XI. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOME SUBFOSSIL RE- 

 MAINS OF BIRDS FROM BERMUDA, INCLUDING 

 THE " CAHOW." 



By R. W. Shufeldt. 

 (Plates XVI-XXXI.) 



My interest in the extinct avian fauna of the Bermudas was aroused 

 through receiving the following communication from Dr. F. A. Lucas, 

 Director of the American Museum of Natural History, New York 

 City, dated August lo, 1915: "I had intended writing you a little 

 while ago in regard to a collection of bones of the extinct Cahow of 

 the Bermudas. We have quite a number of these bones that were 

 given us some time ago, and we agreed to pick out a series for the 

 donor. This Mr. Miller has never found time to do, and I wonder 

 if you would be willing to go over the collection for the sake of study- 

 ing the anatomy of this extinct petrel and pick out a series for us? 

 If this is asking too much, do not hesitate to say so." In reply to 

 this letter, I said, in effect, that I would welcome such an opportunity 

 to study material of that kind ; and, further, I would do all he re- 

 quested in his communication and be glad to work up the entire 

 collection for publication. A brief correspondence promptly followed, 

 terminating in bringing the collection referred to before me at my 

 home, 3356 Eighteenth Street, Washington, D. C. 



On the twenty-third of August, 1915, Doctor Lucas wrote me: "I 

 think that Richmond a few years ago wrote a brief paper on the 

 Cahow, and, as you know, Verrill had quite an article on the subject. 



" These particular bones came from a very inaccessible cave in the 

 Bermudas, one that there is good reason to suppose had not been 

 explored before the visit of Mr. McGall.^ He had great difficulty in 

 getting into the part of the cave where these bones were found, as 

 he had to make a descent by ropes." 



These letters are interesting, for, in addition to setting forth Doctor 

 Lucas's view that the bones were from species of birds he believed 



1 Mr Edward McGall, 17 Commerce Street, Orange, N'ew Jersey. 



333 



