da O5@" O° _— Loe acerts? 25. m~ erent eeu eeue oe sce coven’ nese ese —onneee : oor westng te nb eet Uh OSE BITS ; =a : perere ve: peeegenerre seh" certs | 4 ocoae o bg bar tos aguas : ee sei ee tnses A eataiee fessor teense cateecaese: = = 7 es qrrast ** poe eenere ~ bbL he hae eye Te pa ES Sa fe wine t we G 7! FET he a el o,rrerr. . Sis . ae aunt ~ { : me paaqyene sey f La ¢s “s sisters : . : ae : = - » ' on ogrr - “ene os : Fone ‘ - —gusrrdtee a Teerean Gears =a» -£ 6-0 < omeern ee 2¢ s . 2 -e Save ta sv we = > tet | . : Z gp raesee Pe ana 3 ° eee q-2 20 °.% een 3 Posy 1 . efaré ae * *: * ey! age! + ne a” ATE LE LAA Dee Py: Rc rein te eae " ft a am so Set Oh aa ern a May! sae wie, Ae Lb ‘ Poe iy Ae Va Se ih fa at Near ; , PT VA Towed , Hey y J eae rp alti Peiting cme aA fn eg oilel Hh) vy ‘ \ pie Lew x ’ X ‘ ‘ ] ~ t tl a f oer rH Vi i if ‘s ’ ; ; H f 5 \ i Veh ; mb j if if a) 1 \! , t ‘ A TI 1 $24 Sih, 3 ny BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB EDITED BY Dr. G. CARMICHAEL LOW. VOLUME LIi. SESSION 1981-19382. LON). DON : H. F.& G. WITHERBY, 326 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C. 2. 1932. ALERE =) FLAMMAM, PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. PREFACE, THE number of attendances at the meetings of the Club during the past Session was well maintained and beat all former records, 405 members, 29 members of the B. O. U., and 124 guests having been present, a total of 558. Major Stanley S. Flower, the Chairman, gave his annual address at the December Meeting, and divided it into two parts—a Review of the Events of the Year, anda paper on the Longevity of Birds. The year was also eventful in having a series of interesting communications on a variety of subjects. Rear-Admiral Lynes gave a short account of his 1930-31 tour with Mr. Jack Vincent across Central Africa; Mr. Herbert Stevens an account of a Journey to the Himalaya during the cold season 1930-31; Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker some Experiences in Lapland in 1931 and previous years, the lecture being illustrated by lantern- slides of the country and of various birds, nests, and eggs; Mr. T. H. Harrisson a visit to St. Kilda in 1931 ; Lt.-Commander R. R. Graham, R.N., a paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, on the part played by the Emarginated Feathers and the Alula in the Flight of Birds; Dr. G. Carmichael Low a lecture on the question of Sex Reversal, illustrated by microscopic preparations of abnormal sex organs; Dr. R. Cushman Murphy a lecture, illustrated by coloured slides, of the Ornithology of the Humboldt Current; and Lord William Percy a film demonstration on the use of the Powder-down Patches in the Bittern. New forms were described by Rear-Admiral Lynes, Mr. Hugh Whistler, Mr. W. L. Sclater, Lord Rothschild, Hon. M. Hachisuka, Mr. G. M. Mathews, Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, and Mr. D. A. Bannerman. Dr. P.R. Lowe exhibited a bird new to the British list, namely, an example of the Red-headed Bunting, shot in North Ronaldshay, Orkney Islands, by Lt.-Col. Todd. a2 IV The Annual Dinner, held in conjunction with the British Ornithologists’ Union, was, as usual,a great success. Mr. C.T. Dalgety showed a film of a trip to Spitsbergen, the Hon. Guy Charteris a series of slides from Hungary, and Mr. Anthony Buxton slides and a cinematograph film of birds round Geneva. The Club entertained as distinguished guests, during the course of the Session, Dr. and Mrs. R. Cushman Murphy (New York), Dr. Charles W. Townsend (U.S.A.), and Mr. E. F. Stead (New Zealand). G. CARMICHAEL LOW, Hditor. London, July 1932. BRITISH ORNITHOLOQOGISTS’ CLUB. (FounpED OctToBER 5, 1892.) A ae TITLE AND OBJECTS. The objects of the Club, which shall be called the “ British Ornithologists’ Club,” are the promotion of social intercourse between Members of the British Ornithologists’ Union and to facilitate the publication of scientific infor- mation connected with ornithology. RULES. (As amended, October 8, 1930.) MANAGEMENT. I. The affairs of the Club shall be managed by a Committee, to consist of a Chairman, who shall be elected for three years, at the end of which period he shall not be eligible for re-election for the next term; a Vice-Chairman, who shall serve for one year, and who shall not be eligible for the next year; an Editor of the ‘ Bulletin,’ who shall be elected for five years, at the end of which period he shall not be eligible for re-election for the next term; a Secretary and Treasurer, who shall be elected for a term of one year, but shall be eligible for re- election. There shall be in addition four other Members, the senior of whom shall retire each year, and another Member be elected in his place; every third year the two senior Members shall retire and two other Members be elected in their place. Officers and Members of the Committee shall be elected by the Members of the Club at a General Meeting, and the names of such Officers and Members of Committee nominated by the Committee for the ensuing year, shall be circulated with the notice convening the General Meeting, at least two weeks before the Meeting. Should any Member wish to propose another candidate, the nomination of such, signed by at least two Members, must reach the Secretary at least one clear week before the Annual General Meeting. VI II. Any Member desiring to make a complaint of the manner in which the affairs of the Club are conducted, must communicate in writing with the Chairman, who will, if he deem fit, calla Committee Meeting to deal with the » matter. III. If the couduct of any Member shall be deemed by the Committee to be prejudicial to the interests of the Club, he may be requested by the Committee to withdraw from the Club. In the case of refusal, his name may be removed from the list of Members at a General Meeting, provided that, in the notice calling the Meeting, intimation of the proposed resolution to remove his name shall have been given, and that a majority of the Members voting at such Meeting record their votes for his removal. A Member whose name has been removed shall forfeit all privileges of Membership and shall have no claim on the Club from the date of his removal. SUBSCRIPTIONS. IV. Any Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union may become a Member of the Club on payment to the Treasurer of an entrance-fee of one pound and a subscription of one guinea for the current Session. On Membership of the Union ceasing, Membership of the Club also ceases. Any Member who has not paid his subscription before the last Meeting of the Session, shall cease, ipso facto, to be a Member of the Club, but may be reinstated on payment of arrears. Any Member who has resigned less than five years ago may be reinstated without payment of another Entrance Fee. Any Member who resigns his Membership on going abroad may be readmitted without payment of a further Entrance Fee at the Committee’s discretion. MEETINGS. V. The Club will meet, as a rule, on the second Wednes- day in every month, from October to June inclusive, at such hour and place as may be arranged by the Committee, but should such Wednesday happen to be Ash Wednesday, the Meeting will take place on the Wednesday followmg. At these Meetings papers upon ornithological subjects will be read, specimens exhibited and described, and discussion invited. VII VI. A General Meeting of the Club_ shall be held on the day of the October Meeting of each Session and the Treasurer shall present thereat the Balance-sheet and Report ; and the election of Officers and Committee, in so far as their election is required, shall be held at such Meeting. VII. A Special General Meeting may be called at the instance of the Committee, for any purpose which they deem to be of sufficient importance, or at the instance of not fewer than fifteen Members. Notice of not less than two weeks shall be given of every General and Special General Meeting. INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS. VIII. Members may introduce visitors at any ordinary Meeting of the Club, but the same guest shall not be eligible to attend on more than three occasions during the Session. No former Member, who has been removed for non-payment of subscription, or for any other cause, shall be allowed to attend as a guest. ‘ BULLETIN’ OF THE CuUuB. IX. An Abstract of the Proceedings of the Club shall be printed as soon as possible after each Meeting, under the title of the ‘ Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club ’ and shall be distributed gratis to every Member who has paid his subscription. Contributors are entitled to six free copies of the ‘Bulletin,’ but if they desire to exercise this privilege, they must give notice to the Editor when their manuscript is handed in. Members purchasing extra copies of the ‘Bulletin’ are entitled to a rebate of 25 per cent. on the published price, but not more than two copies can be sold to any Member unless ordered before printing. Descriptions of new species may be published in the ‘Bulletin,’ although such were not communicated at the Meeting of the Club. This shall be done at the discretion of the Editor and so long as the publication of the ‘ Bulletin’ is not unduly delayed thereby. Any person speaking at a Meeting of the Club shall be allowed subsequently—subject to the discretion of the Editor—to amplify his remarks in the ‘Bulletin,’ but no fresh matter shall be incorporated with such remarks. VIII X. No communication, the whole or any important part of which has already been published elsewhere, shall be eligible for publication in the ‘ Bulletin,’ except at the discretion of the Editor; and no communication made to the Club may be subsequently published elsewhere without the written sanction of the Editor. ALTERATION AND Repzrau or RULES. XI. Any suggested alteration or repeal of a standing rule shall be submitted to Members to be voted upon at a General Meeting convened for that purpose. | COMMITTEE, 1931-1932. Major S. 8S. Frowrer, Chairman. Elected 1930. W. iL. Scrater, Vice-Chairman. Elected 1931. Dr. G. Carmicuart Low, Editor. Elected 1930. C. W. Macxworrn-Prarp, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. Elected 1929. F. J. F. Barrineron. Elected 1929. Dr. P. H. Manson-Baur. Elected 19380. Dr. A. Lanpssporoucu THomson. Elected 1930. Rev. J. R. Hare. Elected 1931. Officers of the British Ornithologists’ Club, Past and Present. Chairmen, P. L. Sctater, F.R.S. Lord RoruscHiLp, F.R.S. W. L. ScratEr. H. F. WITHERBY. Dr. P. R. Lowe. Major 8. 8. FLOWER. Vice-Chairmen. Lord RoruscHi_p, F.R.S. W. L. ScLaTER. Editors. R. Bowp LER SHARPE. W. R. Oainvie-GRANT. D. A. BANNERMAN. D. Seru-SMIrTH. Dr. P. R. Lowe. N. B. Kinnear. Dr. G. CarmMicHarEL Low. 1892-1913. 1913-1918. 1918-1924. 1924-1927. 1927-1980. 1930- 1930-1931. 1931-1932. 1892-1904. 1904-1914. 1914-1915. 1915-1920. 1920-1925. 1925-1930. 1930- Honorary Secretaries and Treasurers. Howarpb SAUNDERS. W. E. pE WInToN. H. F. WirHeresy. Det P: KR. Lown. C. G. TaLBot-Ponsonsy. D. A. BANNERMAN. Dr. Putrip Gosse. J. L. Bonnore. C. W. Mackworru-PRAEpD. Dr. G. CARMICHAEL Low. C. W. MackworrtH-PRAED. 1892-1899. 1899-1904. 1904-1914. 1914-1915. 1915-1918. 1918-1919. 1919-1920. 1920-1922. 1922-19238. 1928-1929. 1929- btn ; se ay P A 4 ‘ aa ieee, « te : 7 te io Spohrer i yack, . of 3 4 Sd bo Ae ie oe ‘ 7 4 4 Pie. > nA Pan i eS. ake Se pita. eae oa le anata = i er SY tal lea re “i : fc) Gene TEE ee, Yee a $7. ee Fi Ae) are on men ate) fat. ena: &: ee 5 a a ees hit ad, niticnete: #o zip \ Wed in a ' a Wel ae hi ate Ry< Z ae ———s oe me ee vy i ; Hh basal i Weds nt as A My a a . »! = e% * A ’ AR Wis A ALA ee TA ] - eS j ¥ wa ut ' L Lv iy | ook Aer | ore ‘ es ' ' e : ; Heliee ol eee y Fi , _ : ! \ ‘ sf At ae ~ av) 2 ' P YY Fad 8 : en ee Evy f * = } ’ A? yi Bi ] Ph j » ti ’ \ “ aes ’ “A arabed i f ae | ’ . « J ‘ » Chr hs » é i on 1s) 20 25 LIST OF MEMBERS. JUNE 1932. eee eee Actanp, Miss C. M.; Walwood, Banstead, Surrey. Apams, Ernusr E.; Lloyd’s, Royal Exchange, E.C. 3. Aexanper, H. G.; 144 Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak, Birmingham. AtEexanpER, W. B.; Dept. of Zoology, University Museum, Oxford. ApLiIn, Ottver Vernon; Stonehill House, Bloxham, Banbury, Oxon. AyiueEr, Commdr. E. A., R.N.; H.M.S. ‘ Marazion,’ China Station. Barty, W. Sport; Boyers House, Westbury, Wilts. Hakee, H.C. Stuart, C.1.E., O.B.E.,. F.Z.S., F.L.S., H.F.A.O.U. ; 6 Harold Road, Upper Norwood, 8.E. 19. Bannerman, Davin A., M.B.E., B.A., F.R.S.E.; British Museum (Natural History), 8.W.7, and 7 Pembroke Gardens, Ken- sington, W. 8. Barrineton, Freprricx J. F., M.S., F.R.C.8. (Committee) ; Uni- versity College Hospital Medical School, Gower Street, W.C. 1. Bates, G. L.; Blasford Hill, Little Waltham, Chelmsford. Brst, Miss M. G. 8.; Broadwater, Amport, Andover, Hants. Braavw, F. E., C.M.Z.S. ; Gooilust, s’;Graveland, Hilversum, Noord- Holland. BrezarD, Miss Ruth; Stock, Tring, Herts. Boorman, 8.; Heath Farm, Send, Woking, Surrey. Bootn, H. B.; “ Ryhill,” Ben Rhydding, Yorks. Boyp, A. W.; Frandley House, near Northwich. BrapForp, A. D.; Garsten House, near Watford. Braprorp, Sir J. Rosz, K.C.M.G., M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.; 8 Man- chester Square, W. 1. Brown, Grorer; Coombe Manor, Hungerford, Berks. Browne, Parricx, R.E.; Firwood, Trumpington Road, Cambridge. Bonyarp, P. F., F.Z.S.; 57 Kidderminster Road, Croydon. Burier, ArtHur L.; St. Leonard’s Park, Horsham, Sussex. Buxton, Antuony; Horsey Hall, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk. Cuapman, F. M.; American Museum of Natural History, New York, U.S.A. Cuarteris, Hon. G. L.; 24 Oxford Square, W.1. 35 40 45 5° XII Cuasen, Fruperick N.; Raffles Museum, Singapore. Cuersman, Major R. E., O.B.E.; E. India United Service Club, 16 St. James’s Square, S.W. 1. Crarke, Brig.-General Gotanp van Hott, C.M.G., D.S.0. F.Z.S. Wiston Park, Steyning, Sussex. Cuarke, Joun P. Srneunnson; Broadhurst Manor, Horsted Keynes, Sussex. | CiarKkeE, Col. SrepHenson Rozert, C.B., F.Z.8.; Borde Hill, Cuck- field, Sussex. | CueavE, Henry P. O.; Mansfield House, Kendrick Road, Reading. Cocurann, Captain Henry L., R.N. (Retd.); The Chase, Whaddon, Bletchley, Bucks. Cottier, Cuartes, F.Z.S.; Bridge House, Culmstock, Devon. Cox, Major-Gen. Sir Percy Z., G.C.I.E., G.C.M.G., K.C.S.L.; 25 Kensington Palace Mansions, Kensington, W.8. Cunninenam, Jostas; Fernhill, Belfast. Curtis, Freprerics, F.R.C.S.; Alton House, Redhill, Surrey. Deane, Rosperr H.; Seaford Head Golf Club, Seaford, Sussex. Dexacour, M. Jean; Chateau de Cleres (Seine-Inf.), France. Detm&-Rapeuirre, Lieut.-Col. A., D.S.0.; Cypress Lodge, Bridge Street, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Detui-Raveurrr, Lieut.-Col. H., F.Z.S., F.R.G.8S.; ¢/o Lloyds Bank (Cox & Co.’s Branch), F. Dept., 6 Pall Mall, $.W. 1. Dewuurst, Captain F. W., Royal Marine L.I.; Elmwood, North End, Hampstead, N.W. 3. Dosis, Witt1am Henry, M.R.C.S.; 2 Hunter Street, Chester. Duncan, AntHuR Bryce; Gilchristiands, Closeburn, Dumfriesshire. Duncan, Watter Bryce; Newlands, Dumfries. Exits, H. Wittoveasy, F.Z.S., F.E.S.; Speldhurst Close, Seven- oaks, Kent. ; Eis, Raten, Jr.; 2429 Ridge Road, Berkeley, California. Evans, Artour Humpie, M.A., D.Se., F.Z.S.; Cheviot House, Crowthorne, Berks. Ezra, A., O.B.E., F.Z.S.; Foxwarren Park, Cobham, Surrey. Ferrier, Miss Juptra M.: Hemsby Hall, Hemsby, Norfolk. Fryiryson, Horace W., F.Z.8.; 50 St. Michaels Road, Bedford. Fisner, Kennern ; School House, Oundle, Northamptonshire. Fremine, James M.; Drumwalt, Long Road, Cambridge. Ftower, Major 8. 8. (Chairman); Spencersgreen End, Tring, Herts. KF) 60 65 7° 75 80 XIII Fourxes-Roserts, Captain P. R.; Kwale, Warri Province, Nigeria, West Africa, and Westwood, Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Guiree, W. E.; The House, Albion Brewery, Whitechapel Rd., E. 1. Gientster, A. G.; The Barn House, East Blatchington, Seaford. Goopatt, J. M.; The Nest, Bembridge, Isle of Wight. Graunam, Lieut.-Commdr. Rk. R., R.N.; H.M.S. ‘Ganges,’ Harwich. Grant, Major C. H. B., F.Z.S.; Ujiji, Kigoma, Tanganyika Territory, E. Africa, vid Dar-es-Salaam. Grirriva, ArrHUR F.; 3 Evelyn Terrace, Brighton. Gurney, G. H., F.Z.S8.; Keswick Hall, Norwich, Norfolk. GyipEnsrotpr, Count Nits; Royal (Natural History) Museum, Stockholm, Sweden. Hacuisuxa, The Hon. Masavs1; Japanese Embassy, 37 Portman Square, London, W. 1. Hare THomas, Mrs. Rose; 71 Strand on the Green, W. 4. Haren, Georeze Henry Caton, F.Z.8.; Grainsby Hall, Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Harn, Rev. James R., M.A. (Committee); Boxley Vicarage, Maid- stone, Kent. Hamerron, Colonel A. E.; 1 Park Village West, Regent’s Park, NOW. 1. Harrison, Bernarp Guy; 45 St. Martin’s Lane, W.C. 2. Harrison, Dr. James M., D.S.C.; Bowerwood House, St. Botolph’s _ Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. Harrtsson, THomas H.; The Chase, Weeke, Winchester. Harrert, Ernst, Ph.D., F.Z.8.; 606 Albrechtstrasse, Berlin, Siidende. Huarta, R. E.; 54 Brompton Square, 8.W. 3. Hert, Grorrrey Srocomsr, M.B., F.R.C.S., F.Z.S.; 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1. Hopextn, Mrs. T. Epwarp; Old Ridley, Stocksfield, Northumberland. Horr, R. F.; Herons Ghyll, Uckfield, Sussex. Horxinson, Emiztus, C.M.G., D.S.0., M.B., F.Z.S8.; Wynstay, Balcombe, Sussex. Horpern, Miss Dornen ; Babworth House, Darling Point, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia. Hutson, Major H. P. W., R.E.; 67 Cottenham Park Road, Wimbledon, S.W. 20. Inaxis, C. McFarnane; Natural History Museum, Darjiling, India. INGRAM, Capt. Cottinawoop; The Grange, Benenden, Cranbrook, Kent. go 95 Ioo 105 XIV JaBOUILLE, PreRRE; Gouvernement de la Cochin-Chine, Saigon, Indo-China. Janson, CuarLtes W.; 16 Wilton Crescent, S.W. 1. Jorpan, Dr. Karz; Zoological Museum, Tring, Herts. Jourpatn, Rev. F. C. R., M.A., H.F.A.O.U., H.M.S.O. de France ; Whitekirk, 4 Belle Vue Road, Southbourne, Hants. Kinngar, Norman B.; British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, S.W. 7. Koss, C. Bopen; Royal Societies Club, St. James’s Street, Spy. ak Kvuropa, Dr. Nagamicut; Fukuyoshi Cho, Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan. La Tovcug, J. D.; Kiltymon, Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Larptaw, Tuomas Gepprs; Halmyre, West Linton, Peeblesshire. Lracu, Miss E. P.; 17 Hereford Square, S.W. 7. Lewis, Joun Sprpan, F.Z.S.; North Hall, Mortimer Crescent, Greville Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W. 6. _ Lioyp, Berrram ; 53 Parkhill Road, Hampstead, N.W. 3. Low, Grorer CarmicuarL, M.A., M.D., C.M., F.R.C.P., F.Z.8. (Editor of the‘ Bulletin’); 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W.1. Lowg, P. R., O.B.E., B.A., M.B., B.C., F.Z.8. (Chairman, 1927- 1930); British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, We: . Lucas, Naraanist S., M.B., F.Z.S.; 19 Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, Wi. 2. Lynes, Rear-Admiral Huserr, R.N., C.B., C.M.G.; 23 Onslow Gardens, S.W. 7. Mackenzig, Joun M. D., B.A., C.M.Z.S.; Sidlaw Fur Farm, Tullachard, Balbeggie, Perthshire. | McKuirrricx, T. H., Jr.; 80 Lombard Street, E.C. 3. Macxwortu-Prazp, C. W., F.Z.S. (Hon. Sec. & Treasurer) ; 51 Onslow Gardens, S.W. 7. Macmiuuan, Captain W. E. F.; 42 Onslow Square, 8.W. 7. MoNetrte, J. H.; Guards’ Club, Brook Street, W.1. Maerata, Lieut.-Colonel H. A. F.; 43 Grosvenor Road, West- minster, S.W. 1. Mawson-Banr, P. H., D.S:0., M.A., M.D., F.R.C,P.. FZ. (Committee) ; 149 Harley Street, W. 1. Matuews, G. M., F.L.S., F.Z.8.; Meadway, St. Cross, Winchester, Hants. 115 I20 125 130 XV May, W. Norman, M.D.; The White House, Sonning, Berks. Mayravup, Nort; 1 Rue de Bordeaux, Saumur, France. Meapre-Watpo, E. G. B., F.Z.8.; Stonewall Park, Edenbridge, Kent. Meixieyoun, Arnotp H.; 15 Ox Lane, Harpenden, Herts. MeinertzHacen, Colonel R., D.S.O., F.Z.S.; 17 Kensington Park Gardens, W. 8. Micnotts, Mrs. Dorotuy; Silver Birches, Wentworth, Virginia Water. Momiyama, Toxu Taro; 1146 Sasazka, Yoyohata-mati, Tokyo, Japan. Munn, P. W.; Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, Balearic Isles, Spain. Morton, Mrs. C. D.; Cranbrook Lodge, Cranbrook, Kent. Mustrrs, James Lawrence CuawortH; Royal Societies Club, St. James’s Street, S.W. 1. Naumpure, Mrs. W. W.; 121 East 64th Street, New York. Newman, 1. H., F.Z.S8.; Verulam, 46 Forty Avenue, Wembley Park, Middlesex. OxpHAm, Cuas., F.Z.8.; The Bollin, Shrublands Road, Berk- hamsted, Herts. Osmaston, Bertram Beresrorp; 116 Banbury Road, Oxford. Parkin, Tuomas, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.8.; Fairseat, High Wickham, Hastings. Pavtson, C. W. G.; 10 King’s Bench Walk, Temple, E.C. 4. Prnrosz, Francis G., M.D., F.Z.8.; Rathkeale, 51 Surrey Road, Bournemouth. PrrsHovse, Major 8.; c/o Lloyds Bank (Cox & King’s Branch), 6 Pall Mall, S.W. 1. Pirman, Capt. C. R. S., D.S8.0., M.C., c/o The Post Master, Livingstone, N. Rhodesia; and c/o C. E. Pitman, C.L.E., Greystoke, Dawlish, Devon. Prayer, W. J. P.; Wernfadog, Clydach R.8.O., Glamorganshire. PorHam, Hueu Leyporne, M.A.; Houndstreet House, Pensford, Somerset. Rarciirr, F. R.; 29 Connaught Square, W. 2. Riexert, C. B., F.Z.S.; 27 Kendriek Road, Reading, Berks. Rivers, B. B., F.R.C.S.; The Old Hall, Woodbastwick, Norfolk. Roruscaitp, Lionpi Waxirer—Lord, D.Sc., F.R.S., Ph.D., F.Z.S. (Chairman, 1913-1918); Tring Park, Herts. ScHAUENSEE, R, M. pp; Devon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. ScirateR, Wiitiam Luriry, M.A., F.Z.S. (Vice-Chairman) (Chair- man, 1918-1924) ; 10 Sloane Court, 8.W. 1. Sconsz, The Rt. Hon. Muneo Davin—Lord; Scone Palace, Perth. 135 140 T45 150 155 XVI Sera-Smiru, Davin, F.Z.8.; Curator’s House, Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, N.W. 8. Snipton, Wu., B.A., M.D.; 2 The Square, Buxton. Snionps, Major Maurice H., Fines Baylewick, Binfield, Berks. Stapen, Major A. G. L., M.C.; Kingswood House, The Lee, Great Missenden, Bucks. SMALLEY, Freperick W., F.Z.8., Uppleby House, Parkstone, Dorset. SNOUCKAERT VAN ScuauBure, Baron Rene Cuartes; Hotel les Terrasses, Territet, Switzerland. Sparrow, Ool. R., C.M.G., D.S.0., F.Z.S., F.R.G.S.; The Lodge, Colne Engaine, Earls Colne, Essex. Srargs, J. W. C.; Portchester, Hants. Stevens, Herserr; Clovelly, Beaconsfield Road, Tring, Herts. StoneHaM, Lt.-Col. H. F., O.B.E., F.E.S.; Kitale Estates, Kenya Colony, British East Africa. Stuart-Menreru, W.G.; Bransfield, Godstone, Surrey. Styan, F. W., F.Z.S.; Stone Street, near Sevenoaks. Swynnerton, C. F. Massy; Poste Restante, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika Territory, Kast Africa. Taxa-Tsuxasa, Prince Nosusuxr; 1732 Kamimeguro, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan. TatBor-Ponsonsy, C. G.; 5 Crown Office Row, Temple, E.C. 4. Tavistock, Hasrrves Wittiam Sackxvitte, Marquis of, F.Z.8.; Warblington House, Havant. Tnomson, A. Lanpsporover, O.B.E., D.Sc. (Committee) ; 9 Addison Gardens, W. 14. Tuorpr, W. H., M.A., Ph.D.; Jesus College, Cambridge, TicrHurst, Craup B., M.A., M.D.; Saxon House, Appledore, Kent. Trcrnvrst, N. F., O.B.E., M.A., M.B., F.R.C.S., F.Z.8.; 24 Peven- sey Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea. Tucker, B. W., B.A., F.Z.S. (Committee); 9 Marston Ferry Road, Oxford. Turner, Miss E. L., F.Z.S.; The Half Way Cottage, 13 Storey’ Way, Cambridge. TurtLe, Lancetot J.; Rosemount, Knock, Belfast. Tyrwuitt-Drake, Hues G., F.Z.8.; Cobtree Manor, Sandling, Maidstone. Urnaunart, Capt. Anastair, D.S.0., Latimer Cottage, Latimer, Chesham, Bucks. xVIIL Van Someren, Dr. V. G. L.; East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society, Coryndon Memorial Museum, Nairobi, Kenya - Colony, East Africa. 160 VreRnsy, A.8.; 51 Berkeley Square, W. 1. Warr, Herperr Witi1am; c/o Messrs. Grindlay & Co., Ltd., Bombay. Watus, H. M.; 110 Kendrick Road, Reading. Ware, R.; Leafwood, Frant, Tunbridge Wells. Wuistter, Houen, F.Z.8., F.L.S.; Caldbec House, Battle, Sussex. 165 Wuuiraxsr, Josep I. 8., F.Z.S.; Malfitano, Paiermo, Sicily. Wauirt, S. J., F.Z.8.; 17 Philpot Lane, E.C.3 Wuittey, H.; Primley, Paignton, 8. Devon. Wituiams, Victron Owen; 6 Crown Office Row, Temple, E.C. 4. Wixtiamson, Sir W. J. F., C.M.G., F.Z.8.; c/o Lloyds Bank, 6 Pall Mall, S.W. 1. 170 Wine, J.Srapen ; 21 Cheyne Gardens, Chelsea Embankment, 8S. W.3. Wisuart, EK. E.; Marsh Farm, Binsted, Arundel, Sussex. Wriruersy, Harry F., M.B.E., F.Z.S. (Chairman, 1924-1927) ; 326 High Holborn, W.C. 1. Wiruerineton, G.; Sumner Plat, Hayward’s Heath. Woop, Dr. Cassy A., M.D.; c/o The Library of Ornithology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. 175 Woop, C. R.; c/o Messrs. Martins, Ltd. (marked ‘“ Personal”), 54 Sussex Place, South Kensington, 8.W. 7. Workman, Wittim Hvueuss, F.Z.8.; Lismore, Windsor Avenue, Belfast. Worms, Cuarius pE; Milton Park, Egham, Surrey. Total number of Members .... 177 NOTICE. _ [Members are specially requested to keep the Hon. Secretary informed of any changes in their addresses, and those residing abroad should give early notification of coming home on leave. | VOL. Eile b LIST OF AUTHORS AND OTHER PERSONS REFERRED. TO. ACCOUNTS, STATEMENT OF st che we, BO) Bb Ble sy ere 2 6 5e Mee 6 8) SNe erst aia eee AcLaND, Miss C. M. Exhibited slides, with remarks, illustrating Puffin-catching Ama the HarGes.c.. .agecs ers cles Wins ai alana og Siam semen ger ANNUAL DINNER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION (in conjunction with the Club) ereeveeeeeve ee eee wee ee eo 6 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Batty, W. SHORE. Exhibition of, and remarks on, a clutch of eges of the Harris-Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) Ce BakER, E. C. Stuart. Lecture on his experiences of a visit to Lapland in 1931 and previous years, illustrated with lantern-slides BaNNERMAN, D. A. Exhibition of migratory birds obtained by Mr. Hugh Cott off the northern coast of Lanzarote, Eastern Canaries Description of a new race of the Brown-rumped Bunting from Gambia, Emberiza affinis gambiensis eee ee eee et 2 e © wo Descriptions of a new race of the Plain Nightjar (Capri- mulgus wimornatus vinacea-brunneus) from French Niger Territory, and a new race of the Long-tailed Nightjar (Scotornis climacurus leoninus) from Sierra Leone BarRINGTON, F. J. F. See Low, Dr. G. CARMICHAEL eee eve 107 30-31 147-148 126-128 XIX Page BuNyYARD, P. F. Remarks in reply to the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain’s criticisms upon his measurements of the eggs of the Greenland and Patan HOw BUNTING . os dala de owe Ado MESA Us 27 Exhibition of, and remarks on,a copy of ‘ Eggs of Finnish Birds,’ drawn and coloured by G. Sundman .............. 63-64 Exhibition of, and remarks on, a clutch of eggs of the nramnen Ceringeiia celebs celebs)... 7s) Seen dee cs cae « 83-84 Read a paper on the “ Breeding Status of the Garganey in Essex,” and exhibited six plaques of mounted nest-feathers PMN OG A big cicuide hoe sclaiee Wobend vo so acta su) 4 Wd ORLA oN ROE Oh 97-102 Read a paper entitled “On the breeding of the Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solhitaria) in Labrador” ...........4.. 117-122 Burt er, A. L. Exhibition of, and remarks on, a hybrid Humming-bird (Damophila amabilis x Amazilia tzacatl) ; also a female of the genus T2mola, of which genus the females were unknown. 129-131 Butur iy, S. A. Communication on Dr. C. B. Ticehurst’s proposed name (antea, p. 24) for the Asiatic Golden Hagle .............. 149-150 Buxton, A. Exhibition of a series of slides and a cinematograph film Sapa aundatr neva) 2). Mo eit i09.% WIL. IS ED. HOSS 109-110 Eee ebe WAN 6 ANNUAL, ADDRESS: 4. oi. snipe e ts oc ene gs msi ove 44-52 CuarTERIs, The Hon. Guy. Exhibition of a series of slides from Hungary .......... 109 Pperemmt tHE HOR VOGT NOOO ie sc nce ci eve + vs agson vane eunldcnlorgeeness 2 DauceEty, C. T. Exhibition of a film of a trip to Spitsbergen ............ 109 Semen, GP), SeesBuTURUIN, 8: Ae. oc... 149-150 SO 3 FLowrER, Major STANLEY 8. On the Longevity of Birds. (Part of Annual Address.).. 45-51 List of Literature referred to at his Annual Address. .... §1-59 XX Page GRAHAM, Lieut.-Commander R. R. Read a paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, on “ The part played by the Emarginated Feathers and the Alula in the MT Ot BAe ois. j,i ca cenaete te otto suede EER Le 68-79 Communicated a letter on birds observed at sea.......... 148-149 Hacutsuxka, The Hon. M. Note on the Egyptian Goose (A lopochen egyptiacus) nesting pn Mt. Karisimbi. 22,.\. .. cee oeee ean en ie OG 18-19 Exhibition of, and remarks on, a series of eggs of the Japanese Quail (Cotunnim coturnte japonics), .. osnnus oes cenes HOee 37-88 Forwarded the description of a new subspecies of Bittern (Botaurius porcilopiiius mathewsr) i... a es 4] Forwarded the description of a new subspecies, Caprimulgus affinis kasuidort, from Sayu Island ...... aie LEE ee RIE 81 Exhibition of, and remarks on, Chetwra celebensis........ 102 Descriptions of two new birds from Borneo and the Philippine Islands :—Lhinomytas ruficauda isola and R. r. basilanica .. 110 Hatz, Rev. J, R. Elected.a Member of the Committee ...4....0...00065 on 2 Harrison, Dr. J. M. Remarks on Dr. Lowe’s exhibit of Phasianus torquatus SEP ESC I CULCHBUS aati oi, 2 res os) 0-0 a EMRIs peahedewhie’ 3 Se eae asl Sees 61-62 Exhibition of, and remarks on, perversion of plumage in COS ANES 20): b ayes be pe Ws aseege etebels eke alte Vecs ekces aes see 94-95 Correction to his previous note (antea, p. 61) on Phasranus BOP GUMLUS: SOUSCREUETISTS . <.°.... run td eee. cine ogee ceo a ake Oe 106 Harrisson, T. H. Account of.a visit to St: Kildaan 1931 4 ee 32-36 Announcement concerning a new ‘Journal of Animal 1 S052 PSE Sy Op oe Rak MR Se Le a 84 InprEx, GENERAL. (Comprising volumes xl].-li.) .......... 183 & 151 JourDAIN, Rev. F. C. R. A short statement made with regard to the next Inter- national Ornuthological"Compress*,.".0) s.a cs es cc ee ccs ke 65 XXI Page JOURDAIN, Rev. F. C. R. (cont.). A note on Haheétus albicilla being recorded from the . Ne NE re ooh os wand no Wet oe eae EE nie eo 122 Remarks on Mr. P. F. Bunyard’s article on the breeding ep une, Gareaney in Mssex (antea, p..99)i4.. concen ocme nsec: 123 A note on the measurements of eggs ....... +e. e ences: 128-129 ee ee Low, Dr: G, CARMICHAEL. |. wo. .c« dle dete? Wahl os 126-128 La Toucus, J. D. Letter on the Chairman’s address on the Longevity of Birds. 64-65 LITERATURE, List oF (referred to at Annual Address) ...... d1-52 Low, Dr. G. CarmicHAEL. Lecture on the subject of abnormal Pheasants, illustrated with diagrams and microscopic specimens of normal and MpnOrinah Ovaries and testes sic dir stjurie as We ols clade clare aoe 88-94 A note on lead-poisoning in Wild Ducks in the United States of America. Followed withremarks by Dr. R. Cushman Murphy, Mr. E. F. Stead, Mr. F. J. F. Barrington, and the ieee ole, oOURA tI eS. UPA) MOT ee UN 8, 126-128 Lowe, Dr. Percy R. Exhibition of, and remarks on, the Red-headed Bunting (Emberiza icterica) shot in the Orkney Islands ............ 20-21 Exhibition of, and remarks on, a hen Grouse (Lagopus ee Sry eee oe EN aT ee Oe ee ee 20-21 Exhibition of, and remarks on, a cross between the genera Lyrurus and Phasianus (Black Game and Pheasant) ...... 58-60 Exhibition of, and remarks on, a specimen of Phasianus DF ST ESCHICUENSISS 8 see oath es thyo oe wt, aee 0 k's 60-61 Exhibition of, and remarks on, a hybrid between the genera RM AON GOL OS orcas S0. 1,9 <0 4)o sys io ees dono oa sige co fe 103 Description of, and remarks on, a new race of the Cape Bunting (fringillaria capensis vincenti) from Zobpué, Portu- PUNCH, Peralta ais aisle vis oes, d diejea cs Gate owen ees 144-146 Lynes, Rear-Admiral. Account of his 1980-31 tour with Mr. J. Vincent across Central Africa, with descriptions of new Cisticola :—Cisticola dambo, Cisticola teatrix bulubulu, Cisticola ayresii gabun, Cisticola eximia winneba, and Cisticola lais namba.......... 4-13 XXIT Page MackwortH-Prarp, C. W. Re-election of, as Hon. Secretary and Treasurer ........ 2 Manson-Baur, Dr. P. H. (On behalf of Professor J.W.W.Stephens.) Exhibition of, and remarks on, a series of skulls of the Manx Shearwater (Baginus-p. oufins) os > » oc Ries aes de eeler tadeNee Hse er 33 22 MaruHews, Gregory M. Forwarded the description of a new subspecies, Quoyornis leucurus mimika; a note that Pecilodryas cinerea should be called Quoyornts leucurus cinereus ; also names of new genera: Coleva should be Colena and Matthewsiella, Pherocraspedon. . 25 Description of a new subspecies, Pterodroma externa tristant. 63 Description of a new subspecies, Pregettornis grallarva CN USUREI EMIS Wegeectatane le ia sels i Seeing Pees eee ee: 123 Description of a new genus and species of Storm-Petrel CPCRLCOLN TS MUBOTIONG): orn cats 3 stores ae clan cas eee eteta avs 132 Descriptions of a new subspecies of Storm-Petrel (Fregetta leucogaster deceptis) from New Zealand, and two new sub- species of Prions (Pseudoprion turtur steadi) from Stewart Island and (Heteroprion desolatus crozett) from South Georgia. 146-147 PEEMBHRS. TTS T AOR pu. $20. ey acta + ops “dele eye ay. fegmeeaeean ts x1 Murpuy, Dr. R. Cusaman (of the American Museum of Natural History, New York). Remarks on the Ornithology ot the Humboldt Current, showing about fifty coloured lantern-slides from photographs made by him during his visits to the coast and islands of Peru im’ 1919=20hamd Oe PO) Pee. teks cater oe nee 114-117 ——. Seetiow; Min iG.n@ammerenaRny 6.50.00. We elses 126-128 OFFICERS OF THE CLUB, PAST AND PRESENT’.............. ix OLDHAM, CHARLES. Various exhibits from St. Kilda, including amber-red oil obtamed from the ullmar’) co scmmemete tee cs ie ee fries see os 39-40 Percy, Lord WiLiiaM. A lecture on the use of the Powder-down Patches in the Bittern, illustrated by lantern-slides anda film .......... 136-138 RotTuscuHILD, Lord. Sent for comparision with Dr. Lowe’s exhibit three examples of the Grouse (Layopus scoticus) ; also a male hybrid, Lagopus scoticus X Lyrurus tetrt® wi ceevevsceccees Al XXITI Rotruscui.D, Lord (cont.). Description of a new subspecies, Cypseloides fumigatus ee oc flares 5 hee Lee eNO e «6 Ax Exhibition and descriptions of two hitherto undescribed egos Pseudorectes furrugineus brevipennis and Paradisea rubra. Exhibition of, and remarks on, a series of Pheasants bred pmoekillod: in Mngland’y..4,.5 (0.02.5 Ye ann ee ee Description of a new subspecies, Sylvia undata maroccana. Remarks on three Cassowaries (Cassuarius jamrachi, Bedoggetty, amd "C. hadenbecks) . bo le. oD Me cc eee ee Exhibition of perversion of plumage in Pheasants ...... Exhibition of a male Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)........ Correction: Sylvia uudata tingitana for Sylvia undata GE OCUECEN( ATIDOR 5 [Ns OZ) 0 a. melinG 5 sare aise! ole SMabolin eee aie "soca ieones. L1Le, AND OBJECTS OF THE CLUB ......5.06- 0000s ScLaTER, W. L. fection of, as Vice-Chairman 2.00205 6scee eine ees Forwarded the description of a new African Weaver (Ploceus (Symplectes) nicollt) from Tanganyika Territory............ (On behalf of Sir Charles Belcher.) Exhibition of, andre- marks on, two skins and a nest ofa Palm Swift from Trinidad. Exhibition of, and remarks on, two photographs of portraits SE Lic Later \/ ei ca ot ale te ie le ls A a SMa A ec i Description of a new race of Swamp-Warbler (Bradypterus bradypterus moreaur) from Tanganyika Territory .......... A note on Caprimulgus ugande being a synonym of MR PUCISTS CHAMCIISIS. “cael ec ie wie oo eis 8 mn teee ese oc aie es Forwarded the description of a new race of Flycatcher PEE HI1OCE GUSLTULIS USANOATA) . 0 ow we te easton Exhibition of, and remarks on, some new and rare birds obtained by Rear-Admiral Lynes during his 1930-351 journey through Northern Rhodesia, Belgian Congo, and Angola ; the new races being Ortygospiza atricollis fuscata, Antho- scopus ansorget rhodesie, and Francolinus coque lynesi ...... SLADEN, Major A. G. L. Exhibition and photographs of, and remarks on, the eggs of the Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) ...... cc cee cee es Page 50-57 57 57-58 58 104 140-i44 XXIV Page Strap, E. F. See Low, Dr. G. CARMICHAEL ..... Caer hd. 126-128 Account of the Mutton-birds of New Zealand .......... 138-140 STEVENS, H. Account of a journey to the Himalaya during the cold BeasOM Or LORO Me te versie ete geas MR eEEt ad nes ys" @ 13-18 Ticrnvrst, Dr. C. B. Communication on anew name, Aguila chrysaétus hodgsont. 24-25 » Aq U] g Forwarded a communication on the correct name of a species of Ploceus, torether with a new race, Ploceus infortu- TAGS LT MUARTCWS Bere aeets cw aries che cet CEE is ct Ge ee 104-105 Tucker, B. W. Supplemented Dr. G. Carmichael Low’s remarks on his lecture on abnormal Pheasants, and added further remarks on experimental work on sex reversal: 1... 10. eee uh eee 91-93 Account of an Ornithological expedition to the Camargue, the Delia. ofthe B.hote, 6... Yonw mci Meee ® “Wears che cei 131-182 Waits, H. M. Exhibition of, and remarks on, a series of Walnuts pecked DY BOOMS Fo crete. sees sintvee Pita iste G ekepate! a cate ade ke eee 38-39 WuisTLeR, H. Note on the genus Anthipes, and a description of a new sub- species, Cyornis pologenys vernayt ...... 5 lel Reg ne. 23-24 Forwarded the descriptions of new subspecies from India of the Red-whiskered Bulbul (Otocompsa jocosa abuensis and Otocompsajocosa provincialis) ; also a new race of the Fantail- Flycatcher (Leucocirca pectoralis vernayt) .. 1.66. cece wcens 40-41 Forwarded the description of a new race of the Willow- Wren (Phylloscopus trochiloides ludlow:) from the Western LTE ae eee aria kept) Ss eam nee bra Ss Be 62 WitTHERBY, H. F. Remarks on Sylvia undata maroccana, described by Lord Rotksratvas New 3.5.25 ls hi eee SR el. 82 Exhibition of, and remarks on, an abnormally coloured Carrion-Crow (Corvus corone corone) ; also a Moorhen (Galli- nua ch. chloropus), and a primary feather of a Golden HKagle ( AGiila CREPEEEIGR) st. oo Fak CE ee eee We ds Gee 19-20 BULLETPIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. No. CCCLIII. a Tue three-hundred-and-forty-eighth Meeting of the Club was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1, on Wednesday, October 14, 1931. Chairman: Major 8. 8S. FLOWER. Members present :—Miss C. M. AcLAND ; W. B. ALEXANDER ; W.SHorzE Batty ;5 E.C. Stuart Baker; F.J. F. BARRINGTON; Miss R. Buezarp ; S. Boorman ; P. F. Bunyarp; H. P. O. CLEAVE ; Capt. H. L. Cocuransz, R.N.; Sir Percy Z. Cox ; Lt.-Col. A. Detme-Rapcuirre ; Miss J. M. Ferrier; A. G. GLENISTER; Hon. M. Hacuisuka; Rev. J. R. Hare; Col. A. EK. Hamerton ; Dr. E. Hopkinson ; Dr. Karu _ Jorpan; Rev. F.C. R. Journpain; N. B. KinnEar; Miss E. P. Leacu ; Dr. G. CarmicHaEL Low (Editor); Dr. P. R. Lowe ; Rear-Admiral H. Lynzes ; T. H. McKirrrick, jun.; C. W. MackwortuH-Prakp (Hon. Sec. & Treas.) ; Dr. P.H. Manson- BanR ; Dr. W. Norman May; F. R. Ratcuirr; C. B.: Rickert ; D. Setu-Smira; Major M. H. Smwonps; Major A. G. L. Siapen; H. Stevens; C. G. Tatsot-Ponsonsy ; Dr. A. LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON ; Dr. C. B. TickHuRsT ; B. W. Tucker ; Miss E. L. Turner; H. M. Wattis ; H. WuistteR; V. O. Wituiams; H. F. WiTHERBY; C. DE Worms. | Guests :—Miss DrtmMi-RaApcLirFE; Miss C. FRANKLIN ; J. P. R. Hatz; A. H. Harkness; Miss C. LONGFIELD ; Miss B. S. Lynes; Col. E. Percy-SmitH; J. A. RYLE; Mrs. WITHERBY. Members of the B.O.U. :—Major F. W. Borman, WILLOUGHBY P. Lowe ; B. B. Osmaston ; W. Raw; Jack VINCENT. [ November 4, 1981. | a VOL. LIL. Vol. lif] 2 Annual General Meeting. This was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, Great Portland Street, immediately preceding the dinner, Major S. 8. FLow:mr, Chairman of the Club, presiding. The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. The Honorary Secretary, Mr. C. W. MackwortTH-PRAED, presented the Financial Statement and Secretary’s Report for the past Session, 1930-1931. The Club, he said, was still slowly growing ; four Members had resigned—Capt. E. G. Herbert, Sir H. P. W. Macnaghten, Sir M. Seton, and Capt. H. 8. Stokes—and he regretted to report the death of Mr. J. P. Norris, of Philadelphia. This was a loss of five Members, while the Club had gained nine new Members. Statistics of Meetings showed that 499 Members and Guests had attended during the Session, as against 440 the previous year. The Financial Statement showed no very great change, except that the Club had for a special reason increased its contribution to the ‘Zoological Record,’ and a letter of thanks from the Zoological Society was read by the Hon. Secretary. The Report and Financial Statement were read and adopted. Mr. W. L. ScuaTEeR was elected Vice-Chairman of the Club in place of Lord Rothschild, whose period of office expired. Mr. C. W. MackwortH-PRAED was re-elected Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. The Rev. J. R. HALE was elected a Member of the Committee in place of Mr. B. W. Tucker, whose period of office terminated. Committee, 1931-1932. Major S. S. FLowEr, Chairman (elected 1930). Mr. W. L. Scuater, Vice-Chairman (elected 1931). Dr. G. CARMICHAEL Low, Editor (elected 1930). Mr. C. W. Mackwortu-PrakEp, Honorary Secretary and Treasurer (elected 1929). Mr. F. J. F. Barrineton (elected 1929). Dr. P. H. Manson-Baur (elected 1930). Dr. A. LANDSBoROUGH THOMSON (elected 1930). Rev. J. R. HAuz (elected 1931). (Vol. lii. "82 DIUNDDIP pas97L0Y) “OO ® NOAM “@ “M ‘yurg ye [SVQ 1} poyliad Os[e avg 9AA = “YAIMEIEN} BOUBPIODO® UI 9q 04 oes AJIJIeO pu ‘TEBT ‘TE JsusNy oy TS6I ‘L saquezdagy ‘b'O" ‘soanoT ‘LUAULG VIAOLOIA NADY $7 papue aveh ayy loz Qniy s}sISoO]OYWUIOQ YS4Wg eq} JO S4olfONOA pu SHOOg aq} YIM JUOMIE}VIGg SuIOSei0j oy} poreduioo oavy oA ‘dadnsve4T “TAVAd- HLAOMMOVA 'M ‘0 8 & OL IT 881 Tt LE st 0 OI G og 3 0 LI 6 11 4 8&1 ‘ps F 9 GTI Gk6F b Sl PF T 0 164 o/eysodaqg ‘og § OT 8% ‘p “8 F VOL ae ae, “* IgInsvaIy, JO Spueyy uy 0/e yuatIng ‘yuVg 4B ysed = 1eol vlc qsnony ‘puvyT ul soueregq “rs squgmdeg [BO], “*goseqsog pure ‘A1en0e49 ‘Suryuig ‘aeq Wpny sutpnyo -ul ‘sesuedxy snoour]eostyy , p109004T [BoIs0[00Z , 0} Worynqriayu0g ‘ F-086L -0'0 F UST" » 0} xepuy sulsuelie pure suye;dmoo Joy 19989 ‘Gq “H SIUL}OoPL JB SUAOJULTT JO sAT HT _ UlPaT[NG , pus suoivolqng eee reer ereesseeesereesee jo UoINGIaysIq pur Sunumg 4g ce ‘ec 6c 66 9 1 9987 | 9. GL B9uF | aie 4) | 6° SI FLO If cl G8 SS) is 1D oS es = 0 GI GI po Memes reac Hh Po Sasa ‘O6T ‘TE “‘Sny pepue sy4 UI gL 9. ST 6 bL C20 =H G:=S<- 000 3 6 &I FI9 aL ea & SL2eOl Son cee 0: Ol vel 9 ol 998 oe eS. ASLO TY yueg te Z G 0Z wedges “++ UnerNg , Jo sereg 8 9 OF s1oquayW 9L[—suordrosqng “ OQ OT F8T eeeteseeawateeseeceeses BIQQTIOS 00 8 -qng MeN 6 JO Seay couvquG “ “"* JaINsvoIT, JO spusyy UT Teor 0/8 ysodeq od ¢ L L8% 0/u JUeLINY “Yueg ye ysap v &I FIT —? OSG] ‘19q TI04 -dog 4s—T ‘puvyy ul oouxeg Oz, p83 > “OS6I ‘Ie “Sn pepue 8syj,W ZT “LE6T ‘TE wsnbny 07 ‘OSET ST Haquajdag syquow ZT ay} of quamaqnjiy JowuduULT SLISIOOTOHLINYO HSsilldd aT Vol. lii.] 4 Rear-Admiral Lynrs gave a short account * of his 1930-31 ~ tour with Mr. Jack Vincent across Central Africa, from north- eastern Rhodesia by automobile to the Atlantic at Lobito and St. Paul de Loanda, and thence by ship, rail and car to Sierra Leone via the Lower Congo, Cameroon highlands, Nigeria and Gold Coast Colony. Their chief objective, he explained, had been to make the acquaintance of the different kinds of Cisticola inhabiting those parts of Central and West Africa—none of which, except west-central Angola, he had been able to visit in his 1926-27 tour with Mr. Osmaston—and from that experience to see how the 1930 Cisticola Review could be improved. Rear-Admiral Lynes said that on returning to England last June he had intended to set about publishing the results of this tour, but the happy conjunction of an invitation to visit southern Tanganyika Territory and the willingness of his old friend Mr. Willoughby Lowe to accompany him there had caused him to alter his plans. Mr. Lowe and he intend to land at Mombasa early in November, spend a few weeks in Kenya Colony occupied with some outstanding Cisticola desiderata there, and then go south to the Iringa Province of Tanganyika Territory to try, during the next four months, to find out as much as possible about the whole bird population of that comparatively little known part of Africa. This being the case, he would do nothing now about the results of his last tour than make public the few new kinds of Cisticola discovered during its course and deposit their Types in the British Museum, say that the tour was on the whole very successful, thanks largely to his companion’s skill and ability and his first-rate knowledge of South African birds, and that the information gained about the Cisticolas can improve, but does not materially alter anything of what is written in the Cisticola Review. | On return to England next Spring he hopes to set about working out and publishing the results of both these African tours—that which concerns Cisticolas in a short appendix to the Review—and meanwhile Mr. W. L. Sclater, at his con- venience, will publish whatever he thinks of value in the small * The type in Rear-Admiral Lynes’ paper, in accordance with his wishes, is set in a similar manner to that of his Cisticola Review.—Eb. D [ Vol. lit. collection of non-Cisticoline birds made during the recent tour—chiefly in north-eastern Rhodesia. Mr. Vincent, he added, is also on the point of leaving England—to carry out an ornithological survey of the little known bird population of Portuguese East Africa for the British Museum. He will spend a whole year over this, and then set about publishing an account of the survey, and the Admiral is sure that, in this, Ornithology has something good to look forward to. The new kinds of Cisticola exhibited were as follows :— Cisticola dambo, sp. nov. Type the male, and co-type the female, in the British Museum, respectively reg. nos. 1931.10.8.1 and 2; a pair of breeding adults in good Summer dresses, parents of two young, eight days old, in the nest with one addled egg, collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack Vincent, 6 Jan. 1931, at Nasondoye, in the southern Belgian Congo, Lat. 103° S., Long. 25° E., 3300 ft. altitude. Type ¢ wing 53, tail 43: co-type 2 wing 47, tail A new species of Cloud-scraper, not at all unlike the C. jun- cidis in form, but whose coloration and behaviour is quite typical of the Cloud-scraper group. The characteristics of form are the more jwncidis-like build and proportions, includ- ing those of the wing, the long Summer tail and unossified leg tendons; of coloration the all black tail; and of behaviour (habitat, habits and nest) just what allies dambo with the Cloud-scraper group. Very easily recognized in life when breeding from any of its nearest relatives by the quite distinctive song and aerial antics of the cock bird, and the very long black tail of both sexes. Travelling westwards along the (Belgian) Congo side of the Congo-Zambesi divide we first found the species at Nasondoye, 3300 ft., Long. 25° E. There it was common and breeding, and besides a number of specimens we took nests, eggs and young. Continuing westwards, there seemed little change in the bird’s. status wherever there were any open short-grass flats suitable for it, until about Long. 20° E. in eastern Angola (but still in the Congo watershed), after wlfich Vol. lii.] 6 we lost the species completely, although working many miles of the equally suitable looking ground which exists so far west as Long. 15° E., and which held other Cloud- scrapers like C. textrix and C. ayresiv. On the same piece of ground, although as a rule on tracts of it which differed somewhat in moisture and plant- life, besides C. dambo we found. one or more of the following small Lark-like Cisticolas—C. juncidis, textrix, ayresia and brunnescens. If there is any previous ornithological knowledge of this part of Central Africa, we can find no record of it. DESCRIPTION of the species from a series of twenty-one adult males and fifteen adult females in their Summer dresses, and six young just fledged or fledging. Ad. g¢ Summer. Above, head-top blackish to very dark sepia, nearly uniform but just not so by the narrowest dark buff borders to the feathers; back in no more than moderate contrast, heavily mottled black (the broad feather-centres) and dark buff (the narrow feather-borders) ; hind-neck rather lighter through the feathers having smaller black centres and correspondingly broader buff borders, but not making a conspicuous collarette ; rump in conspicuous contrast, rich bright rust-red; upper tail- coverts like the back, mottled. Below, white, washed all over, except on the chin, throat and lower belly, with bright rusty buff, very strongly on the sides, flanks and thighs, less strongly elsewhere ; plain throughout. Face, supraloral rusty white, a noticeable, but little conspicuous, black subloral spot ; remainder of the face more or less tinted with rust-reddish, the ear-coverts lightly, and a fairly well defined eyebrow more strongly. Wing, edging, tertials and all harmonizing with the broken colour-pattern of the upper side. Tail, of plain black pattern above and below, with tips and outermost edgings of slightly rusty-tinted white. Bare parts, like all other Cloud-scrapers and juncidis, i. e. the whole mouth black, etc. t [ Vol. lil. Ad. 2 Summer (cf. ad. 3 S.). Colour tints of the plumage the same, but the pattern quite noticeably different, as - follows :—-Above, the head-top not nearly plain, but boldly mottled like the back; the back with all the mottlings rather less heavy and the buff borders correspondingly more assertive—subloral spot quite absent, whole lores whitish—mouth flesh. Juv. 3, 2. More like the 2 Summer, but above, the pattern more a broad-striped than a mottled one, the black feather-centres narrower, the buff feather-borders correspondingly broader and more dominant and much more rusty in colour; below, brightly sulphured except on the lower belly and flanks. (Probably the usual mealy, rustier-tinted edition of the Winter dress, were that dress known.) MEASUREMENTS. Ad. g. Wing 53+2: tail S. 4142 (occ. 44)!: leg 20: mid- toe and claw 17: bill 10 (skull 12): 1P/2P. av. 15/34 (45 %). Ad. 9. Wing 48+1 (occ. +2): tail S. 38+2 (occ.—3). Juv. g (only one fully grown) 1 P./2 P.=16/30 (53 %). RANGE. The southern rim of the Congo basin between Longitudes 20° and 25° E. Y Cisticola textrix bulubulu, subsp. nov. Type the male, and co-type the female, in the British Museum, respectively reg. nos. 1931.10.8.3 and 4; a pair of breeding adults in half worn Summer dresses, collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack Vincent, 12 Feb. 1931, near Bihe, 5700 ft., on the upland plateau of central-western Angola (Atlantic, but not Congo watershed). Type ¢ wing 56, tail 26: co-type 2 wing 49, tail 25. The 1930 Cisticola Review recognized two races of this species, viz. the typical race of southern Cape Provinee, which is heavily breast-spotted, and the plain-breasted. lighter-coloured race of the Transvaal, which was then thought to be the northern limit of the range of the species. Now we can show an extension of specific range to the Vol. lii.] 8 northward and westward of a thousand miles. Travelling westwards from northern Rhodesia between the parallels of 10° & 15°S., we first met with the species—breeding— in Lat. 104° S., Long. 203° E., 2. e. in eastern Angola on the Congo drainage side of the Zambesi-Congo water-parting, at about 4000 ft. altitude. Here, whatever may be the case in the unknown off- season, the bird is just like the Transvaal race mystica. Perhaps others of the species exist somewhere in this large gap; a great deal of it is still (ornithologically) unknown ; on the other hand much of it is the wrong kind of country, and teatrix is a very fastidious little creature in its choice of ground. | Continuing westward, one soon comes to where the streams no longer flow into the Congo (or the Zambesi), but more directly through Angola into the Atlantic Ocean, and about two hundred miles further on, when crossing the upland plateau of western Angola we again found the species, still unaltered in behaviour, but with evident difference of coloration, a difference akin to that which characterizes the local forms of several other species of Cisticola in the same locality, viz. greater depth of coloration. DESCRIPTION of the race from a series of six adult males and two adult females in their summer dresses, and seventeen birds of the year in juvenile and first Winter dresses. Size. The same as the other two races. Coloration. Adults Summer. Above, all the colour-pig- ments markedly deeper than mystica, and this, accentuated by the black feather-centres being larger as well as blacker, makes the general appearance even darker than that of teatriz ; male Summer head-top of the same nearly plain pattern as mystica, rich, dark rust-brown, becoming dappled as wear discloses the dark feather-bases—below, like mystica, plain (except for the bold pectoral patches of the male), but with the rusty buff suffusions on the sides and flanks noticeably stronger, brighter and more in evidence. Imm. First Winter. Above, of similar broad-striped winter pattern, but the colour-tints very much darker 9 [Vol. lil. than mystica and considerably darker than teatriv—below, the rusty buff suffusions stronger than either. Juvs. As usual in Cisticola, much more like juveniles of the other races, the racial colour characteristics only apparent in minor key, and, of course, plain below like mystica. RANGE. Only known on the upland plateau of central-western Angola. Cisticola ayresii gabun, subsp. nov. Type the male, and co-type the female, in the British Museum, respectively reg. nos, 1931.10.8.5 and 6, two breeding adults in two-thirds worn breeding dress, collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack Vincent, 17 April 1931, at Port Gentil, coastal Gabun, near the Equator. Type ¢ wing 46, tail 21: co-type 9 wing 43, tail 24. On the way from the Congo to Duala our ship anchored off Port Gentil long enough for us to spend a few hours ashore there, and on a short-grass sandy flat we found among other birds, including C. juncidis, a nice sprinkling of these little Cloud-scrapers, breeding. Hitherto the only known record of the existence of ayresii sp. to the northward of Lat. 12° S. on the western side of Africa was of a single fledgling from near by this very place (Cisticola Review, p. 152), and enough is known of the intervening country, viz. northern Angola and the Lower Congo territories, to suggest the likelihood of this species being absent there. The southern (central Angolan) ayresii are too like the typical South Africans to classify them separately, but the Gabuns are markedly different, much more like the Uganda race of ayresit, viz. entebbe, and, like them, probably have the perennial mode of dress. DESCRIPTION of the race from a series of three males and one female in their breeding dresses, and two birds of the year about two months old. Size. The same as entebbe, i. e. rather smaller than ayresii. Coloration. Adults (cf. entebde). Above, very similar—but ao Vol. lii.] 10 the general appearance of the back still lighter owing to the narrower dark feather-centres, and the male (breeding) head-top markedly different, being uniform rust-red with no more than a few dark blemishes, instead of nearly all smudgily mottled with black. Imm. & Juvs. Not materially different, at any rate on present (small) material. RANGE. Only known from the neighbourhood of the type locality in coastal Gabun. ’ Cisticola eximia winneba, subsp. nov. Type the male, and co-type the female, in the British Museum, respectively reg. nos. 1931.10.8.7 and 8, a pair of breeding adults in fresh Summer dresses collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack Vincent, 24 May 1931, at Winneba, Gold Coast Colony, nr. sea-level. Type ¢ wing 48, tail 29: co-type 9 wing 454, tail 30. A new race of the Cloud-scraper which seems to be confined to northern tropical Africa and of whose life scarcely anything was known before Major Cheesman found it out in Abyssinia three years ago. The 1930 Cisticola Review recognized two races, an eastern, typical in the Nile valley, and a West African occidens, distinguished from the former by the different coloration of its Winter, but not its Summer dress, founded on no more than a small series of specimens from northern Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Portuguese Guinea. The Gold Coast is a new country for eximia, and both sexes of these birds from its sea-coast differ quite distinctly from the other West Africans in the coloration of their Summer dresses. They certainly have a Winter dress, but what it is remains to be found out. In behaviour they agree, as they should do, in all essential respects with what is known of their eastern representatives, and, as we found out a week later, also with those (occidens) at Sierra Leone. Plotted on a plain map, the distribution of these two West African races looks curious, but isolation of the birds 11 [Vol. lii. at Winneba due to its peculiar ecologic conditions may reasonably explain it otherwise. Winneba, at a small. seaside belt of open, treeless country, and with a mean annual rainfall of only twenty inches, lies in that singular “dry ”’ strip of the Guinea coast between Cape Three Points and Dahomey which is flanked and backed by several hundred miles of woodland and forest and a much greater rainfall. Whatever suitable ground there may be along the open savanna of the upper Niger and Volta territories of the hinterland to account, by a more or less continuous specific distribution, for the similarity of the Sierra Leone and northern Nigerian races, Winneba is certainly shut off from it, as well as from both those territories, by very large tracts of country which seem unsuitable for habitation by a bird of this kind. . DESCRIPTION of the race from a small series of three adult males and one adult female (laying eggs), in their Summer dresses. Compared with the other West African and the Nile valley birds. Size. The same. Coloration. Adults Summer. The colour-tints throughout the whole plumage, blacks, buffs and reds, particularly the last ; markedly weaker, looking as if a Sierra Leone bird had had half its colour-pigments soaked out of it so as to make its whole coloration look cold and faded. Every one of the four birds is separable even from memory of the others, as we observed in the field on getting them in the hand. RANGE. Only known from the type locality on the Gold Coast. Y Cisticola lais namba, subsp. nov. Type the male, and co-type the female, in the British Museum, respectively reg. nos. 1931.10.8.9 and 10, a pair of breeding adults in good Summer dresses, parents of a nest of two naked young and one addled egg, collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack Vincent, 8 March 1931, Vol. lit. ] 12 at Namba 6700 ft., c. Lat. 12° S., Long. 15° E., in the highlands of central-western Angola, ‘‘Mombolo loc.” Type g wing 60, tail c. 60: co-type 2 wing 54, tail 47+ (tails not renewed at Spring moult, consequently very worn). This is the definition and name proposed for the race to which belongs the single specimen of lais sp. called, in the 1930 Cisticola Review (p. 232), ‘‘ Cisticola lais of Angola.” To find out about this bird and the Cisticola emini * sp. represented by two skins from the same locality was the particular purpose of our visit to Namba. The “ Mombolo loc.” (a map name is lacking) is a tract of the Angolan highlands about six hundred square miles in extent, and singular in its physical features chiefly through the many huge bare surfaces and slabs of granite rock which outcrop among the grass and bush and, in the dips, patches of forest jungle ; and this peculiarity affords a very reasonable explanation for the presence of these two species being found there and nowhere else, so far as is known, in Angola. Both species are common there, and both were breeding at the time of our visit. In all traits of behaviour the Angolan lais is quite like the lacs of Natal, separated though it be from the nearest known representative of its species by more than a thousand miles, a distributional gap in the range of the species which, even if little ornithologically known, holds out little promise of abridgment judging from a glance at its physical geography ? DESCRIFTION of the race from a series of eight adult males and three adult females in their Summer dresses. Size. That of the smaller aggregate of lais in eastern Cape Province, viz. § wing 61+1, tail S. 53+1: 9 wing 531 tail S. 46. Coloration. Adults Summer. (cf. lais 8.). Different as follows :-Above, the head-top richer, redder and nearly * Professor Neumann is about to name this bird, which was referred to in the Cisticola Review, p. 314, as “Cisticola emini of Angola.” ils [ Vol. lii- plain, no more than obsoletely mottled with dark rust- brown; the back feather-borders ashy grey, not cold sepia, and their black centres narrower, these differences giving the general appearance of greater contrast between the back and head-top—below, the suffusions grey with very little buff tint, rather more widespread and rather deeper—tail, spots the rule about the same, but occasionally spread over both webs (some instability of the character). Adulis Winter. No more can be added to what was said of the Winter dress of this race in the Cisticola Review, p. 232; the dress of that individual differs from the Summer dress of its own race very much as lais W, differs from lais S., 1.€., more brown and more striped, etc. RANGE. Only known from the Type locality in Angola. Mr. HERBERT STEVENS gave an account of a journey to the Himalaya during the cold season of 1930-1931 :— Throughout the last cold season I worked the Sikkim Himalaya for mammals and birds. Familiar with the physical features of the country and local conditions by my previous long residence, I decided to fix camps at various altitudes, and, by confining myself to a more or less limited area, employ the time to the best advantage. The results amply justified the seven months I[ was occupied. My choice lay in the direction of the well-known trade route to and from Tibet which traverses eastern Sikkim, but preparatory to crossing the political frontier, preliminary collecting was undertaken in the foothills, and in order to obtain specimens of such species that do not even reach the base of the hills, a commencement was made in the plains at. Haldibari in Cooch Behar. Hereabouts Cisticola in the grass-lands, with the Brown Hawk-Owl (Ninox scutulata) and the Little Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker (Picus vitiatus myrmecophaneus) within the limits of the village, were possibly of most interest. Leaving, after a fortnight’s stay, Sevoke, in the Terai, was reached on October 22, 1930. Situated in the malarial belt, with a bad reputation in consequence, and unusually unhealthy towards the termination of the a7 Vol. lii. | 14 rains, it was not surprising that sickness made its appearance amongst my boys. However, this camp was only vacated after a month’s work in the heavy forest, which is the habitat of the Large Hornbill (Dichoceros bicornis) and Tickell’s Flycatcher-Warbler (Sezcercus cantator), while the dense undergrowth provides shelter for the Kalij Pheasant (Genneus melanotus) at its lowest distribution limit, and numerous Timaliide, such as Malacocincla and Pellorneum. Mr. G. E. Shaw, Quinologist of the Government Cinchona Plantations at Mungpoo, lost no time in renewing an old friendship. Professor Percy Moore, of Philadelphia, a collaborateur of the Fauna volume on Hirudine, also accepted my primitive hospitality in order to study the life-history of his favourite animals—the land-leeches—with which the place abounded, though other less obtrusive and insignificant pests were, in my experience, equally, if not more, troublesome. j From November 19 to December 28 a profitable time was spent at Mungpoo. Out of all the specimens obtained, ‘the Spotted Wren (Llachura formosa) and the Forest Eagle-Owl (Huhua nipalensis) were the most welcome. Descending, a camp was fixed below Sangsir in the Tista Valley, where the Long-tailed Sibia (Heterophasa picaoides picaoides) and several Woodpeckers, including Gecinulus grantia, the Pigmy Blue Fly- catcher (Nitidula hodgsont), Phyllergates coronatus, Yuhina nigrimenta, Baza jerdonti and many others were obtained. Ascending to Mungsong, at 4500 feet, during a brief visit, we were fortunately favoured in the weather, as it is from a point a few yards away from this residence that the finest view of ‘‘ the snows”’ is obtainable in the Darjeeling district, embracing as it does the maidan at Rangpo, 1200 feet, the only level ground in Sikkim with all the alternating mountain ranges, culminating in the summit of Kinchinjunga and its sister peaks. Unfortunately this is only known to a limited few. Rail-head having been left behind at Kalimpong Road, I was dependent upon human transport, also employing bullock carts whenever these useful but tardy vehicles could be obtained. In spite of an overturned cart on quitting camp, everything arrived in due course at Rangpo, where a halt of two days allowed time to make further arrangements. 15 [Vol. lii. A long-delayed thunderstorm, evidently quite local, compen- sated, if it did deluge the camp, in the opportunity afforded - for observing a small party of the Red-legged Falconet (Microhierax cerulescens) contentedly preening themselves at daybreak alongside. The Ibis-bill (Lbidorhyncha struthersit) in its winter quarters frequented the shallows of the Rangpo River shortly before it joins the Tista. Having commandeered a scrap lot of ponies, and taking a little-used route, a delightful open valley was traversed, and by evening Rarathang was reached. On January 25 I passed through Rongli, but not without the ever-recurring remonstrances from the ghorawallahs, invariably a difficult class of men to deal with. Refusing to listen to all arguments, and continuing on my way, the crowded bazaar, with all its attractions to my retinue, offered but a brief halt, and on arriving at a break in the road about two miles above Lingtam, camp was pitched on the cobbled surface, no more suitable ground being available. Now that I was once more firmly established my misgivings were soon dispelled, and the site proved to be ideal for my purpose, the only drawback to tranquility of mind being the everlasting roar from the torrent. The elevation of this camp was 5250 feet. The orange-carriers, frequently met with labouring under ponderous loads, were now replaced by droves of likewise heavily laden mules transporting the season’s wool-crop to Kalimpong, which must, however, have offered only a small margin of profit, and most of which might well have been burnt to advantage. Constant fluctuation, due to changes in temperature, was obvious in the number of local migrants, such changes also making the resident species move farther afield. From this camp were obtained Machlolophus spilonotus, Garrulax albogularis, Dryobates cathpharius, Chrysophlegma flavinucha, Cutia nipal- ensis, Pteruthius melanotis, Hematospiza sipahi, Spinus thibetanus (a rare Siskin in collections), and even T'roglodytes -nipalensis down to 5000 feet, besides Pachyglossa melanozantha and Diceum ignipectus, the two last named being obtained on gnarled trees festooned in the highest branches with mistletoe, the viscid seeds of which epiphyte Pachyglossa melanozantha can miraculously swallow but not digest. Vol. lii.] 16 The most attractive tree, widely scattered in this locality, was the ‘“ Gurupis”’ (Leucosceptrum canum), with a sweet nectar in its bottle-brush-shaped flowered stamen, which was frequented by Sunbirds and Barbets and other species too numerous to mention. In addition there were species of Genneus and Tragopan and Arborophila rufogularis, and, to my surprise, Arborophila mandellit. A rise of 7500 feet on the next march, only nine miles, brought me to my next site, and although dependent upon snow for water, there was no lack of rhododendron for fire- wood. After enduring the raging wind and extreme cold for two days and nights, at my request the villagers in Gnatong gladly came to the rescue, and, descending to 12,300 feet, the sanctuary of the rest-house was gained on March 5. The weather did not improve, and for real severity at high alti- tudes in my experience March and April are quite the worst months. The interminable mist rolled up almost daily, when a glorious morning’s sunshine of a few hours duration was the last for that day. Apart from Crows and the Griffon Vulture in numbers, ever alert for the carcase of a dying mule, with the solitary Lammergeyer not far away, was a single pair of Prunella rubeculoides, with a small party of Laiscopus himalayanus, which soon moved below the snow- line. Fringilauda nemoricola, which later appeared in vast flocks, was there, and odd individuals of the Wren (T'roglodytes nipalensis) and Blue-fronted Redstart (Phenicurus frontalis). Once the ice thawed on the only stream fed from two small tarns, Cinclus cashmeriensis put in an appearance. While there was a paucity of bird-life in the pine forest, the usual Crested Tits, Creepers, and Bush-Robins (lanthia hyperythra), too shy for near approach, could generally be met with. Conostoma emodium, rare, of course, occupied the bamboo thickets along with [thaginis and Lophophorus. A large influx of migrants appeared with a brief break in the weather for the better, when pairing was in evidence. The scrub was crowded with Phenicurus frontalis and P. schisticeps, and Prunella strophiata, an adept skulker, was equally plentiful. About this time Perissospiza carnipes and Procarduelis rubescens had separated into pairs, and from the 07 [Vol. lii. topmost branches sang with a note by no means to be despised. With the exception of odd Buzzards, invariably melanistic specimens, and the Raven, obtained at Kappu, 13,000 feet, one of a solitary pair, little else was seen, though a pair of Aquila nipalensis had deserted the adjacent hills. Returning on my tracks, camp was pitched at Jeluk, 9200 feet, which was occupied from April 3-21. Hardly a day passed without a thunderstorm, often accompanied by hail, terrifying in grandeur, and had it not been known that phenomenal heat prevailed over the plains, the S.W. monsoon might have burst. Situated on a ridge, the flanks of the densely forested hills rose almost sheer behind. A warm pocket of air was evident within the ravine, where, on an extremely limited shelving patch of ground, overgrown with maling bamboo and interspersed with a few trees, a varied assemblage of birds occurred for a brief hour or so which allowed of ample dis- crimination in collecting. Ido not recollect seeing any con- course similar in number and variety. This was in a measure accounted for by pressure from ascending migrants, agitated movement being evident with the approach of the breeding season. While Siphia strophiata commonly haunted the moss- covered trees frequented by Sibia nipalensis, Yuhina gularis, Yuhina occipitalis, and Dryobates darjellensis, in the bamboo growth occurred Suthora poliotis humiu, Xiphoramphus superciiaris, and Ianthia indica, and hereabouts one also obtained Propyrrhula subhimachala, Pnoepyga albiventer, Homochlamys major, and Tickellia hodgsont. Pyrrhula erythro- cephala, newly arrived, augmented AMihopyga nipalensis and Pericrocotus brevirostris, which already had nests, but suffered from the destructive forces of nature. Ticks had proved to be an intolerable nuisance at this altitude and lower. Continuing on the descent, on reaching moderate altitudes numerous summer migrants, less conspicuous than Stoporala _thalassina, were on their breeding-grounds, while the air rang with the noise of Barbets and Cuckoos. A brief halt was made at Rongli for a few days, and then back to Rangpo. Here I paid the penalty of delay, waiting for a motor-car faithfully promised to be repaired to time. Had I known this I would Vol. lii.] 18 have preferred to complete my journey on foot. Ascending once again to Mungpoo, the Forest- Bittern (Gorsachius melano- lophus), not previously recorded for Sikkim, was observed. All the several consignments sent down from my various camps, with what were in my care, were duly packed and left with me for Calcutta on May 4, 1931. Considering the Sikkim Himalaya is about three-fifths the size of Wales, a total of 556 species and subspecies known to occur within these limits is surprising. Actually this number represents the avifauna in the basin of a single valley, with its subsidiary offshoots, as every stream in Sikkim State finds its way into the Tista, apart from the headwaters of a few minor streams to the east, which rise hereabouts, and the streams of the lower foot-hills in the Darjeeling district. The absence of the Nutcracker and the rarity of Horeites brunnifrons, plentiful on the outer ranges during the breeding season, to mention but another, Myzornis, which certainly did not occur in the tract worked, proves my contention that some species are extremely local, though often numerous in the locality where they occur. Since Mandelli enriched the National Collection, in 1873-79, Indicator, Sphenocichla, and Callene remain to be rediscovered in their habitat. As two of these species are probably resident, some future collector will locate them, if they have not entirely disappeared, but it will only be by intensive collecting over a limited area. I feel I was fortunate to locate Arborophila mandellir, as its habitat had baffled others as well as myself. My field-notes are not available, but probably they will be incorporated in the results when published. The Hon. M. Hacutsuxka read the following note on the Egyptian Goose nesting on Mt. Karisimbi :— The photograph which I exhibit to-night is a nesting-site of an Egyptian Goose (Alopochen cgyptiacus) taken by Miss Lilly J. Knegt, a member of the Belgian Expedition to Pare National Albert, at Lukumi (about 12-13,000 feet altitude), near the summit of Mt. Karisimbi, in the Lake Kivu region, Belgian Congo. The nest was first discovered by the party in April this 19 [Vol. lii. year, when this photograph was secured. The nesting-site was revisited more than a month later, when, unfortunately, it was. found to be destroyed. Miss Knegt describes the temperature as about 5-6° C., and reports that water turns to ice by night and snow is not an uncommon sight. The bamboo zone ceases at about 9000 feet, and it is then an alpine meadow. Some parts of the ground are impossible to walk through owing to high water and soft mud. Scattered trees are covered with moss and lichen and always dripping wet. An interest attaches to the fact of finding a typical African Goose breeding high up in such a cold place, as this, to my knowledge, is the only record. Other examples, which can be compared, would be the Blue-winged Goose from Abyssinia (Cyanochen cyanopterus), which nests at great elevations, but this bird is nocturnal and highly specialized in itself. The nearly extinct Hawaiian Goose (Nesochen sandvicensis) nests on the volcanic slopes of Hawaii about 13,000 ft. up, but this bird again is essentially terrestrial, a habit adapted to their confined locality. The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) nests in colonies in Tibet between 10-15,000 feet ; but this is a Palzearctic species. The Egyptian Goose is the only species of the family represented on Lake Kivu. Mr. H. F. WirHEersy exhibited an abnormally coloured Carrion-Crow (Corvus c. corone), which was sent to him by Mr. H. 8. Gladstone, who obtained it on July 20, 1931 at Capenoch, Dumfriesshire. The bird was in company with four others, one of which appeared to be in similar plumage. This was, perhaps, a family party. The bird exhibited was moulting from juvenile plumage to first winter. The juvenile plumage was all grey with a brownish tinge, more ashy on the second- aries and wing-coverts. The new first winter plumage was of a darker smoky grey. When the bird reached Mr. Witherby the iris was bluish-grey, bill dark grey, legs and feet black tinged brown. Mr. WirHERBY also exhibited an abnormally coloured Moorhen (Gallinula ch. chloropus), which had been obtained Vol. lii.] 20 at Stoke, near Nottingham, on Sept. 19, 1931, and sent to him by Mr. John A. Walker. This bird was a female, and apparently adult by the ovary, but the tibia had no red when the bird reached Mr. Witherby, though the bill appeared normally coloured for an adult. The upper parts were a darkish reddish brown, and the under parts pale brown with only a light tinge of slate. The white on the flank feathers and under tail-coverts was normal. In colour the bird was much like one of the so-called hairy varieties of the Moorhen, but the feathers were of normal structure. Mr. WITHERBY’S last exhibit was a primary feather of a Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaétus) which had been sent to him by Mr.J.A.Sidney Stendall. The feather had droppedfrom a large bird seen in Northern Ireland in 1930. Full details would be given by Dr. C. J. Milligan in the ‘ Irish Naturalists’ Journal.’ Mr. Witherby remarked that, owing to its distinctive size, shape, colour, and markings, the feather had undoubtedly belonged to a Golden Eagle and an immature bird. It could also be said that it was the seventh primary counting from the outer side of the wing. It was interesting to have this definite proof of the existence of a Golden Eagle in Ireland, as the bird was thought to be entirely extinct in that country in 1926. Dr. Percy R. Low# exhibited a male example of the Red-headed Bunting (Hmberiza icterica Eversmann). He said that this particular specimen had been shot in North Ronald- shay, Orkney Islands, by Lt.-Colonel Eardley Todd, on June 19, 1931. 7 This constituted the first record of this species known to ornithologists that had ever been taken in the British Isles. Colonel Eardley Todd had kindly presented the bird to the British Museum of Natural History in order that it might be preserved in perpetuity. An account of its capture and systematic status appeared in ‘ British Birds’ in August (British Birds, xxv. 1931, pp. 66-69). Dr. Percy Loweé also exhibited a specimen of a hen Grouse (Lagopus scoticus). He said that this Grouse, shot at Lochawe- side, Argyllshire, had been determined by Lt.-Colonel Harold 21 [ Vol. lii. Thorpe, by whom it had been shot, as a hybrid between a cock Grouse and a Grey-hen. } It had been sent to the Museum for inspection, and there Dr. Lowe had not been able to discover a single Grey-hen character in its “‘make-up,” except that on the outer web of the outermost primary there was some mottling not unlike that of the Grey-hen. This, however, was often present in young Grouse. Dr. Lowe said that in the British Museum Collection (Reg. no. 1900.10.31.1) there was a specimen of a hen Grouse shot in Stornoway in the Hebrides on October 30, 1900, by Mr. R. McD. Hawker, which was almost an exact counterpart of the specimen owned by Colonel Thorpe. In the British Museum there was another specimen “ picked up dead ” in Ayrshire, and presented by the Editor of ‘ Land and Water ’ (Reg. no. 1887.5.14.1), which was moulting into summer (breeding) plumage and still showed the winter plumage on the lower breast and abdomen. The summer plumage of this specimen was practically identical with the plumage of Colonel Thorpe’s bird. No doubt the plumage in all three birds was of a somewhat light variety, and might possibly indicate that all three were oi “ Irish or Hebridean descent.” The object of exhibiting Colonel Thorpe’s bird was to obtain a verdict on the question of its being a hybrid or not. Dr. Lowe said he had already told Colonel Thorpe that in his opinion it was not a hybrid. The bird was killed in September in summer plumage, and he suggested that some pathological factor had caused a retention of this and a delay in assuming the winter plumage *. Lord Rotuscui~p sent for comparison with Dr. Lowe’s exhibit two Irish females and one Argyllshire female of Lagopus scoticus, as well as a male hybrid, L. scoticus x Lyrurus _tetrix. He pointed out in a note accompanying the skins that the female exhibited by Dr. Lowe was only an extreme colour variety of the Grouse, and that both the male and the female hybrids of Grouse and Blackcock were always much larger and showed the naked toes of the Lyrurus. * After the bird was examined by the members of the Club, the unanimous verdict was that it was a Grouse and not a hybrid.—Eb. Vol. lii.] 29 Mr. SHorE Batty exhibited a clutch of eggs of the Harris- Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) from his aviaries. These were, he believed, the first eggs of this species that had been seen in Europe. His friend Prof. Rowan, of Edmonton, Alberta, sent him three pairs of these birds last autumn, and told him at the time that there were no authentic eggs known in any of the American collections, but he had since heard from him that eggs had been taken this year near Fort Churchill by an American collector. The nest mentioned above was built in one of Mr. Shore Baily’s aviaries, in a depression of the ground. It was made of nettle-root and moss, and lined with fine grass. The eggs were greenish white, marked more or less all over with reddish brown, denser at the thicker end. A second nest was built in an evergreen bush about four feet from the ground. He did not discover this until the young were hatched, and as a result two young ones were reared for the first time in Europe. The Harris-Sparrow is a larger and handsomer bird than our own, and its habits are much more like those of the Hedge-Sparrowthan the House-Sparrow. The eggs, it will be noticed, are not unlike those of the South American Song-Sparrows. Measurements.—2:45 x 1:65, 2°25x1-70, 2-20*1-65, 2-50 < 1:60 mm. Dr. P. H. Manson-Banr exhibited, on behalf of Professor J. W. W. Stephens, F.R.S., a series of skulls of the Manx Shearwater (Puffinus p. puffinus) from the island of Skomer, South Wales, which had been scalped, presumably by Greater Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus). Lockley,in his ‘Dream Island,’ p. 136, states that the remains of fifteen hundred birds have been found on Skokholm thus mutilated. It is difficult to understand how the Gulls skin the heads of these unfortunate victims so cleanly, for obviously the “pull” must be in a vertical direction, or it may be that two Gulls are concerned in the scalping of one victim, thus rendering a horizontal “pull” possible. Miss C. M. Acland and Mr. H. M. Wallis said they had seen similar appearances in Puffins in the Scilly Isles and on Lundy. 23 [ Vol. lii. Mr. Hueco WuisTLeER forwarded the following note and description :— The genus Anthipes, founded in 1847 by Blyth, with Anthipes monileger for type, was used by Oates in vol. ii. of the ‘ Fauna of British India, Birds,’ to include five species (Anthipes monileger, A. leucops, A. submoniliger, A. poliogenys, and. A. olivaceus) of very local non-migratory Indo-Malayan Flycatchers in which the sexes are alike. In vol. ii. of the new edition of the Fauna Mr. Stuart Baker accepts the inclusion of these five forms in the genus Anthipes, though he changed the grouping to two species with, respectively, three and two subspecies. At the same time he pointed out that the two species thus admitted were so different in habits, nidification, and colour-pattern that they might almost be placed in separate genera. By vol. viii. (p. 631) his opinion on this point had strengthened to the creation of a new genus, Olcyornis (type Anthipes olivaceus Hume), to mark the separa- tion of A. olwvaceus with its subspecies, A. 0. poliogenys, from A. monileger with subspecies A. m-.ieucops and A. m. sub- moniliger. In the meantime Messrs. Kinnear and Robinson (Nov. Zool. xxxiv. 1928, p. 241) had emphasised the same distinction by placing poliogenys in the genus Cyornis, together with a new race, saturatior. They, however, con- sidered olivaceus and poliogenys as specifically and, possibly, generically distinct. 7 One of the many interesting results of the Vernay Survey . of the Eastern Ghats has been the discovery of a new form of resident Flycatcher closely allied to poliogenys and entirely justifying the inclusion of that bird in the Cyornis group, where Brooks originally described it (‘ Stray Feathers,’ viii. 1879, p. 469: Salbaree, Sikkim Terai). A good series was obtained by the Survey. The females and first-year males are identical in coloration. They closely resemble Cyornis poliogenys, differing only in the greyer tint of the upper parts, which is particularly marked on the crown and nape and sides of the head and neck. The adult male is distinguished by a bluish wash over the whole of the upper parts. This is pronounced on Vol. lii.] 24 the head and nape, and becomes a definite bright blue on the longer upper tail-coverts and outer webs of the tail-feathers. |, Measurements :— Six adult males : Bill (from skull) 15-16-5 ; wing 75-5-78:5 ; tail 60:5-67:5 ; tarsus 18-20 mm. Six first-year males: Bill (from skull) 14-5-15-5; wing 74-5- 78; tail 59-64 ; tarsus 18-20 mm. Four females : Bill (from skull) 14-15-5 ; wing 70-5-74 ; tail 57-5-60 ; tarsus 18-19 mm. Distribution. The upper Eastern Ghats of the Vizagapatam district, where the bird was very common and breeding at 3000-3500 feet in April and May. Males breed in both plumages. | It will be remarked that this interesting bird forms a connecting link between Cyornis poliogenys poliogenys with both sexes alike and brown, and the other members of the genus Cyornis with brown females and males in which black or blue predominates. I propose to name it Cyornis poliogenys vernayi, subsp. nov. Type, ¢ adult, no. V. 1527, March 12, 1930, Sankrametta, 3500 feet, Vizagapatam District, India. (Presented to the British Museum by the Bombay Natural History Society.) Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1931.10.7.1. Namedafter Mr. A.S. Vernay, whose generosity made possible the Eastern Ghats Survey carried out by the Bombay Natural History Society. Dr. C. B. Ticknurst forwarded the following communica- tion :— In a paper “Sur quelques points de systématique et de nomenclature’’ (Alauda, ser. ii. ann. 2, pp. 257-9) Monsieur G. Démentieff has recently put forward the claims for recognition of two of Severtzow’s names. The first is the Asiatic Golden Eagle, for which he proposes that Aquila daphanea of Severtzow, 1888, antedates Menzbier, from whom it was quoted by Dr. Hartert (V6g. Pal. Fauna, p. 1091). Aquila daphanea, however, can never be used at all. 5 [Vol. lii. -- It was a nomen nudum of Hodgson, and as such was in Gray’s Zool. Misc. p. 81. But Gray, in 1848, in the Catalogue of the . Accipitres in the British Museum, made it a synonym of chrysaétus, as subsequently did Horsfield and Moore (Cat. Birds. Mus. East Indian Coy.) and Jerdon (‘ Birds of India ’). The bird, no. 1539, described on p. 1091 of Vog. Pal. Fauna, being apparently without a name, I propose to call it Aquila chrysaétus hodgsoni, nom. nov. Type, 2 adult, Hazara, N.W. India, May 13, 1871. Capt. Unwin Coll. In Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1873.9.15.6. The second name proposed is Falco esalon var. alaudarius for the bird now known as F. esalon insignis Clark, but a reference to Dr. Hartert’s work would have shown that this name, too, cannot stand, as it is preoccupied by Falco alaudarius of Gmelin. Mr. Grecory M. Matuews sent the following description of two new subspecies of Quoyornis :— Quoyornis leucurus mimika, subsp. nov. Differs from Quoyornis leucurus (Gould), from Cape York, in being distinctly lighter grey on the back and in ek the grey band on the chest less pronounced. A single skin from Port Essington, from the Gould Goldene, has a wing measurement of 76 mm. ‘The typical form has a wing measurement of 86 mm. Distribution. Mimika River, Dutch New Guinea. Type in the British Museum, a male collected on March 22, 1911. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1911.12.20.1181. He thinks that the Pecilodryas cinerea of Sharpe (Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. iv. March 26, 1879, p. 243) is also a subspecies of Quoyornis, and may be called Quoyornis leucurus cinereus (Sharpe). Mr. MarHews also sent the following note :— As the genus Coleia Mathews, 1912,is preoccupied by Coleia Broderip, 1835, it may be called Colena, and as the genus Mathewsiella Iredale, 1922, is pre-occupied by Matthewsiella Hetschko, 1913, it may be called Pherocraspedon. Vol. lii.] 26 Mr. W. L. ScuaTER forwarded for publication the following description of a new African Weaver :— Ploceus [Symplectes] nicolli, sp. nov. Whole of the crown and nape a rich golden brown, rest of the upper parts, including the wings and tail, rich sooty black, with a faint wash of yellow on the upper tail-coverts ; throat, foreneck, and sides of the face, including the ear-coverts, dark nigger brown ; this is followed by a patch of rich chestnut on the upper breast ; rest of the underparts, including the under tail-coverts, bright cadmium yellow; under wing- coverts dark ashy grey, and lining of the quills rather dusky. Tris red-brown, bill black, feet chocolate-brown. Length about 145 mm., wing 86 mm., tail 50mm., bill 16 mm., tarsus 19 mm. | Type and only example a male (not breeding) from Amani, Tanganyika Territory, from plantations at 3000 feet, obtained. 19. vi. 31 by R. E. Moreau. Collector’s number 850. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1931.5.7.6. Mr. Moreau wrote on June 22, 1931 :—‘ We have just got a Weaver here which beats me completely. The bird was the male of a pair that looked alike, and it was obtained just outside my office, 7. e., at the edge of the forest. We have seen the bird perhaps half a dozen times in the three years we have been here, and have always been puzzled by it.” As there was nothing in the least like it in the collections of the British Museum, I sent the skin to Dr. Stresemann, and asked him to see if there was anything like it in the Berlin Museum. He wrote back sending me the type of Ploceus olivaceiceps, a species described by Dr. Reichenow (Ornith. Monatsber. 1899, p. 7) from Songea, in south-western Tangan- yika Territory, which has apparently remained unique up to the present time. Although not sexed by the collector, Fiilleborn, Dr. Stresemann suggests that olwaceiceps may be the female of the Amani bird, but this is not borne out by Mr. Moreau’s statement that the pair he observed were similar in plumage. Briefly, the distinctions are as follows :—P. olivaceiceps has the crown, including the sides of the face and the whole of the back, green, more yellowish on the rump, the wings 27 [Vol. lif. and tail are dusky ashy, while below the general colour is the same as in the Amani bird, but not so bright, and the chestnut _ of the breast more restricted. It is also distinctly a smaller bird, wing 81 mm., and has a much shorter tail, 42 mm. against 50 mm. Under the circumstances it seemed best to describe the Amani bird as a new species in the hope that later on it may be possible to clear up its relations to olivaceiceps. With regard to its general position among the Ploceine Weavers, I am inclined to place this bird in the subgenus Symplectes rather than in Hyphanturgus or Xanthophilus. Its general coloration and the shape of the bill seem to best fit it among the black-backed group. It is at the special request of Mr. Moreau that this bird has been named after the late Mr. Michael John Nicoll, to whom he was much indebted for help and encouragement in the study of ornithology during his long residence in Egypt. Mr. P. F. BunyarpD made some remarks in reply to the Rev. F.C. R. Jourdain’s criticisms upon his (Mr. Bunyard’s) measurements of the eggs of the Greenland and Iceland races oi the Snow-Bunting. (For this, vide Bull. B. O.C. li. 1931, pp. 112-14 and 126.) Vol. lii.] 28 NOTICES. The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, November 11, 1931, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. Members intending to dine are requested to inform the Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, S.W. 7. Members who intend to make any communication at the next Meeting of the Club should give notice beforehand to the Editor, Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W.1, and give him their MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin ’ not later than at the Meeting. Agenda for next Meeting. 1. Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker will give an account of his recent visit to Lapland and the birds met with there. 2. Mr. T. H. Harrisson will describe a visit to St. Kilda and. discuss its ornithology. 3. Lord Rothschild will describe a new race of Cypseloides. 4. The Hon. M. Hachisuka will show a series of eggs of the Japanese Quail. BULLETIN OF THE | merrisH ORNITHOLOGISTS CLUB. ae! Mi ae sis | ISD i we «am t MN JE Tonka’ g] No. CCCLIV. 4, i ¢ ee Te (8 iar wie Tue three-hundred-and-forty-ninth Meeting of the Club was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1. on Wednesday, November 11, 1931. Chairman: Major S. 8S. FLowsEr. Members present :—Miss C. M. AcLanD ; W. B. ALEXANDER ; W. SHoreE Batty; E.C.Sruart Baker; F.J. F. BARRINGTON ; Miss M.G.S. Best; P.F. Bunyarp ; Hon. G. L. CHarreris ; H. P. O. CueAave ; Sir Percy Z. Cox ; Lt.-Col. A. Detmg- RapcuirFeE ; A. H. Evans ; Miss J. M. Ferripr; A. G. GLENISTER ; Hon. M. HacutsuKka ; Col. A. E. HamMerton ; Dr. J. M. Harrison ; T. H. Harrisson ; R. E. HuEarts ; Dr. EK. Hopkinson ; Miss D. Horpern ; Dr. Karu Jorpan ; Rev. F.C. R. Jo +; N. B. Kinnear; Miss E. P. Leace ; B. Luoyp ; Dr. G. CarmicHat.L Low (Editor) ; Dr. P. R. Lowe ; Dr. N. S. Lucas ; C. W. Mackwortu-PraEp (Hon. Sec. & Treas.) ; Lt.-Col. H. A, F. Macrata ; Dr. P. H. Manson- Baur; G. M. Matuews ; Dr. W. Norman May; EH. G. B. MerapE-Watpo ; A. H. Merkueyonn ; Mrs. D. MIcHOLLs ; J. L. CoawortH Musters ; T. H. Newman ; C. OLpHam ; F. R. Ratcuirr ; Lord Roruscuiip ; Lord Scone ; Major M. H. Smwonps; Major A. G. L. Stapen; C. G. Tarsor- PonsonBy ; Marquess of Tavistock; Dr. A. LANDSBOROUGH THomson ; W. H. Tuorre; B. W. Tucker; Miss E. L. TuRNER ; H. M. Wawuis ; H. WuistLtER ; V. O. WILLIAMs ; H. F. Wirnersy ; C. pz Worms. [ December 1, 1981. | a VOL. LII. Vol. lii.] | . 30 Guests :—Miss M. Barctay ; P. W. T. Boucuton-LeIcu ; N. B. Cotrart ; Miss E. J. Detmt-Rapcuirre ; H. A. Evans ; Miss J. Evans; Mrs. FLrower; H. A. Fooxs; A. B. Gmuett ; Lady Constance Howarp; OD. Lack; A. Houte Mac- PHERSON; C. J. L. THuRGAR; Mrs. B. W. Tucker ; E. G. WISHART. Mr. E. C. Stuart Baker related some of his experiences in Lapland in 1931 and previous years, the lecture being illustrated by lantern-slides of the country and of various birds, nests, and eggs. Starting with a brief description of the present conditions of life and travelling in Lapland, he then gave a description of the nesting of some of the Waders and Passerine birds observed during his trip. Among the more important observations referred to, he gave at some length those on the breeding of the little-known Holbdll’s Redpoll (Acanthislinaria holboelliz), full details of which are being published later in ‘The Ibis.’ Commenting on the various Geese found in Lapland and Finland, he drew attention to the very different breeding-habits of the three species, Anser anser, Anser fabalis, and Anser erythropus. The first, the Grey Lag, is a very common bird, breeding all over a very large area in North Finland and South Lapland; but it appears to be confined to the areas under pine-growth. This Goose commences to breed at the end of April and by the time the snow is beginning to melt in North Finland the majority of the birds have already laid. The full clutch, which may be anything from three to six, or, rarely, seven eggs, is complete by the first week in May, sometimes even earlier, and the young are mostly hatched by the end of the month. All the nests observed were in dense forest consisting of pine and birch, with a thick undergrowth of bracken, juniper, and wortleberry, growing for the most part in swamp, the nests being placed on hummocks above the wet or, occasionally, amongst rocks and boulders on slightly higher ground. The nests actually seen were all within half or three-quarters of a mile of open water, but the Finns said that they were sometimes found as much as three miles from any lake or open swamp. It was at the same time very noticeable that 31 [ Vol. lii. however far they might be placed from any big water they were invariably situated within a very few feet of some little runlet or stream leading to a lake. It is by these little ditches that the goslings are led by their parents down to the open swamps, and the Finns say that in May, in the very early mornings, they often see a little procession of mother goose and goslings, guarded in the rear by the gander, wandering slowly down to the lakes. The Bean Goose breeds to the extreme limit of the birch-forest, whilst nests may also be found in the stunted birch-growth at the edge of the tundra, and more rarely in the thick salix- and juniper-growth actually on the southern tundra. Like that of the Grey Lag, the nest is always or nearly always in pretty thick cover, but the site of one nest which was pointed out in Petsamo was quite open. The Lesser White-fronted Goose is only met with in the open tundra, and both this bird and the Bean Goose breed whilst there is still deep snow on the ground. The site of one nest was pointed out which had been found by the fishermen simply because the hole in which it was placed showed. up as a black spot in the vast white area of snow-covered tundra. By June practically every egg had hatched, but a clutch of six, very hardset, were seen on the 21st, and a clutch of four on the 13th of that month, on which latter date an empty nest was also found. The down of the Lesser White-fronted Goose suffices to distinguish its nest from that of any other bird; it is very dense and very dark, nearly always containing innumer- able small black feathers from the abdomen and occasionally larger black-tipped feathers from the flanks. In the nests of both the other Geese, black-tipped feathers are of course occasionally found among the down, but never to the same degree, whilst the feathers themselves have the black less in width and the down itself is much paler. Another rare bird met with was the White-billed Northern Diver (Colymbus adamsii), and the speaker also described at some length the breeding of the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa © lapponica lapponica). Dr. Hortling, a Professor of Helsingfors University, accompanied Mr. Stuart Baker on his last trip, and an article under their joint authorship is shortly appearing in ‘ The Ibis.’ Vol. lii.] 32 Mr. T. H. Harrisson described a visit to St. Kildain 1931 :— The St. Kilda group of islands—lying some fifty miles outside the line of the Outer Hebrides—have always been of particular interest to zoologists by reason of the presence of four notable island forms, the St. Kilda Wren (Troglodytes t. hirtensis), Soay Sheep, St. Kilda House-Mouse (now almost extinct), and St. Kilda Field-Mouse. The first British and third known Leach’s Fork-tailed Petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) was taken there by Bullock in 1818; the species is now far more abundant than on North Rona or the Flannans, although as many as 400 eggs have been taken for collectors and tourists in one year. Prior to 1880 this was the only British nesting-place of the Fulmar Petrel (Fulmarus glacialis), once the staple item of the islanders’ diet, and most excellent eating. By a series of cliff counts and section transacts I estimated that there were about 25,500 pairs breeding in 1931. Boreray, Stac Lee, and Stac an Armin claim the largest colony of Gannets (Sula bassana) in the world, first described in 1698 by the delightful pen of Martin Martin. Gurney estimated 30,000 birds, but I found only 21,300 in 1931, and I believe Gurney’s figures are based on an exaggerated estimate of the Boreray sub-colony. The islands were one of the last strongholds of the Great Auk (Alca wmpennis) ; one of the three known British specimens was captured there in 1821 or 1822, while there is strong evidence that another was killed as a witch by one Lauchlan Mackinnon about 1840. Two new birds for Britain have also been obtained, a Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans) shot by J. Steele Elliot on June 14, 1884, and an American Water- Pipit (Anthus spinoletta rubescens) captured by Dr. W. Eagle Clarke on September 30, 1910. : This long list of exciting features singles out St. Kilda as the most interesting of all the islands in Britain, even in Europe. The interest has been further intensified by the compulsory evacuation of the natives in September 1930, and the sub- sequent uncertainty as to the future of the mammals and birds. It was with the object of making an immediate investigation on the present condition of the fauna and flora, just under a year after the evacuation, that a party of six 33 [Vol. li. Oxford and Cambridge undergraduates paid a visit from July 22, to August 14, 1931, with the permission and support of Sir Reginald Macleod of Macleod, the late owner. This party included a geologist (M. Stewart), botanist (C. P. Petch), mammalogist (J. Moy Thomas), entomologist (D. L. Lack), and two ornithologists (J. Buchan and myself). Lack also helped with the ornithological work, and assisted in taking a bird census, before turning to the study and collection of ‘insects. It is my intention here to summarise the ornithological results of this expedition as briefly as possible. But first I must explain that we travelled up on a small passenger and cattle boat—the ‘ Hebrides, —and were called for, nearly a month later, by the “Dunara Castle.’ We lived in one of the deserted houses, rapidly going to pieces, and fed on provisions brought from the mainland, augmented by sheep, lobsters, fish, and (greatest delicacy of all) Fulmars. The weather throughout was quite good, though there was much mist and rain, often with a strong north wind. I wish that I had time to tell you more about our actual stay on the island, for it was not without incident and adventure; but I must confine my whole attention to the birds. The first part of our time was devoted to taking a census of all the land-birds on Hirta (the main island), rather over 1500 acres. This proved extremely hard work, partly because of the very steep hillsides (rising to over 1000 feet in many places), and partly because of the mist which constantly enveloped the high ground. Moreover, it was necessary to work the large area of cliff, including Conachair—the highest cliff in Britain. Stewart and I also managed to effect a landing on all the other islands of the group, including Soay, and I was able to take bird counts on these, thus making the census complete. Though it was hard work, we managed to obtain what we consider to be reliable results, arid from these some interesting facts emerge. We found a total of twelve land species repre- sented by 288 pairs, of which over half were Rock-Pipits and just under a quarter St. Kilda Wrens. The total average density was one adult to 3-75 acres. The Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) Vol. lii.] 34 was represented by only nine pairs on Hirta, as compared with several hundreds prior to 1930, this decrease being almost certainly due to the removal of all but a dozen domestic sheep (there were previously about a thousand). The Starlings apparently fed largely on ticks and dung-beetles, as they do on North Rona, which has been uninhabited for eighty years, but had two hundred sheep and four hundred Starlings in September 1931. Tree-Sparrows (Passer montanus) were represented by but a single bird, which disappeared early in August. Yet for many years past the species has been common, though con- fined to the village area, so that their absence must surely be due to the departure of the natives, and with them all the tit-bits of rubbish upon which the Sparrows fed. There has been a big drop in the number of Hooded-Crows (Corvus cornix), from about filty pairs in 1925-1930 to five pairs in 1931. As might be expected Twite (Acanthis flavirostris) and Wheatear (Hinanthe enanthe) have remained steady at about a dozen pairs each. The distribution of the Rock-Pipit (Anthus spinoletta)— the dominant Passerine—was most curious, for it bred all over the cliffs, the hillsides, the “ cleits,’’ and the village, to the exclusion of all but six pairs of Meadow-Pipits (Anthus pratensis). In my limited experience I have never before known Rock-Pipits to nest more than a few yards from the sea; on St. Kilda pairs were breeding in the very centre of the island and at an altitude of over 1300 feet. I shall be most interested to hear if other members of this club know of any similar cases, for these seem to me to throw much light on the past and present distribution of the species. The status of the St. Kilda Wren (T'roglodytes t. hirtensis), first described by Seebohm in 1884, and almost exterminated by collectors by 1888, is of primary interest. From the remnant which were saved—largely owing to the initiative of Sir Herbert Maxwell—the race gradually regained a sound footing. In 1931 we found sixty-eight pairs, of which forty-five were on Hirta, eleven on Dun, nine on Soay, and three on Boreray. Owing to the difficulty and danger of landing on the last two of these islands, it is doubtful if. the species 35 [Vol. lii. will again be threatened with extinction ; but your attention should be called to information which has reached us on the ~ highest authority to the effect that there was a regular traffic in Wren’s eggs even up to 1930. I know one gentleman who was asked £5 for a clutch, 7s. 6d. for a single egg. That so deceitful a trade should have become an established routine augurs ill for the future of the birds if certain persons can find. a way of reaching the islands during the next few years. We were interested to find that the Wrens exhibited a marked dimorphism, with light and dark forms often very distinct in the field. This is clearly demonstrated in some of our photographs, and has not previously been recorded. Three nestlings examined were remarkable for the absence of an occipital down tract as found in the mainland form. The statement in Witherby’s ‘ Practical Handbook of British Birds,’ i, p. 496, that these birds “ probably... pick up small crustacea from the shore” is quite misleading, for the species is almost entirely: clifi-feeding. The song we found noticeably finer and less bubbling than that of the Common Wren. One pair of Rock-Doves (Columba livia) and five of Common Snipe (Capella gallinago) complete the list of breeding land- birds. Curlew (Numenius arquata) were present throughout our stay, and later we obtained good accounts of the birds and their nests from two old natives. Although this species is believed to have bred on North Rona, only the Whimbrel (Numenius pheopus) has been strongly suspected of nesting on St. Kilda, despite Dixon’s evidence of two pairs of Curlew breeding in 1884. No Whimbrel were present in 1931. The enormous colonies of sea-birds cannot be greatly affected by the evacuation, though some—such as the already swarming Puffin (Fratercula arctica)—may increase still further now that sea-fowl are no longer snared for food. Razorbills (Alca torda) were remarkably scarce, and there cannot have been more than a hundred pairs; previous visitors have noted it as abundant. An interesting find was a breeding pair of British Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus graellsiz), only satisfactorily recorded on one previous occasion. That this species should be so scarce on St. Kilda, yet common Vol. lii.] 36 on Rona, the Flannans, and the main Outer Hebrides, is surely puzzling. Of other interesting species I should mention Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus), Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus puffinus), and a few Black Guillemot (Uria grylle grylle) and Kider (Somateria mollissuma). We left before the autumn migration had really begun, but we noted White Wagtail, Heron, Kestrel, Red-breasted Merganser, Sanderling, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Redshank, Arctic Tern, Common Gull, and others. St. Kilda, now the property of Lord Dumfries, is ence more uninhabited. One can only hope that it will remain so, and that ornithologists will respect its sanctity. At intervals of one to five years properly organised scientific expeditions should be allowed to visit the islands, in order to investigate changes in the fauna and flora ; but the interference of indi- viduals can only have damaging consequences. At the request of the owner we shot several cats left behind by the islanders, lest they multiply and become a scourge. The wild Soay sheep is still abundant on Soay, and there are many domestic sheep on Boreray ; but only a handful remain on Hirta, where the flora will thus revert to a natural state. The changes which must undoubtedly follow the removal of man and all his agents should prove one of the most interesting studies ever open to naturalists, and I sincerely hope that neither prejudice nor mismanagement will be allowed to spoil so great an opportunity. Lord RorTHScHILD described a new race of Cypseloides :— Cypseloides fumigatus major, subsp. nov. Differs from C. fumigatus fumigatus in its larger size and paler, more mummy-brown, not black-brown, coloration. It also differs in the much lighter grey-brown throat and in the whole crown and forehead having a scaly appearance, due to the pale edges of the feathers; in C. f. fumigatus only the forehead. shows this scaly appearance. : Length of wing, C. f. fumigatus, 142 mm. i}, » &.f. major, 152 mm. Habitat.— type, no. 1473, Tucuman, Argentina (Dinelli Coll.). 37 (Vol. lii. Lord Rorrscuitp exhibited and described ‘two hitherto undescribed eggs :— Pseudorectes ferrugineus brevipennis (Hartert). Kgg long, narrow, oval, almost equal at both ends ; ground- colour purplish-cinnamon with large scattered spots of purplish- chocolate, with slight underlying spots and a clouding of sooty bluish-grey. Measurements, 38 23 mm. and 37x 24 mm. Habitat —Wanumbai, Aru Islands, Nov. 1930 (W. J.C. Frost _ leg.). Paradisea rubra Daudin. Egg similar to those of Paradisornis rudolphi Meyer, but more sharply narrowing towards the smaller pole; ground- colour pale cinnamon-pink with longitudinal splashes of crimson-rufous, with underlying streaks of grey. Dimensions, 38 X 25 mm. Laid in captivity with four others in Captain T. A. Hone’s aviary, at Highways, Bellingdon, Chesham (Bucks). The Hon. M. Hacutsuxa exhibited a series of eggs of the Japanese Quail :— The Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), he said, had long been domesticated in Japan for the purpose of laying eggs, which are used for food. It is not rare to find a hen laying more than two hundred eggs in a year. The birds are kept separately in a special Quail cage, about 10 inches square, and are never put together in an open aviary, which is practically the only method of breeding game-birds, even such small- sized ones as the Painted Quail (Lxcalfactoria chinensis). Prince Taka Tsukasa has given a detailed account of this breeding in the ‘ Avicultural Magazine ’ for 1921, p. 24. - The first stage of variation which has occurred since the domestication is the appearance of albinism. The White Quails with blue eyes (albino Pheasants and Peafowls have always blue eyes) are just as strong and good layers, however, as the normal birds, and not delicate and poor layers as in the case of Phasianus. Vol. lii.] 38 A marked difference in the size of the Quail is not found, although some individuals attain large size. It is strange that its call-note is much prolonged, this being due to strong artificial selection, as the Japanese value a cock with a long and loud cry. In this connection he said he should like to mention a breed of Japanese Fowl called Totenko, remarkable for its prolonged call-note, which is as peculiar in this respect as the appearance of the Long-tailed Fowl (sometimes called the Yokohama Fowl or Chabo). Above all the variations found in the Quail itself their eggs show a large range of different colouring both in shade and pattern. The commonest type may be called the blue-grey type, caused by an excessive deposit of lime, and somewhat like the eggs of the Arctic Tern. Next comes the yellowish type, with heavy blotches of dark brown; this is the only type of Coturnix egg found in the wild state. Any other types are rather uncommon, though one may find thickly pigmented eggs in dark brown. Albino hens produce generally pale- coloured eggs which are white or pale bluish with bluish markings. | The size and weight of the eggs are on an average larger and heavier than those of the wild birds. The eggs shown to-night were representative of a series found in a shop in Tokyo, and had been presented to the British Museum. Mr. H. M. Watuis exhibited a series of walnuts pecked by Rooks, and read the following note :— I have a walnut-tree in my garden which bears freely most years, and is annually pillaged by Rooks. Apparently the transport of the nuts is a difficulty ; either the gape of a Rook is not sufficiently wide to afford a firm hold, or the beak is too narrow. I have yet to see a Rook hold a nut in its beak, except by the tips of its mandibles. To get a firm grip the birds cut through, or strip off the outer green husk and hammer two holes through the shell. Always both holes are at one end or other of the nut, and always one in each half—never both in one shell. They are never far apart ; usually within half-an-inch. 39 [Vol. lit. The nut, when thus pierced, is no longer I believe attacked, but is held firmly by the points of the mandibles, and away goes Rook and nut. ‘ Holing ” is neither easy nor certain, for a very large proportion of the nuts escape from the grip, either of foot or beak, and fall. I do not find a fallen nut is usually further meddled with. To do so might be dangerous. To my knowledge four, if not more, cats have the run of my garden. I have picked up on one day over one hundred fallen nuts, of which as many as 91 per cent. were holed as I have described. On other days the proportion was as low as one holed in two or three. I have found only two (at most) which had been split into two shells and pecked after falling, as shown by fragments of kernel lying around them. To get this form of food the Rooks have to watch and inspect the ripening nuts, and only attack them when the green jacket is blackening and loosening. Obviously the fact that my tree is available is traditional, and some old Rook probably guides the young draft . Whilst under the tree I have repeatedly found nuts falling, and found in some cases the nut still in its jacket, which was frayed, and the nut either pierced or showing marks of pecking. I have never seen a rat in my garden, and only on one occasion a grey squirrel. Mr. C. OtpHAm showed the following exhibits from St. Kilda :— (2) Specimen of the amber-red oil obtained from the | Fulmar, formerly used and exported by the St. Kilda folk for burning in lamps and as a smear for sheep. (b) Noose of plaited horse-hair stiffened by split quills of Gannet, which, attached to a rod, was used for snaring Fulmars, Puffins, and other birds. (c) Puffin snare. A hempen line of 5 feet (each end of which was secured to a heavy stone) with 28 horse-hair nooses at intervals. (d) Piece of #-in. horse-hair rope, used by climbers until superseded by ropes of manilla-hemp. Described and (6) figured in Macpherson’s ‘ History of Fowling.’ Vol. lii.] 40 Mr. C. OLpHAM also exhibited a Corncrake-call, a device consisting of a wooden ratchet-wheel of 14 in. diameter. The engagement of the pawl with the ratchet when the © instrument was drawn across the thigh of the performer reproduced faithfully the rasping “‘ airp, airp ” of a Corncrake, and in the Midlands and the north of England the call was used to lure the birds to their destruction in the spring. A similar instrument is described and figured in Macpherson’s ‘ History of Fowling ’ (p. 426). Mr. HueH WHISTLER forwarded the following descriptions of new subspecies of Red-whiskered Bulbuls from India :— Otocompsa jocosa abuensis, subsp. nov. Differs from O. jocosa fuscicaudata Gould (which has no white tips to the tail-feathers) in its extremely pale coloration, both above and below, and in having the pectoral gorget narrow, pale in colour, and broken in the centre. Distribution. Mt. Abu and the neighbouring areas of Raj- putana (Ajmere : Nasirabad). Type, 3, 29.4.1868. Mt. Abu. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1886.9.1.2519. Otocompsa jocosa provincialis, subsp. nov. Differs from O. jocosa emeria (Linnzeus) (which has white tips to the tail-feathers) in the pale coloration of the upper parts, which are almost but not quite as pale as in O. 7. abuensis. Distribution. Valley of Nepal, United Provinces, and Bihar. Type, 3, 24. 3.1871. Kumaon Bhabar. Hume Collection. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1886.9.1.2386. Mr. HueH WHISTLER also forwarded the following descrip- tion of a new race of Fantail-Flycatcher obtained by the Vernay EKastern Ghats Survey :— Leucocirea pectoralis vernayi, subsp. nov. Is easily distinguished from the typical form (Nilgiris) by the far broader pectoral band, which is also continued downwards as an extensive dark wash on the flanks. AL [Vol. lii. The white spots on the pectoral band are much reduced, both in size and number, and they are mostly confined to the posterior edge of the band. The upper parts are slightly paler and browner in tint. The fulvous wash on the abdomen is darker, and the lateral tail-feathers are also washed with fulvous. Distribution. Confined to the Upper Eastern Ghats (Anantagiri, Sankrametta, Jeypore Agency), Madras Presi- dency, India. Measurements.— 5 3g. Bill from skull 13-5-15-5 ; wing 72-81 ; tail 93-104:5 ; tarsus 18-19 mm. 3 9. Bill from skull 13-13-5 ; wing 70—73-5; tail 88-96 ; tarsus 18-18-5 mm. Type, no. V. 1730, 3, 26. 4.1930. Jeypore Agency, 3000 feet, Upper Eastern Ghats. Presented by the Bombay Natural History Society to the British Museum. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1931.10.7.2. The Hon M. HacuisuKa forwarded the following descriptior of a new subspecies of Bittern :— Botaurus poiciloptilus mathewsi, subsp. nov. This new race has the colour of the back nearly as dark as the Australian form B. p. poiciloptilus, but it is decidedly darker than B. p. maorianus from New Zealand. It is noticeably lighter on the forehead, and around the upper mandible it is almost light brown. The legs are not so thick and the tarsus is decidedly shorter, 90-95 mm., while the Australian and New Zealand forms measure about 115 mm. Three specimens examined ; named after Mr. G. M. Mathews. Type in British Museum, adult ¢. Noumea, New Cale- donia, December 2, 1881. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1894.1.20.79. b Vol. lii.] 42 NOTICES. The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, December 9, 1931, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. Members intending to dine are requested to inform the Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, S.W. 7. Members who intend to make any communication at the next Meeting of the Club should give notice, as early as possible, to the Editor, Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, so that the titles of their con- tributions may appear on the Agenda List. All MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the Editor before or at the Meeting. Agenda. 1. Major Stanley 8. Flower, Chairman of the Club, will give his Annual Address. His subject will be the Longevity of Birds. 2. Mr. D. Bannerman will make some remarks on the Migration of Birds through the Canary Islands. 3. Mr. W. L. Sclater will exhibit a nest of a Swift from Trinidad and portraits of Levaillant. 4. Dr. P. R. Lowe will exhibit a specimen showing hybridism between a Pheasant and a Blackcock. 5. Mr. H. Whistler will show a Scarlet Finch (Hematospiza sypahi) illustrating colour changes developing in captivity. 6. Mr. P. F. Bunyard will exhibit a book, ‘ Eggs of Finnish Birds,’ drawn and coloured by G. Sundman. nna Le Rirk Noo - BULLETIN OF THE BALTISH. ORNITHOLOGISTS® CLUB. No. CCCLYV. Yu Ray ae” THE three-hundred-and-fiftieth Meeting of the Club was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1, on Wednesday, December 9, 1931. Chairman: Major 8. S. FLowEr. Members present :—Miss C. M. Actanp ; W. B. ALEXANDER ; W. Sore Batty; E.C. Stuart Baker; D. A. BANNERMAN ; F. J. F. Barrineton; Sir JoHN Rose BrapForp; P. F. BuNYARD ; Col. STEPHENSON R. CLARKE; H. P. O. CLEAVE ; Lt.-Col. A. De~tm&-RapciirFe; A. H. Evans; Miss J. M. FERRIER ; A. G. GLENISTER ; Hon. M. HacutsuKa ; Col. A. E. Hamerton ; Dr. J. M. Harrison; T. H. Harrisson; R. E. Heatu; Dr. E. Hopkinson; Miss D. HorpERN; Dr. Karu JORDAN; Rev. F. C. R. Journparn; N. B. Kinnear; Miss E. P. Ltacno ; Dr. G. Carmicnart Low (Editor); Dr. P. R. LowE; C. W. Mackworru-Prarep (Hon. Sec. & Treas.) ; Lt.-Col. H. A. F. Macrata#; Dr. P. H. Manson-Banre ; G. M. Matnews; A. H. Merkuesonn; J. L. CHaworru Mustrers; T. H. Newman; C. OLpHAm; B. B. OsmastTon ; C. B. Rickett; B. B. Rivizre; W. L. Scuater; D. SEetu- Smit#; C. G. Tatspot-PonsonBy; Dr. A. LANDSBOROUGH Tomson ; Dr. C. B. Tickenurst; B. W. Tucker; Miss E. L. TuRNER ; V. QO. Wituiams; H. F. WitHERBy ; C. R. Woop ; C. DE WorRMs. Guests :—Miss EK. J. Detmni-RapciirFre; Mrs. FLower ; Miss L. 8. FLowmr ; SamuEL HorDERN. | December 30, 1981.] a VOL. LII. Vol. lii.] 44 Chairman’s Annual Address. Part I.—REVIEW. Major STANLEY S. FLOWER said :— LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, During 1931 we have lost by death one member of the Club—Joseph Parker Norris—who died in Philadelphia in January, and we cannot let this annual occasion pass without © recalling the names of two others of our friends, who, though not actually members of this club, have attended these meetings and, in their respective spheres, have helped in the advance of the study of birds. John G. Millais died on the 24th of March. His charming and beautiful books and sketches remain for all time. Arthur J. Goodson died on the 5th of October. He had worked for about 38 years in the bird-room of Lord Rothschild’s Museum at Tring. The pages of ‘The Ibis’ and the ‘ Bulletin’ give a per- manent record of many journeys and much work accomplished by members of the Union and the Club, and these are supple- mented by the interesting papers that appear in ‘ British Birds ’ and in the ‘ Oologists’ Record,’ while the ‘ Zoological Record ’ gives a comprehensive list of the world’s ornithological literature of the year. To avoid repetition, only brief mention will be made now to eight other ornithological results, selected to emphasize the wide range of bird-lovers’ studies, which have appeared in publications other than those already named, and which have not been included so far in ‘ The Ibis’ section entitled “Recent Ornithological Publications.” First, the presidential address given by Einar Lonnberg to the 7th International Ornithological Congress at Amsterdam in 1930, which was published in July this year. Then the excellent plea for the Corn-Crake by Walter Collinge, which I hope may be read and acted on by land-owners and farmers, and the practical advice on how to protect birds and increase their numbers on road-sides, cemeteries and _ golf-links, by W. L. McAtee. 45 [ Vol. lil. In 34 pages of the Transactions of the Herts Natural History Society Charles Oldham has incorporated many interesting facts and observations on local names, folk-lore, protection, persecution, and occurrence of British birds and mammals. Lord Rothschild has given us another important paper on the identification of Cassowaries, and in a later number of the ‘ Novitates ’ a review, by W. Meise, has appeared of the Indo-Australasian Flycatchers of the genus Gerygone. Franklin Metcalf’s study of the foods of wild ducks is an example of another branch of ornithology, and I would like to call attention to a letter by Hugh Whistler to the editors of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, and to endorse his prayer that writers should use binominal names unless they have definite reasons for employing trinomials. Part IJ.—On THE LONGEVITY oF BIRDS. On the 8th of April, 1931, Dr. P. H. Manson-Bahr (1931) exhibited to this Club a stuffed female Senegal Yellow-fronted Canary, Serinus mozambicus caniceps, that had lived in a cage in London from at least 1913 to this year, and recently H. Whistler (1930) has mentioned a male Sepoy or Scarlet Finch, Hematc- spiza sipahi, that was in captivity in England from 1907 to 1927. In neither case was the complete age of the bird known, but Frau Daempfle’s Garden-Warbler, Sylvia borin, was taken as a nestling and came to the post-mortem table nearly 24 years later, when, as L. Martin (1878) has recorded, neither externally nor internally could any sign of senescence be found. These are instances to show that even small birds are “ long- lived,” but there are two kinds of longevity. It is a matter of common knowledge that among the higher mammals individuals may go on living for years after their powers of reproduction have ceased ; but fish, so C. Tate Regan has told me, are never known to be too old to breed. So these kinds of longevity are:— « 1. Still capable of breeding, a lenearite seal for the perpetuance of the species. 2. Too old to breed, a longevity that only concerns the individual. a2 Vol. lii.] 46 Among birds in captivity the evidence appears to point to the fact that, like mammals, birds can live on into a non- breeding old age. But does this occur among wild birds ? Examination of the gonads may show certain individual wild-killed birds permanently non-breeding, but it might be difficult to prove whether this was the result of senescence or of some pathological cause. In fishes and amphibians it is possible that want of oppor- tunity to breed may prolong life to beyond its normal length— the individual may not die until it has performed its duty in propagating its species. In mammals no such thing happens : I do not know whether it does or does not in birds, but a fact that is very certain is that old mammals always show obvious senility, whereas healthy birds go on looking and behaving exactly the same from year to year. Of individual birds that have lived in my care for periods of from over twenty to twenty-five years I was unable to notice any change of appearance or manners in representatives of several different families. Longevity can be divided also into specific longevity and potential longevity, as indicated by EK. Ray Lankester (1870) and explained by P. Chalmers Mitchell (1911). In the case of human beings the specific longevity, that is, the expectation of life, is about fifty years, while the potential longevity is a little over one hundred years. Comparative longevity has interested mankind for centuries. A popular source of error in assigning great longevity to wild animals arises from want of knowledge of the fact that individuals of many species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes are sensible to the value of a favourable -“nitch,” either for procuring food, for nesting, or for resting. J. H. Gurney (1899, p. 27) pointed out that the fact of a Vulture, or a Raven, having frequented one secure precipice for a quarter of a century, without any others of the same species being seen, was no proof that it was always the same individual. George Jennison (1918) called attention to “the fact that a good nesting pitch will always find a successor when the sitting tenant is dispossessed.”’ Most of us can recall from our personal experiences instances of places inhabited by AT [Vol. li. a single pair of some species of bird, whether a Hedge-Sparrow or a Falcon, and, one of the pair being killed, how quickly its place is filled—and again there is just the one pair there. It is of interest to recall the old statements of comparative longevity as some people prefer them to results obtained by such modern methods as “ ringing ” or “ banding,”’ or keeping birds in captivity. That which may be termed the southern statement, attributed to Hesiod in the 8th century B.c., has been rendered in English :— ‘“ To ninety-six the life of man ascendeth, Nine times as long that of the Chough extendeth, Four times beyond the life of Deer doth go, And thrice is that surpassed by the Crow.” The northern statement as quoted, in German, by K. Friedel (1879) is: ‘“* A Wren lives three years, a Dog to the age of three Wrens, a Horse to three Dogs, a Man to three Horses, a Donkey to three Men, a Goose to three Donkeys, a Crow to three Geese, a Stag to three Crows, and an Oak Tree to three Stags.” The Faroe variant, quoted by J. H. Gurney (1899, p. 28), is: “ A human being lives as long as three Horses, a Crow as long as three human beings, but a Raven as long as seven Crows.” It is hardly necessary to say here that loss of feathers, or the assumption of white feathers, are not necessarily signs of old age in birds. Loss of memory has been cited as a proof of old age in Parrots. The marking of individual birds was for many centuries simply a convenient method of showing the ownership of a bird, especially of such valuable birds as Swans and Falcons. The idea of marking nestling wild birds so as to be able to trace their subsequent history appears to have occurred to a few people early in the nineteenth century, and to have been practised by even fewer. Suitable material for the rings was a difficulty. arly in the final decade of the last century the Duke of Northumberland was having young Woodcocks ringed at Alnwick, and F. R. Falz-Fein was marking birds bred on his Ascanea Nova estate in southern Russia, but Vol. lii.] 48 systematic bird-ringing on a large scale may be considered a product of from 1910 onwards. Already we are gaining useful information, and can look forward to much valuable knowledge from this source in the future. An instance that may be mentioned now is that of the Sandwich Tern, Sterna sandvicensis. Terns are rare in captivity ; so far as I know it takes an experienced aviculturist to keep one alive for even two or three years, but H. F. Witherby (1931, p. 77) has proved that they are not short-lived by recording a Sandwich Tern, ringed in Cumberland 12th June, 1917, being recovered in South-West Africa 23rd February, 1931, 13 years 8 months 11 days later. Another instance is the Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola. Two records of ringed birds of twelve years show that it can attain more than twice the maximum age that is known for it in captivity, while with the Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, the two methods of finding longevity are about equal, ringed birds being known of 11 and of 12 years and menagerie speci- mens of 12, 13, and 14 years. On the other hand, E. C. Hoffman (1929) says of the Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata, from North America, that its “‘ average life seems to be less than two years, and only about three in a hundred apparently live long enough for a fourth nesting.” Of the few records that I have of this species in European Zoological Gardens there is one bird left alive after six years and another of over eight years. A most interesting feature of ringing is the recovery of the same individual bird on many occasions, such as the Robin, Erithacus rubecula melophilus, recorded by H. F. Witherby (1931, p. 50) at Broughty Ferry, Angus, which has been recovered twelve times already. There are very short-lived vertebrates: among fishes, three species of Gobies, belonging to three genera, are known to be “ annuals,” all the adults of one generation having died. before the next generation grows up, and, among mammals, the recent researches of L. E. Adams (1930) and A. D. Middleton (1931) appear to prove the already suspected fact that the Shrew, Sorex araneus, in England is an “ annual” species. So far no “annuals”? have been found among amphibians, 66 49 [Vol. lii. reptiles, or birds. In fact we have no evidence that there - is such a thing as a really short-lived bird, that is to say, that there is any species of bird whose individuals have a potential longevity of less than six years. Turning to very long lives, we know definitely, of fishes, that Capt. J. A. M. Vipan has, living in his private aquarium at Stibbington Hall, two Sterlets, Acipenser ruthenus, that were given to him by the Czar of Russia 8th October, 1888, 43 years ago, and that the Duke of Bedford has at Woburn two Sheat- fishes, Silurus glanis, that were brought there in 1874 and are now not less than 57 years old. Of amphibians, even such very little animals as newts may prove to be long lived. On the 25th April, 1925, C. Oldham caught on Berkhamstead Common, Herts, -and gave me, a female Smooth Newt, Triturus vulgaris, and a male Palmated Newt, Triturus helveticus ; these are both alive, 64 years later. The Giant Salamander, Megalobatrachus japonicus, is one of the oldest of tetrapods : a fine specimen, which Lord Rothschild obtained early in 1890, is still alive at Tring after 41 years, and is believed to be about 60 years old. Not much is known of the potential longevity of reptiles, but we know that some alligators have lived forty years and. tortoises, of several species, to over a century, and a few to 150 or even 180 years. Very few species of mammals reach, or exceed, 30 years, and the only species, besides man, that are known to exceed. 50 years are the elephant and, in very rare cases, the horse. Records of longevity in zoological gardens being kept by human beings are liable to error ; it is, therefore, of importance to be able to compare records kept by different people, by different methods, in different places and at different times. These records are being collated by me in systematic order in card-catalogue form. Already the results are encouraging, and. increasing confidence can be felt in the averages calculated from these records as certain facts emerge and become definite—facts as to the periods of time that different species of birds will live in captivity. It can be proved that many birds reach, in comparison to their size, very great ages. Vol. lii.] 50 To Gurney’s question (1899, p. 42): ‘ Are birds of some families longer-lived than those of others ?’”’ a very definite answer in the affirmative can now be given. The three orders of birds as to the longevity of which we know most are the Anseres, the Columbe, and the Galline, because the number of statistics for wild individuals in captivity runs into many hundreds, and for domestic breeds and races to untold thousands. Of all the species of wild Partridges, Quails, Pheasants, Jungle-fowls, Peacocks, Turkeys, Guinea-fowls, Curassows, Guans, and Brush-Turkeys, that do so well in captivity, I have found records of only five species in which individual birds have lived to over 15 years, and of none exceeding 22 years of age. Of Pigeons and Doves seventeen species lived to 15 years and three to 30 years or more, whereas of Swans, Geese, and Ducks fifty-eight species reached or exceeded the 15 years limit, and four to over 30 years. Ravens and Swans are said to live to great ages (cf. Gurney, 1899, pp. 28 & 33), but, so far, I have failed to find evidence to that effect. The actual records available show that the Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis, exceeds the Raven, Corvus coraz, in longevity as a pet bird, and I have only one note of a Swan of any species having lived longer than a Goldfinch has in captivity. Dr. C. Emerson Brown has been so kind as to let me know (6th October, 1931) that a Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, lived in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden from 11th December, 1895, to 26th May, 1925—29 years 54 months. Some Geese have lived longer, but it is doubtful if any Duck ever lived longer than 27 years, that is to say, the extreme age of a little passerine bird like the Goldfinch. It is unfortunate that neither Lankester in 1870, Gurney in 1899, Mitchell in 1911, or myself in 1925, when writing on the ages to which birds live, knew of a paper by Fitzinger, published in 1853, which is a mine of information on menagerie history, and the original source of many statements that have been published in various (and sometimes confused) forms concerning longevity. 51 Vol. lii.] A study of*Fitzinger’s work shows that it was compiled . with great care, and I venture to think that we should accept his statements as to the three very old birds he mentions. A female Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaétos, received at Belvedere, Vienna, in 1729 (not 1719 as printed on p. 34, see “ Druckfehler,” opposite p. 198), and kept there till 1781, when it was transferred to Sch6nbrunn, where it died in 1809, after about 80 years in captivity. A male Egyptian Vulture, Neophron percnopterus, received. in the Hof-Burg, Vienna, in 1698, and kept there till 1752, when it was transferred to Sch6nbrunn, where it died in 1799, after about 101 years in captivity. A Griffon Vulture, Gyps fulvus, in captivity in Vienna from 1706, was at Belvedere from 1716 till its death shortly before 1824, This bird was never transferred to the Sch6n- brunn Menagerie, and Fitzinger was satisfied as to the fact that it lived in captivity for 117 years. Inst of Literature referred to. Part I.—REVIEW. 1. CoLLINGE, W. E,—The Food and Feeding-habits of the Land-Rail or Corn-Crake. J. Min. Agr. London, pp. 618-621, Sept. 1931. 2, JourpDAIN, the Rev. F. C. R.—Field-work of British Ornithologists in 1930. Oolog. Rec. London, 11, pp. 2-5, March 1931. 3. LONNBERG, Ernar.—Proc. 7th Internat. Ornith. Congr. Amsterdam, 1930, pp. 6-28. Amsterdam, July 1931. 4. Low, G. CarmicHAEL.—The Literature of the Charadriiformes from 1894 to 1928. London. Pp. i—xiii, 1-637, ed. 2, 1931. 5. McAtrxr, W. L.—Local Bird Refuges. U.S. Dept. Agr. Farm. Bull. 1644, Washington, D.C., March 1931. 6. Mrise, WiLHELM.—Zur Systematik der Gattung Gerygone. Novit. Zool. Tring, 36, pp. 317-379, Sept. 1931. 7. Mretcaur, FRANKLIN P.—Wild-duck Foods on North Dakota Lakes. U.S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bull. 221, Washington, D.C., March 1931. 8. OLDHAM, C.—Payments for ‘‘ Vermin’’ by some Hertfordshire Churchwardens. Trans. Herts Nat. Hist. Soc. 19, part 2, pp. 1-34, Sept. 1931. 9. Pirman, C. R. 8.—The African Woolly-necked Stork—and other Birds—in Uganda.—Oolog. Rec. London, 11, pp. 45-48, June 1931. ad Vol. lii.] 52 10. Roruascuitp, Lord.—A preliminary review of the Mooruk group of Cassowaries. Novit. Zool. Tring, 36, pp. 181-183, April 1931. 11. SctateR, W. L.—Zoological Record, vol. 67, 1930, part 15, Aves, pp. 1-97, including 1406 titles, Aug. 1931. 12. WuistLER, H.—An Open Letter to the Editors. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 35, pp. 189-195, June 1931. Part I1.—LoncGeEvITyY. 1. ApAms, Lionet E.—Life-history of the Common Shrew. Proce. I. of Wight N. H. Soc. Newport, 1, pp. 638-640, 1930. 2. Firzincer, L. J.—Versuch einer Geschichte der Menagerien des dsterreichisch-kaiserlichen Hofes. SitzBer. Akad. Wiss. Wien, March—April 1853. 3. Ftower, S. S.—Contributions to our Knowledge of the Duration of Life in Vertebrate Animals.—4. Birds. P.Z.S. 1925, pp. 1365-1422, 1926. 4. FRIEDEL, E.—Zool. Gart. 20, p. 158, 1879. 5. GurRNEY, J. H.—On the Comparative Ages to which Birds live. Tbis (7), 5, pp. 19-42, 1899. 6. HorrmMan, E. C.—Longevity of the Blue Jay. Bull. North-eastern Bird-Band. Assoc. 5, no. 2, April 1929, fide Auk, 46, p. 419, 1929. 7. JENNISON, GEORGE.—Manchester Guardian, 21st Feb., 1918. 8. LANKESTER, E. RAy.—On Comparative Longevity in Man and the Lower Animals. London (Macmillan & Co.), 1870. 9. Manson-Baur, P. H.—Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 350, p. 99, 1931. 10. Martin, L.—Zool. Gart. 19, p. 219, 1878. 11. Mrppieton, A. D.—A contribution to the Biology of the Common Shrew, Sorex araneus Linnaeus. P. Z.8. 1931, pp. 133-143. 12. MircHett, P. CoAtmers.—On Longevity and Relative Viability in Mammals and Birds. P. Z.S. 1911, pp. 425-548. 13. WuHIsTLER, H.—J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34, p. 721, 1930. 14. Wirnersy, H. F.—Brit. Birds, 25, pp. 50 & 77, 1931. Mr. Davtp BANNERMAN exhibited the bodies of a number of migratory birds preserved in spirit which had been picked up dead on the Roque del Este, an isolated barren islet which lies off the northern coast of Lanzarote, eastern Canaries, and made the following remarks :— In the autumn of this year Mr. Hugh Cott, already known to some of you for his explorations on the Zambesi, made an expedition to the Canary Islands for the purpose of procuring zoological collections, his principal object being to obtain a series of lizards from every island, the Canaries being D3 [ Vol lit. famous for some large species. In this he was successful, — and during his visit to the smaller islets which lie off the Lanzarote coast, and which, in company with Mr. Bishop, I visited in 1914, he made a very remarkable discovery. First I would draw your attention to the two photographs exhibited of the Roque del Este, from which you will see that it is but a tiny islet, actually, I believe, one side of the lip of a crater which rears itself above the waves. You will note the position of the Rock on the two maps which I have brought with me. Actually the East Rock is the first land which a migratory bird would sight during the autumn migration, and would be very little west of the normal route taken by birds which had followed the coast of Portugal and were making for Africa somewhere in the region of the Rio de Oro. When Mr. Cott landed on the Rock in September in search of lizards he climbed all over it, and was astonished to find the bodies of numerous small birds of various kinds scattered about. Many appeared to be quite fresh, others were in a mangled state, some were without heads, others without wings, while others had hardly a feather out of place. Mr. Cott collected a number of these last, about forty in all, and brought them home to me for identification. In the two bottles of spirit before you are : 20 Common Whitethroats (Sylvia communis communis). 1 Redstart (Phanicurus phenicurus phenicurus). 2 Nightingales (Lusconia megarhyncha megarhyncha). 2 Common Sandpipers (Actitis hypoleucos). 1 Whinchat (Sazicola rubetra rubetra). 2 Woodchat Shrikes (Phoneus senator senator). 4 Pied Flycatchers (Muscicapa hypoleuca hypoleuca). 1 Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola). 1 Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella nevia nevia). *] Scandinavian Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita abietinus). *] Spanish Chifichaff (Phylloscopus collybita brehmi). 2 Melodious Warblers (Hippolais polyglotta). * The identification of these Chiffchaffs proved puzzling, and they were finally submitted to Dr. Claud Ticehurst for the opinion of an expert on the Palearctic Region. Vol. lii.] 54 These birds were picked up at random ; dozens of others were left where they lay. Now the question arises how came all these birds to be scattered in all directions over the Rock. Mr. Cott unhesi- tatingly points to the Falcons as the culprits, a “‘ huge colony ” of which live on the Roque del Este, and in answer to my query as to why so many of the birds were so little damaged, if this was the true explanation, writes :— ‘““—In my humble opinion there is no doubt that these migrants — or at any rate most of them—are destroyed by the Falcons. They were found lying scattered almost all over the upper part of the Rock, at about 100-150 feet, in the neighbourhood of the nests and elsewhere ; in many cases the bodies were terribly bloody and mangled, and I have distinct memories of birds with their heads stripped clean off. In one case I think you will find a single head (minus body) in the collection, but I am afraid that I left the worst specimens behind, only bringing away the more recognizable birds.” We will leave it at that, but I should like the opinion of the members present as to whether they have ever met with a similar instance of birds being killed by Falcons far in excess of their food requirements, and therefore, apparently, for the sheer joy of killing. The Falcons are almost certain to be Falco eleonore, of which I exhibit a specimen procured by myself in Lanzarote, but Falco peregrinus peregrinoides also inhabits Montafia Clara, and may occur on the Roque del Este as well. It is a resident in the Canaries, whereas F’. eleonore is a summer migrant which comes to breed. The photo shown is of an eyrie on the East Rock at the time of Mr. Cott’s visit, and the youngsters are now, I understand, thriving at the Zoo. Finally, it may be of interest to remark that, in addition to nine summer visitors (of which Falco eleonore is one) and 15 winter visitors, the islands are visited regularly by 32 birds of passage, which pass through in both spring and autumn. In addition, 30 occasional visitors are recorded, and no less than 72 rare visitors. Of the twelve different species collected by Mr. Cott, the Common Sandpiper is a winter visitor, the Redstart, Whinchat, 55 [ Vol. lii. and Pied Flycatcher are regular birds of passage, while the - Common Whitethroat and Woodchat-Shrike were thought to be rare visitors when I completed my investigations in 1920. Of the remaining species, the Aquatic Warbler figured in my appendix of doubtful records of which we required additional data, and the Nightingale and Melodious Warbler had been recorded on unreliable evidence. These are all now sub- stantiated, and we have, in addition, added three fresh forms [one species and two races|—the Grasshopper Warbler, Scan- dinavian Chiffchaff, and Spanish Chiffchaffi—to the Canarian list. Mr. Cott is, I think, to be sincerely congratulated on his enterprise in bringing these birds home on the chance that they might prove to be of interest. J am sure you will agree with me that they certainly are. The Rev. F. C. R. JourDAIN remarked that in the Libyan Desert large numbers of dead migrants had been found near isolated outcrops of rock, and that in this case their. death was obviously due to exhaustion and starvation, and not to the activities of Falcons. On the other hand, at the colonies of the Eleonoran Falcon in the Mediterranean, where these birds subsist on passing migrants, there are no excessive numbers of dead birds lying about. It may fairly be inferred that only a fraction of the deaths was due to the Falcons, and that most of the migrants arrived exhausted and perished from lack of food or water. [Other members of the Club agreed with Mr. Jourdain that the Falcons were not responsible for the total destruction of the birds, although doubtless they took toll of what they required for themselves and their young. Major Flower suggested that some of the birds died from want of water, and that crabs might be responsible for the condition in which some of them were found.—ED. | Mr. W. L. SciateEr exhibited, on behalf of Sir Charles Belcher, the nest and the skins of two young birds of a Palm Swift from Trinidad. This Swift has been provisionally identified with Micropanyptila furcata, recently described by Mr. G. M. Sutton from Guachi, Zulia, Venezuela, in ‘The Auk’ (1928, p. 135); this genus differs from Reinarda, to which the Trinidad Vol. lii.] 56 bird was first assigned, by the absence of the feathers on the toes. However, it will not be possible to make a satisfactory identification until adult individuals can be examined. These Sir Charles Belcher has promised to endeavour to secure. At any rate, neither Micropanyptila or Reinarda have hitherto been obtained on the island of Trinidad. The nests are placed at the base of the dead fronds of a palm-tree, probably Mauritia flexuosa. The following is Sir Charles’s account of the matter in his letter of September 9, 1931, to me :— “These Swifts occur, as far as I know, only in two places, and the total number so far seen cannot exceed fifteen pairs. I kept them under observation, and in July I saw one fly up into a bunch of dead palm-leaves, which satisfied me they were not Panyptilas, but I was not able to climb up to see if there were any nest. Last Sunday week, Aug. 30, I revisited the spot, and again saw a bird fly up into the same bunch of leaves. I tapped the trunk, and three birds flew out, two obviously being young. I could see no nest owing to the shadows, but a curious thing happened, for, after waiting ten minutes, hoping the birds might perhaps return (which they did not do), the nest fell down ! ‘“* Last Sunday I went there again, with Mr. G. D. Smooker, and he and I thoroughly satisfied ourselves that the birds, of which about ten pairs were in the air, were not of any species on the Trinidad list. Yesterday we took out an expert climber, an Indian in Mr. Smooker’s service, and he found four nests : (a) the remains of the one that fell down, (6) an old one, (c) one building, (d) one containing two fully-grown young, capable of flight, which I killed and skinned, and these skins are the ones sent herewith. “‘ There was only one nest in each tree, and you will see from the nest, which may reach you a little later than the skins, that itis built right up at the base of the frond which is upper- most when the frond hangs down dead. What seems to happen is that the trees reach a certain height, perhaps forty feet, and then the lower leaves die, and as they die they fall at right angles to the stalk without becoming detached, and no doubt stay like 57 [Vol lii. that for years, for it takes a good deal of cutting with a machete to sever the frond. | “The nest lowest down was about fifteen or twenty feet from the ground. The nest is a mass of multi-coloured feathers, those of Parrots and Doves being conspicuous.” Apart from the fact that this Palm-Swift is new to Trinidad, nothing, so far as I have been able to ascertain, has hitherto been recorded in regard to the nesting or other habits of these birds in any of the literature I have been able to consult, so that Sir Charles’s exhibit and communication is of con- siderable interest and novelty. Mr. W. L. ScuaTER exhibited two photographs of portraits of F. Le Vaillant, and said :— I communicated to the last number of ‘The Ibis’ (Oct. 1931, p. 645) a short memoir on the French traveller and ornithologist, Francois Le Vaillant. This was illustrated with a portrait copied from the one in Swainson’s ‘ Birds of West Africa,’ about the authenticity of which I was not altogether satisfied. Later on I discovered that there were two portraits of Le Vaillant in the collection of the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris, and through the kind help of Monsieur J. Berlioz I was able to obtain reproductions of these, which I now exhibit. They will be deposited in the Library of the Natural History Museum, where they will be open for inspection. Mr. W. L. ScuaTEr described a new race of Swamp-Warbler from Tanganyika Territory, Bradypterus brachypterus moreaui, subsp. nov. | Resembling B. b. brachypterus of South Africa, but the upper parts slightly darker and the tail more dusky and blackish, below the flanks slightly darker and browner, and the streaks on the breast scanty and inconspicuous. Bill blackish, horn-brown on the lower mandible, legs brown. From B. brachypterus benguellensis the present race differs in its smaller size and less dusky coloration, while B. b. fraterculus from Kenya Colony is much more rufous above and_ below, and has the breast-spots much more marked. Vol. lii.] 58 Measurements.—Total length about 145 mm. ; wing 58 mm. ; tail 65 mm. ; tarsus 22 mm. ; culmen 13 mm. The female resembles the male, but is slightly smaller, wing 55 mm. Type.—A male collected by Mr. R. E. Moreau in a marsh at Amani, in the Usambara district of Tanganyika Territory, at’ 3000 feet, on November 27, 1930; collector’s no. 372. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1931.5.7.7. Remarks.—Mr. Moreau also collected another male and a female at the same place, and there are also in the Natural History Museum two other Swamp-Warblers which I consider to belong to this race : one obtained at Bagito, in the Uluguru Mountains, by Mr. A. Loveridge, the other from Komba, in the Masuku Range in northern Nyasaland, many years ago, by Mr. A. Whyte. Mr. ScuaTER also contributed the following note on Capri- mulgus ugande Madarasz :— Through the courtesy of Dr. E. Csiki, Director of the Hungarian National Museum at Budapest, I have been privileged to examine the type of Caprimulgus ugande Madarasz (Ann. Mus. Hung. xiii. p. 394, 1915). This description was based on a pair of birds, male and female, which were obtained by the Hungarian collector Kittenberger at Mujenje, in Uganda, on July 31, 1913. In the ‘Systema Avium Atthiopicarum,’ 1924, p. 249, this species was placed as a race of Caprimulgus rufigena, but a glance at the two types shows that these are undoubtedly identical with Caprimulgus natalensis chadensis, of which the British Museum of Natural History possesses a large series from various localities in Uganda. Caprimulgus ugande is, therefore, a synonym of C. natalensis chadensis, and has nothing to do with C. rufigena. Dr. Percy R. Lowe exhibited a specimen of a cross between the genera Lyurus and Phasianus (Black Game and Pheasant). The bird was shot on the Long Mountain (Montgomeryshire) on a shoot belonging to Mr. H. G. Harrison of Welshpool, 59 [ Vol. lii. who sent it to the Rev. H. E. Cooke of Stoneleigh Vicarage, Coventry. From Mr. Cooke the bird eventually found its way to the British Museum of Natural History, where it has been preserved, and through the kindness of Mr. Harrison added to the collection. Mr. Cooke (in litt.) states that “‘ there were five of these birds, which made their appearance about August, when the wheat was cut, and they were to be found most evenings and early mornings feeding on the stubble, and especially perching on the stooks of corn, like Black Game do, for feeding. When disturbed, these birds would go away with a long flight of wing, more like a Grouse in the shape of the pinions in flight than anything else. and also with a deep kind of cackle like a Cock Grouse, only deeper. They usually made for the bracken when disturbed on their feeding-ground, or else on a large moor of taggy grass where Snipe abound.”’ One of the five birds which had been previously taken “weighed over 3 lbs., and its flesh was very white indeed, with not too much flavour ”’ Dr. Lowe remarked that hybrids between Black Game and Pheasants were not veryrare. For instance, in ‘The Zoologist ’ (x. 1906, pp. 321-330) the Rev. F.C. R. Jourdain had collected together the records of fifty occurrences in the British Isles. In the specimen exhibited, the head, nape, mantle, breast, and abdomen were dark iridescent coppery purplish, showing both Black Game and Pheasant characters. The wing- coverts, secondaries, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts were finely barred with greyish-buff vermiculations. The tail was short and fan-shaped, the feathers exhibiting a Hen Pheasant colour-pattern. The throat was‘ greyish-white, with steely bluish-black feathers “ moulting in” here and there. _ Dr. Lowe thought that the chief interest in these hybrids was the very accurate and faithful way in which the details of the colour-pattern characters were repeated from year to year. He pointed out that the hybrid figured by Mr. Jourdain in ‘ The Zoologist ’ for 1906 (loc. cit.) of a bird shot in Shropshire in 1874 might have been drawn from the Vol. lit] 60 specimen he was exhibiting, so similar was it in detail of plumage; while a specimen in the British Museum killed near Alnwick in 1837, and presented by the Duke of North- umberland, as well as others, in the collection, demonstrated this important point. Lord RotuscuiLp sent for exhibition, as a supplement to Dr. P. R. Lowe’s exhibit, a skin and a mounted specimen of a hybrid Pheasant Blackcock (Phasianus colchicusx Lyrurus tetrix). The skin was purchased in Plymouth market, in February 1884, by Mr. John Gatcombe who sent it to Mr. Frederick Bond, of Fairfield Avenue, Staines, at the sale of whose collection it passed to the Tring Museum. The mounted bird was shot by the late Mr. Andrew G. Corbet, of the Grove, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in 8.W. Shropshire, in 1874. At the sale of Mr. Corbet’s birds it was purchased by the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain, who presented it to Mr. J. B. Nichols, at whose sale it was purchased for the Tring Museum. He also sent a hybrid Pheasant xCapercaillie (Phasianus colchicus x Tetrao urogallus), shot in Scotland, with two others of the same brood, one of which is, he believes, in the Edinburgh Museum. He drew attention to the fact that, although both hybrids are evidently sired by the Pheasant, the one crossed with the Capercaillie shows a much more _ pheasant-like tail than the Blackcock cross. The Rev. F. C. R. JourDaIn said that in ‘ The Zoologist ’ for 1906 he had published a list of 50 occurrences of this hybrid, and subsequently (¢.c. p. 433) increased this number to 55. In 1912 he made a further addition to the list in ‘ British Birds’ (vi. p. 146), raising the number to 60, and was of the opinion that over 70 had now been recorded from the British Isles, though, curiously enough, this cross was very rare on the Continent. Dr. Percy R. Lowe also exhibited a normal male example of Phasianus torquatus satscheuensis Pleske, from Schanto-po, in N.W. China. This very pale subspecies of Ph. torquatus torquatus is known as the Sachjow Pheasant, whose area of distribution is given by Buturlin and others as lying within the north-westerly extension of Kansu along the northern 61 [Vol. lit. slopes of the Nan-sban mountain range separating Tibet from the Little Gobi. This subspecies is strongly contrasted from the typical Ph. t. torquatus, the rump being a conspicuous light greyish- blue; the wing-coverts pale bluish-grey edged with very pale fawn, and the mantle feathers also» edged with fawn and their centres almost white. The breast is dark rich bay, and there is a white collar to the neck-feathers. The female is exceptionally light-coloured. The reason for making this exhibition was that, he had lately seen some Pheasants being fed in Mr. E. G. B. Meade- Waldo’s coverts which were extraordinarily similar to pure wild Ph. t. satscheuensis, and he was curious to know if other members had had a similar experience. The impression he gained on watching the birds being fed was that some 60 per cent. at least were these conspicuously pale-coloured birds. The keepers’ version was that they were “Chinese Pheasants”; but if by Chinese Pheasant Ph. t. torquatus was implied, as it generally is, the point he wished to bring out was that these birds were not torquatus. It would be interesting to know if dealers were introducing a strain of Ph. t. satscheuensis, because, if so, the fact ought to be recorded in view of the already interesting case of the dark bluish-green form now common in our woods. Mr. Hachisuka, he might finally add, had brought with him that night a very fine Pheasant in the flesh (bought at Bellamy’s), and this bird was, feather for feather, similar to the Pheasant he had just exhibited. Dr. James M. Harrison made the following remarks re the discussion on Phasianus torquatus satscheuensis :— So far as my own experience goes in this area, Phasianus t. satscheuensis is not abundant. I have one which was killed as long as 25 years ago ; another in my possession was obtained in December of last year. I myself shot a third example about five years ago. These are the only three specimens of which I have had personal knowledge during ten years Vol. lii.] 62 in the Sevenoaks district, but I have heard of several others. It is not a bird one sees often in the local game-dealers’ shops. The examples which I have been able to examine are typically pale on the back, with very pale bluish-white wing-coverts and an incomplete white collar. Mr. HueH WHistTLER forwarded the following description of a newly-distinguished race of Willow-Wren from the Western Himalayas :— Phylloscopus trochiloides ludlowi, subsp. nov. Differs from P. t. trochiloides in having the upper parts paler and less saturated in colour and in having the lower parts also paler and with less of an olivaceous wash. Measurements.— 5 gg. Bill 13-13-5; wing 62-67; tail 47-52-5; tarsus 19-19-5 mm. 19. Bill 13-5; wing 58-5; tail 47; tarsus 19 mm. Second primary equals 8/9, 9/10, or 10/11. Distribution.—Kashmir State, Garhwal, and doubtless the intervening areas of the Western Himalayas. Type.—Ludlow Coll.,no. 1310, 3, May 25, 1931, Maran River, 5500 feet, two stages from Kishtwar. Presented to the British Museum. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1931, 12.10.1. Remarks.—Named after Mr. F. Ludlow, whose travels have added so greatly to our knowledge of the ornithology of Central Asia. The type-locality for P. t. trochiloides (Sundev.) [=lugubris auctorum] is Calcutta, where the species is a winter visitor only. I accordingly submitted specimens of both the east and west Himalayan forms to Count Nyls Gyldenstolpe, who was kind enough to compare them with the type-specimen now in the Royal Natural History Museum, Stockholm. The result of his examination shows that the east Himalayan is the typical form. This species now proves to agree with other Himalayan members of the genus Phylloscopus in having a paler race to the west and a darker, more saturated race in the east. 63 [ Vol. lii. Mr. Grecory M. Marnuews described the following new . form :— Pterodroma externa tristani, subsp. nov. Differs from P. e. externa, from Masafuera Island, Chili, in being darker on the upper surface and on the wing-coverts. The bill is longer, 38 mm., as against 35 of externa measured the same way (and they are constant). The bill also appears heavier. Wing 322 mm.; tarsus 40; middle toe with claw 51; tail 141. All these measurements exceed those of the same parts in the species. From P. e. cervicalis it differs in not having the whitish collar on the back of the neck, and in having the under-wing lining all white. Type.—Tristan da Cunha, ex the Jack G. Gordon Collection in 1919, now in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, Scotland. Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited a copy of ‘ Eggs of Finnish Birds,’ drawn and coloured by G. Sundman, published, apparently, by the artist at Atelier, Helsingfors, and made the following remarks :— This copy is signed by the artist, Gosta Sundman, December 30, 1890, and is, so far as I am aware, a scarce work ; ‘there is no letterpress, and consequently it can hardly be considered of scientific value. There are about 264 figures, embracing about 207 species, well and accurately drawn, but not too highly coloured, while white eggs are shown on a chocolate ground. The scientific and native names are given under each egg, and for the former the artist has apparently followed Baedeker and Thienemann. The figures of the eggs of the Accipitriformes are particularly good, and include a well-marked egg of the Goshawk, Astur gentilis gentilis—in fact a much better-marked specimen than the one exhibited by me in November 1926 at a meeting of the Club (Bull. B.O.C. xlvii. 1926, p. 61). There is, also, a marked egg of the Hen-Harrier, Circus cyaneus cyaneus, which is not altogether unusual in this species. Vol. lii.] 64. The figures of those of the Anatide are the best I have seen. The coloration is very accurate, though some of these plates, in my opinion, are spoilt by the eggs being shown in pieces of grass and moss. Among those of the Limicole or Charadriiformes is a stippled egg of the Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus, resembling the eggs of the Broad-billed Sandpiper, Limicola falcinellus falcinellus, which cannot be considered typical, though [ happen to have two similarly marked eggs of this rare form, which IT now exhibit, together with four typical eggs. The figure of the Green Sandpiper’s egg, T'renga ocrophus, shows a greyish-white ground-colour; this is unusual, but occasionally occurs. The egg of the Great Snipe, Capella media, is not typical. ' Those of the Passeriformes include an egg of the Rustic Bunting, Hmberiza rustica, which is very characteristic ; that of the Crested Tit, Parus cristatus, is unmarked; they are usually heavily pigmented. It is possible, however, that this is only a leucocitic egg, a condition which occurs in all the eggs of the Paride. The egg of the Sedge-Warbler, Acrocephalus schenobenus shows conspicuous hair-like lines, which is not unusual. The blue egg of the Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, would have been more interesting if the name of the fosterer had been given. Oologically this is a very useful work, and of great credit to the artist, but robbed of much scientific value by the absence of letterpress. Major FLow_Enr read the following letter :— Kiltymon, Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, 4 December, 1931. Major Stanuey S. Fitower, O:B.E., Spencersgreen End, Tring. DEAR SIR, I see in the B.O.C. Bull. that you are to speak on the longevity of birds at the next meeting. You may be interested to hear that I have a Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthorrhous 65 [ Vol: liz. Anderson) which I brought back from Mengtsz, Yunnan, in 1921. This bird was given to me as a nestling in September 1920, and is living in good health without showing any sign of age, barring that the claws are a little too long. The bird is fed on bread and milk, lettuce, raw beef, fruit, and flies, bread and jam being often also given. This bird was thus 11 years old last September. It moults well and regularly in September and October. Yours faithfully, J. D. La Toucue. The Rev. F. C. R. JouRDAIN made a short statement with regard to the next International Ornithological Congress. At the last Congress, held in Amsterdam in 1930, it was decided that the next Congress should be held in England in 1934. Dr. E. Stresemann, of Berlin, and the Rev. F.C. R. Jourdain were elected President and Secretary, and a small Committee was appointed to draw up a new Code of Rules for future Congresses. When the new rules have been adopted by a majority of the International Committee they will become operative, and British ornithologists will then be called upon to decide whether the Congress shall be held in London or the provinces. It is proposed to bring the matter before the B.O.U. at the Annual Meeting next March, and Mr. Jourdain expressed a hope that members of the Club would give their attention to the matter in the meantime. Vol. lii.] 66 NOTICES. The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, January 13, 1932, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. Members intending to dine are requested to inform the Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, S.W. 7. Members who intend to make any communication at the next Meeting of the Club should give notice, as early as possible, to the Editor, Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, so that the titles of their con- tributions may appear on the Agenda List. All MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the Editor before or at the Meeting. Agenda. 1. Lt.-Comdr. R. R. Graham, R.N., will give a_ lecture, illustrated by lantern-slides, on “ The part played by the Emarginated Feathers and the Alula in the Flight of Birds.”’ 2. Miss Acland will exhibit slides illustrating the catching of Puffins in the Faroes. 3. The Hon. M. Hachisuka will describe a new race of Capri- mulgus affinis. 4. Mr. P. F. Bunyard will exhibit a series and a remarkable clutch of eggs of the Chaffinch. BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB, No. CCCLVI. THE three-hundred-and-fifty-first Meeting of the Club was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1, on Wednesday, January 13, 1932. Chairman : Major S. S. FLower. Members present :—Miss C. M. Actanp; E. C. Sruarr Baker; D. A. Bannerman; F. J. F. Barrinaton; Miss M. G. Best; Sir Jonn Rost Braprorp; G. Brown; P. F. Bunyarp; A.L. Butter; Hon. G. L. Cuarreris; H. P.O. CLEAVE ; R. H. Deane; Capt. F. W. Dewnurst; Miss J. M. FERRIER; Lt.-Comdr. R. R. Granam; Rev. J. R. Hate; Col. A EK. Hamerron ; B. G. Harrison; T. H. Harrisson ; R. E. Hearn; Mrs. T. E. Hopexin; Miss D. HorpErn ; Dr. K. Jornpan ; Rev. F. C. R. Jourpain ; N. B. Kinnear: Miss E. P. Leacn; B. Lioyp; Dr. G. Carmicuart Low (Editor); Dr. N. S. Lucas; Lt.-Col. H. A. F. Macrartu: Dr. P. H. Manson-Baur ; G. M. Maruews ; Dr. W. M. May; Mrs. C. D. Murton; J. L. CoawortuH Musrers; T. H. NEwman; C. OtpHam; H. L. Pornam; C. B. Rickert; Lord Rotuscmitp ; Major A. G. L. Stapen; Dr. A. Lanps- BOROUGH THomson ; B. W. Tucker; Miss E. L. Turner; H. F. Wirnersy ; C. R. Woop ; C. pz Worms. Guests :—C. W. Benson ; D. van O. Bruyn; A. L. GRunine ; A. H. Harkness ; D. H. Manson-Banr; J. Mavrocorpato : G. N. May; Mrs. H. F. Wirnersy ; T. WITHERBY. [Junuary 30, 1932. ] a VoL. £77. Vol. lit] 68 Lieut.-Commander R. R. Granam, R.N., read a_ paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, on ‘The Part played by the Emarginated Feathers and the Alula in the Flight of Birds.” He opened his talk by acknowledging his indebtedness to those who took the photographs which he had to show. He-then- went on to.say that, as his subject was rather out of the ordinary run for many of those ‘present, he proposed to commence by trying to make clear exactly what he was going to talk about. For many years now (he said) the appalling casualty lists of aviation, both civil and military, had been steadily rising, though there was some consolation in knowing that the number of accidents compared with hours flown had shown a decided improvement. This improvement was undoubtedly due, in part, to the fitting of a certain safety device to aeroplanes known as the “‘slot.’? Slot, as could be seen from the lantern- slides he showed, was a poor term for the device, which really consisted of a small auxiliary plane situated just in front of the main plane, and lying at an angle to it. _ Its effect was to allow the machine to be flown at a slower speed than was practicable with unslotted wings without falling out of control. There was no need, of course, to emphasize the desirability of being able to land and fly slowly. We knew a good deal nowadays about how the slot worked and what it did, and this knowlege had led to the interesting discovery that birds possessed an almost exact replica of it in their wings. This took the form of a small tuft of feathers attached to the alula, or bastard wing, the limb which, in birds, corresponds to the thumb of the human hand. . In addition to the slot formed by the alula of a bird’s wing, which may well be termed the wrist:slot, many birds possessed a similar but less evident form of slot in their wing- tips. This type was formed by means’ of emargination of the flight- feathers, and to distinguish it from the other type it would be referred to as a “ wing-tip slot.” Nothing closely resembling the wing-tip slots of birds was to. be found in aeroplanes as yet, though a Mr. Thurston, a patent agent resident in London, did bring out, a few years ago, designs for aeroplane slots which were avowedly copied and adapted from the wing-tip 69 [Vol. lii. slots of birds. For some reason or other nothing came of these designs, though it was satisfactory to note that they or, rather, designs developed from them, were once more receiving the attention which they deserved. - As seen in flight these slots merely gave the impression that the feathers had separated. Both the wrist and wing-tip slots of birds varied, in accor- dance with the flying characteristics and habits of their owners, in a fashion which is of particular interest to ornithologists ; but before these variations could be understood it was necessary to arrive at an understanding of what a plain unslotted wing does to the air to derive from it the forces required for flight, of what its limitations were, and of how its utility can be extended by means of slots. The flight of birds and aeroplanes was only possible on account of the laws of action and reaction. Submarines and airships floated in the fluids in which they were immersed because they weighed exactly the same as the amount of fluid which they displaced, but not so a bird or aeroplane. These were much heavier, volume for volume, than the air, and so they had to defeat gravity by causing air to move downwards in such a way that it reacted upwards upon them. Incidentally, they also caused air to move backwards in order to derive from it a forward reaction which drove them along. | There were two ways in which a wing could be made to cause air to move downwards: one was by holding the wing flat and beating it downwards. This method, though it looked all right, was hardly ever used by birds, and was definitely never employed in aeroplanes, because it was inefficient and wasteful of energy. All that happened was that the air moved out sideways to allow the wing to pass, and then moved in sideways to fill in the space which had been formerly occupied by the wing. A certain volume of air was dragged down behind the wing, and gave it an upward reaction, but it was far less, for the energy expended, than with the other method. Slide 7 showed the flow of air round a wing which was moved’ in this manner. The wing was in what is known as a “ stalled ”’ condition. Vol. lii.] 70 The other method was to move the wing horizontally, with the front edge cocked up at an angle of, say, 12° above the direction of movement. The wing then acted like a plough- share, cutting a narrow furrow in the air and glancing off in a downward direction the material displaced from the furrow, which was actually at right angles to the surface of the wing. The reaction was in the opposite direction, upwards and slightly backwards. That was how an aeroplane was kept in the air; the forward reaction of the air which was driven backwards by the air-screw, or propeller, overcame the backward component of the reaction on the wings and so prevented the machine stopping. (This method was illustrated in slide 8.) The wings of a bird which was in level gliding flight, in still air, acted in precisely the same manner, but the bird gradually lost speed because it had no propeller to overcome the backward-inclined part of the reaction on the wings. That was where flapping flight came in. The principle of flapping flight was exactly the same as that of gliding flight, though the application of the principle differed in a manner which was explained further on in the paper. For the time being it was necessary to concentrate on gliding flight, for so far less than half of the force derived by the wing had been considered. In slide 8a the furrow cut in the air by the wing was shown as a blank space, filled with nothing—in other words, a vacuum: a thing abhorrent to nature. Being such, of course, it was not allowed to form: in reality it was filled almost as soon as it formed by the stream of air which passed over the top of the wing flowing down into the furrow in a smooth curve in the manner shown in slide 86. It might be thought that this filing of the furrow would destroy the upward pull which the vacuum, if unfilled, might exert upon the wing. To a certain extent it probably did, but a good deal of the vacuum remained, sufficient, in fact, to account for three-fifths of the total reaction of the air on the wing. This partial maintenance of the vacuum was explained by the fact that air was a peculiar substance, best likened to a very attenuated and elastic variety of treacle. With that 71 [Vol. lii. simile in mind, it was easier to understand that the air was, as it were, reluctant to flow down and fill the furrow. It was convenient to think of the resulting reaction as being a “tension ” between the air and the upper surface of the wing. The two reactions, one acting on the lower and one on the upper surface of the wing, were known as the total resultant force, which was directed (and this was important to remember) approximately at 90° to the mean surface of the wing. When a bird was flying at high speed, the furrow cut by the wings in a given time was longer than at low speeds, because the bird travelled a greater distance. Therefore, in order that the volume of air moved down might not be too great, the bird allowed the rear edge of its wings to be pressed upwards by the reaction of the air, reducing the angle at which, they lay and the depth of the furrow. Conversely, as speed ‘fell—as, for instance, when a bird was gliding down to alight—the depth of the furrow must be increased by increasing the angle of the wings, It was a common sight to see a bird landing with body, wings, and tail gradually rising up in front until, with a final flap or two, it came to rest. This method of retaining the upward reaction could only ‘be employed with impunity, with unslotted wings, up to an angle of about 15°. Above that it failed, on account of another peculiar property of an air-stream, which was, that it loathed beg made to turn sharp corners. When asked to turn downwards through an angle greater than about 15° the upper part of the stream which flowed past a wing in flight simply passed straight on, in the manner shown in slide 9a; but that furrow in the air had to be filled, and so the air-stream eventually turned and, in extreme cases, actually flowed forwards across the surface of the wing. This movement set the whole upper stream whirling until, if visible, it would look like the turbulent wake behind a square-sterned boat, and, like such a wake, it all followed along behind the wing. As before, the air-stream did this with a certain reluctance, and so there was still some reaction; but, instead of the tension between wing and air being mainly upwards and Vol. lit] 72 downwards, it was now backwards, and simply had the effect of reducing the speed still more: the reaction fell rapidly, and, finally, so did the bird or aeroplane that permitted this thing to happen. The process was known as a “ stall.” It had been found that a wing might be employed without stalling at a much greater angle than 15° by helping the air- stream which passes over the top to turn the corner, as it were, by giving the stream a preliminary kick in the required direction; that was what the little auxiliary winglet of a slotted wing did. Slide 9b showed how the air-stream flowing past a slotted wing, set at an angle of about 25°, behaved: the stream started turning down before it reached the main wing, and so was enabled to turn through the whole 25° and flow smoothly downwards. Slides 10 and 11 showed that. birds do sometimes allow their wings to stall momentarily, when it is to their advantage. The covert- feathers on the top of the wings had been blown up by the air-stream flowing forward over them. Slides 12 and 13 were photographs of birds with their alulas in the forward or “‘ slot-open ”’ position, and the lecturer indicated how the air-stream must have been flowing through them. In some birds the alula was nearly three-tenths of the length of the wing: these were the birds with small wings for the weight of the bird, and which, consequently, require the assistance of this great aid to flight the more. Pheasants and Partridges were good examples of the type. In others the alula was much smaller. Gulls seemed in general to have wrist-slots only one-tenth of the length of the wing; in the Albatrosses they were even smaller, and several wings of Humming-birds which had been examined appeared to have none at all; but these were approaching the type of flight used by. insects, which was quite another story. Of particular interest in this connexion, two fledgling birds, a Wren and a House-Martin, were found to have their alulas fully developed, while the main wings were as yet smaller than in the adult bird. Whether or not this was a general rule in all birds it was hoped that some member of the audience would be able to tell us, but it was nice to think that in these two species, at any rate, the young hopefuls, on their first 73 [Vol. lii. solo flights, had the benefit of fully developed safety devices. on their untried and under-sized wings. There were many more interesting things to tell about the wrist-slots of birds—for instance, the fact that their opening and closing was largely automatic; but, owing to pressure of time it was proposed to go on and describe the construction and working of wing-tip slots, perhaps returning to the others before concluding. The alula lies on the top of the front margin of a wing, and so is free to move out and up to its working position, but the tip of the first flight-feather in a wing les beneath, and is overlapped by the second feather. This was what puzzled the aeronautical experts before they fully understood emargina- tion. The truth was that, owing to their being emarginated, the tips of slot-forming feathers do not overlap. Slide 14 showed two feathers taken from the same position in the wings of a Golden Plover (which has no wing-tip slots) and of a common Buzzard (which has them highly developed). The Golden Plover’s flight-feathers overlapped right out to the tips, even when the wing was fully spread, but those of the Buzzard separated. Slide 12 was a drawing of the under surface of a Partridge’s wing-tip, showing how the emarginated feathers fit together'to form the six well-marked slots. The working of a multi-slot wing-tip, such as that of a Rook, Partridge, or Buzzard, was rather complex, so it was best to start off by considering a single-slot example, the Wryneck, shown in slide 16. Here the emargination was such that only the tip of the first flight-feather was separated from the rest of the wing. When the wing-tip, considered as a whole, was set so that the air-stream was striking it at an angle of, say, 25° from below; the rear edge of the separated tip of the first featherswould be blown upwards because it was much broader and more flexible than the front web, and was unsupported above ; in other words, the angle at which that feather lay to the air-stream would be reduced to, say, 10°. The reaction upon it would :then point more forward than that on the main wing, and the feather would tend to move forward. This movement was checked and finally stopped by means of special microscopic hooks protruding from the upper Vol. lii.] 74 surface of the broad unemarginated part of the rear web of the first feather. These hooks, at the critical moment when the slot was fully opened, engaged with the microscopic ribs on the stiff, curved-down, front edge of the unemarginated part of the second feather, which was overlapping them. A drawing of the hooks in a Griffon Vulture’s wing was shown in slide 17. After the hooks had engaged, the only further forward movement that could take place in obedience to the reaction of the air was for the separated tip to bend forwards. That it did so was shown in many photographs (slides 18 and 19). A section taken through the wing-tip when the slot was fully opened would show that the separated tip of the first feather was in the familiar slot position, where it could. give to the air-stream that preliminary nudge which would enable the stream to turn the complete 25° down over the main part of the wing-tip which lay behind it. In wings where more than one feather-tip was designed to separate, the first acted as a guide for the air-stream before it passed over the second, the second for the third, and so on; each feather giving to the air-stream as it passed a light down- ward nudge. The probable flow of air through a section of a wing of this type was shown in slide 20. Slide 21 showed that the wing of a Golden Eagle came in this category. Such a wing was capable of deflecting the air-stream without turbulence through amazingly large angles. Here the author showed (slide 22) a model aeroplane wing designed by Mr. Handley Page on these lines. The succession of slots in the wing gave it somewhat the appearance of a venetian blind. It was found that this wing gave an increased lift of 200 per cent. over an unslotted wing when set at an angle of 42° to the air-stream. In a way it was greatly to Mr. Handley Page’s credit that he was able to devise this wing without a knowledge of the example that nature had pro- vided. The possibility of such wings being put to practical use in aeroplanes had, happily, not been lost sight of, but for technical reasons, which would require a good deal of explana- tion, this had not yet been done. 7 75 [Vol. lii: To sum up, the intrinsic function of emargination was to’ permit feathers to separate when a wing was employed at large angles: firstly, in order that the feathers themselves might not stall, and secondly, in order that they might act as guides to the air-stream to prevent the stalling of the wing-surface which lay behind them. Though emargination was of great service to some birds in gliding flight, it was even more so in flapping flight. Once the idea that a wing slices its way through the air, and that the reaction of the air so displaced is at right angles to the wing-surface, had been thoroughly grasped, the action of flapping flight was quite simple. When a Seagull’s wing was being flapped downwards so that the downward speed of the tip was equal to the forward speed of the bird, the resulting air-stream encountered by the wing-tip would be inclined upwards and backwards at 45°. The wing, having its strong part, or keel, near the front edge, would tend to twist rear edge up into line with this air-stream, but the bird only permitted it to twist to within, say,.10° of the stream. The result was that a furrow was cut; as in gliding flight, and the air from the furrow was displaced backwards and downwards, with a consequent upward and forward reaction, actually directed at 90° to the surface of the wing. This power was exactly what was wanted to drive the bird along and to keep it aloft. Half way along the wing the downward speed was less than at the tip, so there would be less tendency for the wing to twist at this point, and at the shoulder the stream encountered was absolutely level. So, theoretically, a wing in the down- beat should be twisted like the blade of a propeller, and this was amply verified by photographs. In the up-stroke, apart from the flexing back of the wing-tip, the twisting was in the opposite direction. All this twisting could easily be accommodated in the long, narrow, flexible wing of a Seagull, or any bird with wings of similar shape; but there were many birds, such as Wrens and Pheasants, which for one reason or another could not afford to have as long wings as would be suitable for their weight. To make up for their shortness, these wings had to be broad, and the resulting ad Vol. lii.] 76 shape was most unsuitable for twisting, especially for the extreme twisting (perhaps as much as 70° either way at the tips) which must be required with the very rapid up-and-down movement of the wings which these birds employed. Some- thing more like silk fabric with a rubber frame rather than feathers and bones might be able to achieve it. This was where emargination came to the rescue. Where it was present, each feather outside the steps in the webs was unsupported by its neighbour, and was, therefore, free to twist into line with the air-stream on its own. Its stiffness pre- vented the air-stream from twisting it entirely into line with the flow, and so once more a furrow was cut, and upward and forward reaction was produced. Hach feather was working away on its own exactly like a small wing, and the need for the frame of the whole wing to twist was removed. Slide 24 showed how the air might be expected to flow through the emarginated feathers of a Pheasant’s wing in the down-beat. This matter of shape of the wing was probably the most. important of the several factors which went to decide whether or not a bird had emarginated primaries, and, when it had them, how much emargination there was. The shape of the wing itself was governed by the habits of the bird: for instance, nearly all the sea-birds and birds that live in open spaces, such as the Curlew and its cousins, had long, narrow, pointed wings ; and where they had emargination, such as in Geese, Swans, Cormorants, and the Great Crested Grebe, the slots were very short. The Lapwing was the one interesting exception, and in this case there was a fairly obvious explana- tion, for its broad-tipped slotted wing-tips must surely be designed to facilitate the execution of the amazing acrobatics in which it indulged. Large surfaces at the wing-tips provided the superlative control. Conversely, with three interesting exceptions, all birds on the British List that might be said to be more or less arboreal in habits (that is, which flew in places where long wings would soon get damaged, and would at times be quite useless) had wing-tip slots. The three exceptions were the Kingfisher, the Cuckoo, and Savi’s Warbler. The last was the only 77 [Vol. lii. Warbler that had an unslotted wing-tip. The Cuckoo was - a clumsy performer when he got to close quarters in bushes and the like ; and as regards the Kingfisher, it was probable that his habit of hovering had something to do with the lack of emargination in his wings. But the reason why these three species should have long pointed wings rather than rounded slotted ones was not at ali clear. The desirability of having long pointed wings for flying was a rather technical matter of aerodynamics, but it could be explained briefly in the following manner. The ideal wing, from a point of view of providing reaction or lift from the air was one of infinite length, because such a wing had no tip over which the air could be spilled. Ii a wing were only half as long as it was broad, nearly all the air which was being compressed and forced down beneath the wing would slide out sideways. That was the other extreme. It was hoped that the comparison between the two types would make it clear that the longer and narrower a wing was, the easier would its owner find the business of remaining aloft. Slide 26 showed the wing-shape of some _ high-efficiency gliders. There were two classes of birds which required to be treated separately in this matter of explaining why they required heavily slotted wings: they were the great soaring land-birds and birds like the Partridge and Grouse. As regards the soarers, the Albatross, which was probably the king of soarers, went nearer than any other bird to the ideal of having a wing of infinite length : it could afford to, for it dwelt in the great open spaces of the ocean, where its wings never encountered obstructions. When the wind, which was so essential to its activities, died down, the bird could settle upon the water, comparatively secure from enemies, and seldom needed to rise again until the wind returned. Ifthe bird did have to take to the air in a flat calm, its long wings, like those of Gulls, touched the water at the bottom of the first few wing-beats, but they suffered no harm, as water was comparatively soft. But the great soaring land-birds, like Eagles and Vultures, when they settled upon level ground, in calm air, were in a very different predicament— Vol. lii.] 78 they had to be prepared for instant flight. If their wings were shaped like those of the Albatross they would certainly suffer damage in the first few strokes; they therefore had to be shorter and broader, with rounded instead of pointed tips, and con- sequently had to be slotted. There were several details of aerodynamic efficiency which were of no particular interest to ornithologists, but which contributed towards the need for a rounded or square-tipped wing being slotted, however long and narrow it was. Partridges, Grouse, Ptarmigan, and such birds did not come under the heading of those whose wings were short because they flew amongst trees and the like; on the contrary, they lived in the open. It was their curious habit of lying close when disturbed and then rising with tremendous acceleration. that had caused the evolution of their highly developed slots. Long wings could not possibly do the work required. Short wings, flapped at high speed, with consequent excessive twisting, must of necessity be highly slotted, as was explained before. A very interesting aspect of emargination was the manner in which the shape of the slots formed varied. In some species of birds the notches in the webs of the feathers were rounded off ; this was the commonest form, and was found in nearly all birds of the order Passeres. This might be termed the normal form. In Hawks and Owls the notches were usually sharply cut, so that the slot formed was square at its inner extremity. This had, perhaps, something to do with silence in flight, for these birds, hunting on the wing, must naturally desire that their prey should not hear their approach. Birds such as Pigeons, Duck, Swans, and Starlings, which had no strong reason for silent flight, all had pointed slots, with gradual emargination. The flight of these birds was noticeably noisy. Slots also varied in several other ways. In conclusion, Lieut.-Commander Graham said that he hoped that those of his hearers who had not before been introduced to the theory of flight had been able to follow at least some of the subject matter. Those who were interested in aviation would have realized. that aireraft. designers might. 79 [Vol. lii. have gone ahead faster than they had done by paying a little — more attention to the real experts, the birds. A discussion on whether there were any lessons remaining for designers from a study of the flight of birds might be seen in the current issue of the Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society. It was in the form of an appendix to the papers published in ‘ British Birds’ in 1930, and republished in the journal by kind permission of Messrs. Witherby & Co. Miss C. M. AcLanbD showed slides illustrating Puffin-catching in the Faroes. | At the November meeting of the Club, she said, an interesting account of the method of catching Puffins (Fratercula arctica grabe) on St. Kilda was given by Mr. T. H. Harrisson, and the horsehair noose employed was shown by Mr. Oldham. At the latter’s request she was venturing to show to-night these slides, taken in the Faroes, where the catching of Puffins had been developed into a fine art. The cliffs were very high and precipitous, running in some places to as high as 2000 feet. The Puffin-catcher seated himself in partial concealment among the rocks at the top of the cliff, with a few dead Puffins placed in life-like attitudes near by to act as decoys. Armed with a long pole, 12 or 14 feet in length, with a loosely-strung net, 4 feet long by 2 feet wide, at the end, he awaited the arrival of the Puffins as they winged their way in from the sea. Allowing the pole and net to lie at an angle sloping down below his ‘feet, he caught the birds on the wing, as they flew past his place of concealment, with an upward stroke of the net and a turn of the wrist which were strongly reminiscent of a lacrosse player catching the ball. A skilful fowler would catch as many as 250 or 300 birds in a morning, and would tie them into a bundle on his shoulders which he supported with a band round his forehead to take the weight. This band could easily be slipped off with a backward jerk of the head in a case of emergency such as a slip, which might other- wise prove fatal. Puffins, Guillemots, and Razorbills were all caught in this way, and were skinned, not plucked, and only the breast cooked ; they formed very exeellent eating, ~ and were not at all fishy or oily. Vol. lii.] 80 Lord RotuHscHiLp exhibited a series of Pheasants bred and killed in England, together with examples of Phasianus colchicus satscheuensis Pleske, P. colchicus torquatus Gmelin, etc., and made the following remarks :— At the previous meeting Dr. P. R. Lowe exhibited a speci- men of P. colchicus satscheuensis *, described what he had seen at Mr. Meade Waldo’s place, also reported a similar Pheasant obtained at Bellamy’s in the flesh, and suggested that possibly some of the dealers had introduced P. c. satscheuensis. So far as he (Lord Rothschild) knew, this was not the case, only a single male P. c. satscheuensis having reached, Europe alive. This bird lived some time in the Zoological Gardens. The series of birds exhibited were casual occurrences at Tring and elsewhere, and cropped up sporadically, mostly after the introduction of the Mongolian Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus mongolicus Brandt. ‘This went to prove that when a number of local races of one species were crossed and recrossed, the offspring might exactly resemble another local race not con- tained in the actual mixture. The explanation of this was, he believed, that all lines of variation were present in a dormant condition in the individual, and it required considerable shock, such as this crossing and recrossing, to bring out one or the other character. The Tring examples were offspring of the following five races of Phasianus colchicus Linneus, viz. :— P. colchicus colchicus, P. colchicus torquatus, P. colchicus mongolicus, P. colchicus semitorquatus, and P. colchicus versicolor. The following was the list of the exhibited series :— Cross-bred Pheasants bred in England. (1) One reared at Boston, killed at Thorpe, Christmas 1903 (KE. T. R. Gurney Coll.). (2) Tring, December 1889. (3 & 4) Two, Tring, November iz 1908. (5) One wing, Tring, November 15, 1908. (6) Leadenhall Market, 1905. Wild-shot local races of Phasianus colchicus. (1) Phasianus colchicus colchicus Linneus. Kutais, Rion River, 13. i. 1894 (Alpheraky Coll.).. * Called by Dr. P. R. Lowe Phasianus torquatus satscheuensis.—ED. 81 [Vol. lii. .(2) P. colchicus mongolicus Brandt. Near Issyk-Kul, Turkestan (Kutchenko Coll.). (3) P. colchicus semitorquatus Severtzow. Manas Zongaria, December 1893 (Alpheraky Coll.). (4) P. colchicus torquatus Gmelin. Between Wuku and Anking, E. China, 10. xii. 1910 (Captain Hubert Lynes Coll.). | (5) P. colchicus satscheuensis Pleske. Anggi, China, 25. ii. 1890 (Grumm-Grschimailo Coll.). (6) P. colchicus versicolor Vieillot. : Kawokami, Asogun ; Kumamoto, Province Higo Kuisu, 4. xii. 1916 (S. Iwata Coll., ex coll. Kuroda). The Hon. M. HacuisuxKa sent the following Seagal of a new race of Caprimulgus affinis :— : Caprimulgus affinis kasuidori, subsp. nov. The present new race can be recognized, when compared with C. a. affinis and C. a. propinquus, by having slate-coloured vermiculations all over the body except the primary feathers and the vent ; both the former races have buffish or brownish vermiculations. The white markings on the tail in the male are like the typical form, while propinquus appears to have the first outer pair white and the cross-barred marking starting from the basal half of the inner web of the second pair. ‘This new race does not show any connecting link between two geographical races, but shows an offshoot of CO. a. pro- pinqguus. It can easily be recognized by its light and con- spiecuous spot on the breast and the same coloured markings on the outer web of the wing-coverts. Distribution —The exact distribution of the three races is : C. a. affinis Horsfield—Java, Sumatra, Bali. C. a. propinquus Riley—Celebes, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Allor, Timor. C. a. kasuidori Hachisuka—Savu, Sumba. Type.—Type-locality, Savu Island, male, collected by Everett in August 1896. Type-specimen in Tring Museum. Vol. lii.] 82 Lorp RorHscHILD described a new race of Sylvia undata : Sylvia undata maroceana, subsp. nov. On receipt of a specimen of Sylvia undata from Captain Munn from the Balearic Islands, I compared it with the series at Tring, and at once saw that it could not be S. wndata undata because of its intense coloration. After careful comparison I found it agreed best with a series of five (2 gg, 3 29) collected by Admiral Lynes in Yebala, N.W. Marocco. Dr. Hartert had identified these as S. undata tont Hart., described from Algeria, but I consider this to be incorrect, and describe the Maroccan birds as follows :— Description.—g ad. Upper side much darker than in S. wu. ton, slaty black, not greyish slate, especially on head and neck ; underside also much darker vinaceous chocolate. Type—g J. Mago, Yebala, N.W. Marocco, 29. ii. 1923 (Admiral Lynes Coll.). Remarks.—The specimen from Captain Munn is also a male (Alcudia, Majorca, 28. xi. 1931), but, being much more freshly ‘moulted the whole upper surface is washed with mummy- brown, as are the outer webs of the primaries and secondaries. Mr. H. F. Wi1THERByY remarked that he had drawn attention to these dark birds collected by Admiral Lynes (Ibis, 1928, pp. 599-600) in the Yebala in March, but owing to lack of specimens in freshly moulted plumage he was unable to determine whether they differed from Portuguese specimens and those from Brittany described as S. uw. aremorica. Lorp RorHscHiLD sent the following note :— When describing the three Cassowaries, Casuarius jam- rachi, C’. doggettr, and C’. hagenbecki (Bull. B. O.C. xiv. 1904, pp. 39, 40), which had four and five wattles, I suggested these birds came from the Admiralty Islands. After the Eichorn brothers had ‘collected on the main Admiralty Island, and also various German collectors, I withdrew this statement, as all these collectors stated that there were no Cassowaries on the Admiralty Islands. I have now been informed by Mr. Goodfellow and Mr. Shaw Mayer that they 83 [Vol. lii- met Mr. Chase, one of the resident magistrates in New Guinea, - who had been Administrator on the Admiralty Islands for several years, and he declared he had eaten Cassowaries on these islands, and that they were often brought in by the natives. As four- and five-wattled Cassowaries have never been obtained so far in New Guinea, I now feel convinced that my original supposition that these three Cassowaries came from the Admiralty Islands was correct. | Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited a remarkable clutch of five eggs of the Chaffinch (Fringilla c. celebs) from Surrey, and made the following remarks :— The nest in which the eggs were found was typical, situated not more than 3 feet from the ground, in a stunted white- thorn bush, and both parent birds were present. The eggs were normal in size and shape; the ground-colour showed rather more olive-green than typical eggs; the large ends were heavily capped with rich reddish-brown, the super- imposed vein-like markings being of a much darker and richer shade, and almost wholly confined to the large ends; the lower half of the eggs was practically unmarked, the typical round spots showing a penumbra being absent. Mr. Bunyard further stated that the unique series of Chaffinches’s eggs in which the above-mentioned clutch was exhibited had taken him forty-five years to collect, and though he had seen a great number of clutches in situ only four clutches were self taken. The following clutches were of outstanding interest :— A clutch of four pure white or leucitic eggs were from the collection of Dr. Williams, this being exceedingly rare with Chaffinches’s eggs, but frequently occurring with those of the Bullfinch (Pyrrhula p. nesa), and occasionally with those of the Greenfinch (Chloris c. chloris). It had also been recorded by himself for the Crossbill (Loxia c. curvirostra), and was fairly common with the House-Sparrow (Passer d. domesticus). A clutch of five very beautiful eggs with a pale blue ground and exceptionally large underlying markings of greyish- mauve, the superimposed markings being almost absent. Vol. lii.] 84 A clutch of four, not unlike the first clutch of the Chaffinch described, the markings, however, in this case being in the form of zones round the greater axis; another clutch of four had a pale greyish-blue ground, with ash-grey underlying markings. . R os, Aig tae Spas Re ed "C : ear aise ie = ee ei —_ ve } re maar ee es tip? es dig + i" ‘. sei eae ai “oe Qi Bais 4 ‘ ping 102, nineigmenod? pi are y fe Lunn croadignogo'ng: Wr eapesD. Alc nga ieee et he ighd. 0 sihaatbpint: e6 «tlle: 32 Wheel eae bs o Rw sol Hartt CE OTB caer me : oh sie: ihe here! a cae te et ee | : 0 =F rat pre Cin ° oft by eg e seg ite Scie D re ‘ ie a on wee” 2 AP ity Biro 4 : ; a | ehite +4. Br ri wt ei ry; rer BAR sg Wor tule RW ae es : t hin | idee ere, act obAlhep Pris to. ae ) Pon Agee BULLETIN OF THE Perit liSH “ORNITHOLOGISTS CLUB. No. CCCLXI. THE three-hundred-and-fifty-sixth Meeting of the Club was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1, on Wednesday, June 8, 1932. Chairman : Major S. S. FLOWER. Members present :—W. B. ALEXANDER ; W. SHORE BAILY ; E. C. Stuart BAKER; F.G. F. Barrineton ; P. F. BUNYARD ; A. L. Butter ; Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Z. Cox ; Lt.-Col. A. DELME- RapDcuiFrFre ; Miss J. M. Ferripr; A. G. GLENISTER ; Hon. M. Hacuisuka; J. R. Hate; Col. A. E. Hamerton; Dr. E. Hopkinson ; N. B. Kinnear; Miss E. P. Leacu; Dr. G. CARMICHAEL Low (Hditor); Dr. P. R. Lowe; Dr. N. S. Lucas ; T. H. McKrirrrick, jun.; C. W. MackwortH-PRA® » (Hon. Sec. & Treas.); T. H. Newman; H. LEYBOURNE PorHam ; C. B. Rickrett ; Lord RotuscuHinp ; W. L. ScLATER ; D. Sers-Smita; Major M. H. Stmonps; B. W. TUCKER ; H. M. Watts; H. F. WirHersy ; C. DE WoRMS. Guests of the Club :—Eric Parker ; Lord Wixi1AM PERcy ; E. F. Steap. Guests :—Sir GEOFFREY ARCHER; J. WENTWORTH Day; Miss E. J. Dretm&-Rapcuirre; Mrs. STANLEY FLOWER; E. M. E. Guenister; Miss E. M. Gopman; Miss Hate; C. H. Hartritey; Mrs. Mackworru-Prarep; Prof. Dr. S. Matsumura ; W. P. Pycrarr; Mrs. SCLATER. [June 28, 1982. ] a VOL. LIT, Vol. lii.] 136 Lord Witi1aM PERCY gave a lecture, illustrated by lantern- slides and a film, on the use of the Powder-down Patches in the Bittern * :— For centuries (he said) ornithologists have been familiar with the “‘ powder-down ”’ patches on the bodies of the Heron family, but their function has remained wrapped in mystery. It was, indeed, suggested at one time that they possessed luminous properties which assisted the birds in their night fishing, but that was in days when the acceptance of theories without evidence in support of them was more popular than it is to-day. It may be that Herons use their “ powder-puffs ”’ for more than one purpose. It is only safe to assert that one member of the family, a Bittern, makes use of hers for so necessary and essential a purpose that it is difficult to see how the bird could survive without it. During the spring of 1932, the particular Bittern here referred to has given a daily, and sometimes “twice daily,” exhibition of its use to an interested onlooker, at a distance of seven feet, over a period of several weeks. It is difficult to keep a Bittern’s nest under observation for more than twenty-one days after the young are hatched, as the youngest member of the family will be likely to have left the nest in that time, and subsequent family history is concealed from the human eye by a barrier of reeds, though it may be only a few feet thick. The nest referred to here was kept under observation throughout almost all the daylight hours, and, with the exception of four occasions upon which a rudd or roach was brought by the female to the nest, the solid diet with which she supplied her young ones consisted solely of eels. Presumably a Bittern catches an eel in a manner similar to that adopted by a Heron, but anyone who has watched a Heron eel hunting is aware that the business is by no means concluded with the catching. The killing is performed by the combina- tion of a variety of methods which can only be compre- hensively described as “every variety of ill-treatment.” * [For the account which follows we are much indebted to the Editor of ‘Country Life’ for kindly permitting us to use extracts from the article published in that Journal on June 18, 1932. This article, which is well illustrated with photographs, should be read by members interested in the subject.—ED. | 137 [Vol. lit. In the end the eel ceases to writhe, and in that condition is, no doubt, less liable to be the cause of internal pangs, but the process has resulted in a serious deterioration of the state of the killer’s head and neck, for its feathers are now matted and coated with slime deposited by the eel’s body during the periodical shakings to which it has been subjected. Feathers in that condition have lost their efficiency, and must be restored to the clean and “free” condition in which alone they can perform their function. Invariably, at the close of a day’s hunting, and frequently at the morning feeds, the female Bittern returned to the nest in this bedraggled condition, and upon every occasion, as soon as she had ministered to the needs of her family, she set about her business of attending to her toilet. If undisturbed in any way, her routine was fixed and invariable. After the feed some minutes would be spent in breaking reeds, or picking up broken stems and adding them to the nest to counteract the continual subsidence that took place. Then, standing on the nest, the young beneath her if they felt the need of warmth, she turned her attention to her bedraggled head and neck. A quick movement and her head was buried beneath her shoulders, while the feathers at the base of the neck heaved and shook for ten to thirty-five seconds as she rubbed one side of her head ap and down her “ powder-puffs.”’ As her head emerged from the first applica- tion of the “ powder-puff,”’ not only powder, but the actual powder-down also, could be seen clinging to her forehead. Repeated further application followed, first on one side and then on the other, her head becoming whiter and more dishevelled, and the feathers at the base of ‘the neck pro- truding more and more after insertion of the head in the “ powder-puff.”” These neck-feathers were always a signa] by which the conclusion of her powdering could be foretold, _ for as soon as she was satisfied with it they relapsed into their normal position, and she sat for all the world like an over- powdered middle-aged lady who had neglected a last glance in the mirror. The toilet was not yet nearly complete. An interval must be allowed for the powder to do its work, before it could be brushed off, by a vigorous scratching first with one foot a2 Vol. lii.] 138 and then the other, leaving the head slightly ruffled but now nearly dry. During this interval she would divide her atten- tion between her young and a general bill-preening of her own plumage. The average time occupied by the whole performance up to this stage was about forty-five minutes, and, absorbing as every moment of it never failed to be, the concluding stages, in the best artistic tradition, were to surpass all else in interest. For now, while her powder had effectually removed the oily eel-slime from the head and neck, it had as effectually relieved them of the natural oil necessary for water- proofing, and so, with tail-coverts vertically raised and oil- gland fully exposed, a most elaborate oiling of her head and neck was to form the spectacular final act, a fitting climax to this astounding toilet. Leaving the nest, after a final shake out of her plumage, and climbing to the very summit of the reeds, it was her custom to perform this last act in this peculiar situation, impossible to record with a camera. A silhouette against the setting sun, fogged by intervening reeds, seemed the most that could be expected ; but at last, as if to make amends for many previous disappointments, she remained at the nest, turned her back to the camera, and for twenty minutes provided an opportunity for a long series of pictures. In later days the entire performance, with its final act, was repeated more than once in equally favourable conditions ; and upon the last occasion of all, after a stay of no less than three hours and fifty minutes at the nest, instead of climbing to her look-out before starting for her usual hunt, she gently settled herself on her two young ones and closed her eyes. Mr. E. F. SteaD gave the following interesting account of the Mutton-birds of New Zealand :— In the seas around New Zealand there are five different Petrels, which are sometimes referred to as ‘“‘ Mutton-birds ’”— a name which they get, no doubt, from the fact that their young are used for food. They are: (1) NEONECTRIS TENUIROSTRIS. This species breeds in great numbers on islands off the southern coasts of Australia, particularly on those in Bass Strait. It is this bird that is referred to as ‘‘ Mutton-bird ”’ 139 [Vol. lii. by Australians. About half a million young are taken every year and preserved for food, while in some cases the eggs are also used for the same purpose. It is interesting to note that the oil from the stomachs of the young birds is now refined and used medicinally, its chief feature being that it is very rich in vitamins, since it may be refined without the application of heat. This Shearwater is only an occasional visitor to New Zealand, and, so far as I know, does not nest there. (2) PreRODROMA MACROPTERA. The Grey-faced Petrel occurs in various forms from New Zealand to South Africa, the New Zealand subspecies being P.m. gouldi, and having a greyer face than the more westerly races. It breeds on many islands off the coasts of the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand, laying its eggs in early July. The young are able to fly by the end of November, and the old birds then go to sea with them, but return to their burrows again in March and occupy them intermittently until the eggs are laid. The Maoris take the young of this Petrel just before it flies, but only, I think, for immediate use. They do not treat them for preservation for any length of time. (3) HEMIPUFFINUS CARNEIPES. The Pink-footed Shearwater nests on many islands from Cook Strait northwards to the Three Kings, laying its eggs in the latter half of October. Both it and the foregoing used to nest on some of the headlands on the North Island, but they have been driven thence by vermin. The Maoris took the young of this bird for food purposes, but, so far as I know, did not cure them for future use. (4) PTrERODROMA INEXPECTATA. The Mottled Petrel in former times nested inland on moun- tain ranges throughout both the main islands of New Zealand, being especially abundant on some of the ranges and volcanoes in the North Island, where it was taken by the Maoris for food. Curiously enough, I can find no record of its breeding on any of the islands off the coast of the North Island, though it did so in the interior. It has been almost, if not quite, exterminated over the whole of the mainland, though it still Vol. lii.] 140 breeds in numbers on the islands off Stewart Island, and the sub-Antarctic islands furthersouth. Up to four or five years ago the Maoris took it from its nesting grounds in the middle of the North Island, but it became so scarce that they ceased going after it. The Petrels’ chief enemies on the mainland are the introduced stoats, weasels, and hedgehogs. The Maoris still take some of these birds when mutton-birding off Stewart Island, but mostly for immediate use, not for curing. (5) NEONECTRIS GRISEUS. This, the true New Zealand Mutton-bird, nests sparingly on islands off the northern coast, increasing in numbers as one goes south, until it is literally in millions to the south of Foveaux Straits. Formerly it, too, nested on many headlands on the mainland, but is being driven from them to-day by the above-mentioned vermin. The young of this Shearwater are collected every year and preserved in their own fat by the Maoris and distributed throughout the country for sale as food. The Maoris relish them, and so do many Europeans, for the flesh, though very rich, and slightly “ fishy ’’ in flavour, is, nevertheless, quite palatable and tender. It is, indeed, rather like good duckling seasoned with anchovy. The annual crop of Mutton-birds from Stewart Island and its outlying islets is between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand birds, and although this traffic has been going on for a long time, there is no sign of any diminution of the numbers of breeding birds. According to the estimates of people I have spoken to on the subject, about one-third of the young birds are taken from any given area. The islands where the birds breed consist of granite covered by a thick layer of peat, and this is literally honeycombed with burrows. Enormous numbers of Mutton-birds nest on the Snares and Auckland Islands further south, and these are practically undisturbed by man, as the islands are very rarely visited. Mr. W. L. ScuatTeR exhibited some new and rare birds obtained by Rear-Admiral Hubert Lynes during his journey through Northern Rhodesia, Belgian Congo, and Angola 141 [Vol. lii. in 1930-31. This collection, which contains a number of interesting species, in addition to those here exhibited, was made as a supplement to that of the Cisticolas, which was the primary object of the expedition. He was invited by Admiral Lynes to examine this collection and name the new races. It is proposed later on to publish in their joint names a fuller account of the journey and the birds obtained, with taxonomic comments and field notes. The most interesting species obtained was undoubtedly PALUDIPASSER LOCUSTELLA. Three males and two females were obtained—a pair on October 20 on the edge of a wet grassy plain five miles south of Abercorn, and two males and one female on the wet grassy swamps at the north-eastern corner of Lake Bangweolo on December 2, both in Northern Rhodesia. These are the first adults of the species that have been yet obtained. It was in June 1908 that Dr. S. A. Neave collected in the same locality two quite young birds, which he described and subsequently figured in * The Ibis,’ forming a new genus for their reception *. Some years later Dr. J. P. Chapin, of the American Museum, obtained at Faradje, in the Upper Uele District of the northern border of the Belgian Congo, a somewhat similar bird which he named Paludipasser uelensis +, and since then Dr. Schoute- den’s collectors have obtained additional examples of Dr. Chapin’s species near Bolobo, on the. Lower Uele {. These have been examined by Dr. Chapin himself. As Dr. Neave’s young birds are very different from the adults now obtained, and hitherto undescribed, a _ short description of the male and female is here given. Male.—Crown and back dark fuscous brown, the former heavily streaked with dusky, the latter, including the inner secondaries, with small white spots or dots, like those of Lagonosticta; tail without spots and not edged with carmine, but the lateral upper tail-coverts conspicuously tipped with carmine ; wings with the middle and greater coverts and the * Bull. B.O.C. xxv. 1909, p. 25, and Ibis, 1910, p. 251, pl. iii. and text-fig. 3. —»> + Bull. Amer. Mus. N.H. xxxv. 1916, p. 24, fig. 2. { Bull. Cercle Zool. Congolais, v. 1929, p. 102, and vii. 1930, p. 45. Vol. lii.] 142 outer edges of the primaries, except the two outer ones, washed with pale rather orange carmine; frontal band, sides of the face, including a narrow strip above the eye, ear- coverts, throat, and upper breast bright carmine ; rest of the under-parts very dark slate; under wing-coverts whitish, with a slight tinge of yellow on the edge of the wing. Iris light chrome-yellow, bill scarlet, with dark sepia along the culmen ; feet pinkish or yellowish brown. Measurements.—Length (skin) about 87; wing 43, tail 26, culmen 9, tarsus 15 mm. Claw of hind toe longer than the toe itself. The female resembles the male on the upper-parts, but has no red frontal band; the under-parts from the chin to the centre of the abdomen are dirty white ; the flanks and under tail-coverts are black, the former being conspicuously marked with transverse white bands. The soft parts as in the male, but the wing slightly smaller—41-42 mm. Recently, through the kindness of Dr. Chapin, I have been able to examine an example of P. uelensis. This form, which cannot be regarded as more than a subspecies of P. locustella, differs from the last-named in the complete absence of the characteristic white spots on the back, and the mottling on the crown is less distinct, otherwise the two forms are very similar. The new races obtained by Admiral Lynes are as follows :—— Ortygospiza atricollis fuseata, subsp. nov. Description. Male: The darkest of all the Quail-Finches hitherto known, with no white spot on the chin or round the eye; the upper-parts black, not brown, with slightly paler edges to the feathers, giving a striped appearance, and thus distinguishing it from O. a. ansorgei, to which it seems nearest on the whole ; below the throat and chest black, the breast and flanks also black, with narrow bars of white, the bars much narrower than in O. a. gabonensis ; the cinnamon of the abdomen dark and rich. Iris deep golden yellow ; bill scarlet orange, with a little sepia round the nostrils and at the tip ; legs brownish flesh. Measurements.—Length (skin) about 100; wing 55, tail 26, abdomen 9, tarsus17mm. The female is smaller, wing 50 mm.; 143 [Vol. lii. it is slightly paler above owing to the greater width of the paler edges to the feathers, which, below the throat and chest, as well as on the sides of the face and chest, are dark slaty grey, not black. Type.—tIn the British Museum ; a male obtained by Admiral H. Lynes at Kawambwa, Northern Rhodesia, November 6, 1930. Collector’s number 1207. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.6.5.2. There are two other males and one female, obtained at the same place and at the same time. Remarks.—A very distinct race. Anthoscopus ansorgei rhodesie, subsp. nov. Description.—Resembling A. a. ansorger, but much less brightly coloured ; the crown with a slight wash of yellow hardly indicated, instead of the conspicuous bright patch in the typical race, the back and wings dull greyish green, not bright grass-green ; under-parts greyish, the throat and upper breast are iron grey, owing to the black bases to the feathers, the lower breast and belly with a pale tawny wash. Iris dark burnt umber ; bill grey, with deep indigo on the culmen and on the terminal part of the keel of the lower mandible ; legs and feet steel blue-grey. Measurements—Length (of skin) about 80; wing 56, tail 30, tarsus 14, culmen 9 mm. Type.—tin the British Museum; a male obtained at Mt. Sunzu, near Abercorn, in Northern Rhodesia, at about 6300 feet, on October 18, 1931, by Admiral Hubert Lynes. Collector’s number 1105. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.6.5.3. A female was obtained on the same occasion, and both were shot out of a small flock of five or six in woodland. _ Remarks.—Another example of the same race has remained for many years unnamed in the British Museum. It is a male, obtained on the Lofu River, which runs into the southern end of Lake Tanganyika, on August 6, 1908, by Dr. S.A. Neave. It is recorded in his paper on the “ Birds of N. Rhodesia ”’ (Ibis, 1910, p. 231) under the name Anthoscopus parvulus. Francolinus coqui lynesi, subsp. nov. Description.—Resembling most closely the typical race F. coqui coqui from Bechuanaland, but with the crown washed with. dusky, the black and white bands on the hind neck Vol. lii.] 144 narrower and less distinct, and the colour of the upper-parts generally of a richer and darker tone; below, the transverse bands of black are broader and very even and sharply defined, and extend right down to the flanks ; the thighs, anal region, and under tail-coverts are a rich buff, with quite narrow but plainly marked black transverse bands. Iris light raw sienna, bill medium sepia, with yellow ochre base; legs and feet yellow ochre ; claws medium sepia. Measurements.—Wing 138, tail 64, tarsus 36, culmen 21 mm. Type.—In the British Museum; a male with enlarged testes obtained by Admiral H. Lynes at Tenki, 4600 feet, about 170 miles west of Elizabethville, S.E. Belgian Congo, December 24, 1930, in woodland. Collector’s number 1372. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.6.5.4. The bird was.calling from the ground and being answered by another male. Remarks.—There is in the Museum a female, obtained by Dr. S. A. Neave on the Upper Luababa River in 1907 (see Ibis, 1910, p. 84), which should also be undoubtedly referred to this race ; it is darker on the head than the typical race, but in other respects not very different. Compared with the type of the Angolan race, I’. c. angolensis Rothschild, the Tenki bird has the flanks more distinctly and broadly banded with black. It is, in fact, still more strongly marked than either the typical or the Angolan races, and the buffy abdominal patch is of a distinctly richer shade. It is only the type of F. c. angolensis which approaches our bird. Other examples from Angola are not nearly so heavily banded on the flanks, and are nearer the typical South African race. Dr. Percy R. Lowe forwarded the following description of a new race of the Cape Bunting :— Fringillaria capensis vincenti, subsp. nov. Description.—Differs very strikingly from all other subspecies of the capensis group in its saturated coloration, and from F. c. capensis (in particular) in the following points :—Throat clear white; breast and abdomen darkish slate colour ; flanks with tinge of brown, feathers of crissum browner and broadly edged with whitish ; mantle, back, and rump dark greyish brown, central dark streaks hardly, if at all, visible ; 145 [Vol. lii. head darker than the back, with conspicuous pale grey sagittal streak margined on each side with broad streaks of black ; a conspicuous dead white supra-ocular stripe running from base of nostril to the side of the nape, beneath which is a black loral and post-ocular streak ; this again succeeded by a dead white intra-ocular streak, followed by a broad band of black separating it from the white of the throat. Wing: lesser and median coverts rich chestnut, greater coverts only very narrowly edged with chestnut ; primaries dark brown, very narrowly edged with paler brown ; secondaries not edged with chestnut ; axillaries and under wing-coverts ashy grey. Tail- feathers dark uniform brown very faintly edged with ashy ; outer feathers very narrowly edged with pale chestnut. Measurements.—Wing 81 ; tail 67 mm. Distribution.—Near Zobtué, Portuguese East Africa, altitude 3500 feet. | Type.—In the British Museum. Zobfué, Portuguese East Africa. April 9, 1932. Presented by Admiral Hubert Lynes, R.N. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.6.5.1. Remarks.—This very interesting race represents the first fruits of Admiral Hubert Lynes’s Expedition to Portuguese East Africa. It was shot by Mr. Jack Vincent just over the border, and so actually within Nyasaland territory. Mr. Vin- cent despatched it at once to the Museum, as he was convinced that it represented a very distinct form of the genus Fringillaria. As this undoubtedly proves to be the case, it was named, at Admiral Lynes’s request, in honour of his collector, Mr. Vincent. I was at first inclined to regard this form as a distinct species ; but I now feel sure that this would be a mistake, since to do so would conceal its true affinities. In Fringillaria capensis vincents we have, indeed, as it seems to me, the most saturated condition of pigmentation known in the grown, and this has resulted, in so far as colour and colour-pattern are concerned, in the evolution of the most finished stage of specification. The difference in coloration between F. ¢. vin- centi and other races is, in fact, comparable to the difference between the male and female adult or the adult and immature of the generality of species. Vol. lii.] 146 Mr. Grecory M. Maruews sent the following description of a new subspecies of Storm-Petrel :— Fregetta leucogaster deceptis, subsp. nov. Description.—Difiers from F. l. leucogaster (Gould) in its longer wing-measurement, viz., 163-167 mm., whereas typical leucogaster measures 152-157 mm. Distribution —Waters of New Zealand and in the South Indian Ocean, probably occurring off Western Australia. Type.—FKrom New Zealand, ex the Whiteley Collection. Now in the American Museum of Natural History. Remarks.—Typical F. l. leucogaster occurs from between Tristan da Cunha and South Africa, and, perhaps, a few degrees east of Cape Agulhas. Mr. MatueEws also sent the following descriptions of some new subspecies of Prions :— Pseudoprion turtur steadi, subsp. nov. Description.—Differs from the form inhabiting the South Island of New Zealand in having the bill smooth and shorter ; the wing and toes also are shorter. In the South Island bird the bill is rough and flaked, feet greenish yellow. Measurements—South Island bird measures: wing 187 ; culmen 24; width of bill 11; tail 95; tarsus 31; middle toe and claw 38 mm. Stewart Island bird: wing 176; culmen 22; width of bill 10; tail 89; tarsus 31; middle toe and claw 34 mm. | Distribution.—Stewart Island and small islands near; breeding on Cundy, Woman, and Betsy Islands. Type.—A female in the British Museum. Collected by Mr. J. C. McLean on October 3, 1911. Iris dark brown ; bill bluish, tubes and culmen black ; legs and feet pale blue, webs brownish black, claws black. On an island off Stewart Island. Remarks.—Mr. Edgar F. Stead tells me that in his experience of over thirty years a Prion from any one breeding locality does not vary in any appreciable particular from its fellows in that colony. This is, I believe, the experience of all workers in this family. The South Island bird mentioned above can be called 147 [Vol. lii. P. t. oliveri; type from Motunau Island, where it breeds. The type of P. t. huttont measures: wing 175; bill 20 mm. long by 7 wide ; tail 80 mm. Heteroprion desolatus crozeti, subsp. nov. Description.—Differs from H. d. desolatus in having a much wider bill. Iris hazel-brown, legs and tces pale blue, webs pink ; bill black and light blue. Measurements.—Typical H. d. desolatus has a bill 27 mm. long by 14 or less wide. The Crozet bird has a bill 31 mm. Jong by 17 wide; wing 190; tail 88; tarsus 32; middle toe and claw 38 mm. Type.—In the British Museum. Collected by the ‘ Discovery ’ Antarctic Expedition on October 22, 1901. Brit. Mus. Reg. - no. 1905.12.30.159. Remarks.—The bill is not compressed towards the point, the latericorn being quite wide in front of the nostrils. In South Georgia is a form of H. d. desolatus, with a bill intermediate between that of the species and H. d. crozett, which can be called H. d. georgia. The bill measures 29 mm. long, width in front of nostrils 11; wing 184; tarsus 35 ; middle toe and claw 41 mm. Type—In the British Museum, from Stromness Bay, South Georgia, South Atlantic; collected on November 26, 1913. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1914.3.8.38. Mr. Davip BANNERMAN sent the description of a new race of the Plain Nightjar from French Niger Territory which he proposed to name Caprimulgus inornatus vinacea-brunneus, subsp. nov. Description.— Adult ¢: Similar to C. inornatus inornatus as regards size and markings, but the whole plumage warm pinkish-brown. This colouring is not exhibited in any of the very large series examined of the typical species, which is well known to have a grey and a cinnamon-rufous colour variety. Unlike the examples of typical C. 7. inornatus which have hitherto only occurred in West Africa in the winter, the four males collected in the French Niger Territory, on ground Vol. lii.] 148 covered with laterite rock, were shot between May 20 and June 5, and had their testes greatly enlarged, as if breeding, pointing to it being a resident race. All the specimens are exactly alike in colouring, which may be likened to the under- side of a mushroom. Mr. G. L. Bates, who collected these specimens, believes with me that they cannot be considered a colour variety in the sense that the grey and cinnamon examples of the Plain Nightjar must unquestionably be. Distribution.—Tawa (Tahoua) and Tillia, about 100 miles N.N.W. of Tahoua, French Niger Territory, West Africa. Type.—In the British Museum. ¢ ad., Tawa, French Niger Colony, June 5, 1931. G. L. Bates Coll., no. 10582. Mr. BANNERMAN further proposed a name for the Long- tailed Nightjar (Scotornis clumacurus) which is apparently resident in Sierra Leone. This is a very dark blackish-brown bird, of which specimens were secured by Robin Kemp at Bo in September 1904, a month when the migrants of the pale typical species are breeding in the semi-arid belt further north and are absent from the Savanna. Mr. Bates first drew attention to this undescribed race in ‘The Ibis,’ 1927, p. 22, and has again examined the material in the British Museum with me. Mr. Bannerman proposed to name this race Scotornis climacurus leoninus, subsp. nov. Type.—tIn the British Museum. September. Robin Kemp Coll. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1905.1.25.27. Lieut.-Commander R. R. GRAHAM, R.N., communicated the following letter :— DEAR DR. CARMICHAEL Low,— It is possible that some members of the Club might be interested in the following observations which I have made :— . May 25, 1932.—Ship about ten miles from coast between entrances to Moray and Pentland Firths. Weather fine, 149 [Vol. lii. with a light N.E. breeze. Several parties of Oyster-catchers, varying in numbers between eight and fifteen birds, approached. from landward, circled the ship several times, piping, and then proceeded, till out of sight, on a direct easterly course. June 1.—Ship about two miles N. of the entrance to Loch Eriboll (between Orkney and Cape Wrath). Moderate easterly breeze, with strata of low cloud from 150-300 feet above the surface. Blue sky above. A party of Oyster-catchers, fifteen strong, passed close to the ship, and disappeared out to sea, steering a steady N.N.W. course. These flights struck me as rather odd, because there were many of the species nesting in-shore. I wonder how this apparent migration can be explained, and whither the birds were bound. Another small matter that might interest a few is that the Kingfisher has the front webs of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th primary feathers emarginated, which is not mentioned in Witherby’s ‘Handbook.’ Perhaps it is elsewhere. The emargination, though slight, is undoubtedly there, and causes the formation of three wing-tip slots. I had been puzzled for a long time to account for the lack of slots in this bird, which, according to theory and example, should have them. It was not till I had handled a wing which A. L. Butler kindly sent to me that I found out the truth. As in many other birds, the proximal limit of the emargination coincides with the distal limit of the decorative colouring. Yours sincerely, R. R. GRAHAM. H.M.S. ‘ Furious,’ c/o G.P.O. London, June 5, 1932. Mr. 8. A. BuruRLIN sent the following letter on the name of the Asiatic Golden Eagle :— To the Editor of the ‘ Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club.’ Dear SIR,— I see that Dr. C. B. Ticehurst, in No. cccliii. of the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club [li. 1931, pp. 24-25] Vol. lii.] 150 proposes a new name, Aquila chrysaétus hodgsoni, for A. daphanea Sewertzow, preoccupied by A. daphanea, nomen nudum, of Hodgson. I wish to protest against this proceeding, as it seems to me to disagree with accepted rules of nomenclature and established precedents. Nomina nuda cannot invalidate a name given with description, as they have no nomenclatorial standing whatever, and should be totally disregarded. The late N. A. Sewertzow has given an excellent description of Aquila daphanea in his posthumous work “‘ Etudes sur les variations d’Age des Aquilinés paléarctiques,” etc. (Nouv. Mém. Soc. Imp. Natur. Moscow, 1888, t. xv. livr. 5, p. 190). The fact that he considered Hodgson’s name as valid and, therefore, cited Hodgson as author of the name, does not alter the fact that he was the first to give a name and description to this race of the Golden Eagle. My friend Mr. George P. Dementiev wishes to add his name to this protest. Yours truly, S. A. BuTURLIN, GEORGE P. DEMENTIEYV. Moscow, U.S.S.R., 6, Bojedomski, 1, log. 32. June 7, 1932. 151 [Vol. lii. NOTICES. The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, October 12, 1932, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. Members intending to dine are requested to inform the Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, S.W. 7. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. This will also be held at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT on Wednesday, October 12, 1932, at 5.45 p.m. An Agenda and Balance-sheet will be issued in September. Members who intend to make any communication at the next Meeting of the Club should give notice, as early as possible, to the Editor, Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, so that the titles of their contributions may appear on the Agenda List. Ail MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the Editor before or at the Meeting. ' GENERAL INDEX. Volume III. At a recent Committee Meeting of the Club it was resolved to issue a General Index to the ‘ Bulletin,’ covering Volumes XL. to LI. This is now in course of preparation, and will be published in July. It can then be obtained from Messrs. Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, W.C.1, at the price of £1 1s. Od. The cost of production of the volume has been a considerable tax upon the funds of the Club, so it is hoped that all members who bind their ‘ Bulletins’ will purchase a copy, as without it their series will be incomplete. b , ee eh ae i“ e. A. Cina hone eiicereonceanael p bite 9. 08 shaash’ ak Sea te ee od Sahar ii larga coats atthe ‘ = st UA wtb secs. a ape: ne: aepatins & ovis dcitdadt 08 (tow. goad .moitaatidvg fo) 2a BA Jelivahaegs ’ om a0. oy 3a wo win 20a a ob ve 8 2 sai 7 tr & ls: iz ay .. 3 : . ‘ . it i = cae a : be om re ite a as —— ergy ~ ‘=p eat 2 5 hi4 = alae oe ai : ca ~ .d ha ( yes. io ide ee 1 glo alt me anissont & esit:oot} inset 1Y ewmlow” Suhaves fiteliggl 082.02 x@leal: Unseen et | fiw ew Molteiaqusg to IPOS at won ef zidt NE mon itoritebtes ed node neo A viet ot outs i gh D.W mddiath, Mgt, S&S ..00 B koa ; s bo vat sidisbbtatos &. ees a aii? to eee to hoa < tie 360s boqatk: el- ab ite oft lo ebaut ett) BG -YQ0e'S seartonug, Bie Savolin@ * stad} bald otwe Rosi! od iLiw, golnae vind a — | Names of new species and subspecies are indicated by clarendon type under the generic entry only ; vernacular, or common, names are shown in ordinary type. | abietinus, Phylloscopus collybita, 53. abuensis, Otocompsa jocosa, 40. Acanthis flavirostris, 34. linaria holboellii, 30. Acrocephalus paludicola, 58. schenobenus, 64. Actitis hypoleucos, 53. acuta, Anas acuta, 101. adamstt, Colymbus, 31. Aigypius monachus, 122. egyptiacus, Alopochen, 18. emodium, Conostoma, 16. e@salon, Falco, 25. insignis, Falco, 25. Athopyga nipatensis, 17. affinis, Caprimulgus, 66, 81. — affinis, 81. gambiensis, Emberiza, 111. kasuidort, Caprimulgus, 81, —— nigerie, Hmberiza, 111. — propinguus, Caprimulgus, 81. Agyrtria tenebrosa, 130. versicolor brevirostris, 131. alaudarius, Falco, 25. alba, Egretta alba, 109. Albatross, 72, 77, 78. albicilla, Halieétus, 122. albiventer, Proepyga, 17. alhoquiaris, Garrulax, 15. Alca impennis, 32. torda, 35. alexandrinus, Charadrius alexan- drinus, 109. Alle alle, 109. Alopochen egyptiacus, 18. amabilis, Damophila, 129, 180. Amazilia tzacatl, 129, 130. amherstie, Chrysolophus, 94. Anas acuta acuta, 101. carolinensis, 126. erecca crecea, 99, 102. VOL. LIT. Anas discors, 126, —— penelope, 101, 132. —— platyrhynchos, 126, 152. —— querquedula, 97. strepera, 131. Anatomy, diagram showing, of repro- ductive organs of a bird, 89. angolensis, Hrancolinus coqui, 144. Anser anser, 30. erythropus, 30. —— fabalis, 30. indicus, 19. ansorget, Anthoscopus ansorgei, 1435. , Ortygospiza atricollis, 142. rhodesie, Anthoscopus, 148. Anthipes, 23. leucops, 23. —— monileger, 23. olwaceus, 23. poliogenys, 23. submoniliger, 23. Anthoscopus ansorget ansorget, 143. rhodesiz, subsp. n., 143. parvulus, 143. Anthus pratensis, 34, spinoletta, 34. rubescens, 32. apivorus, Pernis apivorus, 110. Aquila chrysaétos, 01, 122. chrysaétus, 20, 25. hodgsoni, nom. n., 25, 150. daphanea, 24, 150. heliaca, 122. nipalensis, 17. Arborophila mandellii, 16, 18. rufogularis, 16. arctica, Hratercula, 35. , grabe, Fratercula, 79. Ardea purpurea purpurea, 131. Ardeola ralloides, 109, 181. Vol. lii.] aremorica, Sylvia undata, 82. arquata, Numenius, 35. Asiur gentilis gentilis, 63. atricollis ansorget, Ortygospiza, 142. Juscata, Ortygospiza, 142. gabonensis, Ortygospiza, 142. atrigula, Ploceus, 105. Auk, Great, 32. , Little, 109. australis, Hyliota australis, 104. usambara, Hyliota, 104. ayresit, Cisticola, 6. entebbe, Cisticola, 9. yabun, Cisticola, 9. Bantams, 95. Barbets, 16, 17. barboze, Hyliota flavigaster, 104. basilanica, Rhinomyias ruficuuda, 110. bassana, Sula, 32. Baya, Eastern, 104, 105. baya, Ploceus, 104, 105. Baza jerdont, 14, benguellensis, Bradypterus brachy- pterus, 57. bernicla, Branta bernicla, 109. bicornis, Dichoceros, 14. Bittern, 136, 137. , Korest-, 18. Black Game, 58. —— xX Pheasant, 58, 59. Blackcock, 21, 42, 60. x Pheasant, 60. Boobies, 115. Booby, Blue-footed, 16. ——., Peruvian, 16. borin, Sylvia, 45. Botaurus poiciloptilus maorianus, 41. mathewsi, subsp. v., 41. potciloptilus, 41. bougainvillit, Phalacrocorax, 116-117. brachypterus benguellensis, Brady- pterus, 57. , Bradypterus brachypterus, 57. Sraterculus, Bradypterus, 57. moreaui, Bradypterus, 57. Bradypterus brachypterus benquel- lensis, 57. brachypterus, 57. fraterculus, 57. moreaui, subsp. n., 57. Branta bernicla bernicla, 109. brehmi, Phylloscopus collybita, 53. brevipennis, Pseudorectes ferrugineus, 37. brevirostris Agyrtria versicolor, 131. , Pericrocotus, 17. brunnescens, Cisticola, 6. brunnifrons, Horettes, 18. 154 buccinator, Cygnus, 50. Bulbul, 64. , Red-whiskered, 40. Bullfinch, 83, 84. bulubulu, Cisticola textrix, 7. Bunting, Cape, 144. , Ortolan, 109. ——, Red-headed, 20. —-, Rustic, 64. burmanicus, Ploceus infortunatus, 105. Buzzard, 17, 73. -——, Honey-, 110. ceruleo-lavata, Timolia, 130, 181. cerulescens, Microhierax, 15. Calidris canutus canutus, 109. Callene, 18. Canary, Senegal Yellow-fronted, 45. caniceps, Serinus mozambicus, 45. canorus, Cuculus, 64. cantator, Seicercus, 14. cantillans, Sylvia, 32. canus, Picus canus, 110. canutus, Caldris canutus, 109. Canvas-back, 126. Capella gallinago, 35. -—— media, 64. capensis, Fringillaria capensis, 144. -—— vineenti, Fringillaria, 144, 145, Capercaillie, 60. xX Pheasant, 60. Caprimulgus affinis, 66 81. affinis, 81. -—— —— kasuidori, subsp. n., 81. propinguus, 81. —-— inornatus inornatus, 147. vinacea-brunneus, subsp. n., 147. — natalensis chadensis, 58. rufigena, 58, ugande, 58. Carduelis carduelis, 50. carneipes, Hemipuffinus, 139. carnipes, Perissospiza, 16. carolinensis, Anas, 126. cashmeriensis, Cinclus, 16. Cassowaries, 45, 52, 82, 83. Casuarius doggetti, 82. hagenbecki, 82. gamrachi, 82. cathpharius, Dryobates, 15. celebensis, Chetura, 102 103. : celebensis, 103. dubia, Chetura, 103. cervicalis, Pterodroma externa, 63. Chabo, 31. chadensis, Caprimulgus natalensis, 58. Chetura celebensis, 102, 103. 155 [Vol. li. Chetura celebensis celebensis, 103. collurio, Lanius collurio, 109. dubia, 103. collybita abietinus, Phylloscopus, - dubia, 103. 5a: Chaffinch, 66, 85, 84. brehmi, Phylloscopus, 53. Charadrius atlexandrinus alexan- Columba livia, 35. drinus, 109. Colymbus adamsiz, 31. Chiffchaff, 53. stellatus, 109. — , Scandinavian, 53, 55. communis, Sylvia communis, 53. , Spanish, 53, 55. Conostoma e@modium, 16. chinensis, Hxcalfactoria, 87. coqui angolensis, Hrancolinus, 144. Chloris chloris chloris, 838. ——, Francolinus cogui, 1438. chlorocephala, Timolia, 130, 131. lynesi, Hrancolinus, 143. chloropus, Gallinula chloropus, 19. corax, Corvus, 5U. Chough, 47. Cormorant, 76, 116, 117. chrysaétus, Aquila, 51, 122. , Peruvian, 116, 117. hodgsoni, Aquila, 150. Corn-Crake, 40, 44. chrysaétus, Aquila, 20, 25. cornix, Corvus, 34. hodgsoni, Aquila, 25. coronatus, Phyllergates, 14. Chrysolophus amherstie, 94. corone, Corvus corone, 19. Chrysophlegma flavinucha, 15. Corvus corone corone, 19. Ciconia ciconia ciconia, 109. -~— coraz, 50. corax, 109. cornix, 34, Cinclodes taczanowskit, 116. ——— —Cinclus cashmeriensis, 16. cinerea, Peecilodryas, 25, Coturniz, 38. cinereus, Quoyornis leucurus, 25. coturnix japonica, 37. cinnamomea, Tringa solitaria, 119. Crake, Little, 109. Circus cyaneus cyaneus, 63. crecca, Anas crecca, 99, 102. Cisticola, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13. Creepers, 16. —-- ayresit, 6. cristata, Cyanocitta, 48. — entebbe, 9. cristatus, Parus, 64. —— -—— gabun, subsp. n., 9. Crossbill, 83. brunnescens, 6. Crow, 16, 47, 160. —— dambo, sp. n., 5, 6. , Carrion-, 19. emint, 12. Crows, Hooded-, 34. eximia occidens, 10. crozett, Heteroprion desolatus, 147. — winneba, subsp. n., 10. Cuckoo, 17, 64, 76, 77, 112. —— juncidis, 5, 6, 9. Cuculus canorus, 64. laas, V2. 13. Curassows, 50. — namba, subsp. n., 11. Curlew, 35, 76. ——— textrizx, 6, curvirostra, Loxia eurvirosira, 83. —— — mystica, 8, 9. Cutia nipalensis, 15. -— bulubulu, subsp. n., 7. eyaneus, Circus cyaneus, 63. climacurus leoninus, Scotormis, 148. Cyanochen cyanopterus, 19. -~——, Scotornis, 148. Cyanocitta cristata, 48. Cloud-scraper, 5, 6, 10. ceyanopterus, Cyanochen, 19. elypeata, Spatula, 100, 102, 182. Cygnus buccinator, 50. celebs, Fringilla calebs, 83. Cyornis, 23, 24. colchicus mongolicus, Phasianus, 80, poliogenys, 23, 24. : saturatior, 23. ——, Phasianus, 94. vernayi, subsp. n., 24. —, —— colchicus, 80. Cypseloides 28, 36. ——, — , X ?@etrix, Lyrurus, 60. fumigatus fumigatus, 36. —-,——, Xwrogallus, Tetrao, 60. —— —— major, subsp. n., 36. satscheuensis, Phasianus, 80, 81, 86. semitorquatus, Phasianus, 80, dambo, Cisticola, 5, 6. 81. Damophila, 129. torquatus, Phasianus, 80, 81. amabilis, 129, 130. .— versicolor, Phasianus, 80, 81. duphanea, Aquila, 24, 150. Coleia, 25. f darjellensis, Dryobates, 17. Colena, nom. n., 25. deceptis, Fregetia leucogaster, 146, Vol. lii.] desolatus crozeti, Heteroprion, 147. georgia, Heteroprion, 147. , Heteroprion desolatus, 147. deserticola maroccana, Sylvia, 105. Diagram showing anatomy of repro- ductive organs of a bird, 89. Diceum ignipectus, 15. Dichoceros bicornis, 14. discors, Anas, 126. Diver, Red-throated, 109. , White-billed Northern, 31. doggetti, Casuarius, 82. domesticus, Passer domesticus, 83. dominicanus, Larus, 115. Doves, 50, 57. ——., Rock-, 35. Dryobates cathpharius, 15. darjellensis, 17. dubia, Chetura, 103. , Chetura celebensis, 103. Duek, 45, 50, 78, 100, 101. 127, 128. , Canvas-back, 126. ——, Tufted, 132. , Wild, 124, 126. Dunlin, 36, 129. Eagle, 77. , Asiatic Golden, 24, 149. , Golden, 20, 51, 74, 150. Eagle-Owl, Forest, 14. eburnea, Pagophila, 95, 96, 97, 109. . Keret, Little, 131. Egretta alba alba, 109. garzetta garzetta, 15). Eider, 36. Elachura formosa, 14. eleonore, Falco, 54. Emberiza affinis gambiensis, subsp. n., 111. nigeri@, 111. /ortu lana, 109. “icterica, 20. rustica, 64. emeria, Otocompsa jocosa, 40. emini, Cisticola, 12. entebbe, Cisticola ayresti, 9. epops, Upupa epops, 109, 110. Erithacus rubecula melophilus, 48. erythrocephala, Pyrrhula, 17. erythropus, Anser, 30. , Tringa, 131. Excalfactoria chinensis, 37. excubitor, Lanius excubitor, 109. eximia occidens, Cisticola, 10. - winneba, Cisticola, 10. externa cervicalis, Pterodroma, 638. , Pterodroma externa, 63. tristani, Pterodroma, 63, 124. Sabalis, Anser, 30. Faleinellus, Limicola falcinellus, GA. 156 falcinellus, Plegadis fatcinellus, Oe, Falco esalen, 2d. insignis, 25. alaudarius, 25. eleonore, 54. —— peregrinus peregrinoides, 54. Falcon, 47, 54, 55. , Hleonoran, 55. Falconet, Red-legeed, 15. ferrugineus brevipennis, Pseudorecies, 37. Finch, Scarlet, 42, 45. Finches, 88. Flamingoes, 132. flaviceps, Ploceus, 105. Havigaster darboze, Hyliota, 104. flavinucha, Chrysophlegma, 15. flavirostris, Acanthis, 34. Flycatcher, 23, 45, 104. , Fantail-, 40. ——,, Pied, 53, 55. ——, Pigmy Blue, 14. Flycatcher-Warbler, Tickell’s, 14. formosa, Elachura, 14. Fowl], Guinea-, 50. —, Jungle-, 50. ——., Long-tailed, 38. -——, Yokohama, 38. Francolinus coqui angolensis, 144. cogut, 1438. lynesi, subsp. n., 143. Fratercula arctica, 35. grabe, 19. fraterculus, Brachypterus brachy- pterus, 57. Fregetta leucogaster deceptis, subsp. u., 146. leucogaster, 146. Fregettornis grallaria grallaria, 128. tristanensis, subsp. n., 123. Fringilauda nemoricola, 16. Fringil/a celebs celebs, 88. Fringillaria, 138, 145. capensis capensis, 144. vincenti, subsp. n., 144, 145. frontalis, Phenicurus, 16. fuligula, Nyroca, 132. Fuimar Petrel, 32, 33, 39. Fulmarus glacialis, 32. fulvus, Gyps, 51. fumigatus, Cypseloides fumigatus, 36 “major, Cypseloides, 36. furcata, Micropanyptila, 55. Ffuscata, Ortygospiza atricollis, 142, fuscicaudata, Otocompsa jocosa, 40, fuscus graellsii, Larus, 30. , Larus, 97. 157 Gadwall, 131. gabonensis, Ortygospiza atricollis, 142. gabun, Crsticola ayresii, 9. gallinago, Capella, 35. Gallinula chloropus chloropus, 19. Gallus, 103. gambiensis, Emberiza affinis, 111. Game, Black, 58. Gannet, 32, 39, 116. pee eney, 86, 97,. 98, 99, 100, 102, 123. Garrulax albogularis, 15. garzetta, Kgretia garzetta, 131. -Gecinulus grantia, 14. Geese, 30, 50, 76, 101. Genneus, 16. melanotus, 14. nycthemerus, 94. gentilis, Astur genitilis, 63. georgia, Heteroprion desolatus, 147. Gerygone, 45, 51. glacialis, Fulmarus, 32. glareola, Tringa, 119, 120, 121. Godwit, Bar-tailed, 31. , Black-tailed, 131. Goldfinch, 50. Goose, 47. ——-, Bar-headed, 19. ——, Bean, 31. ——.,, Blue-winged, 19. ——., Brent, 109. ——, Egyptian, 18, 19. ——, Grey Lag, 30, 31. —, Hawaiian, J9. , Lesser White-tronted, 31. Gorsachius melanolophus, 18. Goshawk, 63. gouldi, Pterodroma macroptera, 139. grabe, Fratercula arctica, 79. graelisii, Larus fuscus, 35. grallaria, Fregettornis grallaria, 123. tristanensis, Fregettornis, 123. grantia, Gecinulus, 14. Grebe, Great Crested, 76. Greenfinch, 83. Grey-hen, 21. riseus, Neonectris, 140. Grouse, 20, 21, 58, 77, 78. grylle, Uria grylle, 36. “‘ Guanay,” 116. Guans, 50. Guillemot, 79. , Black, 36. Guinea-Fowls, 50. gularis, Rhinomytas, 110. , Yuhina, 17. Gaull, 72, 77, 97. , Common, 36. ——, Dominican, 115. ——., Greater Black-backed, 22. , Ivory, 86, 95, 96, 109. [Vol. li. Gull, Kelp, 115, , Lesser Black-backed, 35, 97.. Gyps fulvus, 51. Hematospiza sipahi, 15, 42, 45. hagenbecki, Casuarius, 82. Haliezétus albicilla, 122. halietus, Pandion, 122. Harrier, Hen-, 63. Hawk, 78, 116. Hawk-Owl, Brown, 13. heliaca, Aquila, 122. Hemipuffinus carnetpes, 139. Hen-Harrier, 63. Heron, 36, 131, 1386. , Great White, 109. —., Night-, 109, 1381. —, Purple, 131. ——, Squacco, 109, 131. Heterophasa picaoides picaoides, 14. Heteroprion desolatus cro- zeti, subsp. n., 147. desolatus, 147. georgia, 147. himalayanus, Laiscopus, 16. Hippolais polyglotia, 63. hirtensis, Troglodytes troglodytes, 32, 34 hodgsoni, Aquila chrysaétus, 25, 150. ——, Mitidula, 14. , Tickellia, 17. holhoellii, Acanthis linaria, 30. Homochlamys major, 17. Hoopoe, 109, 110. Horeites brunnifrons, 18. Hornbill, Large, 14. hortulana, Emberiza, 109. Huhua nipalensis, 14. humboldtu, Spheniseus, 115. humti, Suthora poliotis, 17. Humming-bird, 72, 129, 130. huttoni, Pseudoprion turtur, 147. Hybrid, 103. Hydrobates pelagicus, 36. Hyliota, 86, 104. australis australis, 104. usambara, subsp. n., 104. Hyliota flavigaster barboze, 104. hyperythra, lanthia, 16. Hyphanturgus, 2’7. hypoleucos, Actitis, 53. ——, Tringa, 121. Lanthia hyperythra, 16. indica, 17. Ibidorhyncha struthersii, 15. Ibis-bill, 15. Ibis, Glossy, 109. icterica, Hmberiza, 20. Vol. lii.] ignipectus, Diceum, 15. impennis, Alca, 32. inca, Larosterna, 116. indica, Ianthia, 17. Indicator, 18. indicus, Anser, 19. inexpectata, Pterodroma, 139. infortunatus burmanicus, Ploceus, 105. ——, Ploceus, 105. inornatus, Caprimulgus inornatus, 147. vinacea-brunneus, Caprimulgus, 147. insignis, Falco esalon, 25. isola, Rhinomyias ruficauda, 110. Ithaginis, 16. jamrachi, Casuarius, 82. japonica, Coturnix coturnix, 37. Jay, Blue, 48, 52. jerdont, Baza, 14. jocosa abuensis, Otocompsa, 40. emeria, Otocompsa, 40. — fuscicaudata, Otecompsa, 40. —— provincialis, Otocompsa, 40. junctdis, Cisticola, 5, 6, 9. Jungle-Fowls, 590. hasuidori, Caprimulgus affinis, 81. Kestrel, 36. Kingfisher, 76, 77, 149. Kittiwake, 97. Knot, 109. Lagonosticta, 141. Lagopus scoticus, 20, 21. x Lyrurus tetrix, 21, lais, Cisticola, 12, 13. namba, Cisticola, 11. Laiscopus himalayanus, 16. Lammergeyer, 16. Lanius collurio collurio, 109. excubitor excubitor, 109. minor, 109. senator senator, 109. lapponica, Limosa lapponica, 31. Lapwing, 48, 76. Larosterna inca, 116. Larus dominicanus, 115. Ffuscus, 97. graellsii, 35. marinus, 22. leoninus, Scotornis climacurus, 148. lerchi, Timolia, 130. Leucocirca pectoralis ver- nayl, subsp. n., 40. leucogaster deceptis, Vregetta, 146. —— , Fregetta leucogaster, 146. leucops, Anthipes, 25. 158 leucorhoa, Oceanodroma, 32. leucorodia, Platalea leucorodia, 109. leucurus cinereus, Quoyornis, 25. mimika, Quoyornis, 25. » Quoyornis, 25. Limicola faleinellus falcinellus, 64. Limosa lapponica lapponica, 31. —— limosa limosa, 131. linaria holboellii, Acanthis, 30. livia, Columba, 35. Locustella nevia nevia, 58. locustella, Paludipasser, 141, 142. Lophophorus, 16. Loxia curvirostra curvirostra, 83. ludlowi, Phylloscopus trochiloides, 62. lugubris, Phylloscopus, 62. Luscinia megarhyncha megarhyneha, 53. Lymnoeryptes minimus, 64. lynest, Francolinus coqui, 143. Lyrurus, 21, 58. tetrix X Lagopus scoticus, 21. x Phasianus colchicus, 60. Machlolophus spilonotus, 15. macroptera gouldi, Pterodroma, 139. , Pterodroma, 139. macularia, Tringa, 118, 119. Magpies, 131. major, Cypseloides fumigatus, 36. , Homoehlamys, 17. Malacocincla, 14. Mallards, 126, 131. mandellit, Arborophila, 16, 18. maoriand, Pealeornis, 132. maorianus, Botaurus poiciloptius, 41. maroccana, Sylvia deserticola, 105. : wndata, 82, 105. marinus, Larus, 22. Martin, House-, 72. mathewsi, Botaurus poiciloptilus, 24. Mathewsiella, 25. Matthewsiella, 25. mediu, Capella, 64. megarhyncha, Luscinia megarhyncha, 53. melanolophus, Gorsachius, 18. melanotis, Pteruthius, 15. melanotus, Genneus, 14, melanozantha, Pachyglossa, 15. melophilus, Hrithacus rubecula, 48. mendiculus, Spheniscus, 115. Merganser, Red-breated, 36. Microhieraz cerulescens, 15. Micropanyptila, 56. JSurcata. 55. mimika, Quoyornis leucurus, 25. minimus, Lymnocryptes, 64. minor, Lanius, 109. mollissima, Somateria, 36. 159 monachus, Atgypius, 122. mongolieus, Phasianus coichicus, 80, Sl. monileger, Anthipes, 23. montanus, Passer, 34. , Passer montanus, 109. Moorhen, 19, 20. moreaui, Bradypterus brachypterus, 57. mozambicus caniceps, Serinus, 45. Muscicapa hypoleuca hypoleuca, 53. Mutton-bird, 188, 140. myrmecophaneus, Picus vittatus, 13. mystica, Cisticola textrix, 8, 9. Myzornis, 18, nevia, Locustella nevia, 53. namba, Cisticola lais, 11. natalensis chadensis, Caprimulyus, 58. nebouxi, Sula, 116. nemoricola, Fringilauda, 16. Neonectris griseus, 140. tenuirostris, 138. Neophron percnopterus, 51. nesa, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, 83. Nesochen sandvicensis, 19. Netta rufina, 132. nicolli, Ploceus (Symplectes), 26. nigeri@, Emberiza affinis, 111. Nightingale, 55, 55. Nightjar, Long-tailed, 148. , Plain, 147. migrimenta, Yuhina, 14. Ninox scutulata, 13. nipalensis, Atthopyga, 17. , Aquila, 17. —— ., Cutia, 15. — ., Huhua, 14. —-—, Sibia, 17. , Troglodytes, 15, 16. nisoria, Sylvia nisoria, 109. Nitidula hodgsoni, 14. Numenius arquata, 35. pheopus, 35. Nutcracker, 18. nycthemerus, Genneus, 94. ak ike nycticorax nyeticorax, 109, 131. Nyroca fuligula, 132. valisineria, 126, occidens, Cisticola eximia, 10. occipitalis, Yuhina, 17. Oceanodroma leucorhoa, 32. ocrophus, Tringa, 64, 119, 121. (Hnanthe enanthe, 34. enanthe, 84. Oleyornis, 23. olivaceiceps, Ploceus, 26, [Vol. lii. olivaceus, Anthipes, 25. oliveri, Pseudoprion turtur, 147. Oriole, Golden, 109. Oriolus ortolus oriolus, 109. Oriypospiza atricollis ansorget, 142. fuscata, subsp. n., 142. —— —— gabonensis, 142. Otocompsa jocosa abuensis, subsp. n., 40. emeria, 40. Suscicaudata, 40. —— —— provincialis, subsp. n., 40. Ouzel, Ring-, 122. Oven-bird, 116. Owl, 78. ——, Brown Hawk-, 13. , Forest Eagle-, 14. Oyster-catchers, 149. ———er Pachyglossa medanozantha, 15. Pagophila eburnea, 95, 96, 97, 109. paludicola, Acrocephalus, 58. Paludipasser locustella, 141, 142. welensis, 141, 142. Pandion, 122. halietus, 122. Paradisea rubra, 37. Paradisornis rudolphi, 37. Parrots, 47, 57. Partridge, 50, 73, 77, 78. Parus cristatus, 64. parva, Porzana, 109. parvulus, Anthoszopus, 148. Passer domesticus domesticus, 83. montanus, 34. montanus, 109, passerinus, Ploceus, 104. Pealea, 182. Pealeornis, gen. n., 132. maoriana, sp. n., 182. Peacocks, 50. Peafowls, 37. pectoralis vernayt, Leucocirca, 40. pelagicus, Hydrobates, 36. Pelecanus thagus, 116. Pelican, 116. , Brown, 116. -~—, Peruvian, 116. Pellorneum, 14. pendulina, Remiza, 109. penelope, Anas, 101, 132. Penguin, 115. percnopterus, Neophron, 51. peregrinoides, Lalco peregrinus, 54. peregrinus perfgrinoides, Falco, 54, Pericrocotus brevirostris, 17. Perissospiza carnipes, 16. Pernis apivorus apivorus, 110, Petrel, Fulmar, 32, 35, 39. | & Vol. lii.] Petrel, Grey-faced, 139. , Leach’s Fork-tailed, 32. —, Mottled, 1389. , Storm-, 36, 146. pheopus, Numentus, 35. Phalacrocorax bhougainvillii, Ly. Phasianus, 37, 58, 88, 103. —— colchicus, 94. colchicus, 80. — — xX Lyrurus tetrix, 60. mongolicus, 80, 81. satscheuensis, 80, 81, 86. semitorquatus, 80, 81. —— — xX Tetrao uregallus, 60. — — torquatus, 80, 81. versicolor, 80, &1. 116- ——_ 80, 106 torquatus, 60, 61. Pheasant, 37, 42, 50, 59, 60, 61, 76, 80, 86, 88, 90, 91, 93, 94, 103. — x Blackcock, 60. — Black Game, 58, 59. — x Capercaillie, 60. ——, Chinese, 61. —, Kalij, 14... ——, Mongolian, 10, , Sachjow, 60. Pherocraspedon, nom. n., 25. philippinus, Ploceus, 104. Philomachus pugnaxr, 131, Phenicurus tfrontalis, 16. phenicurus phenicurus, 53. schisticeps, 16. Phoneus senator senator, 53. Phyllergates coronatus, 14. Phylloscopus, 62. collybita abietinus, 53. brehmi, 53. lugubris, 62. trochiloides ludlowi, subsp. n., 62. trochiloides, 62. picaoides, Heterophasa picaoides, 14. Picus canus canus, 110. vittatus myrmecophaneus, 13. Pigeons, 50, 78. Pintail, 101. Pipit, American Water-, 32, , Meadow-, 34. — , Rock-, 33, 34. “ Piquero,” 116. Platalea leucorodia leucorodia, 109. platyrhynchos, Anas, 126, 132. Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus, 109. Ploceus atrigula, 10d. baya, 104, 105. flaviceps, 105. -——— infortunatus, 105. 79, 95 torquatus satscheuensis, 60, 61, 160 Ploceus infortunatus manicus, subsp. n., 105. olivaceiceps, 26. -—— passerinus, 104. —— philippinus, 104. ape (Symplectes) nicolli, sp. n., bur- Plover, 100. ——, Golden, 73. , Kentish, 109. Pnoepyga albiventer, 17. Pochards, Red-crested, 132. Pecilodryas cinerea, 25. porciloptilus, Botaurus poiciloptilus, 4] — maorianus, Botaurus, 41. mathewsi, Botaurus, 41. poliogenys, Anthipes, 23. , Cyornis, 23, 24. saturatior, Cyornis, 23. vernayi, Cyornis, 24. poliotis humit, Suthora, 17. polyglotta, Hippolais, 58. Porzana parva, 109, pratensis, Anthus, 34. Prions, 146. Procarduelis rubescens, 16. propinguus, Caprimulgus affinis, 81. Propyrrhula subhimachala, 17. provincialis, Otocompsa jocosa, 40. Prunella rubeculoides, 16. strophiata, 16. Pseudoprion turtur huttoni, 147, oliveri, 147. steadi, subsp. n., 146. Pseudorectes ferrugineus brevipennis, 37. Ptarmigan, 78. Pterodroma externa cervicaiis, 63. externa, 63. — — tristani, subsp. r., 124, , imexpetata, 139. macroptera, 139. gouldi, 139. Pteruthius melanotis, 15. Puffins, 22, 35, 39, 66, 79. Pufinus puffinus puffinus, 22, 36,- pugnax, Philomachus, 131. purpurea, Ardea purpurea, 1381. Pycnonotus xanthorrhous, 64. Pyrrhula erythrocephala, 17. pyrrhula nesa, 83. pyrrhula nesa, Pyrrhula, 83. 63, Quail, 50. , Japanese, 28, 37, 38. , Painted, 37. querquedula, Anas, 97. querula, Zonotrichia, 22. Quoyornis, 25. leucurus, 25. —— — cinereus, 25. —— —- mimika, subsp. n., 25. ralloides, Ardeola, 109, 131. Raven, 17, 46, 47, 50, 109. Razorbills, 35, 79. Redpoll, Holboll’s, 30. Redshank, 36, 98, 100. —-, Spotted, 131. Redstart, 53, 54. , Blue-fronted, 16. reevest, Syrmaticus, 94. Reinarda, 55, 56. Remiza pendulina, 109. Rhinomytas gularis, 110. —-—- ruficauda, 110. basilanica, subsp. n., 10: isola, subsp. n., 110. rujficrissa, 110. rhodesie, Anthoscopus ansorgei, 143. rhynchotis, Spatula rhynchotis, 102. ’ , xX variegata, 102. —- variegata, Spatula, 102. Ring-Ouzel, 122. Rissa tridactyla, 97. Robin, 48. Robins, Bush-, 16. Rooks, 388, 39, 73, 100. rubecula melophilus, Hrithacus, 48. rubeculoides, Prunella, 16. ruhescens, Anthus spinoletta, 32. , Procarduelis, 16. rubetra, Saxicola rubetra, 538. rubra, Paradisea, 37. rudolphi, Paradisornis, 37. Ruffs, 131. ruficauda basilanica, Rhinomyzas, 110, isola, Rhinomyias, 110. ~-—, Rhinomyias, 110. ruficrissa, Rhinomyias, 110. rufigena, Caprimulgus, 58. rujina, Netta, 132. rufogularis, Arborophila, 16. rustica, Emberiza, 64. rusticola, Scolopax, 48 . Sanderling, 36. Sandpiper, Broad-billed, 64. , Common, 36, 53, 54. 121. ——, Green, 64, 119, 121. , Solitary, 112,117,118, 119, 121. ——., Spotted, 118, 119. ——, Wood-, 119, 121. sandvicensis, Nesochen, 19. ——, Sterna, 48. —,, — sandvicensis, 99, 123. 161 [Vol. lii. satseheuensis, Phasianus colchicus, 80, 81, 86. : torguatus, 60, 61, 80, 106. saturatior, Cyornis poltogenys, 23. Saxicola rubetra rubetra, 538. scapulata, Timolia, 130. schisticeps, Phenicurus, 16. schenobenus, Acrocephalus, 64. Scolopax rusticola, 48. scoticus, Lagopus, 20, 21. -—--, —,Xtetrix, Lyrurus, 21. Scotornis climacurus, 148. leoninus, subsp. n., 148. seutulata, Nino, 18. Sea-birds, 35. Sea-Gull, 75. Seicercus cantator, 14. semitorquatus, Phasianus colchicus, 80, S1. senator, Lanius senator, 109. Sepoy, 45. Serinus mozambicus caniceps, 45. Shearwater, Manx, 22, 36. -—— , Pink-footed, 139. Shoveler, 1U0, 102, 132. Shrike, Great Grey, 109. ——, Lesser Grey, 109. ———., Red-backed, 109. , Woodchat, 58, 55, 109. Sibia, Long-tailed, 14. Sibia nipalensis, 17. sipahi, Hematospiza, 15, 42, 45. Siphia strophiata, 17. Snipe, 58, 100. ——, Common, 35. ——, Great, 64. , Jack, 64. solitaria cinnamomea, Tringa, 119. » Lringa, 117, 118, 119, 120, 13. ; solitaria, 119. Somateria mollissima, 36. Sparrow, Harris-, 22. ——-, Hedge-, 22, 47. —, House-, 22, 83. -——., Song-, 22. ——, Tree-, 34, 109. Spatula clypeata, 100, 102, 132. rhynehotis rhynchotis, 102. variegata, 102. —— — Xvariegata, 102. Spheniscus humboldtii, 116. mendiculus, 115. Sphenocichla, 18. spilonotus, Machlolophus, 15. spinoletta, Anthus, 34. rubescens, Anthus, 32. Spinus thibetanus, 15, Spoonbill, 109. Starling, 33, 34, 78. steadi, Pseudoprion turtur, 146. stellatus, Colymbus, 109. Vol. lii.} Sterna sandvicensis, 48. Stoporala thalassina, 17. Stork, African Woolly-necked, 51. , White, 109. strepera, Anas, 1381. strophiata, Prunella, 16. , Siphia, 17. struthersit, Ibidorhyncha, 15. Struthio, 133. Sturnus vulgaris, 33. subhimachala, Propyrrhula, 17. submoniliger, Anthipes, 23. Sula bassana, 32. nebouxt, 116. variegata, 116. Sunbirds, 16. superciliaris, Xiphoramphus, 1%. Suthora poliotis humii, 17. Swan, 47, 50, 76, 78. , Trumpter, 50. Swift, 42, 56, 102. ——, Palm, 55, 57. , Spine-tailed, 103. Sylvia borin, 45. cantillans, 32. —= communis communis, 5d. deserticola maroccana, 10d. —— nisoria nisoria, 109. —— undata, 82. aremorica, 82. ——- —— Maroccana, subsp. n., 82, 105. —— tingitana, nom. n., 105. toni, 82. undata, 82. Symplectes, 27. ( ) nicolli, Ploceus, sp. n., 26. Syrmaticus reevesi, 94. —— taczanowskii, Cinclodes, 116. Teal, 99, 102. , Blue-winged, 126, , Green-winged, 126. tenebrosa, Angyrtria, 130. tenuirostris, Neonectris, 138. Tern, 115, 123. , Arctic, 36, 38. , Inca, !16. , Sandwich, 48, 99, 125. Tetrao urogallus x Phasianus col- chicus, 60. tetrix, Lyrurus, X colchicus, Phasianus, 60. ,-——, X scoticus, Lagopus, 21. textrix bulubulu, Cisticola, 7. , Cisticola, 6. mystica, Cisticola, 8, 9. thagus, Pelecanus, 116. thalassinia, Stoporala, 17. sandvicensis sandvicensis, 99, 128. 162 thibetanus, Spinus, 15. Tickellia hodgsoni, 17. Timolia, 1380. ceruleo-lavata, 130, 131. chlorecephala, 130, 131. lerchi, 130. scapulata, 130. tingitana, Sylvia undata, 105. Tit, Crested, 16, 64. ——, Penduline, 109. toni, Sylvia undata, 82. torda, Alca, 35, terquatus, Phasianus colchicus, 80, 81. : torqguatus, 60, 61. satscheuensis, Phasianus, 60, 61, 80, 106. , Turdus torquatus, 122. totanus, Tringa totanus, 98, Tragopan, 16. tridactyla, Rissa, 97. Tringa erythropus, 131. -— glareola, 119, 120, 121. —— hypoleucos, 121. - macularia, 118, 119, ocrophus, 64, 119, 121. -—— solitaria, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121. cinmamomea, 119. —— — solitaria, 119. totanus totanus, 98. tristanensis, Fregettornisgrallaria,123. tristant, Pterodroma externa, 68, 124. trochiloides ludlowt, Phylloscopus, 62. , Phylloscopus trochiloides, 62. Troglodytes nipalensis, 15, 16. trogplodytes hirtensis, 32, 34. troglodytes hirtensis, Troglodytes, 32, 34 Tropic Bird, 115. Turdus torquatus torquatus, 122. Turkeys, 50. , Brush-, 50, turtur huttont, Pseudoprion, 147. oliveri, Pseudoprion, 147. —- steadi, Pseudoprion, 146. Twite, 34. tzacatl, Amazilia, 129, 130. uelensis, Paludipasser, 141, 142. ugande, Caprimulgus, 58. undata aremorica, Sylvia, 82. maroccana, Sylvia, 82, 105. — ., Sylvia, 82. — undata, 82. tingitana, Sylvia, 105. — toni, Sylvia, 82. Upupa epops epops, 109, 110. Uria grylle qrylle, 36. wrogallus, Tetrao,Xcolchicus, Phast- anus, 60. usambara, Hyliota australis, 104. valisineria, Nyroca, 126. Vanellus vanellus, 48. variegata, Spatula rhynchotis, 102. , Spatula rhynchotis X , 102. , Sula, 116. vernayt, Cyornis poliogenys, 24. , Leucecirca pectoralis, 40. versicolor brevirostris, Agyrtria, 131. , Phasianus colchicus, 80, 81. vinacea-brunneus, Caprimulgus inor- natus, 147. vincenti, Fringillaria capensis, 144, 145. vittatus myrmecophaneus, Picus, 13, vulgaris, Sturnus, 33. Vulture, 46, 74, 77, 116. , Egyptian, 51. — , Griffon, 16, 51. Waders, 30. Wagtail, White, 36. Warbler, 131. , Aquatic, 53, 55. ——, Barred, 109. -——, Dartford, 105. ——., Garden-, 45. —--, Grasshopper, 53, 55. ——, Melodious, 53, 55. ——, Savi’s, 76. ——., Sedge-, 64. ——,, Subalpine, 32. ——, Swamp-, 97, 58. —-, Tickell’s Flycatcher-, 14. 163 [Vol. lii. Weaver, African, 26. -——, Indian, 104. . Ploceine, 27. Wheatear, 34, 84. Whimbrel, 35. Whinehat, 53, 54. Whitethroat, 53. , Common, 55. Wigeon, 101, 132. winneba, Cisticola eximia, 10. Woodcock, 47, 48. Woodpecker, 14. , Grey-headed Green, 110, , Scaly-bellied Green, 13. Wren, 16, 47, 72, '75. , Common, 35. ——, Spotted, 14. —., St. Kilda, 32, 33, 34. , Willow-, 62. Wryneck, 73. Xanthophilus, 27. xanthorrhous, Pycnonotus, 64. Xiphoramphus superciliaris, 17. Yuhina gularis, 17. nigrimenta, 14. occipitalis, 17. Zonotrichia querula, 22. a4 PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. iv ‘ 4a} Vout t { ya HAN Ot ints fy BN) cu ve te DAN ve , Orb ie Bl , i A Ds Mu Sky in en Ae le i 4 9D at een, A Ty eA ee wf mn if 5) ii 7 oe Rn OTA ek 1] Le vi i i j pt i } , ; oh tins \ an ih MPS HE ERM ih TR ae MaDe 7 ee) CR Tame TE 9 UES A Re |, re RRO aa oy ty oh Ty mya A Rinne Ht) r V9), Testis: a Sr) OG 3s) aR Le Ge ae na rary ba ‘ vila" hae ' ALT ey a Fi i ; hy i i if i WY dara i i vy . - . : Hove ; é ij i i ieleye ne | Sy ee Sth tar seek ae : / brat 1s een = ty | j he ee wet 24 $* - 4 : ‘ : yards ase serena a. o> Lo ye , Bast ; 2 ee 2? RSH fos = 8, @, *eRE* ut > co (pubs Be reee hog ee ecteSe Ses ee Pa ipeleiss + ayacarne ialg dete = > ALi. ee Prete hs 2 CToR re ow = seers ? " - 7 eae se > Tee a. 4t Tries a Sak a eege s + leOveee-/ tose