Letters, Extracts, Notices, 6^c. 473 



Lieut. H. E. Barnes has unfortmiately met with an acci- 

 dent at Aden, having injured his hand, and has been sent 

 back to India for the better recovery of his health. He 

 forwards us some birdskins, about which he was uncertain, 

 for identification, and promises notes on about 120 species 

 observed or obtained in the neighbourhood of Aden for our 

 next number. 



Colius and Hypocolius. — Living examples of Colitis and 

 Hypocolius are now together in the Zoological Society's 

 Parrot-house. Of course they have nothing to do with one 

 another, Hypoculins ampelinus being a typical Oscinine bird 

 and Colius an abnormal Picarian ; but it is interesting to see 

 them side by side. The Colics {Colius capensis) have com- 

 menced to breed, and two of them sit upon several eggs in 

 the same nest. The Hypocolii consist of a fine adult male, 

 presented by Mr. W, D. Gumming of Fao in 1890, and a pair 

 lately received from the same kind donor. The male of the 

 latter is now paying liis addresses to the female, and twists 

 his wings and feathers about in a remarkable way, which is 

 well worthy of inspection. 



New Extinct Rail. — The ' Christchurch Press ' of the 28th 

 March last, of which a copy has been sent to us, gives an 

 account of the expedition of Mr. H. O. Forbes, of the Canter- 

 bury Museum, to the Chatham Islands, and of his discovery 

 of additional remains of the large extinct Rail, which he 

 has proposed to call Aphanapteryx hawkinsi, after Mr. W. 

 Hawkins, an old resident in the island, who obtained the 

 first specimen"^. Mr. Forbes went to Chatham Island on 

 the 21st of January last, accompanied by Mr. Hawkins, and 

 obtained a set of remains of this Rail sufficient to enable a 

 restoration of most of its skeleton to be made. Mr. Forbes 

 is of opinion that this Rail is a close ally of Aphanapteryx 

 broecki of Mauritius, '^differing mainly in size,'' and goes 

 into various speculations on the "disrupted distribution 

 of the genus," supposing this to be the case. Whether 

 * See 'Nature' of March 5th aud April 21st, 1892. 



SEK. VI. VOL. l\. 2 I 



