350 Mr. T. Ayres on the 



from gape 3j inches, ditto from forehead SfV, wing 8|, tail 

 3^, tarsus 2|. 



[On comparing the above measurements with a male and 

 female previously sent from Transvaal, I find that the dimen- 

 sions of the male of this pair agree almost exactly with the 

 above, bnt the female is decidedly smaller, measuring as fol- 

 lows — bill from forehead 2^-^ inches, wing 7|, tarsus 2*. 



As this is the only species of this restricted group which I 

 have seen from Transvaal, I suspect that it may be the same 

 as that quoted in Mr. Barratt's list as " Ardea leucoptera," 

 vide Ibis, 1876, p. 210t.— J. H. G.] 



213. NuMENius ARQUATus (Liuu.). Commou Curlew. 

 Female shot 9th October ; total length 25 inches, bill from 



forehead 6f, wing 12j, tarsus 4. 



This is a very scarce bird indeed in these parts ; two spe- 

 cimens were seen last year, of which this is one ; I did not 

 hear either of them utter the usual cry of the Curlew ; both 

 were silent. 



214. NuMENius PHiEOPus (Liuu.). Common Whimbrel. 



I shot a Whimbrel during the month of November, the only 

 one I have ever seen. 



[This identification rests on Mr. Ayres^s authority, the spe- 

 cimen not having been forwarded. — J. H. Gr.] 



Philomachus pugnax (Linn.). Ruff. 



The male sent was shot from a flock on 24th August; it 

 is the most nearly in full plumage of any specimen that I 

 have seen. 



[This example retains the remains of the two occipital tufts 

 and of the portion of the ruff between them ; the remaining 

 tuft-plumes are about three quarters of an inch in length, the 

 intervening feathers being much shorter; it also retains con- 



* A similar disparity in the size of the sexes has been noticed in an 

 allied Indian species, Ardeola grayi, Sykea, vide ' Stray Feathers,' vol. iv. 

 p. .350. 



t Mr. Barratt also includes in his list " Ardetta minuta,'''' which I ven- 

 ture to think may be an eiTor, as I have never seen this species from South 

 Africa, but only the nearly allied but smaller species, A. podiceps, Bon. 

 ifonf. Ibis, 187.3, p. 2.=)7).— J. H. G. 



