Letters, Extracts, Announcements, S^c. 179 



Dunipace House, Larbert, 

 Oct. 10th, 1881. 



Sirs, — I wish to record in a few words the occurrence in 

 Scotland for the first time of the white-spotted form of Cy- 

 anecuta, viz. C. wolfi (C. L. Brehm). It was obtained at 

 the lantern of the lighthouse on the Isle of May on the 22nd 

 of September 1881, and was sent to me for identification by 

 our reporter there^ Mr, Agnew^ along with an adult male 

 Redstart and a Groatsucker, the latter being the first occur- 

 rence of that species also at Isle of May. According to Mr. 

 Agnew's schedule, returned at the same time, the wind was 

 light westerly on the 17th, with haze. The next record 

 occurs on the 22nd, the date of the capture of this specimen 

 and of numerous arrivals of Redstarts, Mavises, Swallows, 

 Golden Plovers, Ring-Plovers, Curlews, &c. — indeed, the record 

 of a " rush " of migrants. On that day the wind was strong 

 S.E. ; and it continued all day. The present specimen, now 

 in our collection here^ was caught or killed after midday. 

 Mr. Agnew writes, "weather very thick haze, approaching to 

 fog, with a continuous downpour of rain.""' "All the birds/^ 

 adds Mr. Agnew, " seen today seemed perfectly bewildered," 

 The bird is a specimen in that " peculiar autumn plumage " 

 figured by Dresser (^ Birds of Europe,^ vol. i. pi, 50, see also 

 p, 350). I should have liked to have given you a more ex- 

 tended notice of this occurrence,, with some remarks upon a 

 subject which I consider of some importance, viz. the distri- 

 bution of the occurrences of rare European species in Britain; 

 but I fear to occupy too much space ; I propose therefore to 

 send these longer remarks to the ' Zoologistv' 

 Yours &c., 



J. A, Harvie Brown, F.R.S.E. &c. 



Northrepps, November 20, 1881. 

 Sirs,— In ' The Ibis ' for 1881, p. 606, Count Salvador! 

 suggests that the specimen of Urospizias alhigularis figured 

 on pi. viii. of the same volume is too young to " have the di- 

 mensions of a fully adult male.'^ I am desirous of stating 



