THE IBIS. 



NEW SERIES. 



No. XXIV. OCTOBER 1870. 



/ XXXII. — Notes on various Birds observed in Italian Museums in 

 1866. By the Bavon de Selys-Longchamps, Member of 

 the Royal Academy of Belgium. 



I HAVE read with much interest Mr. Howard Saunders^s " Notes 

 on the Ornithology of Italy and Spain" (Ibis, 1869, pp. 391- 

 403) ; and their perusal has suggested to me the idea of offering 

 some observations of the same kind made by me in January 

 1866, when charged by the Belgian government with a mission 

 to the King of Italy. 



The time allotted to me having been very short, I was only 

 able to visit a few museums ; but I was particularly struck with 

 the increase of scientific wealth which had accrued since the 

 period (from 1838 to 1840) during which I had more leisurely 

 traversed nearly the whole of Italy. In 1866 I only revisited 

 Turin, Milan, Florence, Sienna, Pisa, and Genoa. 



The ornithological part of the Turin Museum is under the 

 intelligent direction of Count Salvadori, so well known by his 

 excellent works, in which he has studied, amongst others, the 

 rare and doubtful species of Sardinia, Liguria, and Lombardy, 

 and thus rendered signal service to those who are busied with 

 European ornithology. 



The magnificent museum of Turin possesses a fine specimen 

 of Alca impennis; and that I may not have to return to this sub- 



N. S. VOL. VI. 2 K 



