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Show 1877.] LETTERS FROM MR. R. TRIMEN AND A. O. HUME. 683 The most noticeable additions during the month were as follows :- 1. T w o Guilding's Amazons (Chrysotis guildingi), from St. Vincent's, West Indies, purchased September 15th. These fine Parrots are now said to be very scarce in their native Island of St. Vincent, to which they are peculiar. 2. T w o Slaty Coots (Fulica ardesiaca) from Western Peru, purchased September 18th, being the first examples of this interesting representative of our C o m m o n Coot that have reached us. The Secretary read the following extract from a letter addressed to him by Mr. R. Trimen, C.M.Z.S., dated South-African Museum, Cape Town, July 27th, 1877 :- "With reference to your note on the species of Sarcidiornis (P. Z. S. 1876, pp. 694, 695), I think it m ay be useful to offer a few remarks on two specimens of the African form contained in the collection of this Museum, one of which was received from the Zambesi, and the other obtained in exchange from the late Mr. C. J. Andersson, who brought it from Damara Land. " I have no Indian specimens with which to compare these African birds; but, taking Mr. Smit's figure (P. Z. S. 1876, pl. lxvii.) as an accurate representation of S. melanonota, the two birds to which I refer differ in the following particulars from the Indian form, viz.:- "(1) The white of the neck encroaches considerably on the back between the shoulders. "(2) The curved black streak from the shoulder downward is much more attenuated. " (3) The under tail-coverts are pure white, without the slightest trace of the bright yellow shown in the figure. (Is it possible that the yellow may have been present in the living specimens, but have faded out in course of time, like that of Chalcites smaragdineus ?) " (4) The secondaries and greater coverts are not of the coppery-brown hue depicted in the plate, but mixed metallic-green and bronze with violet reflexions. " (5) The caruncle on the bill is higher in proportion to its base ; it is more vertically elevated anteriorly, and more rounded and sloping posteriorly than is shown in the figure. (This difference may, however, be the effect of shrinking or some defect in mounting our specimens.) " I should also mention that the lower part of the back is dirty whitish-grey, shading into the metallic-glossed black of the rump. "You will be better able than myself to judge whether the differences mentioned are of specific value; m y own impression is that they are." A letter was read from Mr. A. O. Hume, C.B., containing some criticisms on M r . Howard Saunders's review of the Sterninse, published in the Society's * Proceedings' for 1876 (p.638). Mr. H u me was of opinion that the bird figured (plate Ixi. fig. 2) as Anous melanogenys, was not that species, but A. leucocapillus. |