to be swampy and suited to their mode of life. It is to be hoped that, ere long, we may receive fully adult specimens of this bird, which has hitherto been unrecorded. To Mr. A. H. Everett and Mr. John White- head and other well-known travellers, Spoonbills are quite unknown, but their explorations have been chiefly carried on in the north of the island, where the mountainous character of the country is unsuited to the habits of these birds. 53 lvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 1 oe fo) Mr. W. R.O ‘OUONT ‘QUO N ‘yoou fo 9aseq JB pug | 9. ‘89 “TyNout jo ojsue puodoq spttezxe (oyed-yroaqy, ©) AGES eieitel “diy ye saoyqyroz -SUIM JO IMOTOD tel: "‘aA0qR SV L&L I ‘aAOqR sv ‘OUT 6: ‘IA0qB SW v9 ‘yey ¢yyooug ¥-9 ‘(1ajoyING spy) ‘wnphnT ‘sn 7 pin ut "199.19 “SOSAGT, ‘pBayaroy JO yor ye pur ado AMOTAq yoyed mopped go WOTVOIPUL ‘YyOVl I “MeUr[Nd puodoq spucayxe pray -ol0F WO ULYS poyeN “BULA ‘youyq ‘ TyOouUrG Z mrclarenite) (P) *xag CFOS ‘9p2077 ) ‘OOO, °G CFOST “2p20z7 ) ‘OOULO nN (‘adh 7, ) (‘ss9y pue pRefy) (Ayjnuoy WH) | "ROUND MON “W'S 'T ‘omy ‘AqITROO'T | PAT “Sh ‘u ‘ds ‘VIGUWUTLNI VHIVLV Td 54 Mr. W.R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. Cuar.— g¢(?) and ? nearly fully adult. Naked skin of forehead and throat deep black; bill the same. A yellow patch at the back of the forehead and under each eye. The plumes of the forehead do not advance to the posterior margin of the eye, and are 1-0 distant from the base of the culmen. The naked throat extends 1°5 beyond the angle of the mouth, and is slightly W-shaped posteriorly. End of the spatule rownded. Primaries with black tips. The table on p. 53 shows the measurements of the three known specimens. PLATALEA MINOR, Temm. & Schl. (Plate I. figs. 3, 34, &6, and woodcut, fig. 2, p. 39.) That this species is absolutely distinct both from P. major and from P. melanorhyncha is beyond all doubt; and as Dr. Stejneger has already thoroughly argued out the question and established its distinguishing characters, I shall only add a few remarks about the different specimens I have examined. Before I had read Mr. Stejneger’s conclusions the British Museum had received Mr. Seebohm’s collection, including those of Mr. Swinhoe’s specimens from Formosa, viz. “ Nos. 1, 3, and 4,” mentioned in ‘ The Ibis’ for 1864, and I had also de- cided that ‘‘ No.1” could not have been paired with “ No. 2,” although shot on the same date, as the former is an imma- ture female of P. major, while the latter, which has since been forwarded to me through the kindness of Canon Tris- tram, is an immature male of P. minor, and in most respects similar to No. 3 and to the type in Leyden, though possibly rather older. This specimen in Canon Tristram’s collection is labelled as “China; J. Verreaux”’; but the make of the skin is precisely the same as Mr. Swinhoe’s other speci- mens, and the measurements and all details agree exactly with his description of his “ No. 2.” It is difficult to understand how Mr. Seebohm, having the above-mentioned specimens in his possession, could have fallen into the mistake of considering them as immature birds of the Australian species, and a glance at Plate I., in which the head of the fully adult and crested male (No. 4) is figured Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 55 opposite to that of P. melanorhyncha, of about the same age, will be sufficient to show the striking differences between these two species. The head of a young bird from North Goto Island, in Canon Tristram’s museum, has the spatule unusually wide. Thanks to the kindness of Dr. Biittikofer, I have received a life-sized water-colour drawing of the head of the type of P. minor, which is in the Leyden Museum ; and from this the accompanying woodcut (p. 39) has been carefully copied. The feathering of the face and throat, allowing for slight individual varia- tion, agrees exactly with the other specimens of about the same age. I must add, a propos of Dr. Stejneger’s remark (op. cit. p. 284), already alluded to, that the type of P. minor does not bear out his theory, there being considerably Jess naked skin in it than in more mature birds. I have also re- ceived a drawing from Dr. Biittikofer of the specimen killed by Mr. Swinhoe at Swatow and sent to the Leyden Museum, which is a nearly mature bird, and in many respects similar to his adult male from 'Tamsuy, Formosa. It was this speci- men which induced Prof. Schlegel to unite P. major and P. minor, though in reality they are widely distinct species. Cuar.—Adult g. Naked skin of forehead and throat black ; bill black, with a yellow patch across the spatule. A yellow patch under and in front of the eye, extending in a narrow line over the upper lid. The plumes on the forehead advance to about the middle of the eye, within about °6 of the base of the culmen ; on the throat they advance between the rami of the mandible in a short blunt angle. Primaries white. Adult 2. (Similar? smaller ?) Imm. 8 & ?. Naked skin of the forehead and throat pur- plish brown or purplish black ; bill yellowish or purplish brown. Yellow patch under the eye less distinct. The plumes of the forehead advance in front of the eye within about *4 of the base of the culmen ; on the throat they advance between the rami of the mandible ina long acute angle. Primaries with black tips. Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. 56 ‘paderys- AA “OUON eI ‘podurs- 44 MEE eral &1 “poders- A ‘OUON lal “yynout *‘yoou jo al} JO opsue aseg Je puLg) Wot; spuieqxe yoyed-quoayy, ‘yoR[q YStUMOIg| ‘“ouON [pmb ut ‘oy eng | GZ ‘yorrq syeys | (¢-1) ‘soRTq YSIUMorlg] FST “pua 4v S.1olBoy -SUIM JO ANOLON eee ‘aka jo {WOT UL puB MoTaq yods moped ‘youl Seale 9: ‘aXe MOTAQ yods moTpad ‘sovlgy S VE v- mecc}oeg gary) ‘snsieBy, | SULA |puodeq spuszxo proy, -9LOF UO ULYS poyVN “TAMOIQ yqstjdand { qyoourg ij L9 ‘aqnyzeds jo dry ye yueosetd MOT[OA ‘yovyq ‘peyonitoy GL eed ystdind *: yyooug GL “uou[NO (3) *xag (uly) TO prey UAL ‘¢ , Curyg) Cr 'ON ‘99g ‘d “FORT ‘sIqT) TLSO wWTOqdvag (aoyuungy “ay ‘POST “Worry WILT) “ANSTIB T, 1G (‘uryg) | (‘¢ ‘on ‘egg “d ‘FORT ‘stqT)| TL9D WYO IaG (aoywmmg “ay “FOST ‘Woe WILT) “ANSULR T, ~ ory ‘AqrTvOOTT “PUT SUA A ‘TWO 3B ‘WUAy, “MONIW VATVLVTIG 57 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Genus Platalea. HONG ‘OTON, ‘QUON ‘auON (, Aue ATpae]{ 5,) tS ‘paders-A\ él ‘padvrys- A g. podeys- AA R: QMekal Sats ore ‘yor[q syyeys V1 ‘a0 N ‘Ajortyua Yop o 9-F1 8: ‘aha Mojyoq yozed MOT[OA § yoVp 4] FL ‘aka MOTO yoyed morpod Taorq Yystpding GV 61 ‘yovrq ‘ qyooulg GL UMOLQ, YSTMOTTAA f YJOOTIG a aed TAMOLC YstaoTpod ¢ yoourg ¥-9 “(1qJONINE Opy) “unpbnyT sayy (g.1) oul Ystumorgy YOU ‘axa Topun yqoyed mozpek yoriq ystpdang 0 mg =, ‘ ‘aka Japun yozed moro ‘yorrq ystpdaing Ly | Os 1g "WODAISILT “FT “ET Sn A ‘asnqqo pue (saqourz) epta ATTR -NSHUN FVTLAMOUOS atnyeds { umo4gq qsydand { qyoourg G9 “TAO ystjdind { qjooug 6-9 (8¢gT) "(¢d) eyeagsny ‘e (‘aoymmy °F *E9RT) ‘RULY) YING ‘MOPVMG *Y (‘uahnug *“() ‘(adhj) wedep = *g © (-AyTuo peroyz) CNe ‘ung 27 “918T) ‘under “sy 0104) ‘N °G Canis) CZ ‘ON ‘cog “d “FORT ‘stqT) (aoyung ay "POST “Your 92) “ANSUUB T, Hi I 58 Mr. E. Hargitt on three new The preceding table gives a complete list of all the speci- mens I have been able to examine, with measurements and other details. Dr. Biittikofer has supplied me with those of the Leyden specimens. Geographical Distribution of P. minor. Korea. Japan (Mus. Lugd.). Nagasaki (Petersen). Fokien and Swatow (see list above). Tamsuy Harbour, Formosa (Swinhoe, Ibis, 1864, Nos. 2, 3, and 4). EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. Figs. 1 & 1a. Platalea melanorhyncha, immature. Queensland. Figs. 2 & 2a. Platalea intermedia, 3 nearly adult. New Guinea (type). Figs. 3 & 8a. Platalea minov, 2 immature. Tamsuy Harbour. (Swinhoe, No. 5.) Fig. 4. Platalea melanorhyncha, 3 adult. Moreton Bay. Fig. 5. Platalea melanorhyncha, young. Moreton Bay. Fig. 6. Platalea minor, 3 adult. Tamsuy Harbour. (Swinhoe, No. 4.) > IV.—Notes on Woodpeckers.—No. XV. On three new American Species. By Evwarp Harairv, F.Z.S. Tne following species have been known to me for some time, but I have delayed describing them until I had become better acquainted with the genera to which they belong. After a careful examination of the Pictde in the British Museum, and also in the Salvin-Godman and the Sclater collections, I am more than ever convinced of their being quite distinct from any known species, and I no longer hesitate to describe them as new to science. I append a brief diagnosis of each of them. =~ + 1. CAMPOPHILUS SPLENDENS, Sp. 0. Similar to C. hematogaster, but differs in having the whole of the neck and the throat, in a line with the end of the » malar region (or even higher), crimson, this colour also tipping the posterior malar feathers; the light bars on the quills are yellow and much broader, and approach nearer to American Woodpeckers. 59 the tips of the feathers; under wing-coverts and axillaries yellow. Total length 12°5 inches ; culmen 2°05 ; wing 7°3 ; tail 4-1; tarsus 1-4. Type in my collection. The fine adult male bird which has served as the type is labelled “ Amazons” (Dr. Wucherer), but it has the make of a Bogota skin. Another male from Panama (Schliiter), also in my collection, shows the buff barring on the bases of the feathers of the underparts, and is apparently a bird not fully adult. A female example from Santa Elena, Medellin (Salmon), likewise in my possession, differs from the male in having the throat and fore neck black, the yellow stripe which crosses the face being prolonged down the side of the neck and paler in colour, and in having at the base a few transverse black markings: the hind neck is black, the tips of the feathers being red, this colour appearing as a median line down the neck. The feathers of the underparts are tipped with crimson, but their black bases are barred with buff and show very distinctly through the red. I take this specimen to be an immature bird, but it may not be so; if it be adult, then the difference between it and the adult female of C. hemato- gaster will be at once perceived in the former having the bases of the feathers of the hind neck black, whereas in C. hematogaster they are white. 2. CHRYSOPTILUS MARIA, Sp. n. Similar to C. icteromelas, but much smaller, and differs in having all the tail-shafts bright golden yellow, those of the central feathers being brown at the tip; the rump spotted. Total length 8°5 inches; culmen 1°05; wing 4°5; tail 2°8; tarsus 0°9. Hub. Chamicuros, E. Peru. The type is in my collection. + 3. DENDROBATES FIDELIS, sp. 0. Similar to D. olivinus, but differs in having the whole of the top of the head and the occiput red; the fore neck and chest brownish olive, with small spots and shaft-stripes of dull fulvescent white, not barred. ‘Total length 5°3 inches; culmen 0°8; wing 3°0; tail 1°7; tarsus 0°68. 60 Col. H. W. Feilden on the Hab. Bogota. The type is in the British Museum. ~ I have never seen an example of D. murinus, but, from descriptions of the bird, I have no doubt it will prove to be a nearer ally of the present species than is D. olivinus, in so far as the top of the head, as well as the occiput, is red in the male. V.—On the Breeding of Puftinus auduboni in the Island of Barbados. By Colonel H. W. Feiipen. Ir is with considerable pleasure that I am able to add another breeding species to the very limited recorded list of the avifauna of Barbados. The species is Puffinus auduboni *, and it breeds on an iso- lated rock off the north shore of the island. I may safely say that this fact has hitherto been generally unknown, and that the knowledge that some species of sea-bird visited the island of Barbados for the purposes of incubation was confined to a few individuals in the parish of St. Lucy, off which the Bird-rock lies. Before leaving England for the West Indies, T had been reading Hughes’s ‘ Natural History of Barbados” (London, 1750), wherein, at page 251, the following passage occurs: —‘‘ The several cavities in the cliffs facing the sea are proper dens for Racoons, and such wild beasts. They are like- wise a place of safety for several Sea-birds to breed in, especi- ally at a place called the Bird-rock, where are to be seen at most times of the year, a great many of their nests and eggs. The young ones are sharp-billed, wet-footed, and very fat, but taste fishy. The old ones are seldom or ever seen in the day-time, for they are obliged to range to so great a distance from the shore for food, that they have been seen scores of miles from land.” I had hardly dared to hope that after the lapse of nearly one hundred and forty years, in the most populous and highly cultivated island in the world, anything more than the tradition of the feathered inhabitants of Bird-rock would * {The specimens sent home by Colonel Feilden have been determined by Mr. Salvin as Puffinus auduboni, Finsch: Ridgw. Man. N. A.B. p. 69. —Ep.] Breeding of Puffinus auduboni. 61 exist, more especially as it is so insignificant a rock that it is not even named on the Admiralty chart. On landing in Barbados I at once made inquiries on the subject, at first with little success, and the Bird-rock seemed to be an unknown spot, whilst the idea of sea-birds breeding in Barbados was generally scouted. Fortunately I addressed a letter on the subject to the Rev. G. Duncan Gittens, Rector of St. Lucy’s parish, and by return of post received the following reply : “T know Bird-rock well, having some years ago made an incursion upon it with some friends for the express purpose of capturing some of the many young of the sea-birds which abound on that rock. It lies about a hundred yards from the actual coast-line of this island, and the birds, if very young, are a mass of gluten, and although very strong-tasted, when properly purified by ime-juice and salt, are by some considered a delicacy.” This information was accompanied by a very kind invitation to visit the Rectory and to attempt a raid on Bird-rock. It was a long drive, seventeen miles, from the Garrison to St. Lucy’s Rectory ; but I started well before daybreak and the sun had not been long above the horizon, nor the labourers long amongst the sugar-canes, when I drew up at the Rectory door. I received a most cordial welcome from the venerable Rector, who had been forty-nine years in Holy orders, and thirty-three in the incumbency of St. Lucy’s parish. After breakfast Mr. Gittens drove me to visit some caves on Mount Gilboa, referred to by Hughes*, and I picked up in their neighbourhood several shell-chisels and pieces of rude pottery. In the main cave is a deep deposit of soil covered with stones, the methodical exploration of which would be highly desirable. We then drove to the coast-line overlooking Bird-rock ; the way down to the shore is a steep and slippery path, cut through the coral rock ; but neither the heat nor the difficulty of the road deterred my host, who managed the descent and ascent, unaided, and quite as well as I did. On reaching the little cave at the base of the cliff, Bird-rock was pointed out to me, and I could hardly believe my eyes when told that this was * Op. cit. p. 7. 62 On the Breeding of Puffinus auduboni. the breeding-place of the sea-fowl; it is the furthest from shore of three rocks or detached blocks of coral limestone, — and rests on a ledge over which the sea breaks continuously. It is difficult to estimate size by the eye, particularly in the glare of the tropical sun and the intense reflected heat of the white rocks ; but I should say Bird-rock is about thirty-five feet high and about sixty or seventy feet across, the only vegetation I could see on it being a large-leaved creeper, which the men who had been on the rock said was the broad- leaved Ipomcea (Argyreia speciosa), an East Indian plant, common all over Barbados. The constant lashing and surging of the waves around the base has eaten a ledge which gives the rock the appearance of an immense mushroom, and adds greatly to the difficulty of ascending it. Mr. Gittens had arranged that some of the men who were in the habit of visiting this rock should be at the spot, prepared to show me the difficulties of reaching it. We found three men awaiting our arrival. Divesting them- selves of their clothes, they plunged into the surf, two of them taking a small tree-trunk about fourteen feet long with them, to be used as a ladder whereby to scale the rock. It was an interesting sight to see these fine athletic fellows in the surf, their bronze skins shining amid the blue and white waters ; then they shot like porpoises under the breakers and appeared floating in the trough of the wave beyond. A biggish wave came rolling in and burst in spray and surf high above the ledge of Bird-rock ; the leader of the three men had dived well beneath this wave, and as it broke and receded in a cascade, he appeared clinging to the ledge, the war of waters having passed over him; in an instant he sprang on to the ledge and in a few minutes the other two men joined him. The ascent to the top of the rock being only possible on the outer side, I was unable to see any more of the men’s pro- ceedings. This landing was made to show me how the feat is accomplished. A few hours prior to my arrival these same men had visited the rock and had taken twenty-four young Shearwaters, which they intended to sell for food, and a single egg. On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 63 No old birds had been seen by them on the rock, and they expressed the opinion that it would be very difficult to procure one; but on this second visit they managed to capture an adult bird in a hole, and found another ege, which, like the first one, proved to be addled. The young Shearwaters uttered a plaintive liquid-sounding note something like Whitter whitter whit whit wit. The adult bird is 13 inches from tip of bill to end of tail, wing 83 inches; spread of wing 26 inches; bill from point to gape 14 inch; culmen 1 inch; tarsus 14 inch. Colour of bill uniform lead-grey, darkening on culmen; iris very dark ; legs and feet pearly white with pinkish hue underlying ; back of tarsus and outer toe black ; underparts of the middle and inner toe likewise black ; forehead, crown, back, and tail and wing uniform sooty black; primaries sooty black, the first longest; from chin to vent white, under eyelid white, under wing-coverts white. VI.—On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. By R. Bowpiter Suarre, F.L.S. &c., Zoological Department, British Museum. With Notes by Joan Wutreneap. (Plates II.-IV.) In the present paper I have commenced a list of all the species of birds procured by my friend Mr. John Whitehead during his four years’ travels in Northern Borneo. The chief interest naturally centres round his exploration of the great mountain of Kina Balu, of the avifauna of which a complete account is here, for the first time, attempted. The comparison of the natural history of this mountain with that of Sumatra, Java, and Tenasserim I shall leave till the end of the memoir. The following are Mr. Whitehead’s notes on his journeys, and all his observations on the habits of the different species are placed between brackets. “ My first Bornean collections were made in the neigh- bourhood of Sandakan; the collection was small and con- tained examples of a few well-known species. In April 1885 64 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the (the same year) I left for Gaya Island, hoping to start from there for Kina Balu in the beginning of May. However, as the officials of the British North Borneo Company stated that some of the interior tribes had been raiding as far as the coast in search of heads, and that it was necessary to send a police expedition inland to punish the very tribes I had intended visiting, all idea of reaching Kina Balu during that dry season was abandoned. “ A few days after I left for the Padas River, and spent some three weeks on the higher parts of that river, but as birds were very scarce, and my collections hardly worth the name, I again left for Labuan. In August of the same year I proceeded with three natives to Benkoka, in the north of Borneo, where we remained until the middle of November. On this river my collections were numerous and contained examples of many fine species. “In February 1886 I again left for Kina Balu, this time reaching the Tampassuk River; but all attempts to find natives to carry my baggage from there inland failed. Some were willing to go but had no buffaloes, others had buffaloes but could not go, or, in true Hastern style, would not give astraight answer. After ten days of fruitless search, it came out that nobody would go inland amongst the Dusan tribes, all stating that it would be unsafe; this I soon heard was perfectly true. The Company’s expedition last year never went inland, having received a severe blow on the coast, where seven Bajows ran ‘amuck’ amongst the leaders of the force, and killed the four chief officers, thus leaving the rest without leaders. This year another police expedition was formed, and whilst I was doing my best to obtain buffaloes on the coast, attacked a native chief, killed eight or more of his tribe, and burnt down his village; this having occurred within twenty miles of us, without our knowledge. As the temper of the people inland was roused, it would have been unsafe to travel amongst them, so my expedition was re- luctantly abandoned. “In March 1886 I left for the Lawas River, where I ob- tained specimens of a few interesting species. The same Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 65 year I went to Java and made an interesting collection of mountain-species. “Tn January 1887 I again left for Kina Balu, and this time succeeded in reaching the mountain; my collections were made on the western spurs up to 5000 feet. After remaining there for two months and a half, want of provi- sions and articles for barter caused me to start for the coast. The results of this expedition as regards birds have been published by Mr. R. B. Sharpe in this Journal (see Ibis, 1887, pp. 435-454). The same year I left for Palawan, and remained there four months; a list of this collection has also been given (sce Ibis, 1888, pp. 383-396 & 478-479). “In December of the same year I again left for Kina Balu, and remained there until the following June. This, my last expedition, was thoroughly successful ; I succeeded in reaching the highest altitudes and in making a splendid collection during one month spent at 8000 feet. I made several other expeditions to other parts of the mountain, camping from twenty to twenty-five days in one place. “The weather during the eight months actually spent on the mountain was extremely wet; sometimes it would rain for three days at a time, and the general average would be about six hours per diem, generally from 1 P.M. till nightfall, thus much precious time was lost, and it was most difficult to dry any specimens collected. “ As I find it impossible to give anything but a sketch of my journeys in this paper, I hope in the near future to publish a full account of my travels.” Order ACCIPITRES. Suborder FALCONES. Fam. Fauconip2. 1. Circus sPILONOTUS. Circus spilonotus, Kaup; Sharpe, Cat. B.i. p. 58; id. Ibis, US7G,-p. 200; T8775. p. 2; ia. PZ Si 1879; ps 822-3 id. Ibis, 1879, p. 235. The series of this Harrier collected by Mr. Whitehead SER. VI.—VOL. I. F 66 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the seems to prove conclusively that the sexes are similar when they are fully adult. The description of the adult female therefore, as given by me in the ‘Catalogue of Birds,’ is erroneous, and refers only to the young bird. The following are the dimensions of Mr. Whitehead’s series :-— Total length. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. in. in. in. mM. gar ade. AbaijN.W. Boreo’ 2... ss 186 5:35 9:1 33 Bleed ad. wlan OMeM 2.5. ent 2. = 2 20°5 158 9°3 34 POG EAU che Oe. oom As Shap eye's = 180 14:5 8:7 a1 ae AIGA Sete cee Gao: elie ky ble te 0908 16°5 13:9 8:0 3°05 PROPIA SNORT Gh eave csencdesd at wise ws 17-5 13°7 8:2 2°95 oeommye. | duawas River: 2... 34%. J... sls 175 13:9 S72 31 em TRY RUGAOWTNG (55. te wycisis gests aye oe eles 20°5 15:4 9:2 5°45 emitiver SUA DUAN AE ican) o tg asrury eis nthe & 20°0 155 86 35 2, Juv. Paulou Sebang, Malacca .... 21°5 15:9 S77, 33 Young. More or less rufous, especially below; mantle more or less streaked; well-marked shoulder-patch ; head varying from fawn-buff to white ; centre tail-feathers uniform at first, outer ones brown, more or less mottled with rufous, but not barred. So from early in February. Signs of moult shght. The fawn-coloured head and light parts often bleach to white, including shoulder-patch and throat, and often have a patch on the breast; the rufous mottling on the tail takes more the form of bars, and the centre feathers are dark brown, tolerably distinctly barred with lighter brown. Tn April a female bird shot in full moult from brown plumage is very uniform in character and has a dark head. It has a pure white feather coming on the side of the neck; upper tail-coverts white, with rufous spots. The old tail-feathers are brown, with broad darker brown bars and a great deal of rufous mottling towards the base. The newly moulted feathers are dark ashy grey, with whitish tips, and crossed by five broad blackish bars. No shoulder-mark. Another female, shot at Abai on the 19th of February, is also in full moult, and seems to illustrate the intermediate stage towards the full plumage. The centre tail-feathers-are Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 67 grey, with six broad blackish bars; the upper tail-coverts are white, with smaller rufous spots. The under surface is white or buffy white, with broad brown streaks. In this first stage for the first time appears grey in the wing-coverts. It has a shoulder-mark. From the above stage to the fully adult there seems to be one more moult, when the streaks below become paler and narrower, and are in many feathers arrow-head shaped. The whole plumage becomes lighter above, the upper tail-coverts pure white, with scarcely any spots; the tail-feathers pure grey, the centre ones with six dusky grey bars; outer feathers also grey and similarly barred, but the bars tinged with rufous. The grey on the wing and the grey shoulder-patch are well developed, but there is none of the spotting on the back which characterizes the final stage. The last plumage has a uniform tail and nearly uniform quills. The under surface is white, with streaks on the throat and breast. [a. g ad. Abai. Iris bright yellow; feet dull straw- yellow. 6. Ad. Labuan. Shot during my absenee on the first ex- pedition to Kina Balu, between the months of February and April. c. ?. Abai, Feb. 19, 1886. This bird seems too small to be a female, but was certainly one by dissection. d. @. Abai, Feb. 22, 1886. e. 2. Abai, Feb. 22, 1886. f. ¢ juv. Lawas River, April 5, 1886. g, h. Juv. Labuan, Nov. 30, 1885. i. 9 juv. Paulou Sebang, Malacca, Feb. 9, 1885. Iris light sepia; feet dull chrome-yellow. | 2. ASTUR TRIVIRGATUS. Astur trivirgatus (T.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 1. p. 105; Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 17 (1874) ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1876, p. 32, 1879, p- 235. 68 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the Total length. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. ine in. in. in. a. dad. Kina Balu, February...... 12°75 76 57 2°65 6. 9 ad. Kina Balu, March ........ 146 85 61 2°4 ce. O%ad. - Kans Balu, March 3........ 15:0 88 68 2:25 d. g juv. Taguso, Palawan, Sept. .. 146 81 61 2:0 [I met with this bird on Kina Balu at a height of 1000 feet in the middle of March 1887. Both specimens procured on that occasion were adult females; and on my second expedition I met with a male bird in February 1888 at a precisely similar altitude. All had well-developed crests. In Palawan I only obtained a single specimen, a young male, on the 14th of September. The cere and feet were pale yellow, and the iris light straw-yellow. This specimen was shot at Taguso, on the coast, so that, so far as my ob- servations go, this Goshawk is not found at any great elevation. | 3. ASTUR SOLOENSIS. Astur soloensis (Lath.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B.i. p. 114; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 235. Micronisus soluensis, Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 17 (1874). a. ? juv. Kina Balu, Feb. 26, 1887. Wing 7°8 inches. [On Kina Balu I only found this Goshawk at a height of 1000 feet, when I shot a young female. Iris king’s-yellow ; feet and cere similar. | 4, ACCIPITER VIRGATUS. Accipiter virgatus (T.); Sharpe, Cat. B.i.p. 150; Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 17 (1874). a. g ad. Kina Balu, Feb. 1887. Wing 6:2 inches. [This bird is evidently a migrant to Kina Balu, and was obtained under the same circumstances as Astur soloensis.| 5. AcciPITeR RUFOTIBIALIS. (Plate II.) Accipiter rufotibialis, Sharpe, Ibis, 1887, p. 437. Adult male. General colour above dark slaty grey, the feathers blackish on the edges, the head and mantle blacker than the back; quills blackish brown, crossed with bars of Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 69 black, from five to six in number; rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail slaty grey, lighter than the back, the tail crossed by four black bands, five in number on the outer feather ; lores, sides of face, and ear-coverts sooty black, the cheeks blackish washed with rufous ; the under surface of the body rich chestnut, the throat buff, with a central line of blackish streaks ; abdomen chestnut, with a few white bars on the upper part, the lower abdomen white with a few broad red- dish bars; under tail-coverts white; thighs uniform chest- nut; under wing-coverts reddish buff, spotted with black ; axillaries whitish, washed with rufous and barred across with dull blackish. Total length 9°3 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 5°95, tail 4°2, tarsus 1°8. Young male in moult. The first plumage has evidently been brown, with broad ferruginous edges to all the feathers ; tail ashy brown, with four black bands, five on the outer feather. The under surface is rufous, like the adult, with remains of the broad black streaks on the chest belonging to the first plumage. Thighs nearly uniform rufous, with slight remains of brown mottling. Total length 9 inches, culmen 0°4, wing mee call 4, tarsus) 1°75. Since describing this species, I have been able to compare it with specimens of A. manillensis in the Tweeddale collec- tion, and I find that it is quite distinct and easily recog- nizable by its rufous thighs. {This species seems to be confined to the more open country of Kina Balu, 7. e. the Dusun clearings. I saw it from 1000 feet to 4000 feet, but it appears to be extremely rare. In fact I only managed to procure two specimens on my first expedition, and in 1888, during my second visit, I only saw three birds, none of which I was able to procure. I was witness to a plucky fight between one of these Sparrow- Hawks and a Spilornis, when the former attacked the Eagle with fury and drove him right out of the tree. On the 30th of March, 1888, a native brought me two eggs, evidently of this Hawk, which had been seen by me about the locality where the nest was found. One egg is of the typical Sparrow-Hawk type. Length 1:45, diam. 70 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the 115 in. Colour greenish white, with the usual reddish blotches towards the larger end. The second egg is nearly spotless. Length 1:5, diam. 12 in.] 6. SPIZAETUS LIMNAETUS. Spizaetus limnaetus (Horsf.); Sharpe, Cat. B. 1. p. 272; Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 15 (1874); Sharpe, Ibis, 1878, p. 415 ; Megs ZS, 18/2; p. d225 10s Pi ZoS.c188h, p. 791. The series of skins brought home by Mr. Whitehead does not shake my confidence in the conclusions to which I came in the ‘ Catalogue of Birds,’ excepting that I may be mis- taken with regard to the uniform dark brown plumage, which, instead of being characteristic of the fully adult bird only, may be merely a melanistic form, such as we are accustomed to see in the genus Pernis, and one liable to occur at any stage of the bird’s life. Leaving aside the uniform black-plumaged bird, which was obtained by Mr. Whitehead only in Palawan, we find in the other six specimens procured four different styles of plumage :—first the white-breasted stage, with a few streaks on the underparts; then a browner stage, streaked with black ; a white-breasted bird, with broad streaks; and a bird with nearly uniform brown breast, not, however, approaching the brown melanistic stage. The following is a list of the specimens :— a. 9 juv. Taguso, Palawan, July 18, 1887. Wing 16°5 in. b. 9 ad. [mel.]. Taguso, Palawan, Sept. Wing 16°5 in. c. 2? ad. Labuan, Dec. 15, 1885. Wing 16:4 inches. d. g ad. Labuan, Nov. 1886. Wing 15 inches. e. @ juv. Labuan, Aug. 14, 1885. Wing 14°75 inches. jf. 3 ad. Tampassuk, Feb. 17, 1886. Wing 16°83 inches. g. 2 ad. Tampassuk, Feb. 19, 1886. Wing 15-0 inches. As far as our present experience goes, there is only one of these Crested Eagles in Borneo. Spizaetus cirrhatus of Salvador’s book (p. 13) and S. limnaetus (p. 15) are the same species. [in Palawan this species was decidedly scarce, and I hardly saw another specimen beyond the two procured. In Labuan Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 7] it is resident and breeds on the island. The female with the white under surface striped with brown was shot from the nest on the 15th of December. It was paired with a black male, and the nest contained one large white egg, which has since been unfortunately broken. Nos. 579 and 576, from Tampassuk, were a pair, with a nest and eggs. The male is nearly uniform chocolate-brown, while the female is light brown below, streaked with black. | 7. LorHorrioRCcHIs KIENERI. Lophotriorchis kieneri (Geoffr.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 1. p. 256. Spizuetus kienerii, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 16 (1874). gad. Kina Balu, March 20, 1887. Wing 13:8 inches. [This is a beautiful adult bird, and was the only one I saw in Borneo. Mr. Wallace had previously procured a speci- men in Sarawak, but no one else seems to have met with it. I consider it to be probably only a visitor to Borneo during the N.E. monsoon, as, had it been a resident, I think I must have noticed it on other occasions. My single specimen was procured on my first expedition to Kina Balu at a height of about 1000 feet. Iris dark brown; feet and cere pale chrome-yellow. | 8. NEOPUS MALAYENSIS. Neopus malayensis (T.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 1. p. 257. Onychaetus malayensis, Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 4 (1874). a. gad. Padas River, June 14, 1885. b. dimm. Tampassuk, Feb. 15, 1886. [The male from the Padas had the iris hazel and the feet and cere king’s-yellow. The younger male has the soft parts exactly as in the old bird. Not seen on Kina Balu, but frequently observed on the large plains near the sea-coast, where I have seen it beating low over the hill-sides. | 9. SPILORNIS BACHA. Spilornis bacha (Daud.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 290 (1874) ; Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 7 (1874). a. 9 ad. Kina Balu, March 1]. Wing 17 inches. This is apparently the first real instance of the occurrence of 72 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the the species in Borneo, as I have no doubt that the young bird recorded by Count Salvadori from Sarawak was merely S. pal- lidus, Walden, a species which Count Salvadori did not recog- nize in 1874. I have compared Mr. Whitehead’s skin with Javan specimens and find that they cannot be separated. [This Serpent-Eagle replaces the small Spilornis pallidus in the higher regions of Kina Balu. I did not meet with it below 8000 feet, and even at these altitudes it was scarce. The crop of the specimen shot was full of lizards and snakes, and I noticed it frequently beating along the dried-up beds of rivers, where it would easily obtain the various rock-lizards on which it preys. ] 10. SprLornis pattipus, Walden ; Sharpe, Cat. B.1. p. 290, pl. ix. (1874) ; id. Ibis, 1876, p. 327, 1877, p.3; id. P. ZS. Lssip.791:. a. g ad. Benkoka, Marudu Bay, Oct. 2, 1885. Wing 13°75 inches. b. gad. Tampassuk, Feb. 26, 1886. Wing 13°75 inches. [This species is more frequently met with in the jungle than in the open country. I do not remember observing it above 1000 feet on Kina Balu, but my specimens were de- stroyed by insects. | 1]. Burasrur INnpDIcvs. Butastur indicus (Gm.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 297 (1874) ; id. P. Z. 8S. 1879, pp. 245, 322; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 236. Poliornis indica, Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 9 (1874). a. Juv. Labuan, Nov. 1885. Wing 12°75 inches. b. g ad. Labuan, Dec. 9, 1885. Wing 12:2 inches. c. Juv. Benkoka, Oct. 22, 1885. Wing 12:2 inches. d. 8 juv. Benkoka, Nov. 3, 1885. Wing 12°5 inches. e. 9 juv. Benkoka, Nov. 2, 1885. Wing 12:1 inches. jf. 6 ad. Benkoka, Nov. 14, 1885. Wing 12:2 inches. g. ¢ ad. Tampassuk, Feb. 17, 1886. Wing 12:5 inches. h. g@ ad. Tampassuk, Feb. 18, 1886. Wing 12:3 inches. 2. @ ad. Kina Balu, March 30, 1887. Wing 12°5 inches. The young birds have a very pronounced eye-streak and very little indication of the broad streak on the throat. The Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 73 streaks on the chest evidently become gradually broken up into bars, apparently as much by a change of the pattern of the feather as by a moult. The young feathers before the commencement of the moult show a certain amount of change in the shape of a disruption of the central streak, indicative of the forthcoming banded stage. [I have observed this species in various parts of Northern Borneo between the end of October and the end of March, and it is evidently only a migrant of the N.E. monsoon. During my ascent of Kina Balu I found it as high as 1000 feet. It is generally met with in open places. A young male had the iris yellowish olive, the feet and cere dull yellow. | 12. HaLtianrus LEUCOGASTER. Haliaetus leucogaster (Gm.); Sharpe, Cat. B. 1. p. 307 (1874) ; id. Ibis, 1877, p. 3; id. P.Z.S. 1879, p. 323; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 236. Cuncuma leucogaster, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 5. a. ? ad. Abai, Borneo, Dec. 23, 1887. 6. g juv. Abai, Feb. 26, 1886. c. ¢ Juv. Abai, March 10, 1886. d. g ad. Abai, March 11, 1886. e. § ad. Taguso, Palawan, Aug. 12, 1887. [Ivis hazel ; feet dirty white; skin on face French-blue. Plentiful all round the coast of Borneo, but rarer in Pa- Jawan. I found a nest on the 12th of April with nearly- fledged young. The nest was on a dead tree in a forest which had been recently burnt. The nestlings were beautifully speckled, much more so than in the full-grown young birds which were afterwards procured. The nest was full of the remains of sea-snakes, on which this Hagle frequently feeds. One of my specimens is stained on the breast with the ink of the cuttle-fish, which, according to the natives, is also a favourite food of this species. | 13. PoLioaETuUs ICHTHYAETUS. Polioaetus ichthyaetus (Horsf.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B.1. p. 452 ; Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 6. 74 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the a. gad. Benkoka, Sept. 6, 1885. Wing 17°8 inches. [Iris light hazel; feet greyish blue; Bill black. Brought to me alive by a native. | 14. HALiastur INTERMEDIUS. Haliastur intermedius, Gurney ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 1. p. 314 (1874) ; id. Ibis, 1876, p. 82; id. P. Z. S. 1879, p. 323 ; id. fips, 187%7; p. 3, 1879, p..236; id. P.Z.S.188!, p. 79 Haliastur indus, Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 12. a. gad. Abai, Dec. 24, 1887. 6. gad. Tampassuk, Feb. 17, 1886. c. 2 juv. Tampassuk, Feb. 17, 1886. d. 8 juv. Tampassuk, Feb. 17, 1886. e. g ad. Benkoka, Sept. 27, 1885. [The young male from Tampassuk had the bill and feet dull greenish yellow. Although I did not bring a specimen from Kina Balu, the bird is found there up to 1000 feet. It is a great robber of chickens, and is much detested by the natives. | 15. PERNIS PTILONORHYNCHUS. Pernis ptilonorhynchus ('T.); Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 347 (1874); id PZ. Ss. 1881, p. 791. Pernis ptilorhyncha, Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 9. a. Juv. Malacca. 6. g ad. Labuan, Nov. 30, 1885. c. g ad. Kuina Balu, March 20, 1887. d. 9 ad. mel. Kina Balu, March 25, 1887. e. Ad. mel. Taguso, Palawan, Aug. 15, 1887. [The young bird from Malacca I shot on the 7th of Jan- uary, 1885, at Paulou Sebang. Iris light straw-yellow ; feet yellow. All the Bornean and Palawan birds are old, with grey faces, and two of them have large crests. They are inhabitants of the forest, but do not extend above 1000 feet on Kina Balu.] 16. MicrkoHIERAX LATIFRONS. Microhieraz latifrons, Sharpe, Ibis, 1879, p. 237, pl. vu. ; id. P. Z. S. 1881, p. 790. a. @ ad. Benkoka, Sept. 30, 1885. NS Or Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 17. Fatco comMUNIS. Falco communis, Gm. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 376 (1874) ; Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 1 (1874); Sharpe, P. Z. 5S. 1881, pe 7oU. Falco peregrinus, Sharpe, P.Z.S. 1879, p. 323; id. Ibis, 1879; p- 237. a. g ad. Labuan, spring of 1886. b,c. ¢ 9 juy. Labuan, Dec. 8, 1887. All three specimens are of the ordinary light form, not the dark richly coloured Peregrine of the Sunda Islands, of which the British Museum possesses a splendid example from the Lawas River. [Only found during the N.E. monsoon. | 18. CERcHNEIS TINNUNCULUS. Cerchneis tinnunculus(L.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 425 (1874) ; itive 2. 5. 1879, p. S20. Gg jay. Aba, Dec: 25, 1887. An immature male, apparently of the dark Chinese form. [This species is evidently very scarce, and I only noticed it on the large plains of Tampassuk. | Suborder PANDIONES. 19. PANDION HALIAETUS. Pandion haliaetus (L.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 449 (1874) ; Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 7 (1874); Sharpe, P. Z. 8. 1879, p. 324. a. 9 ad. Abai, Dec. 26, 1887. Wing 19:2 inches. b. 9 ad. Abai, Dec. 27, 1887. Wing 18°5 inches. c. 9 imm. Abai, Dec. 26, 1887. Wing 18°75 inches. These birds belong to the large form of Osprey and not to the small Australian race. [The first female had the ins yellow; bill black, slaty blue at base of lower mandible; cere slaty blue; feet white, with a pale bluish tinge; claws black. I think that the Osprey is a migrant in Northern Borneo. | 76 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the Suborder STRIGES. Fam. BuBonip2z. 20. KETUPA:-KETUPA. Ketupa ketupa (Horsf.) ; Sharpe, P.Z.S. 1881, p. 791; Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 20 (1874). Ketupa javanensis, Less. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 8 (1875) ; id. P. Z. 8. 1879, p. 324; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 237. a. 9 ad. Benkoka, Nov. 12, 1885. [Shot in the forest in open places near the paddy-fields in Northern Borneo. I never met with it in my Kina Balu expeditions. In Malacca I shot one at Ayer Panas. Iris pale greenish yellow; bill and feet brownish yellow. | 21. Buso orRIENTALIS. Bubo orientalis (Horsf.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. i. p. 39 (1875) ; id. P. Z. 8. 1879, p. 245; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 238. Bubo sumatranus, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 19 (1874). a. gad. Kina Balu, March 2, 1887. Wing 13-7 inches. 6. 9 ad. Kina Balu, April 3, 1887. Wing 13:7 inches. Although there is scarcely any difference in size, there is a marked variation in the colour of this pair. The male is much the lighter of the two, with a good deal of white on the ear-tufts, the wing, scapulars, greater wing- coverts, and end of tail. The female is remarkable for the uniformity of the upper surface, which shows scarcely any white markings. In the character of the light-brown cross- barring both birds are exactly alike. Beneath the male is much the whiter, and has the throat and chest almost similar to the abdomen, the cross-barring being merely rather closer and broader, but the ground-colour is white ; whereas in the female there is a distinct contrast between the throat and chest and the rest of the under surface, the former parts being nearly as dark as the upper surface of the body. The male has the under aspect of the quills much more distinctly banded than the female. Of course some of this light coloration of the male bird may be due to youth; but it is, im my opinion, quite an adult bird, though not so old as the female. Ornithology of Northern Borneo. Li [The male had the iris black ; bill hght straw-yellow ; feet darker straw-yellow. I met with it at about 3000 feet in the scrubby jungle on the lower spurs of Kina Balu. The female bird was obtained at about the same elevation and in precisely similar situations. I do not think it goes higher up the mountain. The first bird was obtained under curious circumstances. One of my hunters having found a flock of Staphidia everetti and other small birds in the jungle, singled out one of them and brought it down with a walking-stick gun. To his astonishment this large Owl came tumbling down along with the little Staphidia. The man had not seen the Owl in the thick jungle, and there is no doubt that the small birds had been mobbing the Budo. | Suborder STRIGES. Herrroscops, gen. n. Genus simile generi ‘ Scops’ dicto, sed fasciis auricularibus absentibus, et facie crinibus tenuibus ornata distinguen- dum. ‘Typus sit 22. Hereroscors tuci#. (Plate III.) Scops lucia, Sharpe, Ibis, 1888, p. 478. Adult female. General colour above tawny rufous, mottled with coarse black vermiculations, giving here and there a spotted appearance ; on the hinder mantle some large ovate fulvous marks, not sufficiently indicated to form a “ wig” ; scapulars externally yellowish white, forming a broad streak, with a black spot near the end of the shaft ; upper tail-coverts rather more regularly barred with black; wing-coverts like the back, but the black vermiculations on the median series more sparsely distributed ; bastard-wing blackish internally, with a chequered pattern of broad black and tawny-buff bars on the outer web ; primary-coverts rufous, with small black vermiculations and feebly indicated bars of black on the outer web; primaries chequered with black and tawny-buff bars-on the outer web, the black more or less mixed with tawny buff; inner webs blackish ; secondaries rufous, vermi- culated with black, scarcely forming any bars; tail-feathers 78 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the black, with a few more or less distinct rufous bars towards the ends; crown of head like the back, but rather more strongly mottled with black bars; forehead tawny rufous, the frontal plumes tipped with black ; base of bill beset with long plumes, barred with rufous and black ; above the eye a dusky blackish spot; sides of face, ear-coverts, and cheeks rufous, barred with black spots, the auricular plumes pro- duced into hair-like tufts ; under surface of body rufous, like the upper surface, with large black spots on the recurved plumes of the upper throat; the black vermiculations much more scanty than on the upper parts, with a few broad inter- spaces of tawny buff on some of the feathers, giving an ap- pearance of light spots here and there ; abdomen whitish ; sides of body and flanks like the breast, but with scarcely any trace of black vermiculations; thighs tawny rufous, whitish behind; under tail-coverts white, with a shght rufous tinge; under wing-coverts tawny, with paler buff edges ; the edge of the wing mottled with blackish ; outer coverts uni- form blackish ; quills below blackish, barred with tawny on the outer web and with pale tawny buff along the inner webs. Total length 7°8 inches, wing 5:3, tail 2°75, tarsus 1-05. One male bird is almost of the same tawny rufous as the female described, but is a trifle darker. It differs in no im- portant particulars beyond such as is usual in Scops Owls, viz. rather more or less strongly indicated black spots and vermiculations. The second male is very much darker and browner, and has a good many clear indications of tawny- buff spots on the hind neck. In both males a tawny eye- brow is well marked. In the darker male the black markings on the throat are strongly developed, and behind the ear- coverts there are some whitish bars, giving a slight appearance of a ruff. The wings measure 5°2-5'3 inches, which is about the same as in the female, but the size of the male bird is decidedly smaller. This little Owl, by reason of its yellow bill, comes nearest to the section of the genus Scops which embraces S. balli and S. rufescens, but on comparison it shows but little simi- litude to either of those species. The tarsus is bare for half Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 79 its length behind, but the feathers come down on the front almost to the junction of the toes. It is not quite so thickly feathered as in S. rufescens, but is more so than in S. dalli. Neither of the last-named species has the whitish abdomen of Scops lucie, and the rufous coloration and rufous eyebrow also distinguish it from them, as well as the curious bristly elongations of the shafts of the facial plumage, which have induced me to separate the bird as a distinct genus from Scops. [I first met with this small Owl in the dark and gloomy forests which occur in large patches at about 9000 feet on Kina Balu. The male (No. 1973) had the iris greenish yellow, the green showing especially round the pupil; skin round eye pinkish brown; bill pale yellow, almost white ; feet dull white and bare. I never heard the note of any small Owl during my residence of a month at my camp at 8000 feet, and I only got three specimens during my eight months’ residence on the mountain. I only met with it at all during my second expedition, and fancy that it must be very rare. The circumstances under which this little Owl was pro- cured were quite different from those under which I found Scops lempiyji. The latter bird is always to be seen in the neighbourhood of villages up to about 1000 feet, and its call (‘ Pwok,’ whence the native name) is quite a feature of the localities which it frequents. On the other hand, I never heard H. lucie utter a sound. | 23. Scorps LEMPIJI. Scops lempit (Horsf.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. u. p. 91; Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 19 (1874); Sharpe, Ibis, 1879, p. 238; id. Pofios. Week, ps 71. a. & ad. Kina Balu, Feb. 1888. Wing 5°65 inches. 6. 9 ad. Kina Balu, March 20, 1887. Wing 6:2 inches. c. § ad. Kina Balu, March 20, 1887. Wing 6:1 inches. d. 2 ad. Abai, N. Borneo, Feb. 11, 1886. Wing 5°55 inches. The series exhibits both brown and rufous phases. In the pair procured on the 20th of March the male is rufous 80 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the and the female is brown. The female from Abai, on the other hand, is rufous, and the male, shot in February, is very dark brown. These birds show that both sexes partake of the two phases of plumage. [See my note on H. lucie for this Owl, which is a bird of the lower lands. An egg (white; length 1:45 imch, diam. 1:2 inch) was procured with the old bird on the 20th of March, 1888; but as the bird had been captured with gutta- percha, its plumage was too much spoiled for it to be pre- served. The natives often catch birds by means of “ gutta,” which they smear on to a little piece of bamboo. This little stick they fix loosely into a long bamboo, and when they see an Owl or any bird which they can approach silently they lay the “gutta” stick across the back and withdraw the long bamboo. ‘The bird opening its wings with a start attaches them at once to the sticky bamboo-twig and is caught. Unfortunately the specimens thus obtained are seldom worth preserving. | 24. Scops RUFESCENS. Scops rufescens (Horsf.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 11. p. 102 (187 Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 19 (1874); Sharpe, BZ... p. 314; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 238. a. ? ad. Benkoka, Sept. 25, 1885. Wing 5 inches. b. g ad. Benkoka, Sept. 25, 1885. Wing 4°5 inches. 25. NINox JAPONICUS. Ninox japonicus (Bp.) ; Sharpe, P.Z.S. 1879, p. 325. a. & ad. Lawas River, April 9, 1886. Wing 9°3 inches. 26. NINOX BORNEENSIS. Ninox borneensis (Bp.); Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 18 (1874). Ninox scutulata, Sharpe, P. Z.S. 1879, p. 324; id. Ibis, 1877, p. 4, 1879, p. 288; id. P.Z. S. 1881, p. 791. a. g ad. Benkoka, Oct. 10, 1885. Wing 6°9 inches. 6b. g ad. Benkoka, Oct. 30, 1885. Wing 6:9 inches. c. 9 ad. Benkoka, Oct. 30, 1885. Wing 6°8 inches. d. ¢ ad. Labuan, March 20, 1886. Wing 7:0 inches. The sexes of this Owl are very nearly of the same size, as will be seen by the dimensions of the wings. Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 81 [These small Owls are often seen flying about in the early part of the evening, hawking for dragon-flies. I have shot them with the dragon-flies in their claws. ] 27. SYRNIUM LEPTOGRAMMICUM. Syrnium leptogrammicum (T.) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. 11. p. 264 (1875) ; id. Ibis, 1877, p. 4, 1879, p. 238. Ciccaba leptogrammica, Salvad. Ucc. Born. p. 20 (1874). a. No. 345, g ad. Benkoka, Oct. 1, 1885. b. No. 346, ¢ juv. Benkoka, Oct. 1, 1885. c. No. 347, 9 ad. Benkoka, Oct. 1, 1885. d. No. 404, g ad. Benkoka, Oct. 15, 1885. [The old male (404) had the iris black and the feet slate- blue. These birds were obtained by my hunters at a time when I was ill, so that I know nothing of the habits of the species. It is probably a resident, as the young male has still a good deal of the nestling-plumage adhering to the neck, so that it was evidently bred in the neighbourhood. I never met with this species in Kinu Balu, or, in fact, on any of the high lands. } Order PASSERIFORMES. Fam. Corvip&. 28. CoRONE TENUIROSTRIS. Corone tenuirostris (Moore) ; Sharpe, P. Z.S. 1879, p. 246; id. P. Z. S. 1879, p. 335; id. Ibis, 1879, p. 250. No. 309, g ad. Benkoka, Sept. 17, 1885. Wing 13-4 inches. No. 1277, 2 ad. Kina Balu, April 2,1887. Wing 13°4 inches. [Rather a scarce species, and never met with in flocks, but generally seen in pairs. I have noticed it on Kina Balu about the Dusan villages up to 1000 feet.] 29. DeNDROCITTA CINERASCENS. Dendrocitta cinerascens, Sharpe, Ibis, 1879, p. 250, pl. viii. ; id. Ibis, 1887, p. 437. a. g ad. Kina Balu, April 3, 1888. Wing 5:9 inches. b. g ad. Kina Balu, March 17, 1888. Wing 5°8 inches. ce. g ad. Kina Balu, March 20, 1888. Wing 5°8 inches. SER. VI.—VOL. I. G 82 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the d. 9 ad. Kina Balu, March 1, 1888. Wing 5'8 inches. e. 2 ad. Kina Balu, March 9, 1888. Wing 5°75 inches. f. 2 ad. Kina Balu, March 15, 1888. Wing 5-4 inches. The figure in the plate (/.c.) is, I regret to say, not accurate. It represents the bird with a purely grey back, and black lores and forehead. At first I thought that Mr. Whitehead had got a second species on Kina Balu, but Professor Westwood very kindly sent me the type specimen of my D. cinerascens from Oxford, and I now believe that the Kina Balu bird is the same as that from the Lawas, whence came the type specimen. The following amendments are, however, required in the original description and figure. The pale rusty edgings on the tips of the rump and upper tail-coverts, as well as on the head and wing-coverts, are a mark of immaturity, and fully adult birds show no sign of them. The back is brown on the mantle, not uniform blue- grey as figured. The scapulars are delicate grey at the ends (these are all missing in the type). The lores, nasal plumes, and base of forehead are light brown; this is succeeded by a broad black band which reaches above the eye and extends backwards into a dark brown eyebrow, deeper in colour than the ear-coverts. [This bird is fairly common in Kina Balu from about 1000 feet up to quite 9000 feet. It frequents the thick jungle-growth which springs up after the rice-crops, and in four or five years reaches a height of from 12 to 20 feet. It is also met with at 9000 feet among the big trees in the thick forest, but it is not so common. It has a loud bell- like note, also a cackling cry hke that of our common Magpie. Sometimes four or five may be seen together. It builds in the low jungle, constructing a shallow nest of fine twigs. I found one on the 13th of March, 1888, on a low tree in the scrub. It contained two eggs, very Magpie-like in appearance. Length 1°2 in., diam. 0-9 in. The ground- colour is greenish white, dotted all over with brown mark- ings, which increase in size towards the larger end, where there is a blotch of brown, forming a nearly complete ring, Tris light hazel; bill and feet black. Dusan name ‘ Man- tihak.”] Ornithology of Northern Borneo. 83 30. CissaA MINOR. Cissa minor, Cab.; Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 86 (1877) ; id. P. Z. 8. 1879, p. 335; id. Ibis, 1887, p. 437. - Mr. Whitehead has brought a large series of this beautiful Magpie, exhibiting a rare combination of colour, the head ranging from almost gamboge-yellow to ochreous yellow, and the body-plumage from yellow to yellowish green and emerald-green, and even to bright blue. There seems to be no sequence of plumages from one to the other, but we may take it that the younger birds are more bluish green than the old ones. The smallest nestlings are very blue-green, with so little crest that the black band reaches quite round the nape, and there are no crest-feathers to interrupt its outline. ‘Two nestlings, a little further advanced, have more of a yellow tinge, while a full-grown young bird is, again, bluish green except from the fore neck to the vent, where it is emerald-green. ‘The wings of the young birds are brown or reddish brown, not claret-coloured as in the adults. The males have the wing 5°1—5'3 inches, and the females 5-0- 5°3. [Feet and bill vermilion ; iris lake. Cissa minor is fairly common in the same kind of scrub-country as is frequented by the Dendrocitia, but, unlike that species, it does not ascend Kina Balu, being confined to a level between 1000 and 3000 feet ; it is, indeed, very rare at the latter elevation, though decidedly common lower down. In the early morn- ing and towards evening the Cissas become very garrulous, one bird whistling to another. The notes are many, the most peculiar being a three-syllabled whistle, from which it gets its Dusan name of “ Ton-ka-kis.” I often shot speci- mens in the evening by watching the birds as they called to each other from a long distance. As one bird finished whistling it would fly off, and its place would be occu- pied by another bird, which would again commence all- ing to its more distant companions. The natives often brought me nestlings in March, but all attempts to rear them failed, as they perished at night-time, apparently from the cold. The nests were found in the thick undergrowth, G2 84 On the Ornithology of Northern Borneo. and contained two young birds, in one instance three. The two long centre tail-feathers are often much worn, making it difficult to obtain good specimens. I greatly doubt the fact of Mr. Treacher’s specimen of C. minor having really come from Labuan, and think there must have been some mistake in the label. The species is such a thorough mountaineer, and would be so utterly out of place in a barren locality like Labuan, that I fancy it must have really come from the Lawas district. | 31. CissaA JEFFERYI. (Plate IV.) Cissa jefferyi, Sharpe, Ibis, 1888, p. 383. When a series of this species is laid out side by side with a similar series of C. minor, a great difference is noticeable at once in the green colour of the bird, which is very decided, and no yellow of any kind appears on the crown. Sometimes a little bright blue can be seen in the plumage of the back, but never appears on the underparts. Independently of the striking differences in the wings and tail-feathers, pointed out by me in my original description, C. jeffery7, as seen in a row of specimens, can at once be distinguished from C. minor by the much narrower tips to the tail-feathers, and these pale ends are distinctly greenish white. The males of C. jefferyi have the wing 5:25-5°5 inches, and the females 5°2-5:4. A young bird has a blackish bill, the colour is more dingy, and there is no subterminal black band on the tail at all. : [Bill and feet deep lake-red, much darker than in C minor. Iris white, with a faint pink tinge round the pupil. In the young birds the bill is duller in colour, blackish towards the base. I first met with this beautiful bird at 8000 feet, and I could tell at once, from its note, that it was a different species from C. minor, and concluded that it must be a high- land representative of the latter; but when camping at 3000 feet this species was met with again, so that it is evidently the thick forest which divides the two species. While C. minor inhabits the more open aad cultivated districts, C. jefferyi, even at its lowest altitude, never quits the true On Birds from the Transcaspian Region. 85 forest, and the ranges of the two species never overlap. In - April the oid birds had their families with them, consisting of two young ones. On the higher slopes of Kina Balu this species was decidedly rarer, and I found it frequenting the twisted and moss-covered trunks near the ground, feeding on snails and probably the small frogs which were numerous. The note is not nearly so clear as that of C. minor, but is still a feeble attempt at “‘ Ton-ka-kis.’’ | 32. PLATYSMURUS ATERRIMUS. Platysmurus aterrimus (T.) ; Salvad. Uce. Born. p. 279 (1874) ; Sharpe, Cat. B. ii. p. 91 (1877) ; id. Ibis, 1877, p. 20, 1879, p. 251. a,b. 8; c. 9 ad. Benkoka, Sept. 1885. d. g ad. Kina Balu, March 20, 1887. [ Bill and feet black ; iris crimson-lake. Not at all Crow- like in its habits, frequenting the middle growth in the jungle. Sometimes two or three are seen in company. One specimen was procured on Kina Balu at nearly 1000 feet.] VII.—Notes on Birds collected by Dr. G. Radde in the Transcaspian Region. By H. E. Dresser, F.Z.S. (Plate V.) Dr. G. Ravn, of Tiflis, has recently sent to me for examina- tion and identification a selection from a collection of birds obtained chiefly by him during his recent journeys in the Transcaspian Region. He purposes to publisha full account of the birds he observed there in the ‘ Ornis ;’ but it may be of interest to the readers of ‘The Ibis’ +o have a few particulars respecting the small selection sent to me, which contains an example of one new species, a most interesting Shrike, and several other birds of interest. TURDUS ATRIGULARIS, Temm. An adult male (Germab, 4th March) is in very fine plumage, but has the black feathers on the throat slightly edged with white, and an adult female (Askabad, 18th February, 1886) 86 Mr. H. E. Dresser on Birds agrees very closely with examples from Turkestan sent to me by the late Dr. Severtzoff, labelled Turdus mystacinus. CINcLUS CASHMIRIENSIS, Gould. One adult, sex not stated (Schamchor, 5th November), has the underparts nearly similar in coloration to specimens of Cinclus albicollis in my collection from Greece, and also to one obtained in the Taurus mountains by Mr. Danford ; but I notice that the bill is perceptibly smaller than im any of these specimens. Saxico.a rinscut, Heugl. One old male in very fine plumage (Krasnovodsk, 6th February), not differing from examples from Asia Minor. SAXICOLA DESERTI, Rupp. One adult male (Duschak, 17th March) which belongs to the western form and not to the eastern (S. montana), as it has not the white on the inner web of the primaries extending to, or nearly to, the shaft. SaxicoLa mMorio, hr. One adult male (Krasnovodsk, 21st April). PRATINCOLA CAPRATA. One male adult (Merv, 14th June). RvuvticiLLa PH@NicuRUs (Linn.). One male (Naphtaberg, 14th April), not differing from specimens from Western Europe. Syivia mystacea, Ménétr. Two males (Lenkoran, 22nd March) ; these examples differ appreciably from the specimens from Palestine which I de- scribed and figured in the ‘ Birds of Europe’ (i. p. 407, pl. 63), under the name of Sylvia momus, in having the underparts, and especially the throat, richly tinged with vinous pink. They have also a pure white line dividing the vinous on the throat from the black, which extends below the eye, and remind one at the first glance strongly of Sylvia subalpina. This white line doubtless suggested Ménétries’s name. Scorocerca InquiEeTA (Cretzsch.). One specimen (Chistchitnyar, 10th May), which is very from the Transcaspian Region. 87 distinctly streaked with blackish brown and is probably a bird of the previous year. Lusctn1oLa NEGLEcTA, Hume. One female (Askabad, 27th July). Puy.uoscorvs tristis, Blyth. One male (Artyk, 27th March), which agrees closely with Indian specimens. Hypouats RAMA (Sykes). Two males (Merv, 5th and 10th June), undistinguishable from Indian specimens. AEDON FamrurARis (Ménétr.). One specimen (Ain Tschindyr, 7th May). AcROCEPHALUS DUMETORUM, Blyth. One male (Dusu-olum, 6th May). LocustTeLLa Lusciniorpes (Savi). One male (Artyk, 27th March). This specimen shows a slight tendency to striation on the throat, and J at first thought it to be L. fluviatilis ; but on comparison it proves most cer- tainly to be Savi’s Warbler, and is most interesting, as it comes from a locality much further east than any from which this species has hitherto been recorded. Panurvus BiaRMicus (Linn.). One male (Ast-ara, S.W. Caspian, on the Persian frontier, 10th April), in immature plumage. Dr. Radde thought it might prove to be new, but it is merely the young of the pale eastern form of the Bearded Reedling (P. sibiricus), with the black on the back and wings very clearly defined. Parus cinereus, Bonn. & Vieill. One male (Gernab, 4th March), which agrees closely in coloration with the specimens from India, but is rather larger in size, measuring: culmen 0°45, wing 2°82, tail 2°6, tarsus 0°38. Parus BOKHARENSIS, Licht. One female (Tedschen, 20th March), which, though as pale in coloration as the palest of a series of specimens of this 88 Mr. H. E. Dresser on Birds race in my collection, has the wing rather shorter than in the above-mentioned specimen of P. cinereus, being other- wise about similar in size. The measurements are: culmen 0:45, wing 2°62, tail 2°7, tarsus 0°8. Parus PH#ONoTUS, Blanford. Two males (vicinity of Tiflis, December). The bird from the Caucasus has been treated as a species distinct from the Persian form, and was described by Bogdanoff under the name of Parus michalowskii ; but a comparison of these two specimens and a female (obtained by Michalowski in the Caucasus, and kindly lent to me by Mr. Seebohm) with the type of Parus pheonotus in the British Museum convinces me that the two forms cannot possibly be separated, as they are identical in coloration and do not differ in size. These two males measure: culmen 0:48 and 0°5, wing 2°68 and 2°7, tail 2°1 and 2°15, tarsus 0°75 and 0°78. Sirra syrraca, Ehrenb. One male (Puli-chatum, 5th July), a rather pale example of the large eastern form of the Rock Nuthatch. Moracinya personata, Gould. A male (Askabad, 17th February), agrees closely with fig. 3 in vol. x. Brit. Mus. Cat. of Birds, but has a few white markings on the throat. Moracitua citReoLA, Pall. A male in full plumage (Molla-kary, 11th April). Moracituia Fuava, Linn. A male (Artyk, 28th March), with the white eye-streak very closely defined. MoraciLua MELANOCEPHALA, Licht. A male (Askabad, Geok-tepi Steppe, 1st March). Moracitxa rat, Bp. A male (Krasnovodsk, 21st April), not differing from specimens from Western Europe. Lanivs Lautora, Sykes. A female (Beum-basch, lst May), which on comparison I Jrom the Transcaspian Region. 89 find to agree closely with specimens in the British Museum labelled Lanius assimilis, Brehm, but which I cannot separate specifically from L. lahtora. Lanius rapper. (Plate V.) Lanius raddei, Dresser, P. Z. S. 1888, p. 291. The single specimen of this very distinct little Shrike (Kulkulais, 24th August) was lately exhibited by me and described at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London ; but as I then only gave ashort diagnosis, it may be advisable to give the following description of this new species :— Supra canus; dorso pallide fusco cinereo lavato, uropygii lateribus albis ; fronte et superciliis albis ; linea anguste frontali et loris cum regione oculari et parotica nigris ; alis nigricantibus, tectricibus alarum cum secundaris fuscis cmereo marginatis, secundaris majoribus albo an- guste terminatis; speculo alari angustiore ; rectricibus centralibus nigris, duabus extimis albis, linea centrali nigra versus apicem magis extensa notatis, reliquis nigro notatis; mento, gutture et corpore subtus albis; hypo- chondriis pallido cervino lavatis. Long. tot. 6°75, culmin. 0-6, al. 3°55, cand. 3:2, tars. 0-9. This little Shrike may be described as a diminutive Grey Shrike, but it approaches nearest perhaps to Lanius vittatus, although it lacks the rich maroon on the back, and the © broad frontal band and the chestnut on the flanks. At the same time it shows a tendency to some of these points in having the back washed with brownish grey and the flanks with pale buff. Muscicapa Grisona, Linn. One male (Tee-Beum-basch, lst August), does not differ from west-European specimens. Muscicapa parva, Bechst. One male (Molla-kary, 15th April). CaRDUELIS CANICEPS, Vig. One female (Relete-Tchinar, 21st February), not showing any admixture of Carduelis elegans. CoccoTHRAUSTES CARNEIPES, Hodgs. One male (Askabad, 27th July), in somewhat worn plumage. 90 Mr. H. E. Dresser on Birds Passer Domesticts (Linn.). One adult male (Askabad, 29th May) of the brightly coloured eastern form (Passer indicus), not differing from specimens from India and Northern Africa. Passer HISPANIOLENSIS, Temm. One adult male (Askabad, 18th February) in winter plumage, closely resembling examples in my collection from Northern Africa and Asia Minor. PassER AMMODENDRI, Severtzoff. One adult male (Tedschen, 20th March). ERyYTHROSPIZA OBSOLETA (Licht.). One male (Kelete-Tchinar, 20th February) and one female (Perewallnaja, 10th April), in full plumage. Euspiza Lurroua (Sparrm.). One adult male (Hodscha-Kala, 9th May). Emperiza cra, Linn. One young male (Kopet-dagh, Askabad, 27th July), in first plumage. It is labelled “Emb. stracheyi?,’ but on comparison with specimens in the British Museum there is no doubt that it must be referred to HL. cia and not to EE. stracheyt. EMBERIZA HORTULANA, Linn. One male (Molla-kary, 15th April), not differing in any respect from typical European examples. Axaupa Gurtata, Brooks. One male and one female (Baghyr, 3ist March and 15th April), which agree closely with examples of Alauda guttata from the Indus valley. One of these is labelled “ Alauda triborhyncha?,” but is certainly not referable to that species, which is larger and more nearly allied to Alauda arvensis, whereas Alauda guitata is more nearly allied to dlauda gulgula, AMMOMANES DESERT! (Licht.). One female (Takyr Hill, 9th April), in the grey phase of plumage. from the Transcaspian Region. 91 GaLeErRita cristata (L.). One male (Oelstani, 19th June), of the form described by Hume as G. magna. Orocorys PENICILLATA (Gould). Two males (Lenkoran, 9th February and 7th December), both of which are undoubtedly referable to true O. penicillata. Ovrocorys BRANDTI, Dresser. One male (Krasnovodsk, 5th February). CypseLus AFFINIs, J. E. Gray. One female (Pulichatum, 5th July), which closely agrees with Indian specimens. Caprimuteus aeyprivs, Licht. One male (Karadja-Batyr, 2nd May), labelled Caprimu/gus arenicola, Severtzoff, which species is, however, not separable from C. egyptius, and the present example agrees closely with one from Egypt. Picus portzaMi, Bogd. Two females (Lenkoran, 21st January and 24th November). Picus LEUCOPTERUS, Salv. One female (Tedschen Steppe, 22nd March), agreeing with typical P. leucopterus and not referable to the form described by Severtzoff under the name of Picus leptorhynchus (ef. ‘Ibis,’ 1875, p. 489). Scors prucut (Hume). One female (Amu-darya, 10th March), labelled Scops obso- leta, Cab. I have compared it with the specimens in the Hume collection in the British Museum, with which it agrees in every respect, and as Hume described it in 1873 (‘Stray Feathers,’ i. p. 8), his name has priority over that of Cabanis, who described it in 1874 (Journ. fiir Orn. 1874, p. 126) from specimens in the Berlin Museum obtained by Eversmann in Bokhara and by Ehrenberg in Syria. ACCIPITER BADIuS (Gm.). One male in fully adult plumage (Astrabad, 24th April), which on comparison with examples of