Letters, Extracts, Notices, &^c. 125 



many of the birds shut off from intercourse with their parent 

 forms to acquire differences which amount to what are usually 

 regarded as specific. Out of about forty species of which 

 examples were obtained by Mr. W. B. Richardson for Mr. 

 Cory, no less than thirteen are considered to be new, and 

 several others are stated to vary slightly from known West- 

 Indian forms. The new species are named: — (1) Certhiola 

 sharpei, (2) Dendroica vitellina, nearest to D. discolor, (3) 

 Chrysotis caymanensis, next to C. leucocephala of Cuba^ 

 (4) Colaptes gundlachi, like C. chrysocaulosus of Cuba, (5) 

 Engyptila collaris, (6) Zenaida spadicea, (7) Centurus cay- 

 manensis, (8) Miinocichla ravida, (9) Quiscalus caymanensis, 

 (10) Spiudalis salvini, most like S. pretrii, (11) Vireo alleni, 

 (12) Myiarchus denigratus, and (13) Icterus bairdi, most 

 nearly allied to /. leucopteryx of Jamaica. On the whole, as 

 might have been expected, the "Avifauna Caymanensis" seems 

 to be most nearly connected with that of Cuba. But probably 

 the Caymans were mainly stocked with life, not by immigra- 

 tion, but when still part of the old continent out of which 

 the Antilles were carved by the Gulf-stream. For this 

 continent I suggest the name Pr^eantillesia. Some of the 

 types of its ancient life we have still left in Solenodon and 

 Capromys amongst Mammals, and Todus, Temnotrogon, and 

 Spindalis amongst Birds. 



Messrs. Godman and Salvin have also lately received a 

 collection of birds from Ruatan and some of the other 

 smaller islands off the coast of Yucatan, amongst which are 

 objects of considerable interest. Of this collection, Mr. 

 Salvin promises us an account for a future number of 

 'Thelbis.'— P.L. S. 



'Stray Feathers' — While two new ornithological periodicals 

 have recently appeared on the continent of Europe (the 

 ' Zeitschrift fiir die gesammte Ornithologie ' and ' Ornis '), 

 our Indian contemporary, ' Stray Feathers,^ has, we fear, 

 altogether come to an end. It was hardly to be expected, 

 perhaps, that Mr. Hume, having presented his noble col- 



