OCR Text |
Show 1878.] DR. A. B. MEYER ON ANOA DEPRESSICORNIS. 881 November 19, 1878. Arthur Grote, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. Mr. Sclater read the following extract from an article in " Science- Gossip' of October 1, 1878, by Mr. R. Davenport, of Bury, Lancashire :- " It is a pleasing duty to me to record the taking of a very beautiful specimen of what I consider an exceedingly rare bird in our neighbourhood (Saxicola stapazina). The specimen was shot by a friend of mine, about the middle of M a y this year, on the margin of the Bury and Radcliffe Reservoir ; and though much mangled with number-6 shot, it has been very well mounted indeed by my friend Johnson, of Prestwich. Considering the condition it was in from being killed with such large shot, I really doubted at one time whether it could be mounted ; however, it has been ; and a valuable addition to our list of birds it is." Mr. Sclater exhibited the specimen in question, which had been kindly sent up for exhibition by Mr. Davenport. It appeared to be an adult in full plumage of Saxicola stapazina (called by Mr. Dresser " S. rufa" B. of Eur. pt. xxv.). The species had not been previously recorded as occurring in the British Isles, and was an interesting addition to the list of " Accidental visitors." The following letters from Dr. A. B. Meyer, C.M.Z.S., and Mr. Bartlett were read, in reference to the communication at the last meeting from Mr. Everett respecting the supposed existence of the Anoa (Anoa depressicornis) in the Philippines. "R. Zool. Mus., Dresden, November 16, 1878. " DEAR DR. SCLATER,- " Having seen in the report of the Society's meeting of the 5th November that Mr. Everett had stated, in a letter to the Marquis of Tweeddale, that the Anoa of Celebes (Anoa depressicornis) or an allied species is found in the island of Mindoro, I beg leave to send you a few notes from my diary on this subject. "Mr. Wood of Manilla, an American gentleman, now dead, known to many travellers as a amateur naturalist, and to many European Museums as a collector, told m e that Mr. Cuming (in whose company he had formerly collected) had sent home an ' Antelope' from Mindoro, similar to Anoa depressicornis from Celebes, which was called ' Tamarao' by the natives. Mr. Wood had not only seen the animal in the Philippines, but also subsequently in the British Museum, where it had received a specific name of its own. " Wishing to know something more of the • Tamarao' in Manilla, I succeeded in finding a stuffed animal in the Museum of the Dominicans, which they told m e was the animal in question. This was apparently, as far as I could make out (it was in a bad state, and |