Letters, Announcements, ^c. 249 



bird, among whom are Monsieur Jules Verreaux, Dr. Sclater, 

 and Dr. Fiusch, have declared that my bird is not P. cyanoptera. 

 I remain, Sir, yours &c., 



TOMMASO SaLVADORI. 



Magdalene College, Cambridge, 

 25 March, 1871. 

 Sir, — On a former oeccasion (Ibis, 1865, p. 50i) I expressed 

 a belief that the Layojms of Spitsbergen, first described by Mr. 

 Gould under the name of L. hemileucurus, was identical with L. 

 rupestris. I now wish to state that I have much doubt on that 

 point, and that I am inclined to recognize its distinctness. 

 Hofrath von Heuglin has within the last few days kindly sent 

 for my inspection some birds' skins collected by him in that 

 country last year. Among these are three specimens of Lagopus ; 

 and on comparing them with a tolerably good series of examples 

 of L. rupestris from Greenland [L. reinhardti) and Iceland (L. 

 islandorum), I find that the rectrices of all the Spitsbergen 

 birds are so much variegated with white as fully to deserve the 

 name applied by Mr. Gould, while those of L, rupestris are in- 

 variably black, except in some cases at the tip. Furthermore, 

 one of the Spitzbergen birds, marked " male " by Herr von 

 Heuglin, though apparently fully coloured on the breast and 

 back, is of a very difi'erent shade from any male of L. rupestris 

 that I remember having seen. Under these circumstances I 

 think that it is quite possible that L. hemileucurus is entitled to 

 specific rank, though it is certainly more nearly allied to L. 

 rupestris than to L. alpinus. 



I am. Sir, &c., Alfred Newton. 



New York, March 1.3th, 1871. 



Dear Sir, — With reference to your paper on Psittacidce in 

 the last number of 'The Ibis,^ I have some remarks to make 

 regarding the specimens o( Chrt/sutisiu my collection, and under 

 examination from other sources. 



1. C. farinosa {pulverulenta). The Costa-llica specimens so 

 called, I think Prof. Baird wrote me were C.guatemala; — you are 

 probably right in so referring them; but these and C viridit/enalis, 

 spoken of under C. autumnalis, I want to examine before fully 



SER. III. VOL. I. s 



