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Show 38 CAPT. W. V. LEGGE ON LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS. [Feb. 3, British naturalist, unfortunately Professor Agassiz's method of nomenclature prevents this desirable result." Having now examined at length these first articles ot Mr. Bell, I shall in future leave like criticisms from him to seek their own answer, and close here, as far as I am concerned, this unprofitable discussion. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 30, 1879. February 3, 1880. Professor Flower, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. Captain W.V.Legge, R.A., exhibited a series of specimensof Little Ringed Plovers from Ceylon and Central India; and remarked that it had been a moot point as to whether there really were two species of Little Ringed Plover in India, some writers referring all the birds found in that country to one form-the Lesser Ringed Plover of Europe, AEgialitis curonica. This, however (the larger form), was a winter visitant, for the most part, both to the Peninsula and to Ceylon, whereas the smaller form of Ringed Plover was, as far as he could judge, a resident in the latter island, as he had found it breeding there on the shores of the tanks in the northern forests. Jerdon had recognized two species of Ringed Plovers in his ' Birds of India,' the smaller of which (the one now exhibited) he had called JE. minuta (Pallas). Jerdon had pointed out most of the distinguishing characters of this species, viz. its smaller size, the greater amount of yellow on the bill, aud its smaller legs and feet, as well as some other features which did not appear to hold good. In addition to the smaller wing, which did not attain a greater length than 4*3 inches, Captain Legge pointed out the black loral band was narrower, and in many specimens did not extend across the base of the bill at all, leaving the whole of the forehead white; the black pectoral band was likewise narrower; and, in addition to these characters, the naked eyelid was very broad, tumid and protuberant, and deeply corrugated, which did not appear to be the case with the larger species, fE. curonica. Blyth also had remarked, in a paper published in the 'Field' of 28th May, 1870, that the smaller Ringed Plover of Southern India was characterized by its very much broader naked orbital ring; so there could be no doubt that this was a peculiar feature of the bird in question. The note of the species, as observed at its breeding-haunts in Ceylon, was also different from that of the larger form. Pallas's title Charadrius minutus, had been given by that author in the 2nd volume of his ' Zoographia,' p. 145, to a bird found on the lakes of the Barabinski steppes in Western Siberia; and the description was that of the young of AEgialitis curonica, which is found in that region. Horsfield had applied the name of Charadrius pusillus to a small Ringed Plover from Java : but Mr. Harting had seen |