356 Miscellaneous. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Description of a new rapacious Bird in the Museum of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. By John Cassin. 



Cymindis Wilsonii, nobis. $. Body above entirely dark brown, 

 palest on the head, beneath white ; every feather from chin to under 

 tail-coverts crossed by several bars of bright rufous chestnut, and 

 these colours extending upwards into a collar around the neck ; fourth, 

 fifth and sixth primaries longest and nearly equal, external webs 

 nearly black, internal webs of outer primaries white at base and for 

 nearly half their length, the remaining part reddish inclining to 

 chestnut, every primary (on its inner web) having two irregularly- 

 shaped black marks and tipped with black. Tail of the same colour 

 as the back but paler, white at base, and crossed by about four broad 

 bars which are nearly black, the second bar from the tip accompanied 

 by a narrow, rather indistinct bar of rufous ; tip of tail narrowly edged 

 with white. Bill very large, (larger than in any other species of 

 this genus,) yellowish white, inclining to bluish horn-colour at base. 

 ? . Body above entirely slate-colour, palest on the head, beneath 

 barred with the same, the bars having a ferruginous tinge. 



Total length of mounted specimen, from tip of bill to end of tail, 

 17 inches. 



Hab. Island of Cuba. 



The two specimens here described were presented to the Academy 

 by its esteemed member, Richard C. Taylor, Esq. 



The bill in this species is very large in proportion to the size of 

 tlie bird, and it agrees moreover tolerably well with the written 

 description of Falco magnirostris, Gmelin ; so does the young Cy- 

 mindis uncinatus, Illig. All authors however, except Dr. Latham, 

 clearly understand the F. magnirostris to be the bird figured in Enl. 

 464, which is a common South American species of the genus Astur. 



Dr. Latham, in his article on F. magnirostris, Gen. Hist. vol. 1. 

 p. 282, gives a description of a bird suspected by him to be the 

 species intended by Gmelin, which applies very well to Cymindis 

 cayanensis, Gm., in young plumage, but not to C. Wilsonii. 



I have named this species in honour of Dr. Thomas B. Wilson, as a 

 slight tribute to his merits as a man, and his munificence as a patron 

 of zoological science. — Sillimans Journal for Sept. 1847. 



On the Development of the Echinidse. By Dr. Dufosse. 

 The author adds some further facts to the observations previously 

 communicated* relative to the development of the Echinus during the 

 second period of its embryonal life, that is to say, from the moment 

 of the escape of the larva from the egg to that when it becomes fixed. 

 Between the sixth and twelfth day after its escape from the egg, a 

 considerable quantity of agglomerated globules, forming a conical 

 mass around the mouth, become apparent. A cavity is soon produced 

 in the centre of this mass, and shortly afterwards the intestinal canal 

 becomes evident and is seen to grow gradually longer. At the same 

 * See p. 282 of the April Number for this year. 



