142 From Magazines, &c. [ ,sf Tan 



South African V>\v.V»'>.— The Journal of the SontJi African 

 Ornithologists U)iion for May contains a very interesting paper 

 by Mr. W. L. Sclater, M.A., F.Z.Sl, on "The Migration of Birds 

 in South Africa." Africa, south of the Zambesi, has 814 species 

 of birds, which the author divides into five categories — Residents, 

 Northern Migrants, African Migrants, Partial Migrants, and 

 Island Breeders. The Northern Migrants are mostly European 

 birds, which every year journey from the Northern Hemisphere 

 to the Southern and back. Of the visitors in this category, he 

 says : — " While there can be no doubt that the great majority of 

 these birds, especially among the waders, make no attempt to 

 breed, there is undoubted evidence that some few do so." The 

 African Migrants arrive with the northern birds, nest in South 

 Africa, and return to winter in tropical Africa. Many of these 

 are Cuckoos. Partial Migrants are described as those species 

 which, while subject to migratory movements, appear to be 

 always present in South Africa in fair numbers. Food and 

 climate conditions determine their partial migrations. The 

 Island Breeders number 36, are most abundant on the coasts of 

 South Africa in winter, and breed in distant oceanic islands, such 

 as Kerguelen. To increase knowledge on the subject of migra- 

 tion it has been proposed to issue schedules to be filled in by 

 lighthouse-keepers, teachers,, and .others. What strikes an 

 Australian at once is the readiness with which the birds of 

 Southern Australasia would permit of a similar classification. 

 The area is, of course, much smaller, and the number of species 

 to be dealt with correspondingly less. A noteworthy point of 

 difference is that all our " Northern Migrants," with the excep- 

 tion of the Swifts, are Limicoline, the reason probably being 

 that there is no continuous land space which the land birds of 

 weaker wing powers could follow on a southern migration to 

 Australasia ; and yet the " Northern Migrants " of South Africa 

 must have crossed the Mediterranean. 



The Ceylon Jungle-Fowl. — The conclusions arrived at 

 by the great naturalist Darwin were that the progenitor of our 

 races of domestic fowls was the Jungle-Fowl of India {Galliis 

 bankiva or sonneratii'), and that the other three species of Galli 

 had no lot or part in modern poultry, although the evidence 

 was very scanty so far as the Ceylon Jungle-Fowl (6^. stanleyii) 

 was concerned. From time to time doubts have been expressed 

 as to the position assumed by Darwin, more especially in 

 Ceylon, where it was claimed that the wild fowl of that country 

 interbred with the common hen. With the object of obtaining 

 further evidence on this question, the Ceylon Poultry Club com- 

 menced in 1903 a series of experiments, which have just been 

 brought to a conclusion, the results of which are published in 



