Letters, Extracts from Correspondence, Notices, 6fc. 477 



"Besides these are several species from the famous Mazatlan 

 collection, which I consider new, but have yet to publish, and of 

 which descriptions are all ready, viz. a Saltator, a Cyphorinus, 

 and others." 



With reference to the indignant letter from " Oophilus " in 

 the last Number of ' The Ibis,^ it would seem from what we 

 have lately learned that the compiler of the catalogue of " Rare 

 British Birds and Eggs " which were sold by auction at Mr. 

 Stevens's rooms on the 6th and 7th of May last, had better 

 authority than would appear to have been the case from a perusal 

 of our correspondent's letter, for the localities of some of his 

 specimens. Lot 250 of this sale, as may be seen by reference 

 to the printed catalogue (p. 18), contains "Dr. Martin Barry's 

 List of the Birds that have bred in the Island of Arran," with 

 some odd numbers of periodicals. This lot was purchased by 

 Mr. J. H. Gurney, who has kindly sent us the list for inspection. 

 It is printed on three pages, and is headed "A List of the Birds 

 that have been observed to breed in the island of Arran, Scot- 

 land, since the year 1835, by Dr. Martin Barry, M.D., F.R.S.* 

 Next follow the Latin names of the species, 103 in number ; 

 amongst which are inserted Falco lagopus, F. galliciis, F. palum- 

 barius, Strix scops, S. passerina, Lanius rufus, Regulus ignicapillus, 

 Anthus richardi, A. rufigularis, Alauda alpestris, Fringilla spinus, 

 Loxia curvirostra, Picus tridactylus, Tetrao urogallus, Scolopax 

 major, Tringa pectoralis, Gallinula pusilla, Anas dispar. Sterna 

 tenuirostris, and Larus ichthyaetus. Lastly are added certain 

 notes in explanation of some of these strange phenomena, in the 

 course of which we are informed that the author believes " that 

 this is the first time that the Aigle Jean-le-Blanc {Circaetus 

 gallicus, Vieillot) has occurred in Scotland," but that he had 

 ** several times seen specimens in Ireland ; " that he had just 

 discovered his " pair of hybred [sic] Ducks, obtained in the Island 

 of Arran, June 11th, 1847, to be Steller's Western Duck [Soma- 

 teria dispar) of some little rarity"; that it is "strange" to find the 

 " Slender-billed Tern {Anous tenuirostris) breeding so far north," 



* There is no printer's name attached to the list, nor any intimation of 

 when or where it was printed. 



