fol. III. "1 

 i9°3 J 



Correspondence. L39 



attempt to alter it ? As an example I may mention the Laughing- 

 Jackass. Is there anyone anywhere who calls this bird the 

 Brown Kingfisher, or is there ever likely to be ? Of course a 

 name may imply an error, as in the term " Mopoke," or that of 

 " Curlew " for " Stone-Plover," but this is an entirely different 

 case. As to the question of hyphens, it seems to me of very 

 small importance whether we use them or not. — I am, &c, 



H. E. HILL. 

 Guildford, Western Australia, 4/8/03. 



[The only comment necessary on this letter is to point out that 

 all ornithologists do not use the same scientific names, and that 

 Mr. Hill differs entirely in opinion, re the matters discussed, from 

 the principal bird-students of France, Germany, and America 

 (the latter including some of the leading ornithologists in the 

 world ; Great Britain is to some extent behindhand). If orni- 

 thology is ever to be an exact science — which it ought to be — it 

 must be clearly recognized that no detail is unimportant, that 

 everything tending to confusion must be avoided, and the 

 question arises, Why should not Australasia take her proper 

 part in the matter ? — H. K.] 



Notes and Notices. 



The third Congress of the Aust. O.U. will be held this year at 

 Hobart, from the 24th to 26th November, when many important 

 ornithological matters will be tabled. The usual camp-out excur- 

 sion will probably follow the business of the Congress, and the 

 popular lecture — " The Islands of Bass Strait," which was so 

 successfully given in Melbourne, will be repeated at Hobart. It 

 it hoped that as many members as possible will comply with the 

 Hon. Secretary's invitation to be present at this Congress. 



The second coloured plate (Honey-eaters), members will be 

 glad to learn, is in progress. To the " Coloured Figure Fund " 

 the Council desire to return thanks for the following donations : — 

 Miss Brumby (Tasmania), 5s. ; Mr. J. R. M'Clymont, M.A. 

 (Tasmania), 6s. ; Mr. Thos. Tindale (Victoria), 5s. ; Mr. C. E. 

 Smart (Victoria), 5s. ; S. Robinson (Queensland), 2s. ; Mr. M. 

 Woodhouse (Victoria), is. 8d. 



FROM Yakutsk, Siberia, under date 20/6/03, on a post card, 

 Mr. Robert Hall writes : — " The tundra, the Mecca of my pilgrim- 

 age, is reached. The land, so full of birds, teeming with mos- 

 quitoes, and covered with flowers, holds quite a new charm for 

 me. To-morrow we start for a real piece of tundra ; and what 

 Australian birds will be met ? We have already collected along 

 the great valley of the Lena River, and notes of geographical 

 distribution will surely be of interest. We have been 14 days 

 travelling from Lake Baikal, having used 70 horses, a river boat, 

 and 1,200 miles on a stern-wheeler." 



