62 Messrs. La Touclie and Rickett on the 



It is, however, undoubtedly the egg of the Painted 

 Snipe, and the eggs collected by Swinhoe in Formosa are, in 

 Rickett's opinion, also those of R. capensis *. 



? Larus crassirostris Vieill. 



A common resident on the coast. Two eggs taken by a 

 fisherman in July were probably laid by this Gull. They are 

 ovate and pyriform ovate in shape respectively, and measure 

 220xl'66 and 2\34x 1'66 in. In colour they are greenish 

 buff, with small spots and short lines of very dark brown 

 over dark and light purplish-grey spots. 



Sterna ax.estheta Scop. 



Several adults, together with young in down and eighteen 

 eggs, were brought to us by our men in the first half of July 

 from an island off the coast. The eggs were nearly all 

 incubated. 



The ground-colour is greenish white or light buff. The 

 spots are not large and are fairly evenly distributed over the 

 shell. They vary from dark burnt-sienna to madder- and dark 

 vandyke-brown, with underlying spots of various shades of 

 violet-grey. 



These eggs were deposited under rocks or stones, and the 

 birds allowed themselves to be caught on their nests. 



Seventeen eggs averaged 1*81 x 127 in. Young in down 

 were coloured as follows : — 



(a) (Very young) Drab-grey tinged with buff and mottled 



with dark brown. Bill blackish. Legs greyish 

 black. 



(b) Dark grey tinged with buff, faintly mottled with dark 



brown. Throat and fore-neck dark grey. Under 

 parts greyish white. 



(c) Same as the last, but lighter. 



One young bird was of a very light grey colour. 



* The egg figured in Cat. Eggs Brit. Mus. vol. ii. pi. i. fig. 9, as that 

 of Ochthodromus geoffroyi is one of the eggs found by Rickett's collector 

 as stated above. 



