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



If attention be directed to the Serine Finch, others will pro- 

 bably be observed and recorded. 



Hardly a Fringilla carduelis has been procured this autumn ; 

 and several of the bird-catchers here have expressed to me their 

 strong belief, founded on long practical experience, that within 

 a few years the Goldfinch will become, in this part of England, 

 a scarce bird. Multitudes of hens have been netted and slain 

 annually, in a ruthless manner ; and consequently the numbers 

 have been diminished to a very great degree. 



Yours, &c., George Dawson Rowley. 



To the Editor of ' The Ibis.' 



Elveden, December 1st, 1860. 



Sib, — I have received a letter from Professor Reinhardt, dated 

 Oct. 9th, 1860, in which he refers to a communication of mine 

 to 'The Ibis' for 1860 (p. 307), and I beg leave to extract from 

 it what he says on the subject of a species of Quail found in the 

 island of St. Thomas : — 



" From the last Number of ' The Ibis ' I see that you are in- 

 formed of the occurrence of an Ortyx [sonninii] in St. Thomas, 

 and that you are inclined to suppose it to be imported from the 

 mainland of South America, in the same way that Ortyx virgini- 

 anus has been introduced from the United States. It is cer- 

 tainly a curious fact that the former bird is confined to St. 

 Thomas, and not to be found in St. Croix ; but, on the other 

 hand, the St. Thomas bird does not seem quite to agree with the 

 nearest-allied Ortyx from the Spanish Main, the bill being de- 

 cidedly stronger, and the throat brownish red, spotted along the 

 middle with black — not uniform red. So far I find no difficulty, 

 but much in every attempt to refer the West Indian bird to any 

 of the well-known species. As far as I can judge at this moment, 

 I am inclined to suppose : — 



" (1.) That the true Ortyx sonninii, Temm. PI. Col. 75, is not 

 the Ortyx sonninii of Gould, which differs from the bird figured 

 by Temminck in having the red throat separated from the breast 

 by a black- and white-spotted band, of which there is no trace in 

 Temminck's figure. 



" (2.) That the Ortyx sonninii, Gould (not Temminck), is also 

 an inhabitant of the Spanish Main, whence I have a specimen. 



