Ornithologists' Club. 433 



tricibus alarum arenaceo-brunneis, dorso concoloribus, 

 nee vinaceis : gula pallide sulphurea sicut in 0. alpestri. 

 Hah. Glaiiij Atlas Mts., Morocco. 



Mr. ScLATER, having just returned from a short visit to 

 Malta, proposed to say a few words about the Ornis of that 

 Island. According to the last authorities, the birds of the 

 Maltese group were rather over 300 in number. Of 

 these only some twelve were resident species, breeding in the 

 islands, the remainder being either migrants that pass 

 through in spring and autumn, or occasional visitors. Our 

 leading authority on Maltese ornithology was, of course, 

 Mr. C. A. Wright, whose papers on this subject (' Ibis,' 

 1864-1870) wonld be well known to the members of the 

 B. O. C. ; but Prof. Giglioli having included Malta within 

 the scope of his ' Avifauna Italica,' reference should also be 

 made to tliat work, and likewise to Dr. R. Blasius's lately 

 published ' Ornis v. Malta u. Gozo ' (see ' Ibis,' 1895, p. 388). 



Mr. Sclater had examined the collection of birds in the 

 Museum of the University of Valetta, which contained from 

 400 to 500 examples of Maltese Birds. These were, un- 

 fortunately, badly mounted and cared for, and imperfectly 

 named, and required thorough rearrangement and renewal. 

 He had also had the pleasure of visiting the private collection 

 of Major Francia, R.M.R., which had only lately been 

 commenced, but contained about 100 nicely mounted 

 specimens, many being of considerable rarity. Mr. Sclater 

 suggested that a Handbook of Maltese Birds brought up to 

 date would be a very useful and easy piece of work, and 

 expressed a hope that some member of the B. O. U. would 

 take up the subject. 



Mr. W. E. De Winton made some further remarks on the 

 Siberian Partridges {Perdix daurica), of which so many had 

 recently come to the London markets. 



