468 Letters, Extracts, Notices, ^c. 



In tlic last October number of tbc ' Journal fiir Ornitho- 

 logie/ received only yesterday, there is a coloured figure of 

 C. hecki, and after having seen it I have very little doubt about 

 the specific identity of C. hecki with C. lilacina. According to 

 my ideas, the type of the former, which is a living bird in 

 the Zoological Gardens of Berlin, is merely an older and 

 more fully coloured bird of the same species as that in the 

 British Museum from Western Ecuador, which I described 

 as C. lilacina. Yours &c., 



Turin, Zoological Museum, '^' Salvadori. 



21st March, 1892. 



Sir, — In reply to your inquiries I can state that there are 

 still two places in Holland where the Spoonbill [Platalea 

 leucorodia) breeds every year. One of these is the Naarder 

 Mccr, situated near the town of Naarden, in North Holland ; 

 the other is the Zwanenwater, situated on the west coast 

 near the town of H elder. In both these places these birds 

 are carefully preserved by the owners, so that no eggs are 

 now allowed to be taken, and the nesting-places can be 

 visited only by special arrangement. 



The result of these measures is that the Spoonbills have 

 of late years increased in numbers, and there is now every 

 prospect that these interesting birds will be preserved to 

 Western Europe for many years to come. The older nesting- 

 places at Nieuwer-kerk, between Rotterdam and Utrecht 

 {cf. Gould^s * Birds of Great Britain,' vol. iv., text to pi. 32), 

 and in the Horster Meer near Overmeer an de Vecht {cf. 

 * Ibis,' 1877, p. 412), are both deserted in consequence of 

 the drainage of the water. Yours &c., 



s' Gravelaud, Ililversum, F. E. Blaauw. 



Ilollaud, May 27tli, 1892. 



[Dr. C. Kerbert, Director of the Gardens of the Royal 

 Zoological Society of Amsterdam, also asks us, in order to 

 prevent disappointment, to caution English ornithologists 

 that it is no longer permitted to disturb the Spoonbills in 

 their breeding- places by visiting them during the breeding- 

 season. — Editor.] 



