Vol. 31, pp. 93-100 June 29, 1918 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



GENERAL NOTES. 



THE EARLIEST TECHNICAL NAME FOR THE PORTUGUESE IBEX 



Recent authors have cited the name Capra lusitanica from Franga, 

 1909 (Bull. Soc. Portugaise Sci. Nat., vol. 2, p. 144), based on the descrip- 

 tion of the " Cabra-Montez da Serra do Gerez" of Bocage, 1857 (Mem. 

 Acad. Sci. Lisboa, ser. 2, vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 1, pis. 1, 2). It is worthy of 

 record that the Portuguese Ibex was given a valid technical name in 1872, 

 thirty-seven years earlier than the generally accepted date. The correct 

 reference is Capra lusitanica Schlegel, De Dierentuin van het Koninklijk 

 Zoologisch Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra te Amsterdam, Zoogdieren, 

 p. 96, 1872. The animal there described as differing from Capra pyrenaica 

 is the ibex of the mountains of southern Spain and of Portugal ; a com- 

 posite of the modern Capra pyrenaica lusitanica Franca, C. p. victoria: 

 Cabrera, and C. p. hispanica Schimper. The name may now be restricted 

 to the ibex of Serra do Gerez, northern Portugal — the same form recently 

 named Capra lusitanica by Franca ; especially as Schlegel in an earlier 

 paper (Jaarboekje Koninklijk Zoologisch Genootschap Natura Artis 

 Magistra, 1857, p. 161), where the name is a nomen nudum, says that it 

 has been applied to the Portuguese ibex ("Men heeft intusschen aan 

 voorwerpen, uit Portugal afkomstig, den naam van Capra lusitanica 

 gegeven"). This suggests a still earlier publication of the name which 

 I have been unable to find. — N. Hollister. 



THE YELLOW RAIL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



When Prof. W. W. Cooke prepared his list of birds of the District of 

 Columbia, published in these Proceedings, vol. 21, pp. 107-118, April 11, 

 1908, he had only three records of the Yellow Rail (Coturnicops nove- 

 boracensis) in the District— one for 1879 and two for 1893. A fourth 

 specimen should now be recorded. On May 20, 1917, Mrs. E. Caminetti 

 sent to the National Zoological Park a live Yellow Rail just found in 

 the yard at 307 C St. N. W., Washington, D. C. The bird, a female, 

 was apparently in good condition but lived only four days. It was placed 

 in the National Museum collection. — N. Hollister. 



27— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash.. Vol. 31. 1918. (93) 



