236 Mr. R. Swinlioe on Amorj Ornithology . 



Oct. 31st. — I watched the Kites that hovered over the har- 

 bour. They pick up ofFal from the surface of the water with 

 their claws, and as they fly along transfer the morsels to their 

 mouths. 



In conclusion, let me point out a slight mistake made by 

 Mr. Tristram in allusion to Fica sericea (Ibis, 1866, p. 61). 

 This species descends not only " almost," but quite to the 

 tropics, as it is common enough in Macao and about the city of 

 Canton. 



Mr. Blyth asks (Ibis, 1866, p. 238) whether the Merlins 

 mentioned by me as seen on a voyage from Bombay to Galle 

 were satisfactorily identified. The birds in question, one of 

 which I saw in a seaman^s hand, looked extremely like Falco 

 asalon ; but I could not now state positively that they were of 

 that species, as the Falconidce, unless fully adult, require very 

 careful examination before one can be positive of the species. 



Many years ago a pair of Hoopoes {Upupa epops) took pos- 

 session of a hole in the city-wall at Amoy, near my house. 

 The hen sat close until the young were hatched, the male fre- 

 quently supplying her with food during the day. Hoopoes 

 have often bred in the holes of exposed Chinese coffins; the 

 natives hence have an objection to them, and brand them as the 

 " Coffin-bird." The young, when hatched, are naked, but 

 soon get covered with small blue quills, which yield the fea- 

 thers. The tail or os coccygis is carried at right angles, and the 

 fseces are discharged to a distance. The little creature has a 



but Dr. Hartlaub lias shown (Eev. Zool. 1842, pp. 86-38) that these last, 

 as well as some more recent writers, have given a most incorrect and con- 

 fused account of the bird. It is, to say the least, very doubtful if it has 

 ever occurred either in South America or Europe. The only localities for 

 the few specimens known, that can be depended upon, are entirely 

 eastern. Mr. Swinhoe is right in supposing it to have a summer dress. 

 A specimen in the possession of Mr. Barrow, F.R.S., has the head, neck, 

 and breast of a fine rufous colour (P. Z. S. 1859, p. 201). The slight dif- 

 ferences noticed by Mr. Swinhoe between the plumage of his specimen 

 and that described by Dr. Jerdon may, we think, be safely set down to 

 ao-e, sex, or season ; and the bill (of which our contributor has sent us 

 sketches) corresponds very well with the figure given in the ' Revue 

 Zoologique' for 1843 (pi. 2).— Ed.] 



