360 Letters, Announcements, ^c. 



the other French eggs are glued, I conclude it is also from the 

 Dufresne collection. 



On turning to that portion of M. Dufresne's manuscript 

 catalogue where his specimens of Alcida are recorded, I find no 

 mention of Alca impennis or of its eggs as being in his col- 

 lection. The manuscript is as follows : — 



Genre Alca. 



1. Alca arctica. Le macareux. Fr. 



2. Alca pica. Le petit Pingouin. Fr. 



3. Alca torda. Le Pingouin. Fr. 



'*' >> )) )) }) )} 



5. „ „ Le Pingouin {de terre neuve). 



I presume that "Fr." means that France was the locality whence 

 four of these specimens were procured, and " terre neuve " New- 

 foundland. I hence infer that, in the time of Dufresne, Alca 

 impennis must have been scarce on the shores of Newfoundland, 

 or he would have had a skin of it sent to him along with the 

 Newfoundland Razorbill. 



It has already been mentioned (Ibis. 1861, p. 387, note) 

 that Mr. Scales saw several Great Auk's eggs in 1816 or 

 1817, in Dufresne's possession at Paris, one of which Mr. Scales 

 obtained from him. I think I have satisfactorily accounted foi* 

 two more of them. 



I am &c., 



H. W. Feilden. 



Scarborough, 21st April 1809. 



We fear that ornithology has suffered a great loss in the death 

 of our correspondent Mr. James Hepburn, of Vancouver Island, 

 a gentleman who had for many years past been devoting himself 

 to the study, as may be seen from a passage in our last volume*. 

 He had made himself well acquainted with the Pacific coast of 

 North America from Mexico to Alaska, and we had been in 

 great hopes of soon receiving from him much of the information 

 he had thereby acquired, all of which there is reason to think 

 has perished with him. 



t Ibis, 1808, p. 410. 



