138 NOTES. 



NOTES. 



1. Note on the Young Great Auk. — Mr. Fox statement (in 

 the Synopsis of the Newcastle Museum, 1827) that the young 

 bird from the Wycliffe- Allan Museum has " six or eight grooves 

 at the tip of the lower mandible" would lead any one to infer 

 that it represents a much older bird than it really is. There 

 are really only three or four rather obscure grooves or furrows 

 on each side of the lower mandible, and these are not near the 

 tip, but commence near the middle with a nearly perpendicular 

 furrow (the strongest) extending from the upper margin to the 

 strong angular projection on the lower edge. The furrows in 

 advance of this strongest furrow are very irregular and obscure 

 and require to be closely looked for on both sides of the mandible. 

 On the upper mandible or culmen there is one large sulcus or 

 groove at the base of the bill and another a little in advance 

 with a ridge between them, not so strongly marked as in the 

 adult bird. The culmen is very hooked, very smooth and pointed, 

 and very feeble compared with the massive form in the adult ; 

 and the proximal and distal parts of the lower mandible are both 

 very smooth. The feathers of the throat and specula shew white 

 with dark edges. Compared with the young of the llazorbill 

 this would be a bird of the year changing from first feathers to 

 winter plumage which is not quite perfected. Ed. 



2. Note on the additions to the Hancock Collection. — The 

 chief additions to the collection since Mr. Hancock's death are 

 mostly in the group Palmipedes or Webfooted birds which group 

 was left incomplete. The additions are indicated in the Cata- 

 logue by the donors' names being printed in Italics. Most or all 

 of these additions have been stuffed by Mr. John Jackson who 

 was assistant with Mr. Hancock for many years. Ed. 



