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Show 1877.] ON THE BIRDS OF THE PHILIPPINES. 535 Besides these a few specimens (26 in all) were obtained at Hongkong, China, Japan, N e w Zealand, St. Jago, Cape Verd, and one or two other localities, but nothing like series which necessitate special examination. Under the head Oceanic Birds I place the members of the following families, which are most conveniently studied as groups :- Laridse 47 specimens Procellariidar 80 „ Steganopodes 33 „ Spheniscidse 38 „ Total. .198 To aid me in my task I have been fortunate enough to obtain the valuable assistance of the Marquess of Tweeddale, our President, for the determination of the Philippine Birds, of Mr. O. Salvin as regards the Procellariidar, of Mr. Howard Saunders for the Laridse, of Dr. Finsch for the birds of the South Pacific Islands ; and I hope to get that of Count T. Salvadori for some of the Moluccan and Papuan birds. The members of the other groups I trust to be able to determine myself personally or in conjunction with m y constant fellow-worker Mr. O. Salvin. With the approbation of Sir C. Wyville Thomson I propose to communicate the results of the investigations of these gentlemen and myself on this subject to the Society in a series of reports, which will be accompanied by extracts from Mr. Murray's ornithological journal. 2. Reports on the Collections of Birds made during the Voyage of H.M.S. ' Challenger/-No. II. O n the Birds of the Philippine Islands. By A R T H U R , Marquis of T W E E D D A L E , F.R.S., President of the Society. [Eeceived June 8, 1877.] The ' Challenger' Expedition, during its stay in the Philippine archipelago, visited six islands, viz. Panay (Ilo-ilo), Luzon (Manila), Zebu, Camiguin, Malanipa, and Mindanao (Zamboanga and Pasa-nanca). It is not on record that two of these islands, Camiguin and Malanipa, had ever been previously visited by any ornithological collector; while from Mindanao only some nineteen species of birds were known. Dr. Steere, at about the time the ' Challenger' was near Mindanao, collected many additional species of birds on that island, as he had also done in the islands of Zebu and Panay; and as the results of his researches have already been made known by |