Letters, Announcements, &^c. 383 



gamekeeper. It has been placed in the Museum of the Alloa 

 Society of Natural Science. 



The remaining specimen, a male, was shot on this estate on 

 2nd April by my keeper. In both the the latter cases the 

 birds were shot when feeding on newly-sown grain-fields in 

 company with Wood-pigeons. From the close vicinity of the 

 places where the two last-mentioned birds were shot (only 

 about a mile distant from each other), they may have pos- 

 sibly been a mated pair. 



Yours &c., 



John J. Dalgleish. 



Sirs, — In a note on the genus Artamus, recently published 

 in Howley^s 'Ornithological Miscellany^ (part xiv. p. 179) I 

 observe that Mr. Sharpe has rejected the Linnean specific 

 title leucorhynchus (founded on Brisson's Pie-grieche de 

 Manille), as well as Scopoli's title of philippinus, and Gme- 

 lin's dominicanus (founded on Sonnerat^s Pie-grieche domini- 

 quaine des Philippines), for the Philippine Swallow-Shrike, 

 and adopted Valenciennes^s more recent title, leucogaster, be- 

 stowed on a bird from Timor, although he tells us (p. 179) 

 that he considers the titles leucorliijnchus and leucogaster to 

 be synonymous. Thus a title which has been current with all 

 writers for over a hundred years is upset. Mr. Sharpe 

 remarks " so long as there is a doubt about the Brisso- 

 nian bird from the Philippines, I think the name ought to 

 be discarded, though Lord Tweeddale says that '\\q has no 

 doubt that from it Brisson and Sonnerat took their descrip- 

 tions/ Here I can only say 'not proven \"' In my humble 

 opinion it is '^ proven " by overwhelming evidence that Bris- 

 son did describe the Philippine species. Let us sift the 

 evidence — first as to the patria of the type, secondly as 

 to whether the description is sufficient to show the identity 

 of the type. 



Brisson (undoubtedly a most accurate author) distinctly 

 states that the species to which his type belonged " is found 

 in the neighbourhood of Manilla, capital of the island of 

 Luzon, whence it was sent to M. FAbbe Aubry, who has 



