^"[;^,y] From Magazines, &-c, I3I 



" In The Ibis, yi. 55, iwof), Norlh advocated the adoption of 

 Latham's atyica[^illus lor llie bird known as ' lunulatus,' Shaw. He, 

 however, observed that tlic (hstin^niishing character of the latter 

 species was not mentioned. 



" Sharpe ('Hist. Coll. Brit. Mas.,' ii., p. 128, 1006), from a study 

 of the Watling drawings, independently i)roposed the rejection of 

 ' lunulatus,' Shaw, and also preferred alricapillus for the species pre- 

 viously known under the former name. The absence of the name- 

 chciracter in the desci^iption made me dubious as to the correctness 

 of identifying ' lunulatus ' and alricapillus. I therefore have care- 

 fully studied the Watling figures, and find that the above alterations 

 are necessary. The figure upon which ntricapillus was founded is 

 quite a good picture of the l)ird known as bvevirostris, Vig. and Horsf. 

 It must be remembered that Latham's descriptions were drawn up 

 from these figures only, and consequently the colour values given 

 by Latham depend entirely upon the artists. In the present instance 

 the figure shows a dark head, which Latham concluded was black ; 

 but upon comparing specimens of bvevirostris and lunalus (for such 

 is the name Shaw used), it was seen that the colouration of the 

 figure agreed very well indeed with that of bvevirostris, whereas it 

 disagreed in many particulars with lunatus, which, moreover, was 

 thrice well figured in the same set of drawings, Nos. i2q, 130, and 

 131 (c/. 'Hist. Coll. Brit. Mus.,' ii., p. 132)." 



Australians have learned to know this familiar Honey-eater 

 as the " Brown-headed." To call it atricapillus (Black-headed), 

 even if it were correct in accordance with strict priority, would 

 be misleading and not according to nature. 



Tame Wild Birds. — The AvicuHund Magazine lor July, 

 i()ii, contains an interesting account of the wild Lorikeets 

 (Trichoglossiis novcB-hollandia) which Mrs. Ella M. Innes, of 

 Mackay, Queensland, has tamed without depriving them of 

 liberty. The article is in the form of a letter to Mr. D. Seth-Smith, 

 who introduces it with a statement that a photograph of the 

 Lorikeets, by Mr. E. M. Cornwall, appeared in The Emu, October, 

 1910, which led him to write to Mrs. Innes. The reply he re- 

 ceived, as published in the Avicultural Magazine, is as follows • — 

 " Dear Sir, — Your letter of iqth November reached me just as 

 I was leaving home on a visit, so I laid it aside to answer when 

 I could give leisure to it. I enclose one or two of my own photos, 

 of my birds. They do not object to my camera in the very 

 slightest, even at close quarters. I believe my pets are unique 

 in being so thoroughly tamed, yet left in their free state. When 

 we came to this country (17 years ago), while clearing land for 

 cultivation my husband got two young birds from a fallen tree. 

 One was a Blue-bellied Lorikeet (T. novrs-hollandice) and the 

 other a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet {T. chlorole pi dolus). He brought 

 them home to me. I reared them and petted them so that we 

 became very fond of them and they of us. They were devoted 

 to me. If I did not ajipear at the lireakfast table they very 



