Mr. J. Hewitt on a Three-toed Ostrich Cluck. 55 



Rev. Robt. Godfrey from Pirie on the 11th June and 

 24th July. Inspector Hale, of the 0. F. S. Police, from 

 Bloemfontein in July. I saw four individuals myself near 

 the Zoological Gardens on June 4th, two or three weeks 

 later reports of a small flock near the town were brought to 

 me. I have jnst heard from Mr. Murray that 8 birds were 

 at Maseru on the 11th May, 1912. 



Marked Birds : So far 55 ringed Storks have been pro- 

 cured in South Africa. 31 Hungarian (?'. e. marked by 

 members under the auspices of the Royal Hungarian Bureau 

 of Ornithology), and 24 German (Vogehvarte Rossitten). 

 The greatest distance traversed by a marked Stork is 

 a])parent]y 10,000 kilometers. 



IV, Note on a Three-toed Ostrich Chick. 

 By John Hewitt, B.A., Director of Albany Museum. 



The only skeletal abnormality found in the specimen here 

 described was a fairly large internal toe on each foot, the 

 occurrence of which seems worthy of record if only because 

 such abnormalities appear to be very rare in this two-toed 

 yet primitive bird. At first it was suspected that the 

 additional toe might prove to be the original second toe which 

 normally is only represented in the Ostrich by the reduced 

 metatarsal forming the small inner component of the tarso- 

 metatarsus ; such, however, is not the case^ for on isolating 

 the skeletal parts this second metatarsal was clearly shown 

 in the same state of development as in a normal example. 

 The basal segment of the supernumerary digit is a little 

 depressed and sharply bent inwards at the middle, whilst 

 proximally it articulates with the end of the tibio-tarsus on 

 its inner side ; this is succeeded by three phalanges, the end 

 one of which carries a fairly strong claw. The basal segment 

 i?eems to be most probably a metatarsus, and the rest of the 

 structure thus becomes a toe of three phalanges. On 

 account of its position in the series this toe might be regarded 

 as a true hallux, the rudiments of which are known to occur 



