142 Letters, Extracts, and Notices. 



The Antarctic Exhibition. — The Antarctic Exhibition, lately 

 opened at the Bruton Gallery, Bruton Street, Bond Street, is 

 well worthy of a visit from the ornithologist. Besides 

 numerous photographs taken by Engineer- Lieutenant Skel- 

 ton, who was Chief Engineer of the f Discovery ' in the 

 National Antarctic Expedition, it contains the whole series 

 of water-colour drawings made by Dr. Edward Wilson, the 

 Junior Surgeon and Naturalist, who is an accomplished 

 artist, and is especially happy in his sketches of living 

 animals. More than 80 of these sketches illustrate the bird- 

 life of the Antarctic Seas, among which the Emperor Penguin 

 (Aptenodytes forsteri) and its smaller associate Eudyptes 

 ailelice are conspicuous. 



New Discovery of Dodo's Bones. — Prof. Newton announces 

 in ' Nature' (Oct. 27th, 1904) the discovery by M. Thirioux 

 in Mauritius, about 2^ miles from Port Louis, of a small 

 partly collapsed cave, about 800 feet above the sea-level, 

 containing numerous bones of the Dodo (Didus ineptus) and 

 other extirpated birds, such as the Brevipennate Parrot 

 {Lophopsittacus mauritianus), the " Poule Bouge " (Aphan- 

 apteryx hroecki), and the Great Coot (Fulica newtoni). 

 Some of the smaller Dodo-bones are of great rarity, and at 

 least one of them (the pygostyle) had not been found before. 

 M. Thirioux has disposed of his very considerable series of 

 these bones to the Museum of Mauritius. Prof. Newton 

 expresses a hope that some competent person may be 

 found to publish a scientific description of this important 

 collection. 



The Agaleya Islands. — Some years ago (' Ibis/ 1897, 

 p. 145) we Aentured to recommend the Agalega group, in 

 the Indian Ocean south of the Seychelles, as a desirable 

 place for the attention of ornithologists, birds being stated 

 to be very numerous there. We are pleased to observe that 

 the proposed Expedition for the exploration of the Indian 

 Ocean (see Geogr. Journ. vol. xxiv. p. 593j is likely to visit 

 these little-known islands. It will be of great interest 



