igij.] Letters, Extracts, a)id Notes. 637 



It is strange that Mr. C. Dixon, in liis article on the 

 " Birds o£ tlie Province of Constantine " (Ibis, 1882, 

 A'ol. vi. 4th ser. p. 576, under Corvus monedula), should 

 liave passed unnoticed these brown Jackdaws, which are so 

 conspicuous. He notes that the ordinary species is a 

 common inhabitant of the rocks of Constantine. 



Since writing above I have just come across a most 

 interesting article by Lord Rothschild and Mr. Hartert 

 entitled " Ornithological Explorations of Algeria," published 

 in ' Novitates Zoologicse,^ vol. xviii. for 191], and under 

 Coloeus monedula cirtensis they write as follows : — 



" We saw a great many Jackdaws in Constantine, where 

 they were breeding in the stupendous gorge of the Rummel, 

 but were not able to obtain specimens. A large proportion 

 showed the brown, apparently unmoulted quills generally 

 seen in young birds, and they were shining quite rufous 



in the sun." 



Yours very truly, 

 Lismore, Wmdsor, W. H. Workman. 



Belfast. 

 23 August, 1917. 



Australian Parrots. 



Sir, — Having taken a keen interest in Australian Parrots 

 for some years, and kept and bred a large number of species 

 in this country, both at liberty and in confinement, I send 

 a few notes and criticisms on Mr. Mathews' book, which 

 I hope will not be out of place from a naturalist who has 

 never visited Australia. 



In the recent volumes of the ' Birds of Australia ' external 

 sexual differences are sometimes passed over in a way one 

 would not expect in a work of such detail. " Female 

 resembles adult male " gives one an idea of two birds as 

 exactly alike as, for instance, a male and female Lorikeet, 

 but this is often misleading. No mention is made of the 

 striking difference in the colour of the eye in male and 

 female Roseate . and Leadbeater's Cockatoos, and no 

 mention is made of the " spatules ^' on the male Queen 



