Mr. J. E. Harting on little-known Limicolae. 241 



1849, on the day of the " Feast of the Conception/' at the 

 Salini, byMr. Ardouino, who still remembers the occurrence"^. 

 The specimen of Cygnus alluded to (Ibis, 1864, p. 155) was 

 doi\btIess the young of C. olor, a species already registered as 

 visiting Malta (Ibis, 1869, p. 248). It is more than probable 

 that C. ferus has also occurred here ; but I have no authentic 

 information of the fact. There is an example of C. olor in 

 the Malta University Museum nearly pure white, but with 

 scarcely any appearance of the frontal knob. I think the 

 occurrence oi Alauda cristata (Ibis, 1864, p. 60; 1865, p. 464), 

 even as an accidental visitor, is very doubtful, also Podiceps 

 cornutus (Ibis, 1864, p. 157), as I have never myself seen a 

 specimen of either. Whilst on the subject of corrections, I 

 may state that the alleged specimens of the American Gull 

 {Larus atricilla) taken in Sicily, and preserved in the Palermo 

 University Museum (Ibis, 1869, p. 255), do not belong to 

 that species. During a recent visit to Palermo I had an oppor- 

 tunity, through the kindness of the learned professor in charge 

 of the zoological department, of examining them. They are 

 unmistakably examples of the Adriatic (or, as it is better 

 called, the Mediterranean) Black-headed Gull. It may be 

 taken for granted that the American species does not occur in 

 the Mediterranean ; and the allusions of authors to it, Yarrell 

 among others, doubtless refer to Larus melanocephalus. 



XXVIII. — On rare or little-known Limicolae. 

 By J. E. Harting, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 



(Plate IX.) 



The Genus Recurvirostra. 



So long ago as 1863, in Wiegmann's ' Archiv' for that year, 

 p. 131, Messrs. Philippi and Landbeck described an Avocet 

 from the Andes, which they named Recurvirostra andina, and 



* [Since this paper was sent to the printers Mr. Wright has sent na 

 the fragments mentioned above. On comparing them with specimens in 

 Mr. Dresser's collection, we are able to state that they belong, without 

 doubt, to a young individual of S. pomatorhinus. — Ed.] 



