Letters, Extructs, Notices, S^c. 693 



On returning to the Babr-Gluizal in June last, I shot 

 another specimen of this bird near the mouth of the river. 

 On this occasion there seemed to be large numbers of them 

 about, and other specimens were obtained. The birds were 

 generally seen standing on the banks, sometimes on dry land 

 and sometimes in shallow pools or marshes. When dis- 

 turbed their flight was slow and flapping. 



Yours &c., 



Wm. B. Drury, Lieut. R.N. 



Juuior Naval and Military Club, 

 Aug. 4tli, 1900. ' 



Sirs, — VYill you allow me to correct a remark made by 

 Dr. Sliarpe in his paper on the "Birds of the New Hebrides" ? 

 He states {supra, p. 348) that the majority of Layard's types 

 are in the British Museum, whereas, with very few, if any, 

 exceptions, these types are in the Liverpool Museum. 

 Mr. Layard, after 1875, consigned all his collections to me, 

 along with his MS. notes. He was in the habit of naming, 

 but not always describing forms considered to be certainly 

 new, while others were left to me to describe if I should 

 think proper. The arrangement between us was that I 

 should keep what specimens 1 wished, paying for them the 

 same price as those obtained for specimens that were sold. 

 After selecting my own series, I always made the first offer 

 to the British Museum and the next to Mr. Seebohm, except 

 in the case of Pigeons, of which ^Ir. Salvin had the second 

 pick. Of course I reserved all the types for my own col- 

 lection, and they are now all at Liverpool. 



The specimens in the British Museum may claim in many 

 cases to be " co-types," but not more. Of Aplonis rufi- 

 pennis, only the type specimen ever came into my hands. 

 Mr. Seebohm piirchased, through me, the whole collection 

 which Mr. Layard had reserved for himself. In this, if I 

 remember rightly, were some of the first collection of 1875, 

 which may probably have been types. 



Yours &c., 



H. B. Tristram. 



Purhaui. Hili Au^u.st. IDOO. 



