Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, ^c. 129 



viously written about the Birds of Mount Vetore, which I had 

 taken for Snow Buntings [Plectrophanes nivalis), I had ah'eady 

 obtained some specimens thereof, when I found they were in 

 reahty the Snow Finch {Montifringilla nivalis, Brehm), thus 

 removing the conclusion I had originally been led to form (in 

 the absence of a near sight of the bird), upon the assertions of 

 sportsmen on the spot, that the bird in question had the claw of 

 the hind toe rather long. 



It is strange that even Prince L. Bonaparte entertained a like 

 erroneous opinion, as shown in his work entitled ' Specchio 

 comparativo delle Ornitologie di Roma e di Filadelfia,^ Pisa, 1827, 

 where he states (p. 46) that the Emberiza nivalis, Linn., "pro- 

 bably inhabits also our Apennines, and is abundant on the 

 Mount Cenis," while, without doubt, he was mistaken in both 

 assertions, since, according to Savi, they do not exist even on 

 the latter mountain (Ornitologia Toscana, vol. ii. p. 116), though 

 the Snow Finch is found in both places. 



I have deemed it well to say thus much in order that your 

 readers should not be led into error by my first conjecture. 



Yours, &c,. 



Dr. Thomas Salvadori. 



Lyon, le 27 Octobre, 1863. 



Monsieur, — Le fait ornithologique le plus remarquable de 

 notre epoque est, sans contredit, Papparition dans uos contrees 

 du Syrrhaptes paradoxus. Apres avoir envoye, pour ainsi dire, 

 des emissaires isoles en Occident, cette espece s^y est montree 

 ensuite par bandes nombreuses, et cela non seulement en Frauce, 

 mais encore en Allemagne, ou sa presence a ete constatde un 

 assez grand nombre de fois. Le Docteur Altum, dans un 

 memoire interessant qui vient de paraitre dans le ' Journ. fiir 

 Ornithologie,^ cite encore d'autres localites visitees par PHe- 

 teroclite. D'apres cela, ne serait-on pas fond^ h. admettre, ^ 

 titre de conjecture, que cet oiseau tendrait a se deplacer ^ Pex- 

 emple de quelques autres, qui sont devenu rares dans les pays 

 oil on les trouvait communement ? 



Dans son dernier memoire, le Docteur Altum rapproche des 

 Outardes le genre Syrrhaptes, opinion que j'avais dejk emise il y 



VOL. VI. K 



