122 Mr. P. R. Lowe o?i the 



Plate III,, as it seemed worth wliile drawing fresh attention 

 to this very remarkable bird. 



I have visited Rennell twice and Bellona once since 

 the visit above described^ in the British Solomon Islands 

 Protectorate Government steamer^ but on neither occasion 

 was I able to land. 



V. — Studies on the Ckm-adriiformes^ . — III. Notes in Relation 

 to the Systematic Position of the Sheath-bills (Chionididae). 

 By Peucy R. Lowe, M.B., M.B.O.U. 



(Text-figures 1-4.) 



That the true affinities ot' this extremely interesting group 

 of birds have been a source of perplexity to ornithologists 

 is sufficiently obvious from the literature on the subject, 

 and from the long array of naturalists who have in turn 

 attempted to solve this problem since the time when Forster, 

 the companion of Cook on his second voyage (1772-73), 

 first discovered the Sheath-bill. 



Thus De Blainville (Ann. Sci. Nat. vi. 1836, p. 97) says : 

 "• After Forster, a great number of naturalists, among whom 

 were Pennant, Latham, Gmelin, Bonnaterre, Illiger, Vieillot, 

 Oken, Temminck, Goldfuss, the Abbe Ranzani, Quoy & 

 Gaimard, Lesson, Wagler, Cuvier, and Isidore Geoffroy 

 St. Hilaire, successively occupied themselves with Chionis, 

 and nearly all assigned it to a different position" (Transl,), 

 He then proceeds to state his reasons for considering that 

 the genus in question (the only one then recognised) is most 

 nearly allied to the Oyster-catchers {Ilcematopus). 



From this point, R. W. Shufeldt, in a review of the 

 opinions on the systematic position of the Chionididae 



* In describicg the palatal region of the Jack-Suipe in my paper on 

 the Chatham Island Snipe (' Ibis,' October 1915, p. 711), I remarked: — 

 " So far as I am aware, this region in the Jack-Snipe has never been 

 previously described." I regret to say that this was an error, for Mr. V. 

 E. Beddard, F.R.S., had, unbeknown to nie, previously called attention 

 to its aberrant nature (cf. P. Z. S. 1901. ]-. .Vj!)). 



