Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 541 



77. Van Oort on Birds from New Guinea. 



[Note XVII. On New Guinea Birds. By Dr. E. D. Van Oort. Notes 

 Leyd. Mus. xxix. p. 170 (1907).] 



Dr. Van Oort writes on some specimens of birds recently 

 acquired by the Leyden Museum from the zoological collec- 

 tion of the '' Utrecht Missionary-Union/' and originally 

 obtained in the Arfak district of New Guinea. They are 

 referred to 22 species, among which is the type specimen 

 of Casuarius papuanus of Schlegel, an albino example of 

 Talegallus cuvieri, and a young Paradise-bird of the genus 

 Diphyllodes, probably belonging to an uudescribed species. 

 Macropygia nigrirostris major is characterized as a new sub- 

 species from New Britain. Figures are given of Talegallus 

 cuvieri (albino) and Ninox dimorpha. 



78. Van Oort on a new Cassowary. 



[On an apparently new Form of Casuarius from the North Coast 

 of New Guinea. By Dr. E. D. Van Oort. Notes Leyd. Mus. xxix. 

 p. 204.] 



Under the name Casuarius casuarius bistriatus is described 

 an example of this group of Cassowaries originally obtained 

 alive in 1894 on the north coast of New Guinea and pre- 

 sented to the Zoological Garden of Rotterdam. On its 

 death in 1897 it was sent to the Leyden IMuseum. It is a 

 *' very near ally of C. c, beccarii." A coloured figure of the 

 head of this specimen is given. 



XXV. — Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



We have received the following letters addressed " To the 



Editors '' :— 



SiRs^ — A note published in ' The Ibis ' for April last 

 (pp. 388-389) refers to the birds met with by Commander 

 Peary, U.S.N., during his sledge-journey along the northern 

 shores of Grant Land, extending as far to the westward as 

 Axel Heiberg Land, during the summer of 1906. I do not 



