320 Mr. O. Salvin's Visit to the 



the South from the North American and West-Indian species, 

 S. antillarum, with absolute certainty. However, the majo- 

 rity of individuals, by far, from the southern continent have 

 a uniformly yellow bill, which ia stouter and stronger than 

 that of northern birds. 



Larus poliocephalus. Max. 



Isthesaraeas Vieillot^s L. cirrhocephalus, as acknowledged 

 by Max. (Beitr. iv. p. 854), and by the original label on the 

 specimen in the New York Museum. 



Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 



Unfortunately I had so little time at my disposal at Phila- 

 delphia that I could only give a glance at this grand collection. 

 At present the shelves are densely crowded with specimens, 

 and in somewhat confused arrangement. This defect will 

 doubtless be remedied when the Academy moves into the new 

 building now in course of construction for its reception, where 

 the birds will, it is to be hoped, be exhibited as they deserve. 

 Mr. Ogden kindly showed me through the galleries. The 

 following are a few of the notes I made : — 



When examining the specimens of Rallidse in the Paris 

 Museum, at the time we were working up our monograph 

 of that family (P. Z. S. 1868, p. 442 et seq.), Mr. Sclater, 

 Mr. J. Verreaux, and I looked everywhere in vain for the birds 

 named but not described by Prince Bonaparte as Micopygia 

 verreauxi and M. sclateri in his paper on the Rallidae (C. R. 

 xliii. p. 599, 1856). These specimens I found in the Mu- 

 seum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 

 M. verreauxi is labelled '' Ortygometra verreauxi, Bp. : type, 

 Perou ;" the other, " Ortygometra sclateri, Bp. : type, Perou." 

 In both cases the specific names and the author's are in Bona- 

 parte's handwriting, the rest in that of Jules Verreaux. The 

 former bird has since been named Porzana castaneiceps, Scl. 

 & Salv. P. Z. S. 1868, p. 453, Ex. Orn. t. 78; the latter, P. 

 hauxwelli, Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1868, p. 453, Ex. Orn. t. 52. 

 Both these latter names will have to stand, Bonaparte's allusion 

 to them as Micropygia verreauxi {major) and M. sclateri 



