276 Letters, Extracts, and Notes* [Ibis, 



bill of tbe female is dark and by its having a better developed 

 tail. T. patachonicus is more sociable, six or seven being 

 seen often together. 



'' T. cinereus lives in pairs_, stays in the same place all the 

 year round, and perches on the same rocks. It is of a pale 

 grey, a little darker on the body than on the head and 

 neck. The extremities of the barbules are of lead colour. 

 T. patachonicus is of a darker colour ; the edges of their 

 feathers are brown on top. T. patachonicus has the habit of 

 pretending inability to fly Avhile bringing up their young." 



My opinion is that the origin of the doubt about the 

 validity of the two species lies in the fact that most people 

 have only seen one species, and that T. patachonicus, W'hich 

 is generally found in the more frequented parts of the 

 Magellanic lands and to this species accordingly nearly all 

 the skins in the European museums belong. 



Tachyeres cinereus frequents the more secluded spots, 

 which is only what one would expect, as the result of 

 the birds inability to fly. In olden days, when the Straits 

 of Magellan were not so much frequented as they are now^ 

 T. cinereus was probably a common bird there, so that the 

 stories of the old seafarers rightly referred to that species. 

 People, however, Avho travel there in these times find 

 T. patachonicus, which has a general resemblance to it (but 

 is quite different in reality), taking its place, and so the 

 confusion arises. Besides, no one seems to have noticed — 

 or, at least, to have published — the fact that the female of 

 T. patachonicus has a dark bill and brown head. 



Yours truly, 

 Gooilust, F. E. Blaauw. 



12 March, 1917. 



Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists^ 

 Union. 

 The Annual General Meeting of the B. O. U. for 1917 

 was held on March 14 at the Ofl&ces of the Zoological 

 Society of London, Mr. W. L. Sclater, in the absence of 

 the President, being in the Chair. There were thirty 

 INIembers present. 



