220 Letters, Eiiracts, Xotices, cVc 



fact about the breerling-liahits of the Ostricli is that tliere 

 are '' unattached hens " which, having no nests of their own, 

 laj' their eggs in the nests of other hens. But Mr. Sclireiner's 

 opinion is that this is altogether an irroguhir proceeding, and 

 that in such cases the eggs are rarely hatched successfully. 



Deaths of four Members of the B.O.U. — With very great 

 regret we have to record the death of our friend and fellow- 

 worker Dr. A. C. Stark, Member of the B.O.U., who was killed 

 by a shell at Ladysmith on November 18th. Dr. Stark, who 

 was in England all the past summer, weut out to South Africa 

 in September last, and, after staying a few days at Capetown, 

 proceeded to Durban to continue his ornithological researches 

 in Natal. When the British troops advanced to Ladysmith 

 Dr. Stark volunteered to join the medical staff. About half- 

 past seven on the evening of November 18th Dr. Stark was 

 struck by a shell, when standing at the door of the Royal 

 Hotel at Ladysmith, and killed almost instantaneously. 

 Before he left England, Dr. Stark had passed through the 

 press the sheets of the first volume of his work on the Birds 

 which he had undertaken to write for ]\Ir. W. L. Sclater's 

 'Fauna of South Africa.' We fear that it will be very 

 difficult to find anyone to continue the work for which 

 our much-lamented friend was specially competent from his 

 long personal studies of the birds of South Africa in their 

 native vtilds. 



AVith much regret we also have to record the loss of three 

 other members of the British Ornithologists^ Union since the 

 issue of our last number — Hedworth Hylton, second Lord 

 Hylton, who died on the 30th of October last ; Mr. Thomas 

 James Monk, who died on the 22nd of December last ; and' 

 Mr. Edgar Leopold Layard, C.M.G., who died on the first day 

 of the present year. Of Mr. Monk, as well as of our old and 

 valued friend and coadjutor Layard, we intend to give notices 

 in our next issue. 



