114 Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, ^c. 



the Grecian Archipelago, the Francolin is becoming a rare bird 

 in Europe."* 



I was not prepared, however, to state that it had become 

 " extinct in Europe/' and I will show that I did not stand alone 

 in such opinion. It is true that Malherbe, when he wrote his 

 ' Faune Ornithologique de la Sicile ' in 1843, remarked that it 

 was becoming more and more rare in that island. Yet Luigi 

 Benoit, from whom, as Lord Lilford remarks, Malherbe quoted 

 verbatim, has recorded that, in 1840, it was so common in Sicily 

 as to fetch only 1 franc and 25 centimes in the market ! That 

 it should now be extinct in Sicily is therefore one of the most 

 remarkable and, at the same time, one of the most interesting 

 facts in natural history. 



My authorities for the occurrence of the Francolin in ]\Ialta and 

 the Grecian Archipelago were Temminck, Schlegel, and Degland. 

 I am assured, however, by Dr. Leith Adams and Mr. Charles 

 Wright that it does not, and they believe never did, exist in 

 Malta. Temminck and Degland both give Turkey as a locality. 



Since the publication of Lord Lilford's interesting paper, I 

 have made some further inquiries, the result of which goes far 

 towards confirming his views. 



M. de Selys Longchamps writes to me : — 



( Translation.) 



" I have nothing original to say upon the Francolin question. 

 The following are the authorities pro and con : — 



" 1. Luigi Benoit (Ornitologia Siciliana, 1840, p. 118). 

 * Found in the southern parts of Sicily, especially in the plains 

 which extend between Castiglione and Terranova ; but it has 

 become more and more rare, owing to unfair sporting. It sells 

 for 1 franc 25 centimes (1 shilling).' 



" 2. Antonio Schembri (Quadro geografico-ornitologico di 

 Malta, Sicilia, Roma, Toscana, Liguria, Nizza, e la Provincia 

 di Gard: Malta, 1843). 'I have never found the Francolin at 

 Malta. Sedentary at Terra Nova and Castiglione, in Sicily. 

 Now rare in Tuscany. Formerly common there, according to 

 Savi. Accidental during its passage at Nice.' 



* Birds of Europe, vol. iii. p. 23/. 



