156 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 



ferring to a copy of his ' General History of Birds/ The 

 letter was dated " Dartford, Kent, Nov. 10, 1789/' and had 

 been presented to the Chairman by Dr. Jean Cabanis. 



He also made some remarks on the birds observed by him 

 in Russia, stating that he had been resident for nearly a 

 fortnight, in August and September last, at a country-house 

 in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, and, though principally 

 occupied with other matters, had not failed to pay attention 

 to the ordinary birds of the district. Putting aside the 

 ubiquitous Sparrow, tlie most common Passerine bird to be 

 seen there at this time of the year was certainly the White 

 Wagtail [Motacillaalba); Spotted Flycatchers, Larks, Yellow- 

 hammers, and Siskins were also abundant. The only Thrush 

 seen was Turdus musicus ; T. mer'ula, it was said, was never 

 met with. The ordinary Crow was C. comix, but the Rook 

 (C. frugilegus) was likewise observed in flocks on the corn- 

 fields along the Baltic Railway. The Great Black Woodpecker 

 {Picas martins) was common in the plantations, and 

 specimens were shot while Mr. Sclater was there ; and both 

 the Pied Woodpeckers [Dendrocopus major and D. minor) 

 were said to be frequently met with. For further partictdars 

 Mr. Sclater referred enquirers to Dr. Biichner's excellent 

 memoir 'Die Vogel des St. Petersburger Gouvernement,' 

 published in 1886, as the best authority on the subject. The 

 Double Snipe {Gallinula major) was the favourite object of 

 pursuit of the sportsman at this time of year, and it was 

 certainly an excellent bird for the table. 



Mr. Robert Read exhibited some peculiar varieties of the 

 eggs of the Common Guillemot [Uria troile), collected at 

 Flamborough during the past summer, and called attention 

 to the correspondence of their variations with the eggs of 

 the Kittiwake {Rissa tridactyla) and of other birds Avhicli 

 bred in the same locality. 



