i8S6.] Correspondence. AQ I 



lections of Mr. Charles Fiebig, who lives at Eureka, on Humboldt Bay. 

 As Mr. Fiebig had informed me upon my arriv-al, that all his birds had 

 been shot in the vicinity of Humboldt Bay, I was surprised and interested 

 to find in his collection specimens of the Yellow Rail, the Emperor Goose, 

 the European Widgeon, and Sabine's Rufted Grouse, which I saw at once 

 were rather extra-limital species, particularly the first two. Mr. Fiebig's 

 account of these was as follows (transcribed from my note book) : 



Porzana noveboracensis. One specimen 1884, shot on the marsh at the 

 mouth of Freshwater Creek, flowing into Humboldt Bay. A pair were 

 seen but only one secured. 



Philacte canagica. One specimen obtained on the liay in the winter of 

 1S84. Others seen at long intervals. 



Mareca penelope. One specimen shot on the bay in the winter of 1SS4. 

 The only record of its occurrence there, according to Mr. Fiebig and the 

 sportsmen of Eureka. 



Bonasa sabinii. Only one specimen in the collection, but met with 

 on several occasions in the deepest portions of the surrounding redwood 

 forest. 



Mr. Fiebig, now a very old man, is a German who came to America 

 about 1S50, and worked at his trade of wagon-inaking, in the city of Wash- 

 ington, until the war broke out, when he enlisted in the Union Army, and 

 afterward settled in California. While living in Washington he became 

 acquainted with North American birds hy studying the Smithsonian col- 

 lections. He is a taxidermist of far more than ordinary ability, but prac- 

 tices the art only as a pastime. His method of mounting is unique; after 

 removing the skin, he carves a model of the bird's body in soft wood, with 

 great exactness. The Q^gy is then covered with the skin, and the bird, 

 after the eyes are added, is complete. I am bound to say that this is done 

 with the skill of an artist, and the results secured by this method are ex- 

 cellent. Mr. Fiebig gave me an interesting account of his experiences as a 

 Duck hunter on the shores of the Baltic Sea, when a boy. — Chas. H. 

 TowNSEND, Smithsonian Institution^ Washington, D. C. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



^Correspondents are requested to write brie Ay and to the point. No attention will 

 be paid to anonymous communications.^ 



The Classification of the Macrochires. 



[Second Letter.] 



To the Editors of the Auk : — 



Sirs: If the valuable space in the section reserved for your corres- 

 pondence will admit of it, I have a few words to say in regard to the criti- 

 cism passed upon my classification of the Macrochires, so far as I defined 



